The City Council approved a “friendly” taking of the former Sterritt Lumber site, with the proposed uses including senior citizen services, education, housing, and operation of utility networks.
On Feb. 25, the Council approved allowing City Manager George Proakis to enter into an agreement with the property owners to purchase the 2-acre site at 148 Waltham St. for $9.2 million. On Tuesday, the Council approved the order of taking of the property.
The taking is friendly, Proakis said, because it was agreed upon by both parties prior to the issuing of the order. He hopes to close the sale within six days of the approval on March 25.
City Council President Mark Siders said he has been approached by quite a few neighbors who are eager to see something go onto the site. Exactly what will go there has not yet been decided.
During the Feb. 25 meeting, Proakis said he saw multiple possibilities for the land, including a new Senior Center, affordable housing, a Department of Public Works use, or a combination of uses. In the order of taking, the list of possible uses are: “senior citizens services, educational uses, temporary storage and municipal operations, housing (including senior and affordable housing), and operation of utility networks.”
Vanasse & Associates A map showing the property at 148 Waltham St., the former Sterritt Lumber site on the West Side.
Councilor John Gannon wanted to make sure that utility networks did not include putting up a large cellphone tower.
“There is no intention of building a cellphone tower on this site,” Proakis said, adding that the utility network could be something such as a municipal broadband network being managed from the site.
Proakis said the list in the order of taking is the best attempt to cover possible uses without specifying one particular use. City Attorney Mark Reich said that orders of taking cannot be made without a specific use. If the City wants to use the site for a use not on the list, Reich said the City Administration would have to come back to the City Council for approval of the new use.
The community will be able to give input on what should go on the former Sterritt Lumber site, Proakis said.
“There are goals to have conversations with the community and the neighborhood. We are doing citywide strategies, for example where do we put a new Senior Center. This will be one of the possible locations we will look at,” he said. “We are also going to have neighborhood conversation about what is the future of the Sterritt Lumber site, and we will find where the pieces converge.”
In the short term, Sideris said some improvements are planned.
“The manager already mentioned the first thing we are doing is clean it up a little bit so that it looks a little less beaten down from where it is right now,” Sideris said.
I see a great opportunity for a mixed use community center and affordable housing at this site. Maybe a great location for the Charles river food co op? Why limit the community center to seniors? What a waste of space if this vacant lot turns into temporary storage.