Khalsa design
A zoning study for the 29-house building in the 60s Ellery Street in Mid-Cambridge.
The first project according to Cambridges pioneering multifamilie zoning reform in February gives an indication of the upcoming conflicts, since a quarter with medium cambridge comes to the right with the construction of four to six-story apartment buildings.
The proposed development in the 60 Ellery Street is a 29-unit building with five studios, 17 houses with a bedroom and seven houses with two bedrooms. Twenty percent of the building of the building of the building are assigned as affordable living space, probably four or five units, said owner Mike Tokatlyan of Contempo Builders.
Tokatlyan, architect Evan Stellman from Khalsa Design and another developer met with the residents to discuss neighborhood concerns. In the almost two -hour discussion, almost 15 inhabitants had complaints about the size, design and access to the street building.
Many commented on the development that influenced the historical character of the neighborhood. The development would replace a brick building with four units with almost six times size with a much more modern design.
Mary Beth Lawton, the owner of a neighboring apartment, said she bought her property with the conviction that she would be in a historical area. “It is clear to me that 60 Ellery is not a historical building, but ours is,” she said. “I don't think this building is suitable for this neighborhood.”
The new building was designed with an outdoor area of four floors with a thin brick and two floors of composite metal cladding in different colors. Designs show a ramp for accessibility, a common roof, a postal dream and a bicycle room.
Almost every spokesman criticized the proposed design and described it as “not unanimously with the surroundings” and “from the context”. The windows, outdoor materials and landscape design were of particular importance. “You have this faux historism to this design that I think you should rethink,” said a resident about the thin brick. “It really has a bad service for the really well -designed buildings around us.”
Stellman and Tokatlyan said they took the neighborhood into account. “We take a lot of information from the architecture of the existing structure,” said Stellman and noticed the similar window designs and brick cladding. Tokatlyan added that the 60-Ellery development will not be the first-class apartment building in the region.
Developer motifs
The emotions were temporarily high, with some speakers questioning the developers' motifs and demanding transparency, especially in connection with affordable living space. “This is not about affordable apartments. This is about making a lot of money,” said a local. “I think we should build this affordable living space, but not that all of these units are sold at the market price, right? It's crazy. It's like a bargain.”
It emphasized the small number of affordable residential units compared to the full building with 29 units. It asked for more detailed breakdown of the costs that the developers agreed.
At a heated moment, Tokatlyan argued the financial reality of development. “If someone does not understand the associated costs, they only attack the developers as greedy. Please set them on paper and show me how it would be possible to build them all affordable,” he said.
The latest change in the zoning in Cambridge is not only a step to combat affordable apartments, but also a contribution more living space, since the northeast has a great lack of residential units, both affordable and market rate.
Recent zoning decision
The greatest criticism of the building has to do with its size, a direct result of the recent zoning decision of the Council, which approved the four -story construction work in urban and accepted six -story buildings with the inclusion of affordable residential units.
Despite the decision, the residents urged the developers to change their plans for the neighborhood. “Where is the context, where is the imagination?” Mary Lee Boyd. “They develop until zoning. They maximize zoning instead of looking at the context.”
“Whether your design strictly corresponds to what the city makes to you is not a problem. A problem is what influence your building has in the community,” said another resident.
Tokatlyan emphasized that the city is responsible for the decision. “If you have a problem that the building is so large, you can pass it on to the city of Cambridge,” he said.
A resident, Catherine who did not give her last name, called the decision a “utopian idea”. “It is too much change. There is no plan. The city has no plan.”
Parking and accessibility
In accordance with Cambridge Zoning, the building is not necessary to provide parking spaces. “We imagine that buyers of these units would be people who rely on public transport or use the bicycle infrastructure that the city has,” said Stellman.
This brought additional concerns for the residents of Ellery Street. “I think people who buy these luxury units will want a car, right?” One said.
Many described the dense population of mid-cambridge and the already high traffic in the Ellery Street. Without designated parking spaces, the residents fear that the building of the central thoroughfare would be overloaded. A spokesman expressed barrier -free problems. “The lack of parking with such a high number of units has a very discriminatory effect on older people, disabled people and families with small children,” she said.
Go forward
Further concerns were rats during the demolition, the garbage placement, a load, noise from the cover and shadow on a nearby sunroof and neighboring gardens, many of which were visible.
The proposal was brought to the MID-Cambridge Quarter Conservation District Commission for a hearing on June 9th. The case was then continued, with the owner agreed to regain answers to the commission issues, especially with regard to a real estate. The Commission also encouraged additional materials to better fit the context of the neighborhood. The meeting of the Commission on July 7th was canceled, which means that August 4 the earliest is heard again.
If the development is approved, Tokatlyan expects a construction process of 16 to 18 months and up to 24 months to complete completion. He and Stellman assured the residents during their meeting that there would be further discussions with the neighborhood. Tokatlyan said the development team was open to design changes and other feedback from future discussions, but that the building height will not change.