Help Shape a New C-port Housing Development

Two updates on the 625 Putnam development, approved earlier this month by the Cambridge Planning Board:

First, a notice and invitation from HRI's Jane (Jones) Carbone to neighborhood residents/abutters in a mailing today:

HRI is now beginning the next planning phase for Putnam Ave Housing -- Design Development. This stage will formalize the buildings' details and Site Plan which will show what the buildings will look like and include details of the landscape plan. This process will take 2-3 months. We would like to have you join us in this review process. If you are interested in attending meetings to provide input and discuss design ideas with our architect please contact me at jcarbone@homeownersrehab.org or call at 617-868-4858 ex. 212 so that I can schedule the meeting dates and locations.

The second update provides some details from the Planning Board's approval, supplied by CDD's Liza Paden (selected portions only. For the full text, contact Ms. Paden):

FINDINGS

1. Section 10.47.4: Criteria for Approval of Multifamily Dwellings

a. Key features of the natural environment should be preserved to the maximum extent feasible. Tree removal should be minimized and other natural features of the site, such as slopes, should be maintained.

The development parcel consists of a single story vacant industrial building and open parking lot. There are no trees on the site.

b. New buildings should be related sensitively to the existing built environment. The location, orientation and massing of structures in the development should avoid overwhelming the existing buildings in the vicinity of the development. Visual and functional disruptions should be avoided.

The proposed buildings have been located to complement the existing residential uses along Sidney Street and Putnam Avenue. The three story building along Sidney Street is in keeping with the existing residential abutters, with individual front and rear doors. All parking is beneath the Putnam Avenue building to maximize the amount of green open space. The four story building provides a transition to the abutting building site with a 65 foot height limit in the Special District 8A district. The building is designed to provide a principal access of both a ramp and steps to the porch. The Putnam Avenue façade also contains the garage entrance. The Sidney Street building has front entrances on Sidney Street.

c. The location, arrangement, and landscaping of open space should provide some visual benefits to abutters and passersby as well as functional benefits to occupants of the development.

The developer will create green landscaped areas where none currently exist. There will be plantings along the public sidewalks on both Putnam Avenue and Sidney Street. The area abutting the residential buildings is being planted to provide a landscaped buffer between the project sidewalks and the abutting residential properties. There will also be an interior landscaped area within the development.

d. Parking areas, internal roadways and access/egress points should be safe and convenient.

All parking will be located below the multifamily building and accessed from
Putnam Avenue. This access will be properly marked for pedestrian
awareness.

e. Parking area landscaping should minimize the intrusion of onsite parking so that it does not substantially detract from the use and enjoyment of either the proposed development or neighboring properties.

All parking is below the building.

2. Section 6.35.1(6) Reduction of Required Parking within a development providing affordable housing units

The Applicant presented research from other properties that they have developed and currently manage, as well as those of another nonprofit housing developer, which indicate a reduced demand for parking by the households they serve. The existing parking use of those similar projects is below .6 spaces per unit; the proposed development will provide .7 spaces per unit. The MBTA Red Line (in Central Square) and Green Line (across the river in Boston) are within walking distance of the development and the area is served by an existing MBTA bus route as well as the EZ Ride shuttle. It is expected that the general pattern of auto ownership observed in those other developments will occur here as well. With the development of this project the City will be able to designate a number of existing on-street parking spaces, now unrestricted, as resident only parking that should benefit this development and existing neighborhood residential units.

With a reduced parking ratio, there will be significant savings in construction costs for providing the underground parking, as well as time devoted to construction, since the development is designed to excavate only the footprint of the Putnam Avenue building, and to locate the parking below only that building. Minimizing the expense of underground parking makes it possible to provide such a valuable design feature and allow substantial green landscaping at the ground level where surface parking would otherwise have to be located.

There is an additional benefit of constructing a smaller garage with fewer parking spaces: A superior landscaping plan with more mature trees and shrubs can be planted in soil rather than in fill over a garage.

4. Section 5.24.4(3) Side yard Reduction to 10 feet

The design meets all zoning setback requirements with the exception of one portion of the multifamily building (at Putnam Avenue) along the northeasterly edge of the site, next to the existing vacant industrial building. The Board finds that the yard reduction at this location is reasonable, as it will be adequately landscaped and its impact is mitigated by setting back the fourth floor of the building. The yard reduction allows a shift in the location of the building on this portion of the site to provide a larger setback on the westerly side of the building next to the neighboring residential
structure.

625 Putnam Approved by Planning Board

On Tuesday night the Planning Board formally approved the Homeowners Rehab, Inc (HRI) proposal known as the 625 Putnam development. The project was approved as proposed, containing 40 affordable housing units in two buildings (a six-unit building fronting Brookline St and a 34-unit building facing Putnam). The project will have 28 off-street (underground) parking spaces for residents. HRI's team was advised to consider the neighborhood's concerns, but did not make their approval contingent on any specific conditions.

For the unfamiliar, there's a lot of background info in these prior posts.

Despite the very real concerns of abutters, the project has great potential and will expand C-port's vibrant residential fabric into the light industrial belt of buildings on MIT's west side. Hopefully, the HRI team will continue regular communication with the neighborhood as the project moves through design and construction.

C-Port Turns Out for 625 Putnam Meeting

UPDATE: Jane Jones passed along a helpful note correcting my misrepresentation of the actual Zoning Ordinance mechanics. The project is compliant with zoning and is not seeking variances, but has submitted a Request for Special Permit. The post has been updated.

The assembled neighbors and other stakeholders filled the Meeting Room at the City Hall Annex for the Planning Board hearing on Tuesday evening. We were there to hear more about (and be heard) regarding the affordable housing development project known as 625 Putnam, proposed by local housing developer Homeowners Rehab (HRI). Jane Jones of HRI and Nancy Ludwig of ICON Architecture presented the proposed design for two buildings totaling 40 units, all of which will be financed as affordable housing and targeted for low-income families. The images presented at the meeting represent the Schematic level of progress, meaning they've accounted for all the major program and systems the building requires, but that they will undergo much more development and adjustment before they are ready for construction.

The smaller, three-story building will front onto SIdney Street, and function as a string of six townhouses, each with an individual exterior entry. ICON is designing this building to be the more "traditional" of the two, featuring stoops, clapboard facades and simple trim and cornice. Owing partially to lower ceiling heights in today's buildings, the building is actually shorter than both its neighbors. The larger building will front onto Putnam and contain 34 flats in a four and a half story building. A structured parking garage beneath the building will be half-buried in the ground, raising the first floor to be roughly stoop height. This design of this building, while clad with similar materials, attempts a more "contemporary" interpretation of traditional Cambridge residential buildings, using asymetric bay window placement and vertical plank cladding at the top level. The building's size, while larger than any of the immediate neighbors, is within bulk and height requirements of zoning--it's actually in a special zone created by the city to transition to future buildings nearer MIT similar in scale to University Park.

HRI came to the meeting having submitted a Request for Special Permit, which would allow the design flexibility at one setback and with parking. The first deals with the side yard on the east side of the Putnam building, where the portion of the building along the street is proposed 10 feet from the property line. The response to this request was fairly muted, as the Planning Board isn't entirely sure relief is warranted (the language on multiple setbacks in the Cambridge Zoning Ordinance is not terribly straightforward; see section 5.24.4 (3).)

The second issue dealt with the number of parking spaces provided, which usually follows a 1:1 ratio. This development proposes fewer off-street parking spaces than the city customarily requires. In this case, HRI is proposing a reduction to 28 spaces from 40 (for a ratio of 0.7:1). Owing to their experience with other affordable housing throughout Cambridge with developments such as Auburn Court on Brookline Street and Trolley Square in North Cambridge, HRI maintains that their affordable housing tenants often do not have cars and could be accommodated by the 28 proposed spaces. Ms. Jones noted that HRI is careful to develop as little unnecessary parking as possible, as an empty structured garage space wastes up to $30,000 better spent on the units themselves.

When the Board opened the discussion for public comment, a series of similar concerns were voiced by several neighbors worried about the impact of 40 families and their visitors on the area's street parking (especially in snowy conditions) and on nearby parks and sidewalks. Some of the direct abutters commented on the significant change in their immediate environment made by the proposed development--more pleasing aesthetically, but more dense and more constrained light and views. Many residents, both from the immediate area and other parts of the city, commended the project's goals of preserving affordability in C-Port and serving low-income families. The debate hinged on a delicate balance: how many units is too many? How much off-street parking is enough?

Though oral public comments are now closed for this hearing, the Board will still accept written comments through the Community Development Department. The next hearing regarding the project will likely be in September. By statute, the Board has only until November 16th to render a decision on the two variance requests.

For previous posts on 625 Putnam, go here and here.

625 Putnam Development Update

UPDATE: I've added the public meeting notice filed by the city at the bottom of the post. Note the waivers for parking and yard requirements asked for by the applicant.

Last week, the Homeowner's Rehab (HRI) and ICON Architecture team held a public meeting to update the progress on the proposed housing development at 625 Putnam (discussed in detail in this post). I wasn't able to attend the meeting, but Jane Jones, a Senior Project Manager at HRI, passed along the following notes:

• A more specific building program has been developed: 40 total units, made up of 10 one-bedroom units, 20 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units. Three of the units will be handicapped-accessible.
• Structured underground parking will provide 28 off-street parking spaces [ed: 0.7 parking spaces per unit is about what the city recommends for affordable projects such as this with good transit access. Ms. Jones said that about 60% of residents have their own cars in a typical HRI development.]
• The city believes that six new on-street parking spaces could be created on the block to alleviate neighbors' concerns about parking.

HRI will present the updated plans in a public meeting with the City Planning Board on August 18th as the next step in the process.

If others were at the meeting, please share additional info/observations in the comments...

The Public Meeting notice for the 8/18 meeting:

The Planning Board of the City of Cambridge will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. in the Second Floor Meeting Room at City Hall Annex, 344 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts on a Special Permit application (PB#240) by Homeowners Rehab, Inc., for a 40 unit residential development at 625 Putnam Avenue. The proposal is to construct 27,970 square feet of residential use and 28 parking spaces. The application is for a Multifamily Development (Sections 4.26 and 10.47) with a request to waive the side yard requirements as allowed under Section 5.24.4(3) and waive the parking requirement as allowed under Section 6.35.1(6) and 10.45.

The applicant also requests a waiver of the Special Permit Application fee. Copies of this petition are on file in the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Cambridge, Massachusetts and at the Community Development Department, 344 Broadway. Questions concerning the petition may be addressed to Liza Paden at 617 349 4647 or lpaden@cambridgema.gov.

Putnam Housing Development Public Meeting

Just received a notice from Homeowners Rehab (HRI) about the new housing development proposed for the southern corner of Putnam and Sidney, known as the "625 Putnam" project. HRI has acquired two vacant, semi-adjacent parcels in southeast Cambridgeport (see project location map, below). For the project, HRI is teaming with ICON Architecture -- the same team that developed Auburn Court on Brookline Street, pictured at left (image courtesy ICON).

HRI seeks to develop rental housing financed through Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), and other subsidies, allowing them to offer the units to households with low and moderate incomes. In affordable housing-ese, they'll likely have units with renters below 50 or 60 percent of AMI, with a handful below 30 percent. In plain English, this means a typical renter will be a 4-person household earning less than $50,000 a year, or a two-person household earning less than $40,000 per year.

The meeting details, and some project background from the first public meeting:

Date: Tuesday July 21st, 2009

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Morse School Auditorium

The project is being planned as two different buildings. One will front onto Sidney, conceived as "contextual" in massing and design (read: lower height, clapboard). A quick glance at the Cambridge Zoning Map shows that this building falls in a residential "C-1" district, meaning (among other things) it is permitted to be multifamily housing up to 35' in height. The other will front onto a relatively industrial block of Putnam. ICON, in the first public meeting, discussed their thoughts about making this building slightly larger and more contemporary, owing to the transitional context of that block, from residential to industrial/MIT. Of note, this project lines one of the primary points of access to the planned Cambridgeport stop of the Urban Ring.