Community meeting on development at 620 Broadway

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

Got this in the mail, thought it might be of interest to the community. Note that I don't know any more about this than I'm reproducing here.

To: Neighbors of 620 Broadway
Re: Proposed Development of 620 Broadway (now the Shield gas station)

When: Monday, June 2, 7:30 p.m.
Where: The DAV (next door) 616 Broadway

Dear Neighbors,
Please join your neighbors, Ward 5 Alderman Mark Niedergang, Attorney Sean O'Donovan, and developers Gorka and Laurentzi Brabo, to learn about and view proposed plans for a 19-unit residential development at 620 Broadway. The development team will be on-hand to present the plans and to answer any questions you may have.

For more info or questions contact:
Ward 5 Alderman Mark Niedergang, (617) 629-8033, mniedergang@somervillema.gov
or
Attorney Sean O'Donovan, (617) 629-8888, sean@odolaw.com

Comments

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

thanks. I don't get somerville notices because I'm not a resident, but I don't live far from there.

[mzrowan.livejournal.com]

This came from the lawyer's office, not the city. Not sure where they got the contact info for the "neighbors" from -- the city assessor's database?

[courtney o'keefe (from livejournal.com)]

If it was mailed, they get the list from the Assessor's Database. Some will hire a constable to flyer abutters (determined by the Alderman), but my experience with that method has not been good as we realized the flyers were being placed in the fence and not in a safer, more convenient location (i.e. stuffed behind the mailbox or wedged in the screen door). Legally, they cannot be placed in the mailbox.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

Another commercial space being converted into residential with no ground floor retail? And if anything given its location in a commercial area and future T stop, there should be offices on the upper floors. It is zone NB=neighborhood business. How is this possible? Don't get me wrong, I'm very much in favor of development, but it can't all be residential.

[fefie.livejournal.com]

This. It's a disconcerting trend. I appreciate the OP for posting about this meeting. (I hadn't seen anything about it elsewhere.)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Agreed. This area seems to have a weird allergy to mixed-use. It happens sometimes, but pretty rarely.

[jlauspitz.livejournal.com]

Cautionary note 1: "mixed use" and smart growth" can serve to bypass affordable housing requirements.

Cautionary note 2: "residential" is not a dirty word.