May 122017
 
Engineers Win Award for Trapelo Road Upgrade

Belmont’s “Main Street” Gets A Facelift by Sue Bass How does a municipal project get done, in Belmont or anywhere? What’s the spark? The redesigned and newly paved Belmont Street/Trapelo Road stretch through Belmont—from the Waltham line to the Cambridge line—recently won an award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts for the BSC Group, the town’s longtime engineering consultant. “Incorporating bicycle lanes, pedestrian accessibility, and traffic calming measures, the $17.1 million roadway reconstruction project was one of the first designed in conformance with the MassDOT Highway Design Guidebook,” the citation reads. “Distinguishing project features include coordination with [READ MORE]

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Cushing Village: New Name, Design Tweaks

 Construction and Housing, May-June 2017, Newsletter, Parking, Traffic  Comments Off on Cushing Village: New Name, Design Tweaks
May 122017
 
Cushing Village: New Name, Design Tweaks

It’s Now “The Bradford” by John DiCocco At an April 27 meeting in the Town Hall art gallery, Toll Brothers Apartment Living   representatives updated the community on construction and design plans for Cushing Square in the upcoming weeks and months. The developer has changed the project name from “Cushing Village” to “The Bradford.” The Cushing Square Neighborhood Association has been pressing Toll Brothers for more timely and informative input on the project’s progress and planning, particularly in regard to environmental concerns. There is a significant amount of contaminated soil to be removed (from spills by Tops Cleaners years ago), [READ MORE]

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Apr 242017
 

View or download the March-April 2017 20-page issue here  as a color PDF. View or download the March-April 2017 20-page issue here as a black-and-white PDF.

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Mar 152017
 
Mugar Wetlands Project Stalled—For Now

Neighborhood Fears Water Displacement by John DiCocco The Mugar Wetlands in East Arlington is a triangular parcel that borders Route 2 westbound, adjacent to the Thorndike Park playing fields, and just across Route 2 from the Vox on Two apartments and Lanes & Games Bowling. The Mugar family, owners for more than 50 years, wants to develop it with townhouses and an apartment building. Residents in the town of Arlington, led by the Coalition to Save the Mugar Wetlands (CSMW) are opposed. In dispute is whether the land can handle the water displacement, whether the neighborhood can handle more people, [READ MORE]

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Mar 152017
 
Belmont Citizens Forum’s Questions to Candidates for Selectman

Election for Belmont Selectman and Others: Tuesday, April 4 Compiled by John DiCocco Each year we ask candidates for selectman about issues they will likely face in the next three years. This year Guy Carbone and Adam Dash are running for the seat of Sami Baghdady, who retired after three terms as selectman. They were allotted 1,000 words each to distribute as they saw fit. Belmont Citizens Forum: Now that development pressure is growing again, how can Belmont improve its planning process Guy Carbone: Belmont is a neighborhood of residences. Town committees should consider the opinions of Belmont residents concerning [READ MORE]

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Mar 152017
 
Cushing Village Makeover Begins

Hoping The Cleanup Is Clean by Virginia Jordan and John DiCocco “The CVS has come down.” Or for Belmont residents of a certain age, “Highland Farms,” or even “the A&P” has come down. Each of these businesses once occupied the building at 527 Common Street (at the corner of Belmont Street). But that 6,200 square foot space in Cushing Square has been left vacant for years. Acton resident and developer Chris Starr, operating as Smith Legacy Partners LLC, owned that parcel, and with it and other parcels he acquired, created the initial proposal for the Cushing Village development in 2012. [READ MORE]

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