But none of the community center voting options options include the possibility locating at the mall, right? Nor do I believe there was any discussion about this beyond "ain't happening".
On Fri, Dec 1, 2023, 10:44 Lynne Smith <ly...@smith.net> wrote: > Option E is the only HCA option that would allow us to think about > including the Community Center at the Mall. > > Lynne Smith > 5 Tabor Hill Road > Lincoln, MA 01773 > cell: 781-258-1175 > ly...@smith.net > > > > On Dec 1, 2023, at 8:53 AM, Jane Appell <jappell...@gmail.com> wrote: > > 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. > > -- > 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. > > > -- > 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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