Planning board clears La Colaborativa campus plan at 50 Heard St., pressing details on flooding and operations

The Chelsea Planning Board on Aug. 5 approved the major site plan for a proposed education and workforce training center at 50 Heard Street and recommended approval of the related special permit, subject to additional engineering and operational conditions. The project, proposed by La Colaborativa and Gamble Associates, would replace asphalt surface area with a planted “placita,” a rain‑capturing cistern and workshop/classroom space designed to serve youth and adults.

Why it matters: The project aims to provide vocational training in Chelsea, extending program capacity for trades, clean‑energy and small‑business classes. Neighbors pressed the petitioner on longstanding localized flooding on Heard and nearby streets; board members and engineers discussed how an underground cistern, rain gardens and a pump system would function and how the project would connect to the combined sewer.

Key facts - La Colaborativa described a roughly $12 million project that would convert a largely impervious lot into a building with a public plaza, classrooms and two active workshop spaces. The petitioner said roughly $4 million of that has been raised and that additional capital fundraising is underway. - Civil engineers described a plan to collect roof and surface runoff into planted rain‑garden areas and an underground cistern; the cistern would pump overflow to the combined sewer on Heard Street when necessary. Engineers said the cistern would be sized to provide storage for peak events and would be inspected and maintained regularly. - Landscape architect Courtney Goode said permeable pavers were not advisable given the marine clay and high groundwater on the site; the design instead relies on specialty planting soils, day‑lit drainage features and overflow to the cistern and sewer as a precaution. - The Planning Board asked for detailed, written operational procedures for loading and deliveries, more precise specifications for noise attenuation in shop spaces and a refined lighting plan to reduce spillover into nearby residences.

What speakers said - Alex Train of La Colaborativa said the center would offer trades and technical training with small class sizes and evening courses for working adults; he told the board the majority of students “use public transportation, walk, or get a ride” and that the organization had leased a nearby Route‑1 parking lot for staff and visitor parking. - Civil engineer Bill Maher and landscape architect Courtney Goode described a dual approach to stormwater: vegetated swales/rain gardens with specialty soils that capture and filter runoff, and a below‑grade cistern that stores overflow and pumps to Heard Street’s combined sewer when necessary. - Residents asked how the cistern and pump would affect basements on nearby Harris Street; speakers noted parts of the neighborhood already rely on basement sump pumps and said the city infrastructure can be prone to localized flooding. One resident said, “If we get a lot of rain and we get flooded already…then pumping more water into the street, it’s not gonna help us.”

Board action and conditions - The Planning Board approved the major site plan and voted to recommend the project’s special permit to the Zoning Board with conditions. The board required submittal of a scaled landscape plan before issuance of a building permit and asked the petitioner to provide a written standard operating procedure for deliveries, a maintenance schedule for the cistern/pump and specifications for interior workshop noise attenuation.

Next steps - The petitioner will refine drainage sizing, finalize lighting and fencing materials, and provide written operations and maintenance plans for review by Planning Department staff and city reviewers. Conservation Commission and building‑permitting reviews remain on the path to construction.

Ending Board members praised the project’s workforce mission but emphasized that wetlands, stormwater and neighborhood access remain critical technical items to resolve before construction proceeds.