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That's the spirit: Liquor company being forced out of Somerville by Green Line extension proposes new factory on Readville/Dedham line
By adamg on Fri, 04/10/2015 - 7:36am
The Boston Conservation Commission meets next Wednesday to consider plans by M.S. Walker to build a $50-million factory and R&D center at the old Stop & Shop complex on the Readville/Dedham line.
Although the new building will be on the Dedham side of the property, its only street access is through Meadow Road in Readville. The Conservation Commission is involved because the company wants to build a new driveway on the property, which sits next to wetlands along the Neponset River.
In December, Dedham Town Meeting voted to give M.S. Walker $2.1 million in tax breaks over 15 years for the project. The MBTA is taking the company's existing facility on Third Avenue in Somerville for construction of a trolley repair facility for the proposed extension of the Green Line into Somerville.
The company hopes to have the building ready in 2017.
The commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. in City Hall Room 801.
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Comments
Rail access
Glad to see the new location has rail access. More transit is good, but also don't want to see current rail served industries forced to relocate to places where all freight shipments are by truck.
Definitely
It might be hard to find a more rail-accessible site in the city than that.
One thing that might be interesting to watch is the renewed interest in industry around the Readville tracks - in addition to this, there's also a proposal for a new industrial park just past the Readville train station.
The other interesting thing is how quickly Dedham approved a tax break for the M.S. Walker project. But then, why not? None of the trucks will ever sully Dedham roads - Dedham makes some more in tax revenue and Readville residents get trucks again.
Classic municipal zoning!
All the taxes, none of the traffic!
Just like Stoughton must love the Ikea store. They couldn't get that any closer to Avon if they tried.
yeah kinda
But Avon has most of Stockwell Drive (Home Depot, Costco, Jordan's, three strip malls, xmas tree shops, etc etc). The only thing on Stockwell Drive that Avon doesn't have IS Ikea.
(and Stockwell drive becomes Ikea Way once it enters Stoughton)
Allen's Coffee Brandy!
Ohmygod, these are the guys who make Allen's Coffee Brandy, one-time scourge of Maine!
...I don't really have a point here, I just like linking to that article whenever context permits. It's the single most Maine thing I've ever read.
Yes. Yes it is.
Yes. Yes it is.
Thanks for the link
Amazing!
Diabolique!
They're also the home/distributor of Diabolique infused whiskey.
For context
Here is their old building on Third Ave. It directly abuts the huge MBTA CR maintenance yard you can see from I-93.
Is this the company that the
Is this the company that the MBTA turned too because the Brickbottom lofts' residents started screaming and hollering about the original plan to build the trolley yard on MBTA-owned land in the Inner Belt? The ED mitigation payments and the costs of build a new carhouse and terminal added pretty significantly the cost increases for the State's share of GLX - all because people living next to an active yard wanted to imagine they didn't live next to an active yard and gunked up the process. I thought artists liked grit too.
Yup...
...this is the one. I think there are some other commercial properties that will be lost as well.
In addition to jacking the cost, I recall the original yard 8 Green Line yard layout seemed more functional as well.
And...Somerville loses more taxable real estate, but I guess they figure they'll get that back and more with the growth in Union Sq and elsewhere.
And...Somerville loses more
Which in turn they'll pay back to the MBTA in increased local assessments for all these new GL stations, won't they?
Just like
... cities and towns currently give extra money to the Commonwealth to pay for state highways, federal highways, and interstates based on the number of miles driven by people who live there.
... oh ... wait ...
Not exactly...
MBTA community assessments increases are, like fares, capped to 2.5% increase over one year. They generally underperform property tax increases and inflation. Really what the assessments do, is align the transit access of a certain community with a contribution to the MBTA's deficit. Communities that are served more, pay more, but their payments do no track increased property tax revenue. Somerville's situation vis-a-vis Union is a win-win, significantly more transit access and significantly higher property tax revenue, without a severe countervailing community assessment payment.
The local assessments are
The local assessments are based on population and distance from Boston, they have not been based on the amount of service received since forward funding began in 1999. Outer communities that are also members of Regional Transit Authorities can subtract their RTA assessment from their MBTA assessment and only pay the MBTA the difference (if any).
I'm all sorts of confused
I looked at the presentation (curious about the utilization of the rail access) and to me it looks like they are building in Boston, unless they are only going in at the point on the presentation map in the lower left corner (or southeast.) That area marked with the large SUPPLY label has me confused.
As for the proposal, they are going to do what has been done there for decades, so whatever.
Yeah, that had me confused, too
After blowing that map up to like 200% and finishing off an entire cup of coffee, though, I think that map shows the existing layout of the Stop&Shop property, not their proposed new building - along with the town line that splits the existing giant warehouse.
Elsewhere in the presentation are a couple of photos of what looks like a newly demolished structure that they said they'd be building on. I saw that a few months ago on one of my periodic trips down there (I like the post-apocalyptic feel of the place, what can I say?); if you drive in from Meadow Road (well, OK, the only way you can get there short of walking the train tracks or, I guess, canoeing up the Neponset), and go to the back of the warehouse, you'll see the rubble left over from the demolition of whatever used to be behind it.
Impact on Readville
Will the Conservation Commission be considering noise (both construction and ongoing with the sudden influx of dozens of trucks) and traffic impacts to Boston residents (particularly those of us with abutting properties) or is it just the wetlands (which, to be fair, are important)? Is it within the City's power to require noise mitigation measures, such as additional tree cover and fencing, given that it's Dedham approving the project?
To do anything effective
To do anything effective about truck noise, you'd have to cover the entire site.
I assume you didn't live there when the S&S warehouse was open - the noise was orders of magnitude greater.
Getting in and out
Getting in and out of there is already governed by specific traffic restrictions. There is only one way in and out.
The low bridge in Wolcott Sq prohibits most trucks from getting in there from Hyde Park Ave, though certain smaller-height vehicles may make it - keeping to the middle of the road.
Access for larger vehicles, especially tractor-trailer combinations is via Rt 138 (Blue Hill Ave in Milton) and down Neponset Valley Parkway. Commercial travel is allowed on that segment of the parkway because that is the only way in and out of that industrial park.
There is rail access to that building though some of it was pulled out and in a state of disrepair. The yard is owned by CSX and with some work and money the rail spurs into that area could be restored. That yard connects to the MBTA at Readville but also connects to the NEC main line between Readville and RT 128 Station.