davis_square | Maxpak demolition to begin (Reply)

KSS dropped a letter in my mailbox announcing the demolition of the Maxpak site, including the rail tracks, to start today.

My immediate though is to be happy the building is coming down and the rail tracks are being removed, paving way for progress (eventually) on the community path and potentially making the building less attractive to teenagers who might endanger their lives by being in an unsafe building.

On the negative side, I'm surprised how little notice is involved here, how I have not rec'd any notice electronically via resistat or seen anything in the Somerville papers. I also heard that although the covenant said KSS would pay to remove the ties, they pleaded poverty with the mayor and he allocated 20k of community development money to pay for it. I sincerely hope they don't try to go back on other aspects of the covenant, such as by trying to get more units in their development (if the real estate market had gone the other way, would they have become more generous) or doing shoddy work.

I have no idea what this means in terms of actual building, but my guess is their just doing this now because they have to and won't start until the financing can be lined up.

Here is the text, I've marked typos, grammatical, and capitalization errors that existed in the letter with the journalistic [sic] convention. This speaks to a letter that was rushed out last minute for some reason.

"
We are writing to give you an update on the status of the MaxPac well [sic] as the Future Comunity Path Extension/Railroad Right of Way.

After several meetings and significant cooperation with the Mayors Office of Planning and Development, The Public Health & Public Safety Subcommittee of the Board of Alderman, The Somerville Fire Department, Somerville Police Department, Inspectional Services as well as your local Alderman Sean O'Donovan and in accordance with the Development Covenant with the City of Somerville, we are about to begin the demolition phase of the MaxPac [sic].

The first step of the demolition process will begin on or about Wednesday November 4th; this will entail the removal of the rails and ties between Cedar and Lowell St. This step is necessary in order to create a construction access roadway, keeping heavy equipment off the local streets as well as allow for future development of the Community Path. Demolition debris will be removed off-site via this temporary roadway.

This process is expected to take 7-10 days.

Demolition will occur soon thereafter and is expected to take approximately 20-25 days. All work is to be performed in accordance with applicable local, state and federal regulations.

You may expect additional notices regarding demolition updates and/or meetings in the near future.

Please remember that the abandoned rail spur and the MaxPac site is a construction site and not suitable for exploration, play or recreational activities (yet!). For Safety-sake [sic], Please [sic] report any trespassers to the Somerville Police Department.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thanks for Your Understanding and Best Wishes,
Ted Tobin
KSS Realty Partners
tedt@kssrealtypartners
"