by David Dahlbacka in All Ages, Assembly Square, Beat Reporter, Comprehensive Plan, Development and Zoning, Events, Mystic River, Orange Line
Posted on January 13, 2013 at 8:16 pm
Last Modified on January 20, 2013 at 5:37 pm
| January 24, 2013 | ||
| 6:00 pm | to | 9:00 pm |
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Joint Public Hearing by Planning Board and Land Use Committee
Thu. Jan. 24 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Somerville City Hall
Aldermanic Chamber
93 Highland Ave.
Somerville MA (map)
Agenda (PDF)
Public Notice (PDF)
This joint public hearing is called on a proposed change to the Assembly Square PUD to allow a one-story grocery store larger than 50,000 square feet at the IKEA site, next to the new Orange Line T-Stop.
If a grocery store is built at the IKEA site, it should be on the first floor of a multi-story, high-value R&D building, otherwise the location is underutilized.
For more information, see Assembly Square Mixed-Use.
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Beat Report: 1/24/13 Joint Hearing of Land Use Committee and Planning Board
Bottom Line on Top
Federal Realty proposes to put a small office building, a 5-story parking garage, and a one-story grocery store at the IKEA site. It will not buy the site unless it gets the zoning change it wants. Ten members of the public spoke against the zoning change; none spoke in favor. The Land Use Committee record will be open until Feb. 1. The Planning Board voted in favor of the proposed zoning change with discussion mainly of fear of the site remaining fallow for 10-30 years, unlikely considering the Orange Line T-Stop is a couple of blocks away.
Rough Notes
Planning Board: Kirylo, Capuano, Favaloro, Prior
Land Use Committee: Sullivan, LaFuente, Taylor, Gewirtz, White
Land Use Committee
* ASPUD ground floor grocery
* Delete section 7.2(a).
Planning Board
Public hearing. Section 7.2 change is not on agenda.
Presentation by Federal Realty
Don Briggs: Showing images of whole development as well as IKEA site.
Agreement with IKEA to acquire their parcel. 12 acres.
Want to build large format grocery across from 400K s.f. Office. Bring use to district for new neighborhood. Is market demand. Medical office building interest. Develop these together. To move forward with acquisition we need a quick marketing plan. 50K would preclude large grocery store.
White: Two concerns. Ground use. Don’t contemplate anything above it? 3 acres. Pretty large parking field. Wanted to eliminate surface parking.
Briggs: It’s a parking structure.
White: Want estimated property tax estimate for the city compared to IKEA.
Briggs: Capital costs exceed IKEA.
White: Want to max property taxes. Esp. T-stop head house. Parking deck and 130 K grocery a concern.
Briggs: We have to go to market quickly. Need to underwrite cost of acquisition. To add a land bank is not something we can do. Identified real need that will produce immediate results. Pushing higher density next to the T.
White: We funded the DIF. Haste makes waste. If you take up huge part of site for parking and grocery.
Briggs: If no development for 10 years, no taxes either.
LaFuente: Idea of A.S. was to get the maximum return. You are looking for fast. We have to look forward 10 years, 20 years. Stuck with multilevel parking lot and supermarket. Not enough for us. Take a look at more tax proactive.
Briggs: Is significant development planned. Goal is to acquire IKEA and develop it quickly. If we maximized theoretical density, it would come after the “future” development. We can’t do it. Want comprehensive subset of uses. Grocery store is strategic use for neighborhood. Is at the least valuable end of site. Respect desire for density. Market will tell us what we can build when. Either this or nothing.
LaFuente: Perfectly fine use. What can we put above it?
Briggs: Not based on demand. Our goal is to build more residential.
White: Also, you don’t intend to design in anything more.
Taylor: I’m concerned about best return on property.
Prior: What’s footprint of IKEA versus this.
Briggs: IKEA was 240K; grocery is 8-100K with structured parking. Creating additional parcels for office and residential.
Prior: Understand about lower buildings at edges. Are there reasons you can’t put in footings for higher uses?
Briggs: Very expensive. Hard to build over existing occupied building.
Capuano: Concerned about this being a 1 story building. Not on PB with IKEA. Expected IKEA to be a regional draw. You indicated just single-story structured parking. If people live here, why do we need regional parking for people who live there?
Briggs: Will serve Somerville, Charlestown, Medford, etc.
Capuano: Is Super Stop & Shop 1/2 mi away, Shaw’s 2 mi away, Shaw’s 2 mi away, etc. This isn’t going to help the site. What if we put in single-use building? In 10 years, 20 years, supermarket leaves. Stuck with single-use building we can’t use. Limiting ourselves in the future.
Briggs: in 10-20 years, there is a higher and better use that could be built. If neighborhood built out, be a lot to do there.
Proakis: Submitted by FRIT, sponsored by aldermen. Mayor supports zoning. Large portion of land available. Walking access to food.
Question of whether ground level size cap should remain. Don’t intend to exempt anything but grocery from cap. Want to cap at 130K. FRIT’s is 100K. Ground level supermarket makes sense. Benefit beyond IKEA. Allow local neighborhood draw. Won’t bring in regional traffic like IKEA. Closer to mixed use development. Allowing this will allow us to bring mixed use to rest of site.
Prior: 100K intentions. We’re going to cap at 130K?
George: They wanted us to release cap entirely. We wanted to reinstate a cap.
LaFuente: Mr. Briggs? In 20 years’ time you might develop this in a more dense way> Also the parking garage?
Briggs: Single-story grocery could be demolished. Is 5-story parking garage. Tearing down parking garage not likely.
Favaloro: Alluded to supermarket now. If you didn’t develop it now, how long?
Briggs: We would not buy the site if we could not do this. Someone else would.
[Opens public hearing.]
David: Speak generally against the change in zoning. Nothing wrong with grocery store. But the form is wrong. It would only make sense as the first floor of a high-rise R&D building. This location is right by the new T-stop. Imagine someone who wants to establish corporate headquarters, right next to a grocery store and a 5-story garage. Jobs like the old Ford plant are gone and they aren’t coming back. Need to replace them. We need more than a grocery store.
Beatrice: Jobs for Somerville. This is too premature to change zoning. No congestion or environmental issues in site. Instead of single grocery, getter to think of residences.
Mary Jo C.: Happy to hear you raising concerns about maximizing benefits to community. Concerned about good jobs and many jobs. Oppose lifting caps. 5 years ago was IKEA and City agreement. A local hiring agreement. Change is not conditioned on community benefit agreement. Anyone who takes over site should take on agreement. Public funding used to acquire site.
[Board: Off topic.]
Van Hardy: 255 Broadway. Support last 2 speakers. Heard about taxes and shareholder. Want to see how this affects the citizens of Somerville.
Wig: When MVTF signed agreement IKEA was outside. This zoning isn’t consistent with the long-term vision. Congratulate city and FRIT on past efforts.
City is to provide 4000 jobs by 2020. We need several hundred jobs per year to meet goals of comp plan. Zoning was for 250 foot buildings. To go from 20 stories to single story is a gross change in long-term vision. We need to focus on R&D. Much better than other R&D cities in Somerville. Help FRIT get there are bring in partners. Retail and residential is why we have a shortfall in Somerville. Not against grocers, especially one tied to T, as long as it’s multi story.
Barbara S.: Second Wig. Whatever goes there must accommodate building up R&D. Astonishing to me that it’s going up everywhere but not here. If good grocery store has good policies, you have big flat roof perfect for solar and for R&D over. Strong recommendation to have a good grocery with good labor policies with R&D above.
Jane B.: Endorse Wig’s comments. Significant movement away from long term vision Detrimental to forward movement. Look at case of A.S. Mall. Proportions of mall were a significant detriment to grid plan. Run a run through A.S. Mall. FRIT refused to negotiate with Kmart about lease Footprint of mall was an obstacle. Take this into account in other area. Hate piecemeal development.
Ellin R.: My neighborhood abuts A.S. Worked on SomerVision Plan. We need to be cognizant of changes to plan. These changes would go away from our plan. I got along without a suburban supermarket. There are good recommendations for multistory buildings with supermarket. We have the DIF and the iCubed funds to pay back. We need to maximize revenue.
Fred B.: Another case of developer wants to do something; city has land with high value. If there were more capacity above for mixed use and developed to its potential, FRIT makes more money, City gets more taxes. Somerville is good labor source for supermarket. Do a MOU about how FRIT is to develop the site. FRIT says they’ll walk away.
Taylor: Record will remain open until Fri. Feb. 1. Send to City Clerk.
Anne T.: Negotiated agreement with FRIT. Grocery store great, single-story is bad move to fly in face of SomerVision just as it was passed and acknowledged as a good plan. Putting it so near the T is a waste of transit capacity.
[Closed public hearing.]
Proakis: Zoning amendments must be passed by BOA after recommendation by PB. Would go to Land Use Comm. Staff will prepare Q&A in response to concerns.
LaFuente: Delighted that IKEA is no longer here. Albatross. Fine for FRIT to develop there. FRIT says they won’t buy it if they can’t do this. Would be wonderful if something on top of supermarket. Would get more from this plan than from IKEA. Developers are in short supply. This is step in right direction.
[Land use committee meeting closed. PB will continue.]
Proakis: Want to move to 3rd floor.
[COMMENT: Barbara S., Jane B., and Fred B. sat in on the rest of the Planning Board meeting. After brief discussions of, among other things, the perceived danger of letting the site remain empty for 10-30 years, the Planning Board recommended approval. As the Orange Line T-Stop is due to be finished in 2014, it is highly unlikely the site would remain empty; that location is prime real estate.]
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I submitted the following to the Board of Aldermen this morning:
This note is to follow up on my testimony at the 1/24/13 Joint Public Hearing by Planning Board and Land Use Committee.
To summarize that testimony: I generally oppose the change in zoning. There is nothing wrong with a grocery store. It would surely find use by Assembly Square residents. But the form is wrong for the location. The proposed location is right by the new T-stop. Imagine someone who wants to establish a corporate headquarters, right next to a grocery store and a 5-story garage. These do not make for a very exciting location. In that location, a large grocery store would only make sense as the first floor of a high-rise R&D building.
Jobs like the old Ford plant are gone and they aren’t coming back. To replace them, we need more than a grocery store.
I add this: Federal Realty stated that if they did not get what they wanted, they would not buy the IKEA property. If they do, why should Somerville care? The IKEA site is the closest parcel to the new Orange Line T-Stop. Do you really believe that once the T-Stop goes in, no one will want to buy it? Highly unlikely. We should not throw away future wealth for nickels and dimes in the present.
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