Smart Growth Project: Concord Riverwalk, Concord

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Chris

The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance recognizes smart growth projects and planning/zoning initiatives across the Commonwealth. This project is one of many that were featured at our 2013 conference. See other examples.

Concord Riverwalk

A “pocket neighborhood” consisting of 13 sustainably-built homes located along the Assabet River. The development has pedestrian connections to public transit and all houses face a shared park, fostering a sense of place for residents.

Opportunities: This project focuses on preserving open space, utilizing Low Impact Development (LID) strategies, and providing high-performance houses, designed to meet a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) standard.

Challenges: Development occurred during a time of poor housing sales, creating doubt as to the success of a unique style of housing development.

Project Team: Union Studio Architecture & Community Design, NOW Communities

Cost: $7.5 million

Square Feet/Units: 13 units

Funding Sources: Private

Contact: Steve Weikal, NOW Communities, steve@concordriverwalk.com; Emily Hall, emily@unionstudioarch.com, (401) 272-4724, Union Studio Architecture & Community Design

Placemaking Project: Newburyport Waterfront Master Plan

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Chris

The Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance recognizes placemaking initiatives across the Commonwealth. This project is one of many that were featured at our 2013 conference. See other placemaking examples.

This master plan was completed for the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority (NRA), an agency that owns 4.2 acres of waterfront land surrounding a public park in the town’s downtown commercial district. The NRA hired Union Studio to help develop a vision for the property, which would be the basis for an RFP for its development. The goal was to balance viable economic development opportunity with the public’s enjoyment of this special waterfront open space. The process involved several public meetings and a thorough analysis of the existing site. It resulted in recommendations for more clearly defining the park, increasing open space by 30%, improving circulation and pedestrian connections, preserving parking, and creating two new mixed-use buildings at the perimeter of the site to generate economic development opportunity.

The existing NRA land currently provides approximately 370 public parking spaces on a dirt lot.

Contact: Emily Hall, Union Studio Architecture & Community Design, emily@unionstudioarch.com

Smart Growth Project: Pioneer Valley Region Action Plan “Our Next Future”

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Chris

PV Our Next Future

This plan contains ideas and strategies to address eight key topics: Smart growth; climate action and clean energy; green infrastructure; housing; brownfields; food security; sustainable transportation; and the environment. The plan was adopted in October 2013. The overarching goal of the plan is to chart a course for a more vibrant, competitive, sustainable, and equitable region.

Opportunities: Funding through the HUD Sustainable Communities grant provided planners at PVPC to prepare detailed plans for topics that are cross-cutting and key to growth, but may oftentimes be marked as low-priority.

Challenges: As with many new-style plans, it took time, involvement, and coordination to complete this plan and work towards implementation.

Project Team: PVPC, University of Massachusetts Department of Architecture, HUD Sustainable Communities Initiative, Capitol Region Council of Governments (CT)

Cost: Part of a larger $1.2 million HUD Sustainable Communities grant, In house funding

Funding Sources: HUD Sustainable Communities grant

Contact: Christopher Curtis, Chief Planner, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, chcurtis@pvpc.org

Placemaking Project: AHA! Nights, New Bedford

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Chris

AHA! is both New Bedford’s free 2nd Thursday Downtown Cultural Night and a collaborative cultural organization made up of 65 plus partners who represent non-profit venues, galleries, retail, restaurants, UMASS, the public schools, the NPS, theater groups and the City. The AHA! mission is a cooperative venture dedicated to invigorating the downtown cultural scene and has remained so since the first AHA! night in July, 1999.

New Bedford finished the 20th century as what could only be described as a deserted downtown with only small pockets of cultural activity and support for the arts. Crime, vandalism, and drugs prevailed. While the port continues to be the largest in the United States for value of catch landed, New Bedford had become a rough working environment where few would visit as a destination. AHA!’s mission from the beginning in July of 1999 was to make New Bedford a vibrant city again, to attract new creative potential and expand cultural activities.

Arts, culture, and creativity are essential keys to New Bedford’s unique and distinctive identity and are core values which build a sense of place and engage residents. The place making of a vibrant city downtown accomplished by AHA! has been shown to be one of the deciding factors in choosing New Bedford as the place to build, grow or relocate.

Contact: Lee Heald, Program Director at AHA! New Bedford, leeheald@aol.com

Smart Growth Project: Proposed Apartments on Boston Way, Newburyport

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Chris

Newburyport

The project is a redevelopment of a surface parking lot into apartment housing, adjacent to the Clipper City Rail Trail.

Opportunities: The development will include underground parking and rooftop solar. A TOD/Smart Growth zoning ordinance does not exist in Newburyport, and the developer has stated that they will work with the City to develop an overlay district to include the site and the surrounding neighborhoods within walking distance to the train station.

Challenges: As a redevelopment of an industrial park site, there are existing electrical and drainage easements; as well as wetlands, unknown subsurface conditions, and noise attenuation.

Project Team: Minco Development, GSD Associates, LLC

Cost: $13 million

Square Feet/Units: 67 units

Funding Sources: Private

Contact: Karen Pollastrino, Project Manager, Minco Development Corporation, nbpt@mincocorp.com, (978) 499 – 9700

Placemaking Project: “City of Champions: A Portrait of Brockton”

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Chris

“City of Champions: A Portrait of Brockton” was a public, walkable installation of photographs in Brockton’s downtown core, in place for one year until September of 2012. Twelve images from Mary Beth Meehan’s exploration of Brockton’s changing cultural identity were selected and printed on vinyl banners, then hung on the exteriors of buildings. The work invited viewers into the city’s core to consider the changing urban identities of a post-industrial American city, within the context of its historic urban landscape.

The work launched numerous public forums and walking tours, in which viewers were asked to consider such questions as: What is Brockton’s past? How has it changed and why? What are its current challenges? How do people with different histories and cultures experience the city differently? And how could those people come together to make Brockton thrive again?

For more information please visit www.marybethmeehan.com and www.cityofchampionsproject.com

Contact: Mary Beth Meehan, Photographer, marybethmeehan@cox.net

Smart Growth Project: Main Street Corridor and Peabody Square, Peabody

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Chris

Peabody

The Main Street Corridor Project is a multi-phase project to transform a four-lane auto-dominated roadway to a two-lane pedestrian/bicyclist friendly environment as well as add three new public outdoor spaces to Peabody Square. Long-term, the City plans to improve side-street connections to a Riverwalk.

Opportunities: Designing the corridor with a “pedestrian-first” mentality created opportunities to extend the sidewalk, bump-out the crosswalks, install new street trees, and create outdoor dining/seating areas. The public investment has already lured private developers to build a hotel and construct or renovate 100+ housing units.

Challenges: Reducing four lanes to two on an already heavily-traveled road to benefit customers was not an easy sell, especially given past mistakes.

Project Team: City of Peabody, Green International Affiliates, Inc.

Cost: $5 million

Funding Sources: Massworks grant, in house funding, CDBG funds

Contact: Blair Haney, Assistant Director of Planning, City of Peabody, blair.haney@peabody-ma.gov, (978) 538-5781

Placemaking Project: Lexington Parklet

Posted on March 24, 2014 by Chris

The Town of Lexington installed Massachusetts’s first public “parklet” in front of 1720 Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington Center earlier in 2013. The parklet converted two vehicle parking spaces into bike parking for approximately 20 bikes and outdoor seating for up to 15 people.

The Lexington Economic Development and Planning Staff collaborated with local businesses, the Town’s Bike Committee, as well as residents to create the semi-permanent structure. The parklet extended the sidewalk and provided people a new place to socialize and station their bicycles. The goals of the parklet include: 1) boosting business activity; 2) encouraging alternative modes of transportation; and 3) creating fresh interest in the Center.

The parklet evolved from an on-street bike corral pilot a year earlier. During the bike corral pilot only one vehicle parking space was converted to bike parking. However, this pilot resulted in an increase of 60 percent more biking activity at the site of the corral. The current parklet was built on the success of the bike corral pilot. The parket created a more attractive structure and enhanced the space with new outdoor seating as well as improved the bike accommodations. The parklet will be a seasonal structure, removed during the winter months to facilitate snow removal.

Contact: Melissa Tintocalis, Town of Lexington, mtintocalis@lexingtonma.gov

Discussion: Repairing city spaces through civic engagement, traffic calming, and public art

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Chris

Placemakers (and activists) Mark Lakeman of City Repair, along with Jason Roberts and Andrew Howard of The Better Block, will speak at “Occupying and Transforming the Right-of-Way,” a discussion on repairing city spaces through civic engagement, traffic calming, and public art. The discussion will be moderated by moderated by Aaron Naparstek, Loeb Fellow ’12.

Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design hosts the event at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 24 in Gund Hall’s Piper Auditorium, 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge (directions).

Save the date: “Sharing Spaces and Building Community Where We Live, Work and Eat” with Kevin Cavenaugh of Guerrilla Development and Ross Chapin of Pocket Neighborhoods — same time and place on Monday, April 4/7.

Smart Growth Project: Hayden Building, Boston

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Chris

Hayden Building

The Hayden Building, located at the edge of Chinatown and the Theater District in Downtown Boston, was built in 1875 and had fallen into disrepair. The building is a Nationally Registered Historic Landmark, and was gutted by a fire in 1985, remaining vacant until its rehabilitation and adaptive reuse. The building is certified LEED Platinum, is located within two blocks of three subway stations, the Boston Common, and several bus lines.

Opportunities: Heightening the awareness of both the physical building and it’s social history by way of the design concept, spatial layout, material articulation, and infographics.

Challenges: Significant damage and neglect necessitated significant improvements to the shell of the building.

Project Team: CUBE design + research, Historic Boston, Inc., Marc Truant and Associates

Cost: $3.9 million

Square Feet/Units: 8,500 sqft, 4 units

Funding Sources: Privately funded, historic tax credit (State and Federal), Non profit donations.

Contact: Chris Johns, Partner, CUBE design + research, cjohns@cubedesignresearch.com, (617) 848 – 2602

Register for the community planners’ annual conference — by Friday

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Chris

The 2014 Massachusetts Citizen Planner Training Collaborative (CPTC) conference is coming up on Saturday, March 14. The deadline for online registration is this Friday, March 7.

Conference sessions, many with AICP and other credit available, touch on many smart growth topics and challenges:

Design for Density with Limited Infrastructure
Climate Change and Adaptation Planning! Massachusetts Policy Updates
Overcoming Challenges to Meeting Our Housing Needs! Integrating Housing into Local and Regional Planning
Inclusionary Zoning (not 101)
Sustainability Planning and Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Strategies: Local Planning at the Forefront
Fair Housing 101
Economic Development in Small Downtowns
Principles of Public Outreach in Planning Processes/Planning with Community Support
Introduction to the Zoning Act
And more…

Details of the conference are online.

Smart Growth Project: Greenfield Master Plan (2013)

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Chris

Greenfield

In 2012, the Town began undertaking the development of the Greenfield Comprehensive Sustainable Master Plan Project, which is anticipated to be completed in January 2014. The goals and strategies of the plan include: increasing the density of housing within one mile of downtown, allow co-housing, identify gateways and develop a beautification plan, develop a townwide walkability plan, create a Greenfield Bikes Initiative, adopt a Right-to-Farm Ordinance, adopt an infill development ordinance to encourage redevelopment or reuse of vacant or underperforming buildings or parcels, and to encourage the preservation of historic buildings through creative reuse.

Opportunities: The Town has gotten feedback from people that have not currently been engaged in this process the innovative and creative engagement tools such as MindMixer. Education of residents has also been very important, and has had the effect of generating more interest from the public.

Challenges: The challenge is the timing – this plan has been developed with a lot input in a very small period of time due to the grant restrictions from the HUD Sustainable Communities Program.

Project Team: Town of Greenfield, VHB

Cost: $120,000

Funding Sources: 2012 Massachusetts Mini-Entitlement Grant from DHCD and a grant from FRCOG as part of the HUD Regional Sustainable Communities Program to develop the Franklin County Regional Plan for Sustainable Development.

Contact: Angela Vincent, Sustainability Project Manager, Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, avincent@vhb.com

Littleton: Home of America’s Best Complete Streets Policies

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Chris

The National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, recently released its annual list of the best “complete streets” policies of 2013. The winner, in the eyes of the panelists?

Littleton, Massachusetts, and its Complete Streets Policy.

“Complete streets” policies formalize a community’s goal to create streets that function for all users—people of different ages and mobility levels; walkers and bicyclers; those taking public transportation; and, yes, those in cars and commercial vehicles. These policies will guide decision-makers as they budget and design new infrastructure to support everyone who wants to use Littleton’s streets.

Nationwide, there are 610 complete streets policies in place, many of them enacted in 2013. We’re excited to see municipalities of all sizes planning for streets that accommodate everyone safely, and are thrilled to see a Massachusetts town leading the way in making its streets accessible and safe for all.

Click here to read the report.

Want to learn how your community can develop a complete streets policy? We have resources available on our website to help you get started.

Smart Growth Project: Great Barrington Master Plan (2013)

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Chris

Great Barrington

The 2013 Great Barrington Master Plan was drafted over the course of three years of public participation and stakeholder engagement. The Vision of the final approved plan calls for Great Barrington to continue to balance its small town character, historic buildings and vibrant downtown, with the rural heritage of productive farms, scenic vistas and open spaces, and vast tracts of protected habitat. The Plan groups its implementing actions into a set of four Core Initiatives, these being: “Character”, “Community and Connections”, “Commerce”, and “Coordination”.

Opportunities: Key opportunities for Great Barrington include: Redevelopment of historic and contaminated sites, cleanup of the Housatonic River, and restoration of the passenger railroad.

Challenges: The challenges facing Great Barrington include a shrinking population and burdened tax base; infrastructure and buildings that are aging and in need of repair; and an economy transitioning to tourism.

Project Team: Town of Great Barrington, Berkshire Regional Planning Commission

Cost: In house

Funding Sources: BRPC for mapping District Local Technical Assistance

Contact: Chris Rembold, Town Planner, Town of Great Barrington, crembold@townofgb.org

Smart Growth Project: Red Brook Harborview, Cataumet

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Chris

Redbrook Harborview

Red Brook Harborview is a project specifically designed to reduce nitrogen loading to Red Brook Harbor, currently resulting from on-site septic systems. This project will treat wastewater from the proposed development and the existing marina, potentially reducing existing nitrogen loading by 890 pounds per year. Red Brook Harboview will build additional capacity at no cost to the town, creating the potential to further reduce nitrogen, with the town responsible for the planning and cost of connections to surrounding neighborhoods.

Opportunities: Enabled by an innovative zoning bylaw, providing higher-density mixed use in exchange for advanced wastewater treatment, allowing a net reduction in nitrogen loading.

Challenges: Public input showed resistance to new zoning regulation, and determining the appropriate density levels relative to benefits provided by water treatment scale.

Project Team: Red Brook Harbor Properties, LLC, Lipman Development Strategies, Horsely Witten Group, Michael Cullum Associates, Inc.

Cost: $11.5 million

Square Feet/Units: 15 units

Funding Sources: Private

Contact: John Lipman, President, Lipman Development Strategies, lipmanstrategies@aol.com, (508) 776 – 9841

Placemaking Project: Community Path Extension Along the Green Line Extension, Boston Metro

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Chris

The mission of the Friends of the Community Path is to link the Minuteman Bikeway and Charles River Path networks, by extending the Community Path along the future Green Line Extension. This 2-mile multimodal Community Path Extension (CPX) will result in ~48 miles of continuous path network through 11 Boston Metro cities and towns, with multi-modal connections to the Green Line Extension and Red Line.

Contact: Lynn Weissman, Friend of the Community Path, friendspath@yahoo.com

Smart Growth Project, The Batch Yard, Everett

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Chris

Batch Yard

Located off Broadway, this project is the redevelopment of the former Charleston Chew factory. This project redevelops the vacant four-story concrete frame warehouse that served as the factory, into a seven-story apartment community, reusing many of the original building materials.

Opportunities: Reclamation of a blighted site and the need for a solution to the parking and stormwater issue present on an adjacent site.

Challenges: Contamination that required remediation on site prior to development.

Project Team: Post Road Residential, Neshamkin French Architects, Sheshky Architects, Philip Koether Architects, Columbia Design Group

Cost: $90 million

Square Feet/Units: 328 units

Funding Sources: Private

Contact: Andy Montelli, President, Post Road Residential, andrew.montelli@snet.net

Economic growth depends on housing: MAPC

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Chris

The Greater Boston area’s economic health in coming decades will depend on attracting young workers and the availability and affordability of housing for those workers, according to data released yesterday by Alliance founding member the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC).

MAPC’s Regional Growth Projections forecast population growth of 6.6 to 12.6 percent by 2040 (over 2010 figures), depending on “status quo” or “stronger region” assumptions. Among key findings of the report, the region will require 17 to 24 percent more housing units than the 1.8 million available in 2010.

Other key findings:

Slow growth is in store if the region keeps losing population to other states.
New housing demand will outpace population growth due to declining household size.
A “senior selloff” may provide most of the single family homes needed by younger families.
Many signs point to the resurgence of urban communities.

Specific community snapshops, prefaced by the regional executive summary, are available for download from the regional projections page.

Smart Growth Project: Atmark Apartments, Cambridge

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Chris

Atmark

High-density urban residential community located near the Alewife MBTA station. Close to open space, alternative modes of transportation, existing retail, and other amenities. Prior to development, the site underwent a substantial and complicated cleanup program, removing over 100,000 tons of regulated and contaminated waste.

Opportunities: Expansion of bicycle use and integration with local amenities, located in an innovation district, Master Plan allowed for greater density and height for housing, utilized the State Brownfield Tax Credit program, and the buildings utilized sustainable development principles including green roof, efficient fixtures and systems, Energy Star compliance, and are LEED certified, or in the process to become certified.

Challenges: Environmental remediation and associated challenges.

Project Team: Cube 3 Studio, Plumb House, Cabot Cabot & Forbes, O’Connor Capital, TetraTech

Cost: $120 million

Square Feet/Units: 428 units

Funding Sources: Private, Brownfield tax credits

Contact: John Sullivan (617) 603 – 4006, jsullivan@ccfne.com, Marketing Manager, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes

Smart Growth Project: 30 Haven, Reading

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Chris

30 Haven

30 Haven is a 40R mixed-use multi-family apartment community in Reading’s Smart Growth district. The development is located less than one block from the commuter rail and a short walk to Reading’s revitalized Town Center. 30 Haven was developed with green materials and was completed in 13 months. The project is fully leased.

Opportunities: The Town of Reading and the developers of 30 Haven had a shared vision for the site, and through that vision, they worked closely to create a situation where construction time could be reduced and disruption to neighbors and local businesses would be at a minimum.

Challenges: The loss of a much-loved, family-owned food store previously located on the development site and the downturn of the national economy presented challenges to the creation of the right mix of retail stores to reestablish the site as a destination location that would complement and reinvigorate existing stores and businesses.

Project Size: Large (>40 housing units)

Project Team: Oak Tree Development, R.J. Finlay and Co., Keiser Homes, SEB LLC

Cost: $19.4 million

Square Feet/Units: 53 units

Funding Sources: Private

Contact: Gwen Noyes, SVP, Oaktree/Greenline gnoyes@oakdev.com, (617) 491-9100 ext. 101