Route 16 Green Line Station Vision Presented to City Council, Residents Air Opinions

Medford City Councilors were shown how the area around Boston Avenue and Mystic Valley Parkway could be redeveloped if the Green Line were brought there.

They also heard from residents, some who critiqued the development vision, or the possibility of the project in general, and others who supported it.

After a year-long process that included five public meetings the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, consultants hired by the MBTA, have completed a report that shows how the area could change if a station were built near Boston Avenue at Route 16. They presented a summary to the city council Tuesday.

In all, redevelopment around a station could bring over 100,000 square feet in new retail and office space, create as many as 240 new jobs, over 100 new residential units, double tax revenue and create about $25 million in added home equity, planners said Tuesday.

But those benefits would have drawbacks, too, like added congestion and increased property tax bills, the planners said.

There are plans to extend the Green Line through Somerville to College Avenue in Medford, near Tufts. That project is expected to be completed by 2020. Extending the lightrail to Route 16 could become the second phase of the project if the community wants it and funding is secured.

The report given Tuesday is expected to help Medford and Somerville, which would also be impacted by the station.

"It’s really to help city and states with the planning," said Eric Bourassa, transportation manager for MAPC. "We (the MAPC) want to support smart growth and provide technical assistance."

Bourassa and fellow MAPC Planner Eric Halvorsen outlined how the area around the station could be re-developed, specifically focusing on 200 Boston Avenue, 166 to 194 Boston Ave., Walkling Court, the UHaul building on Mystic Valley Parkway and the Whole Foods lot.

The land at 166 to 194 Boston Ave., currently several homes and a gas station, could be re-zoned to allow for mixed use development with retail stores on the first floor and up to three floors of apartments or condos above, the planners said.

The lot at 200 Boston Ave., which is an office building for research and development companies, could be reconfigured and expanded to allow for more office and labratory development, said.

Walkling Court would be modernized and redeveloped to allow more senior housing units as well as family townhomes. A community center could also be built there, said.

The Whole Foods site could be reconfigured and re-zoned to allow mixed-use development for up to four floors of residential units above the grocery story, said. The UHaul site, which would likely be taken by imminent domain, would be the location of the station.

“We think this is the maximum level of development in the area,” Bourassa said.

If the lightrail ever reaches Route 16, the city and the property owners in the area would have to decide how to develop.

“Obviously, it would really be up to the private property owners and the city,” Halvorsen said.

Residents Weigh In

Ken Krause, a Medford resident and supporter of bringing a station to Route 16, said over-developing the area around the station is a mistake. The area is not the same as parts of Somerville that will soon be home to Green Line stops, he said.

"It’s a very different area and to pile on too much development is absolutely the wrong thing to do and distracts from what this project is," Krause said.

The project should be focused on improving air quality and decreasing vehicle congestion - both goals of MassDOT - not expanding the tax base, he said.

By ending the extension at College Avenue, the project is failing to benefit most Medford residents, said Mike Korcynski, who wants to see the rail brought to Boston Avenue at Route 16.

"The purpose of this project shouldn’t be to serve Tufts and that’s what it’s becoming," he said.

Medford Carolyn Rosen said the MAPC's planning process was not conducted in a public enough manner. Most of the public meetings were held at Tufts instead of in the neighborhood where the station would be located.

“The process wasn’t very open," she said, "it was a trickle down effect in terms of the MAPC."

While planners said it would ultimately be up to property owners to decide how to re-develop, Rosen was skeptical.

"There will be pressure on residents to sell property and build as visioned," Rosen said.

Medford resident Chris Bennett said the city should have a master plan in place before even considering a project as significant as a subway station.

“To sit there and do this sort of knee-jerk reaction is wrong,” she said.

Hillside neighborhood resident Elisabeth Bayle said she had attended all of the MAPC meetings and sees the possibility of the station as an opportunity for positive change.

“I don’t know why there’s so much negative energy around trying to envision some kind of positive change in this community," Bayle said.

City Councilor Robert Penta said he wasn't sure why the council was discussing the station when the first phase of the extension won't be done until 2020.

"To me, this is a complete waste of time,” Penta said.