Meghan Jop, AICPDeputy Director, Town of Wellesley

mjop@wellesleyma.gov

Outside the Box: Repurposing Parking for PlacemakingApril 8, 2014

Linden SquareWellesley, MA

Linden Street Commercial District 1876-2001

●Split zoned Industrial/Business district●Comprised of approximately 32 acres●F. Diehls and Sons owned 18 acres

●Land now Linden Square●District previously was considered the

Town’s service area●Lumber Yard/Hardware Store ●Light Industrial (printing)●Car Dealership (Volkswagen)●Grocery Store (Roche Bros.)

●Surrounded by residential

Linden Square 1997

2001 Vision●Maintain the existing character of

the street.●Enhance pedestrian safety.●Improve the pedestrian experience.●Enhance the appearance of the

street.●Provide more long-term parking.●Enhance the residential areas of

the street.●Tie Linden Street to Wellesley

Square

2002-2004 Master Plan

Stakeholder Concerns●Business owners and residents indicated a

preference for existing land uses to be retained

●Suggested focus was small aesthetic improvements

●Maintain and add parking where possible ●Current zoning should remain●Diehl Family indicated no intention of

moving, selling, or redeveloping and was strong voice against project

●Commercial tenants politically tried to balance need for improvements with property owner concerns with process.

10 Year Build out - 2003

Eastern Development●2005 acquired property●Proposed Retail Lifestyle Center●Rezoned 18 acres to Linden Square

Commercial District●Development Agreement Signed to further

restrict uses●Site was sold to Federal Realty in 2006●Development Agreement has been

modified 3 times to accommodate VW.●VW in process of improving site conditions

Development AgreementSite Enhancements

●Perpetual easement to the Town in order to widen road layout and sidewalk layout.

●Created “downtown” look with on-street parking

● Increased parking space width to 9 feet, from 8.5 feet

●Roche Bros. maintained car delivery to remove carriage corals

●On-site bicycle accommodations●Pedestrian amenities – pocket parks,

benches, common areas

Linden Square