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Roche Bros. meeting - quick summary
Sep. 11th, 2014 02:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ron_newmanI went to last night's meeting about the proposed Roche Bros. store at 240 Elm Street (ex-Social Security building). Although I didn't take detailed notes, I'll summarize it here:
The grocery, a small-format store called 'Brothers Marketplace', will take up the entire first floor. The entrance will be at the corner of Elm and Chester streets. The store will emphasize produce and organic meat, buying from local producers as much as possible. There are two existing 'Brothers Marketplace' stores in Weston and Medfield, both opened within the past few months.
Dunkin Donuts will remain, but will move to the east side of the building and be integrated with the grocery store, sharing a seating area. The store will be built in such a way that Dunkin Donuts can, if they want, keep different hours from the grocery store.
The grocery store will also use about half of the basement for storage, food preparation, employee break rooms, and the like. Existing non-profit and for-profit office tenants in the basement (including the Boylston Chess Club) will be allowed to remain, or to return after construction is finished, but they may need to move within the basement.
Crunch Fitness will take up the entire second floor and part of the third (for their weight room). Davis Square Architects will remain in the other half of the third floor; they are designing this project.
The façade is a conservative design intended to retain the building's existing look, but adding more glass on the Chester Street side.
Construction will take about a year, with the grocery and gym opening in the fall of 2015.
Residents who attended the meeting were generally supportive, but raised issues about the logistics of deliveries and loading. The current plan is to have most deliveries on Chester Street, with current metered parking spaces becoming loading zones during certain hours (probably Monday-Saturday 7 am to 3 pm).
The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, October 1 at 6 pm at City Hall.
The grocery, a small-format store called 'Brothers Marketplace', will take up the entire first floor. The entrance will be at the corner of Elm and Chester streets. The store will emphasize produce and organic meat, buying from local producers as much as possible. There are two existing 'Brothers Marketplace' stores in Weston and Medfield, both opened within the past few months.
Dunkin Donuts will remain, but will move to the east side of the building and be integrated with the grocery store, sharing a seating area. The store will be built in such a way that Dunkin Donuts can, if they want, keep different hours from the grocery store.
The grocery store will also use about half of the basement for storage, food preparation, employee break rooms, and the like. Existing non-profit and for-profit office tenants in the basement (including the Boylston Chess Club) will be allowed to remain, or to return after construction is finished, but they may need to move within the basement.
Crunch Fitness will take up the entire second floor and part of the third (for their weight room). Davis Square Architects will remain in the other half of the third floor; they are designing this project.
The façade is a conservative design intended to retain the building's existing look, but adding more glass on the Chester Street side.
Construction will take about a year, with the grocery and gym opening in the fall of 2015.
Residents who attended the meeting were generally supportive, but raised issues about the logistics of deliveries and loading. The current plan is to have most deliveries on Chester Street, with current metered parking spaces becoming loading zones during certain hours (probably Monday-Saturday 7 am to 3 pm).
The Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, October 1 at 6 pm at City Hall.
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