Tonight, developers from SVN | Parsons and their counsel met with the Hopkinton Historical Commission to request a demolition permit.
For this public hearing, there were two parcels under consideration; 48/52 Main Street, currently occupied by Hopkinton Drug, and 6 Cedar Street, a 19th century home that has fallen into disrepair. The developers are under contract with Dennis Katz, the current owner of both parcels.
Parsons proposes tearing down the Hopkinton Drug and house at 6 Cedar and replacing it with a mixed use building, with retail on the ground floor and as many as 40 apartments above. Parking will be underground. The building will be designed to pay homage to Hopkinton’s history as a boot factory town, and the group suggested that the name of the building may incorporate Hopkinton’s industrial past.
After a question & answer period with Parsons, Chair Michael Roughan opened the hearing for public comment. Many residents spoke in favor of the development, including Kathleen Reale, the owner of 8 Cedar Street, who told the commission that she had been attempting to get the building at 6 Cedar Street torn down for ten years. “There are animals living in there, skunks, possums and other wildlife. It’s a fire hazard. I believe the value of my property has gone down as a result,” she said.
Chair Roughan agreed, commenting that the building was “not safe, and not habitable”.
The commission unanimously concluded that the buildings at 48/52 Main Street did not have historical significance. After some deliberation, the commission next voted to issue an 18-month demolition delay for the house at 6 Cedar Street, but that they would rescind the delay if the Planning Board approved the design as submitted by Parsons.
Placement of the entrance and exit of an underground parking garage for 40 apartments and at least several retail establishments–dumping onto Main Street very close to the intersection of Main and Route 85?
Looks like another traffic nightmare.
Sounds about right with this town. Let’s contribute to the problem. You can’t build a doghouse in this town on your own property without a hassle from the conservation board or zoning board. But I’m sure this will fly!!! Doesn’t surprise me at all.
Could appropriately be named “Katz’s Revenge”.
I agree with Maryanne, except we already have the traffic nightmare. Adding this would be a real life traffic horror.
They can use the bike path to go to the underground parking traffic solved
I’m glad to see interest in new commercial development in the downtown area, which would help with the mix of commercial and residential tax income in this town. In my opinion, those two buildings are an eye-sore and the current use of the land is not optimal. I agree that the parking exit and traffic need to be considered and potentially revised.
Hi Dave: Notice how few thumbs up you have, versus the huge number of thumbs up for the anti-growth crowd. This is why New England is old, decrepit and run-down. People in New England are stuck in the past and want to stay there. This proposed development is just what towns like Hopkinton need. The historical theme, underground parking, and mixed-use retail / residential is just the sort of upscale and visionary development that will attract high-income taxpayers to live here and spend their money at downtown restaurants and other retail establishments, not to mention expanding our retail tax base, which is sorely needed in this town. Our property taxes keep soaring, yet nobody wants to allow growth of any kind. It doesn’t matter where in town, people are going to complain about growth. Do you want less downtown traffic? Then, build up a downtown where you can walk to things from your apartment. I don’t drive, and would be thrilled to live in an apartment where I can walk to retail and restaurants. Take a look at The Artisan Hotel and condominiums at Tuscan Village in New Hampshire, which is also surrounded by upscale luxury apartments. Same concept. Very visionary, and attracting many high-income residents from Massachusetts who are sick of our high taxes and decrepit infrastructure. Meanwhile, NH is building upscale developments like this so that they can keep their taxes low. No state income tax and no inheritance tax. But the NIMBY crowd, as evidenced by many of the comments here, will ensure that our state keeps their “Taxachusetts” moniker.
Hate this , ugly not historically looking , traffic nightmare, just hate it.
The quaint little town that once was will soon no longer be…….
No disrespect or shade meant here, but quaint little Hopkinton is LONG gone.
Hopefully these plans are initial phase plans, maybe called schematic plans? Because this needs major refining in my opinion. There’s something archaic about this design; like it’s everywhere all over the NE in every damn town. Maybe something a touch more modern, emphasis on “touch more.” Also, it’s a monstrosity for sure. Scale it back. As an aside, why is anyone surprised or shocked by this? Hopdrug and its parking lots are a huge parcel of land in itself.
No disrespect to Dave but I can’t be sold on the tax income argument any longer. It is just more money that the town will find ways to spend, it never ends up as a rebate or property tax break for the residents. More tax revenue simply never ever ends up back in the pockets of the tax payers.
Hi Anonymous: I agree, but the solution is to fix the serious problems with financial management in this town, as evidenced by the infamous HopNews “fake invoice” that exposed the poor financial and accounting controls in Hopkinton. But that is a separate problem from our lack of commercial and retail development that could expand our tax base and take some pressure off the existing taxpayers, provided (as you point out) that the money is spent in a responsible manner.
Mr Katz obviously knows about the towns plan to rezone this area for the mbta zoning overlay. It will override current town zoning and allow 15 to 20 housing units per acre. In an area already a traffic nightmare. They are also rezoning the preserve and carbones another traffic fail during the summer
The last thing Hopkinton needs is further strain on the infrastructure. This will lead to calls for yet another school, jacking up our taxes even more. This was once a gorgeous little New England town, and now it’s being turned into a giant apartment complex. What a shame our beautiful little town is being destroyed by greedy contractors.
In agreement with PM, a strain on the infrastructure indeed. May as well throw in another million dollar ladder truck that the fire department will need to service this building in case of fire. The one they have will for some reason not be adequate for this particular building.
Ladder Truck? It’ll require a new building to house it. The firehouse is undersized for the needs of the town as it is. That’ll be one of the next areas the town will have to address in the near future.
Do we get to vote against this? One of the worst ideas for that plot of land right smack dab in the middle of the historic downtown. This building looks like every strip mall condo that’s been built in the last 20 years in Massachusetts, there is nothing historic looking about it. This is more suited for something over by Price Chopper, not in our pretty small downtown.
Looks like something in Mumbai.
Hi Tim, like you, I’m going to be a NIMBY – this monstrosity does not belong over by Price Chopper. It belongs nowhere. Cheers!
Historic downtown? Sorry, I don’t see it. Just because a building is old doesn’t mean it’s worth keeping. Sometimes old is just old, especially when people would prefer a restaurant, market, or offices in that space.
Great idea to tear down the existing building and replace with mixed use retail/apartments. The current building is drab, unappealing and a waste of space. The road/utilities project will make a huge improvement to the downtown area once completed. This project will continue the enhancements and make the downtown area more vibrant.
Hi John: Agreed on all points. Please see my comments above about why there are so many NIMBYs in New England who hate any sort of growth, in this case upscale growth that will attract high income residents and more retail and commercial establishments, which will expand our tax base and take some pressure off our property taxes which continue to rise because we don’t have a sufficient commercial base to contribute to our tax revenue.
Hi Glen,
We seem to already have a good number of high income folks in town as evidenced by the million dollar plus homes and townhouses being built and readily sold. Will these apartments really add lots to our tax base and relief to the wider community? I am Ok with growth if it is keeping with the surrounding area. This proposal is not. It is too tall and a monolith among smaller buildings. Scale it down and create a welcoming facade not a big brick wall. Those upscale folks you are talking about also want upscale services, schools, and other things that raise taxes. Not to say some are not needed but there is more than one side to what you are advocating.
The growth and new construction to add tax base and take burden off property taxes just never works out that way Glen. It is supposed to, however in Hopkinton it simply doesn’t. Look at all the commercial properties that have been constructed here in town in the last 10-12 years. The entire 110 grill / Golden Spoon plaza with all the offices as well. The Starbucks plaza with bank, Verizon, nail salon. The whole Price Chopper plaza with restaurants and businesses. New business on south street, Start Line Brewery, CVS, Central House and attached shops. With all that new commercial construction and new tax base as you cited I have never seen any residents tax burden eased in this town. We completely changed the face and look of this town and it really hasn’t made any difference for the taxpayers. I’m all for growth but with growth comes a new big ticket item every year. A school, highway garage, another school, it really never ends. Again none of this development has helped us as taxpayers. I feel like you have to draw the line somewhere and avoid becoming Newton.
Anonymous
Like legacy farms did right ??
FWIW, if “increased traffic” were a valid reason to deny development, nothing would ever get built. Ever.
Sorry, but you have to do better than that. Yes, placement of entrance/exit is a concern on this site.
Agreed and more apartments downtown would be good for downtown businesses and maybe we would even see the bike path be used!
Underground parking for… boats? We have a really high water table downtown. Encourage planning board to ask them to survey the ground water there to see if this is feasible.
Agreed if traffic reason to deny yes nothing would get built but this is simply not the place for this type of building. Our downtown can’t handle the traffic it has now. Bike lanes are far too big and an eyesore as I see it. They look like they are travel lanes. I’m sure there will be a traffic study conducted that says will have minimal effect on traffic until it’s built and we’re left with the reality.
It’s a shame to see the once small town I grew up in become an overbuilt suburban nightmare. A bike lane wide enough to drive a car on, old buildings demolished for modernized ones, fields and pastures overbuilt. No more small town charm.
As I’ve been saying for a couple decades now, Hopkinton used to be a small town, but it’s now grown into a snob town.
That small town ship sailed 15,000 people ago. If you want a small town with one room school house move to the 1950’s. Move to northern New Hampshire or northern Maine.
Any building on that lot should have the requirement to allow further straightening of the downtown intersection. While the current project in process for the past 3 years and still continuing has done some of that, there is still an angle due to the placement of the current building. It would also reduce the potential for a car vs. building collision. Oh, and just what we need, more housing .
As far as underground parking, wouldn’t it make more sense to access from the area of 6 Cedar since the natural topography is lower? Also there are fewer pedestrians in that area when cars are exiting and crossing the sidewalk. The picture looks like any other condo or apartment complex being built. I would think something akin to a series of Comm Ave brownstone look (curved or bay window fronts) or a series of San Francisco Victorians on a sloped hill. And shouldn’t there be a little setback from the sidewalk?
40 more residences would mean more kids in the schools which is our biggest tax item. I’d like to see the space above the ground floors to be used for offices. Maybe medical offices. I am in favor of a new building on those two properties. I can’t imagine they’re are many businesses that would want the setup that the hop drug building allows for and that residential space is a hazard….. Parking and traffic need to be considered. I hope the entrance to the parking is on 85 and not main Street.
Resident is absolutely right. I am totally in favor of more retail and commercial development, particularly downtown. What our town cannot afford, however is the continued high density residential development, as the town’s current infrastructure cannot handle it. An additional 40 apartments will continue to add children to our already overcrowded schools, necessitating more building. In addition, it will put more stress on other infrastructure, including water, fire, and police. All of those costs are likely to offset any tax savings the town realizes from the apartments. Instead, as Resident suggests, an upper floor or two should house office space.
Looks like Waltham😒
I visited this town a long time ago, and it seemed like the best description would “woods with a town in it”. Good sense of community with people that care about each other. Now I live here, and I like it. Downtown really doesn’t have much going for it though. It’s small, not a lot of options for things to do. The biggest draw it has, is an event that has t an of thousands of people show up, just to run away from it as fast and as far as they can get. Maybe it’s worth exploring what else it can possibly offer.
Hello fellow neighbors,
I can’t even wrap my head around this one. Sounds like a smaller version of legacy Farms and there proposed commercial businesses. Fool me once ? Why is theres not a criminal investigation into what happened there is mind blowing.
We have lived on Cedar Street for the past 15 years .There are so many kids along with our three living in this area , and we cannot even get a side walk?? I know this has nothing to do with the proposed plan for Hop Drug but it really is a sore spot for the multiple families on cedar street .
But why not build 40 apartment with maybe a store or two on a mixed residential, commercial intersection that is a major cut through for commuters already. The intersection can’t handle what’s going on now ? They can’t even get the lights working properly!! There a total stop for all lanes and CROSS WALK for almost two min ever third cycle ..It’s almost funny.. But why not , let’s push a 40 + apartments in this tight intersection..
But I do have one suggestion 🙂 have the entrance and exit for.the underground parking garage on fruit Street . That would be
Swell ..
So much negativity and resistance…This corner needs a major overhaul. Does anyone really like what they see there now? Bringing people downtown is a good thing. We want a vibrant downtown that’s walkable and socially centralized. This is a critical piece in getting us there.
A critical piece could be a small upscale grocery store or food court or beer garden, etc…40 new apartments is nuts. Not to mention what it’s going to take to excavate for underground parking! There is ledge, ledge, and more ledge everywhere in this area. I know since I did a major renovation 1/4 mile down Cedar from Hop Drug and it was not easy getting through for a 700 square foot basement. What would the impact on the community be, blasting away for under ground parking? I agree we need something, but why build 40 apartments and underground parking at this location? I know the answer to that. Same reason there is a community next to a natural gas transfer station.
We can create a vibrant downtown all we want but we are trying to create a Wellesley and it’s simply never going to be that. A big central issue is parking or lack there of downtown. We took parking away with this foolish downtown construction plan and now the idea of adding more commercial property with less parking. I’m sure there will be some parking for this new building but sounds like the garage will be for the apartment residents. I would be in favor of a few small shops in this new building with the majority of Katz property set aside as much needed public parking. We also have a now decade old vacant Center School sitting idle collecting dust which at the very least would be better served as a park or playing field and public parking.
We are going to miss Hopkinton Drug. All the best to the Katz Family on their retirement.
Classic bait and switch. All for thoughtfully development, but this clearly meant as bait. Help ease the next or the next proposal. Parking has been & continues to be a key factor this does little to nothing to address and adds the threat of adding more people in residence plus more retail that needs spaces.
How about, build a new CVS on the Hopkinton Drug property & move the development to the Collelas site? Plenty of space & access there. Has to be plenty of incentive there, including a new CVS build out with plenty of new customers
Hopefully the new design takes into account the encroachment of the original building on the sidewalk down Cedar St. Back that wall off the road at least 10 feet so disabled in wheelchairs can make that turn more easily and we can walk it other than single file.
Building parking entrance will need to be carefully considered as it should be as far from Cedar/135 as possible to avoid accidents. Possible ingress and egress from 135 westbound with a clear and ample sweep into the garage. Maybe even an exit lane.
Has the town thought of converting the Center School into apartments plenty of off street parking ? No congesting of the the down town area .Maybe the town could sell this property to an investor who could see the potential into converting the Center School into apartments.Just a thought
I believe with everyone respectively but this issue definitely needs to be addressed. What if the town just puts small cute shops in on both properties? No apartments