Melrose Celebrates Grant To Help Redevelop Caruso Building

MELROSE, MA — A developer is eyeing an 18-unit mixed-use project with roughly 4,300 square-feet of commercial space at the former home of Caruso Pizzeria & Ristorante at the intersection of East Emerson Street and Main Street in Melrose.

Though those plans are still under review by the city, officials recently celebrated a boost for redevelopment efforts in the form of a $615,000 state grant to help relocate a deteriorating culvert under the property.

“As a gateway to Melrose’s downtown, the redevelopment of the Caruso building has been a priority for the City for the last twelve years and with this MassWorks grant, we are now in a position to act,” Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur said in a statement this week. “The developer’s plans for a mixed-use project meets the City’s goals for increasing the housing stock, creates new business opportunities, bolsters the local economy, and improves the streetscape.”

The culvert project, he said, will additionally strengthen stormwater management in the area.

Brodeur, in his statement, thanked Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and his team for support in recent efforts.

State and local officials were in Melrose on Wednesday alongside developers and consultants working on the mixed-use proposal for the Caruso building site. They celebrated the culvert grant, which comes through the state’s MassWorks Infrastructure Program.

Soon-to-be relocated, the culvert in question has prompted structural concerns that would otherwise limit development in the area, officials said.

Filed with the town in June, developer Green Rise Homes' application seeks approval to construct a new four-story building at 681-697 Main Street. The project would include 18 total units on upper floors, three of which would be classified as affordable. Commercial space would sit on the ground floor.

This would replace the existing building at the site.

This area was once home to the beloved Caruso Pizzeria & Ristorante, which closed following the death of owner Michele Caruso in 2010. The site has been the subject of city revitalization interest for several years since then.

While developers cannot guarantee a restaurant tenant in a finished project, an executive summary filed with the city said that the building would be designed and prepared to house at least one restaurant space.

“This underutilized area is, and has been, of top concern to the City of Melrose as a recognizable eyesore at the head of Ell Pond, and the developer is pleased to present this new opportunity to the City,” the summary noted.

This project went before the Melrose Planning Board last month, where parking and traffic were among topics of discussion.

The property, as it currently stands, would have no on-site parking. As such, the developer plans to encourage pedestrian and bicycle transportation to limit the number of cars associated with a new mixed use building, according to presentations to the Planning Board and filings with the city.

Commercial customers and employees could use a nearby municipal lot next to the building. Residents who do need parking would need to apply for permits from the city in order to park overnight in municipal lots, attorney Dave Lucas, representing the developer, told the Planning Board.

The project is now due back before the Planning Board for further discussion in September.

See project documents, including plans and information on parking and traffic impacts here.