mapc sparking new ideas parking symposium: presentation by meghan jop
TRANSCRIPT
Meghan Jop, AICPDeputy Director, Town of Wellesley
Outside the Box: Repurposing Parking for PlacemakingApril 8, 2014
Linden SquareWellesley, MA
Linden Street Commercial District 1876-2001
●Split zoned Industrial/Business district●Comprised of approximately 32 acres●F. Diehls and Sons owned 18 acres
●Land now Linden Square●District previously was considered the
Town’s service area●Lumber Yard/Hardware Store ●Light Industrial (printing)●Car Dealership (Volkswagen)●Grocery Store (Roche Bros.)
●Surrounded by residential
Linden Square 1997
2001 Vision●Maintain the existing character of
the street.●Enhance pedestrian safety.●Improve the pedestrian experience.●Enhance the appearance of the
street.●Provide more long-term parking.●Enhance the residential areas of
the street.●Tie Linden Street to Wellesley
Square
2002-2004 Master Plan
Stakeholder Concerns●Business owners and residents indicated a
preference for existing land uses to be retained
●Suggested focus was small aesthetic improvements
●Maintain and add parking where possible ●Current zoning should remain●Diehl Family indicated no intention of
moving, selling, or redeveloping and was strong voice against project
●Commercial tenants politically tried to balance need for improvements with property owner concerns with process.
10 Year Build out - 2003
Eastern Development●2005 acquired property●Proposed Retail Lifestyle Center●Rezoned 18 acres to Linden Square
Commercial District●Development Agreement Signed to further
restrict uses●Site was sold to Federal Realty in 2006●Development Agreement has been
modified 3 times to accommodate VW.●VW in process of improving site conditions
Development AgreementSite Enhancements
●Perpetual easement to the Town in order to widen road layout and sidewalk layout.
●Created “downtown” look with on-street parking
● Increased parking space width to 9 feet, from 8.5 feet
●Roche Bros. maintained car delivery to remove carriage corals
●On-site bicycle accommodations●Pedestrian amenities – pocket parks,
benches, common areas
Linden Square