Ken, You make a great point. The community center and housing zoning came up at different times as separate issues. But, For good planning and to provide the most benefit to the town as we would like to see it, it makes sense to look at them both together while we have the chance.
Jane Jane Appell, Ph.D. Sent from my iPad > On Dec 1, 2023, at 7:54 AM, Ken Hurd <kenh...@keha.com> wrote: > > Hello LincolnTalkers, > With apologies for expressing yet again my strongly held opinion as an > architect concerned with what we build in Lincoln, I want to remind everyone > why I and many others believe we should not build a community center on the > school campus. I still believe it should be located in Lincoln Station, > particularly now that our small commercial area is in play because of the > Housing Choice Act. > > As I wrote last year, "I fully support building a new facility, but it has > long been my opinion that such a major investment by the town should be > deployed where it is most needed - namely in the Lincoln Station area. For > more than ten years since Town Meeting approved the Comprehensive Long Range > Plan, in which the revitalization of Lincoln Station was overwhelmingly one > of the highest priorities, the area has lain dormant and in serious need of a > catalyst to jumpstart its transformation into the compact, vital, walkable > village center that was a stated goal at the time. A community center in > such a location would be the equivalent of an anchor store in a retail > setting, and by virtue of attracting more people on a regular basis, it would > create more opportunities for a clustered cross-current of activities > spawning greater social interaction." > > As many will recall at last year’s Town Meeting, there was serious concern > about the cost to build it, and I am of the opinion that there are better > ways to accomplish this than spending anywhere from $18 to $24 million of > taxpayer money to do so. As was recently suggested to me by an experienced > urban planner, why not include the Community Center as a required accessory > use in the development of a future residential project at Lincoln Station? > > As he said, “With clear program requirements and project parameters to guide > the design of a new project, developers can be very efficient in realizing a > good project on time and within budget.” Moreover, “It would be a plus to any > potential developer's proforma to have a confirmed tenant (assuming COA > long-term lease) for … an active community use in purposely designed ground > level space. This strategy would minimize the cost to Lincoln upfront > financing for design and construction, replace public project inefficiencies > with professional development expertise, and as such the new Community Center > facility may be more affordable to the town's stressed taxpayers." > > As I also wrote last year, I believe it would constitute the classic > suburban planning error to create a new facility that stands alone at the > school and, like the suburban mall, accessible only by car. In addition, > because of school protocols, there would be very limited inter-generational > co-mingling until after school hours, if at all. And, even if there weren’t > a greater awareness about the effects of climate change, wouldn’t it make > far more sense to locate a community center where there are already other > crucial services such as the post office, grocery store, cleaners, a cafe and > restaurant, not to mention the potential for more housing? > > Earlier this week I wrote the Selects about including an option to vote for > “None of the Above” at tomorrow’s Town Meeting. Absent any response, I plan > to vote for Option 3 ($12.5 million project cost) that has already been > characterized as not sufficient to provide services comparable to what we > already have at Bemis. > > Please join me in rejecting the more expensive options 1 and 2 in order to > redirect our efforts to take advantage of this moment in time to be far more > creative, innovative and holistic in how we design and fund a Community > Center that can also help transform Lincoln Station to its full potential as > a truly vital, walkable village center. Remember, > > we humans shape our environments at a moment in time, > and then they shape us for decades to come. > > Respectfully, > Ken Hurd > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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