Medford Housing Authority | Walkling Court | Medford

[Equilibria]

1 and 3-20 Walkling Court - Planned Development District - Google Drive

drive.google.com

This property is directly adjacent to the Whole Foods on Mystic Valley Parkway and up against the Lowell Line/GLX Route 16. Seems similar to projects like Clarendon Hill and the BHA projects where they just want to tear everything down and start again. Lots of that going around lately - must be a pot of money for it.

They have elevations in black and white but no renders. The elevations are thoroughly uninteresting.

 

[SMCYB]

For a location with "Walk" in its name, it sure doesn't look very walkable. Lots of parking spaces though, ironically (and sadly), right next to the commuter rail line.

 

[Equilibria]

For a location with "Walk" in its name, it sure doesn't look very walkable. Lots of parking spaces though, ironically (and sadly), right next to the commuter rail line.

Yeah, ironically, it looks like what is currently a pedestrian-focused layout is being replaced with a parking-focused layout.

 

[Vagabond]

What's the reason for such an explosion of parking?

Also that Whole Foods lot has got to be short for this world, right? There are rebuilds planned for half the stop & shops and star markets in medford/cambridge/somerville to be mixed use.

 

[Equilibria]

What's the reason for such an explosion of parking?

Also that Whole Foods lot has got to be short for this world, right? There are rebuilds planned for half the stop & shops and star markets in medford/cambridge/somerville to be mixed use.
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Maybe. Perhaps an enterprising developer like 2Life (which specializes in elder housing) will come along and take over for both lots. Would be nice to see the whole thing done in concert with the Route 16 GLX, but of course that's on all sorts of back burners.

And the parking thing is a really good question, since there's not a lot there now.

 

[Stlin]

What's the reason for such an explosion of parking?

Evidently, because that's what Medford's zoning requires as minimum parking ratios, presumably enacted since the original construction. With 238 units, up from 138, a minimum of 119 spaces would be required. They're proposing 153, with precisely the minimum requirement of 99 for the senior section, 20 extras for the 40 family units (so that each has 1 space) and 14 staff spaces. While it may very well still be excessive, that's what zoning code dictates, and perhaps MHA should seek a waiver.