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Date: 2/9/2022
EAST LONGMEADOW – Stephen Graham, owner of Toner Plastics and The Depot at Graham Central Station, approached the Planning Board on Feb. 1 with preliminary ideas for creating a mixed-use village in downtown East Longmeadow.
The “walking community,” as Graham called it, would be located on five parcels of vacant land between the Redstone Rail Trail and Maple Court. Including The Depot, which would remain, the village would consist of 6 acres.
With frontage on Maple Street, the first building would be reserved for commercial businesses. The buildings behind that would feature businesses on the lower level and residences on the second or third story. The building closest to Shaker Road would be between 10,000 and 12,000 square feet and accommodate a restaurant or other large business on the main level with more residences above.
Graham said he and his wife are “very excited” about the concept. The goal is to “enhance” the area with “tasteful structures,” greenery and walkability.
Graham asked the board for feedback. Planning Board member Peter Punderson said there is an interest in this type of development in town and suggested an age 55 and up community.
Vice Chair George Kingston asked Graham how many residential units he was considering. While Graham said a final number had not been chosen, he estimated 50.
“That is pretty dense, especially for that area,” Kingston observed. His concern was that the development would create a “cut through” for traffic, which he said already speeds through Maple Court to avoid the rotary.
Jonathan Solecki of Lut Design, the architectural firm working on the project, told the board that there were “a handful of ways” to eliminate that. Kingston told him the traffic plans would have to go through the public safety officer and be reviewed by the Police Department. Graham reminded the board that the plans he had submitted were a first draft and he was open to changes as needed.
Solecki addressed a separate issue – zoning. The properties lie in an industrial zone, which prohibits mixed-use or multi-family dwellings. The preliminary designs that Graham submitted to the board had been cobbled together from zoning in other areas of town. Solecki acknowledged there would need to be a zoning change request. The request would need to go through both the Planning Board and the Town Council.
Planning Board Clerk Jonathan Torcia said he was glad to see green spaces and trees incorporated into the plans and, “not just buildings and parking lots.” He told Graham he was “very open to” the project because that area of downtown has long been vacant.
Planning Board member Cassandra Cerasuolo expressed concerns that families moving into town would put stress on the school system. She also told him the state requires 10 percent of the residences to be low-income.
“That’s not a hard-and-fast rule,” Planning Board Chair Russell Denver corrected her. The state has a goal that 10 percent of housing stock should qualify as low-income, but only 7 percent of East Longmeadow’s units meet that definition. He acknowledged the mixed-use village bylaw passed by the Town Council in fall 2021 requires 10 percent of residential units be low-income.
Denver said he shares Kingston’s concerns regarding density. “Too many units would not be good for the residents or congestion in that area.” That said, he “thoroughly applauded” the goal of adding “vibrancy” to the area and increasing the use of the rail trail, Center Square and the library.