Copper Mill Development | Elm Street and Grove Street | Davis Square

[stefal]

As depicted on page 7 of the deck, the existing site has 10 storefronts on Elm. This seems to propose 8 storefronts on Elm + a building lobby + 1 more storefront around the corner on Grove. (It's a little confusing, but I think the A-J numbering is just counting the facades, not the the number of retail units.)

Hopefully this was discussed in the community meeting, but it's crucial that this development preserves as many retail spaces along Elm as possible. If it gets cut down further, it'll be a major loss for the main pedestrian thoroughfare of Davis.

Also RIP The Burren I guess

It has been discussed - reading the community meeting notes, there are some promising remarks from the Developer.

Looking at the renders I dont really understand why they have to demolish that whole history. The big residential tower is going to mostly be on a parking lot in back anyway (and a section of what looks like the back room of the Burren? I guess its OK if they demo that. ) And theres a street there they can load materials from to that parking lot. If its gonna be a mid-rise lab, well that just looks horrible and they should'nt do it especially where theres a massive oversupply of lab right now and many other lab projects and new development areas in the pipeline.

I believe the lab "proposal" was the previous proposal that, based on the community meeting notes, has been thrown in the trash.

 

[Equilibria]

As depicted on page 7 of the deck, the existing site has 10 storefronts on Elm. This seems to propose 8 storefronts on Elm + a building lobby + 1 more storefront around the corner on Grove. (It's a little confusing, but I think the A-J numbering is just counting the facades, not the the number of retail units.)

Hopefully this was discussed in the community meeting, but it's crucial that this development preserves as many retail spaces along Elm as possible. If it gets cut down further, it'll be a major loss for the main pedestrian thoroughfare of Davis.

Also RIP The Burren I guess

Actually, very much not. Scape was pressured into promising them space in the new development, and in the community meeting notes they mention that the owners of the Burren are very actively engaged, even beyond them wanting to bring the current business back as much as possible. In the Burren's case, the plan seems to be for them to effectively relocate to a new second restaurant in the former Christopher's space in Porter, then re-open the Burren back in Davis in the new building. They were going to do the second one anyway, so this is actually convenient.

Pair behind Burren in Davis Square are buying Toad and Christopher's, to become McCarthy’s - Cambridge Day

The Christopher’s Restaurant & Bar and attached Toad nightclub in Cambridge are set to change hands after a sale fell through in the fall. The new buyers will likely be exciting to many: They're the owners of The Burren in Somerville’s Davis Square.

www.cambridgeday.com

 

[DZH22]

Here is the current massing difference between the original lab proposal and the updated residential proposal. I'm surprised this juxtaposition wasn't posted earlier as it would have been useful to the conversation.

 

[shmessy]

Here is the current massing difference between the original lab proposal and the updated residential proposal. I'm surprised this juxtaposition wasn't posted earlier as it would have been useful to the conversation.

View attachment 58532

That clearly moved in a better direction.

.

 

[themissinglink]

In Davis Square, proposed tower prompts ... a war of anonymous flyers - The Boston Globe

A battle over the future of one of the most quintessential neighborhood business districts in the Boston area is being waged via DIY posters.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[Equilibria]

In Davis Square, proposed tower prompts ... a war of anonymous flyers - The Boston Globe

A battle over the future of one of the most quintessential neighborhood business districts in the Boston area is being waged via DIY posters.

www.bostonglobe.com

View attachment 59623

I've got to give it to Andrew Flynn, he has chutzpah. He intentionally didn't render views that would show how big his project would be, and when someone else did it for him, he manages to sound genuinely offended.

Buddy, it's a 25-story skyscraper in a neighborhood where the tallest buildings are 4 stories. It's going to be big, no matter how "bad" you think the design of the massing model is. You tried to underinform the community, but the community isn't stupid, and someone did what any of us can do in 2025: model your project for you. I replicated the high-rise portion of your massing model in Google Earth, put my street view at the same corner as the "canard" rendering, and got basically the same thing.

Also, "Developers who actually listen to the community"?! I'd put a hundred bucks on it being Andrew who printed these self-congratulatory flyers off at his house and went around the neighborhood throwing them up. "Even if you don't, they will", particularly when I suspect that language is coming from the developer himself, is not public discourse as healthy as the Globe presents it.

 

[DZH22]

That Globe article is the first time I have seen this image:

 

[393b40]

Build it..

 

[as02143]

I've got to give it to Andrew Flynn, he has chutzpah. He intentionally didn't render views that would show how big his project would be, and when someone else did it for him, he manages to sound genuinely offended.

Buddy, it's a 25-story skyscraper in a neighborhood where the tallest buildings are 4 stories. It's going to be big, no matter how "bad" you think the design of the massing model is. You tried to underinform the community, but the community isn't stupid, and someone did what any of us can do in 2025: model your project for you. I replicated the high-rise portion of your massing model in Google Earth, put my street view at the same corner as the "canard" rendering, and got basically the same thing.

Also, "Developers who actually listen to the community"?! I'd put a hundred bucks on it being Andrew who printed these self-congratulatory flyers off at his house and went around the neighborhood throwing them up. "Even if you don't, they will", particularly when I suspect that language is coming from the developer himself, is not public discourse as healthy as the Globe presents it.

View attachment 59631

My read from gleaming the Cambridge Day, the Somerville and Medford subreddits, and various Facebook groups - the general vibe seems to be neutral to supportive. No one in the Davis Sq area seems to qualm with the idea that a large residential building (even someone getting support for, could it be higher?) is what fits best in Davis (vs other neighborhoods - like Teele or even by Tufts).

 

[#bancars]

My read from gleaming the Cambridge Day, the Somerville and Medford subreddits, and various Facebook groups - the general vibe seems to be neutral to supportive. No one in the Davis Sq area seems to qualm with the idea that a large residential building (even someone getting support for, could it be higher?) is what fits best in Davis (vs other neighborhoods - like Teele or even by Tufts).

Yeah, I think the discourse has shifted a lot to the point where many people (especially those under the age of 40) openly talk about how absurd it is that both Porter and Davis are essentially all low to mid-rise at best. Both ideally should have multiple resi towers given the state of the housing crisis in Camberville and the stated transit and climate goals of Cambridge, Somerville, and the Commonwealth.