Chestnut Hill Square: growth vs. traffic

On Tuesday night, Newton-based New England Development presented its proposal for redeveloping the site on Route 9 where the closed Omni Foods and other vacant buildings stand.

The proposed site plan, with a one-story building bordering Route 9 (at top) and additional retail and medical office space at center, two surface lots, a parking garage (bottom left), and a residential building at left. Click to enlarge.

The Chestnut Hill Square development, if completed as planned, would add 105,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, 60,000 square feet of medical office space, a 50,000 square foot grocery store, and a 30,000-square-foot health club. The complex would also include 90 residential units (condos or apartments), which could be built at the same time or as a second phase. Approximately 900 parking spaces in two surface lots and a 4-level parking garage would serve the complex.

To put those numbers in perspective, the total proposed square footage is larger than the Atrium Mall (215,000 square feet), smaller than the “upper” Chestnut Hill Mall directly across the street (346,568 square feet), but different from both in that the space will be divided between three commercial buildings. The Chestnut Hill Mall, it parking lots and parking deck sit on approximately 15 acres, compared to the proposed development’s 11 acres.

The proposed residential building, eight stories with 90 units, would be smaller than the 10-story condo building at 280 Boylston, abutting the Atrium Mall, which houses 152 units.

More than 60 neighboring residents, including those from Boston and Brookline, attended this first public meeting to voice their concerns. Their comments centered how the development will increase traffic, especially on the south side of the parcels which borders a residential neighborhood.

The developer’s engineer expects approximately 5,000 cars and trucks (including commercial deliveries) to use the site on weekdays — 6,000 on weekend days. Traffic counts show 20,000 to 30,000 vehicles use Route 9 daily (total in both directions).

To mitigate some of this traffic, Douglass E. Karp, executive vice president at New England Development, listed several proposed improvements:

• Widening of Route 9, adding lanes and a new signalized intersection that will allow traffic from the Chestnut Hill Mall to head east without using the jug handle at Langley Road.
• Traffic signal improvements on Route 9 from Parker Street to Hammond Street.
• New signals and traffic patterns at the intersection of Hammond Pond Parkway.
• An MBTA bus stop (Route 60) servicing the site.
• Better management of storm water runoff.
• Reducing the number of curb cuts.
• Screening the site’s southern side (on Florence Avenue) with a 50-foot wide green space.
• $15 million in transportation and utility improvements paid for by the state,
• $1 million annually in commercial real estate tax revenues to the city, plus annual tax revenue from the residential units and a one-time building permit fee.

Traffic improvements proposed around the site. Click to enlarge.

The proposal is smaller than preceding ones. At one time, the developer had proposed double the size: an 800,000 square-foot development with 224 residential units. As Karp told the crowd, “We had much more ambitious plans in the past.”

One resident expressed disappointment that the developer has not considered pursuing LEED certification, an internationally recognized green building certification system. Another resident expressed concern about lighting of the commercial space will affect neighbors to the south.

But most of the criticism of the proposed development focused on traffic, especially cut-through traffic on Florence and Heath streets, which is already a concern for neighbors.

The developer’s engineer forecast these streets might see an additional 200 vehicles per hour at peak times, but the bulk of traffic is expected to access the site from Route 9, so most of the surface parking is located on the north side of the development.

Traffic flow on the site and the signal improvements, Karp said, should make it a less attractive cut-through than the existing vacant lots.

Additional public hearings will be held in the coming months, as the developer will ask the city to rezone the site (comprised of several parcels) and to issue a special permit for the development. New England Development hopes to obtain city approvals and an affirmative vote from the Board of Aldermen by year’s end.

The Chestnut Hill Association sponsored the event at Church of the Redeemer, with several aldermen in attendance, including Ruthanne Fuller, Deb Crossley, Mitch Fischman, Carlton Merrill, Sydra Schnipper, and former alderman Verne Vance. Planning department staff members from Newton and Brookline also attended.

(Image source: New England Development)

[Entry updated with corrections, 6/3.]