Burren gets 2 am license, and other Davis news

[ron_newman]

Last night, the Licensing Commission granted The Burren a probationary extension of hours to 2 am on Friday and Saturday nights. They will review it again in six months. Former mayor Dorothy Kelly Gay spoke in support. I didn't attend this very crowded meeting, but a Somerville Journal reporter did, and you can read her report here.

While that was going on upstairs, I attended the rather placid Davis Square Task Force meeting downstairs. There's not really much news to report from it:

Boloco and Chipotle both gave presentations. The founder of Boloco handed out free mini-burritos and coupons for $1 burritos. Chipotle expects to open on July 1 in the former Buck-a-Book space. They will have 34 seats indoors and another 20 out on the plaza across from Starbucks. They will serve beer, but not margaritas (those would require a full liquor license). If anyone wants to try Chipotle before then, they just opened one at Wellington Circle in Medford. All Chipotle restaurants are company-owned, not franchises.

Mayor Curtatone commissioned a study of hotel demand in Somerville, which you can read on the city's web site. The study suggests a 100-125 room hotel on one of three vacant sites in Davis Square -- the Day-Herbert city parking lot, the private parking lot behind One Davis Square, or the Buena Vista garage next to Harvard Vanguard. I asked whether a hotel of this size could be built within the current zoning's 4-story/50-foot height limit, and the city officials said yes. Sara Rosenfeld reminded us that Mayor Capuano made a similar push for a Davis Square hotel back in 1992, but nothing had happened at the time.

Discussion of the bike path connection through Davis Square was postponed until the next meeting, whose date hasn't yet been set.

Comments

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

this may be a dumb question, but if they build a hotel on the parking lot, where are they going to make up the lost parking spaces? or would a hotel be a big enough benefit that they don't care?

and man, that's a lot of places to get a burrito/wrap in a short stretch of road.... altho it will be nice to have an actual store in the old buck-a-book.

[ron_newman]

I'd rather see a tax-paying hotel than a parking lot, but the Wednesday farmer's market would need a new location.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

I would think that a hotel would be required to have at least some of their own parking (I could be wrong about that). I'm in favor of a hotel, though.

[ron_newman]

The report that the mayor commissioned suggests one-half parking space per room. I think it could be made even lower, though. People are going to come here mostly by public transit or by taxi.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

That could work. I hope it happens because I have nowhere to house my family if they were to come visit, and they're not the B&B type.

Maybe the hotel's restaurant will serve burritos. :-)

[ron_newman]

Until we get our Davis hotel, Hawthorn Suites at Mass. Ave. and Route 16 is a reasonable walk from here.

[sarah-raz.livejournal.com]

That's a good point. The parking situation in Davis is pretty tight, but then, it IS right on the T.

[gildersleeve.livejournal.com]

I support a *boutique* hotel idea, but it's too bad they couldn't squeeze it in on the side of Highland where the banks/eye care place/ups store are - not only could that side of the square use some life, but it wouldn't border any immediate housing areas.

Perhaps building a hotel above the Buena Vista lot is a way to make the underground parking there more accessible - like 24 hour paid parking.

[ron_newman]

This is just a speculative study so far, and it probably made the most sense to concentrate on vacant land rather than on property occupied by existing buildings with existing businesses.

Sigh.

[twe.livejournal.com]

Davis is right on the T, but I am not any more. I will be sad to have even more disincentive to go visit my friends over there and go to the Somerville theater and stuff.

[dreamgirly19.livejournal.com]

My fiance said that all new properties in somerville/cambridge etc are required to create new parking underground with all construction.

So maybe theyd have underground?

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

that makes sense, but wouldn't it just be for the hotel? altho maybe they'd add some public spaces too.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they'd open it to the public. I'm also sure it wouldn't be even in the ballpark of the price of the meters :)

My money's on it won't happen within 10 years.