Malden + Melrose Infill and Small Developments

[statler]

Re: Malden/Melrose

City of Malden (Official)
Today
City Hall Sold!
With members of the Malden City Council looking on, Mayor Gary Christenson signed a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) with Jefferson Apartment Group Development Company LLC (JAG) for the sale of the 200 Pleasant Street, Government Center site on Thursday evening, February 20th. The execution of the LDA is a significant milestone in the City's efforts to revitalize Malden Square by demolishing the Government Center Building and Police Station to reopen Pleasant Street to through traffic.

City of Malden (Official) The project includes 245 units of housing, 17,250 square feet of commercial space and 314 parking spaces subject to refinements as the project moves forward into more advanced design and development. In accordance with the LDA, the City must be off the site by December 31, 2015.

A five-member subcommittee of the City Council has been formed to oversee this project which includes Councillors Neil Kinnon, Barbara Murphy, James Nestor, John Matheson and Craig Spadafora. Assisting this subcommittee is an internal team that includes Deborah Burke, Executive Director of the Malden Redevelopment Authority, Charles Ranaghan, City Controller, Ron Hogan, Strategic Planning Analyst and Kevin Duffy, Business Development Officer.

“This historical day has been a long time coming!” said Mayor Christenson. “The City Council and I are enthusiastically moving forward on the community’s goal of revitalizing the downtown.”

.

and 314 parking spaces

This is directly across the street from the Malden OL stop.

 

[choo]

Re: Malden/Melrose

not familiar with the area, but is there other retail nearby with setback and its own parking that has better redevelopment opportunity if people and the city are comfortable in saying "there's plenty of parking at the old city hall garage". It may be a plus if there is that thinking in redeveloping the whole center.

That said, if this is just a suburban mindset and subsequent developments all have excess parking, then i agree with your gif.

 

[statler]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Well, the annoucement doesn't specify 'public' parking, I believe there is a minimum parking allotment rule in the zoning laws and there is a public parking garage right down the street, so I'm guessing these spaces are for residents. But you know what happens when you assume....

It's still very early in the process, hopefully things will change and/or become clearer.

 

[JohnCostello]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Why? This is directly across the street from the Malden OL stop.[/QUOTE]

I'm not busting balls, just not everyone makes a living within the confines of the Shawmut Peninsula. The amount of parking is a little over the top, but these Texas based apartment developers seem to love cars and the people they rent to seem to love them as well. Look at the surplus of parking over at the 2003-built complex next to Alewife. Their lots are filled.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Yea I think i used to drive by Weiss Farm in Stoneham. If its the place I'm thinking its just got about 6 dump trucks always parked there and a couple huge piles of dirt and no animals on the farm?
Although I do like urbanism, your right, this is probably a good thing to keep. Most likely one of the only farms left close to boston

Hockey -- Actually there is a working farms inside Boston
Allandale / Lawrence Farm on the border with Brookline
http://www.bostonnatural.org/uwsurvey/UWSurvey.asp?uwid=09-12

Given that I know of more than 5 working farms in Lexington including the substantial acreage of Wilson Farm http://www.wilsonfarm.com/

-- I would bet that there are more than 20 farms still producing something inside of Rt-128

 

[whighlander]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Why? This is directly across the street from the Malden OL stop.

I'm not busting balls, just not everyone makes a living within the confines of the Shawmut Peninsula. The amount of parking is a little over the top, but these Texas based apartment developers seem to love cars and the people they rent to seem to love them as well. Look at the surplus of parking over at the 2003-built complex next to Alewife. Their lots are filled.[/QUOTE]

John I think you are sorta onto something -- but if the complex includes both retail and residences -- then the 314 parking spaces is not very Texas-like

In Texas for 245 units of housing and 17,250 square feet of commercial space you'd expect at least 1000 spaces -- 2 per housing unit minimum and a several hundred for the retail

In fact even for Malden the 314 parking spaces is on the low side -- the Orange Line might not be sufficeint if two people in each unit are commuting to work with less than 1/2 of them heading inward and the rest going about on Rt-128 or even outhside

 

[Roxxma]

Re: Malden/Melrose

This just happened: Purchase agreement announced for Malden City Hall. No renderings of the plans to be found though.

EDIT: Besides the one measly photo of a sketch in the story.

 

[davem]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Are there any plans to do anything about the uselessly over-wide center street, or asphalt encrusted T station? The OLX and southern RLX stations are such wastelands.

 

[hockey92]

Re: Malden/Melrose

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This is basically where Main St. meets Salem St.
There are a couple other projects going on in the area that I'll try and take better photos of next time I get a chance

 

[hockey92]

Re: Malden/Melrose

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Oak Grove area

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^small one in downtown Melrose

 

[statler]

Re: Malden/Melrose

I'm happy for added density by the Malden Center OL station, but the inverse mansard roof and god-awful ground floor make me cringe.

 

[sm89]

Re: Malden/Melrose

According to the City website, it looks like 146-152 Green St in Melrose is becoming 6 one-bedroom apartments. I think this was the commercial building that burnt down a year or so ago? There is also an empty lot that was cleared a decade ago next to the former commercial building. I wonder if that is included in this proposal?

http://www.cityofmelrose.org/BdsComms/ZBA/ZBA 140709.pdf

 

[statler]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Damnit

Redbones Update
Monday, July 14, 2014

Redbones Barbecue will not be moving forward with plans to open a location on Commercial Street in Malden. Mayor Gary Christenson received notice from both the restaurant owner and the property owner that they could not reach an agreement as to specific lease terms and have thus ended their discussions. The popular eatery was looking to open a second location and Nano-brewery at the former Rosebud Farms store at 333 Commercial Street. During the past several months the City has worked to try to mediate discussions, but in the end, the parties decided to go in different directions. The Mayor said that he is extremely disappointed by the decision and added that his office and the Malden Redevelopment Authority hope to continue working with the Redbones owner to identify another location in the City for his operation.

 

[palindrome]

Re: Malden/Melrose

I'm happy for added density by the Malden Center OL station, but the inverse mansard roof and god-awful ground floor make me cringe.

Are you kidding me with that ground floor? Is this some sort of joke?

 

[RandomWalk]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Malden, almost willfully, rejects proper urbanism in its center. It's almost like it aspires to be Melrose, but only has Everett material as a starting point. Sadly, it had a decent starting point before urban renewal in the 1960s.

 

[FK4]

Re: Malden/Melrose

Malden, almost willfully, rejects proper urbanism in its center. It's almost like it aspires to be Melrose, but only has Everett material as a starting point. Sadly, it had a decent starting point before urban renewal in the 1960s.

I would be interested in any photos of the town center pre-renewal projects, or any info on this. The internet, last time I looked, doesnt have a whole lot other than a site touting the Malden Redev. Auth.

 

[hockey92]

Re: Malden/Melrose

160 Green St. Melrose

 

[sm89]

Re: Malden/Melrose

So is this the lot where the building burned down or the one that's been empty next to it for a year or both?

 

[cca]

Re: Malden/Melrose

So is this the lot where the building burned down or the one that's been empty next to it for a year or both?

Wait, they burned a perfectly good building down for THIS?

cca

 

[hockey92]

Re: Malden/Melrose





http://www.rent.com/massachusetts/m...malden-station-apartment-building-4-100046438

Doesn't even look like any of the 80 units will be affordable units... unless $1,816 for a 600 sq. ft studio 6 miles from downtown (Boston) is considered affordable now adays