Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Major Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning Board asks staff to draft conditions for 10 Plains Street redevelopment and continues hearing to February
Summary
The Planning Board continued the large, two-phase Armstrong Factory redevelopment (10 Plains Street) by Trammell Crow to February to allow staff and peer reviewers to finish outstanding traffic, floodplain and stormwater items and to produce draft conditions; the developer described a 30+ acre, roughly $230 million investment with more than 700 units and public amenities.
The Planning Board held an extended public hearing on Trammell Crow’s proposed redevelopment of the Armstrong Factory site at 10 Plains Street and voted to continue the matter to February so staff can draft conditions and outstanding technical reviews can be completed.
Attorney Frank Marinelli presented the project as a by-right, two-phase residential development on more than 30 acres, reporting more than 50% open space, a public riverwalk, and an estimated investment "over $230,000,000". Marinelli summarized peer reviews on traffic, stormwater, fiscal impacts, and water/sewer capacity and requested that staff be authorized to prepare draft conditions for approval.
Peer reviewers and staff provided the board with several technical updates. Robert Michaud (MDM Transportation Consultants) summarized a diagnostic team review (DTR) focused on three rail crossings (Armstrong/Hancock, Plains Street and the Yamaha crossing) and recommended safety improvements; he said the Armstrong crossing is subject to an MBTA license and is expected to remain gated for construction and emergency access, with MBTA and Keolis preferring that it not be used for general vehicular or pedestrian access. Greg Lucas (traffic peer reviewer) and the applicant’s traffic team said Phase 1 (about 427 units in the transcript) can be served by a single primary Plain Street access if conditioned properly, but board members pressed for contractual guarantees to secure a second access (the John Mahara driveway) if phase sequencing or ownership changed.
Eric Dias (Strong Point Engineering) summarized the stormwater peer review and recommended conditions: a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) and illicit-discharge statement prior to construction and a floodplain-elevation study that must be reviewed and approved before on-site work begins; Dias supplied proposed condition language to reserve final determination to the board if design revisions are required. Board members raised questions about emergency access, life-safety planning, phased access and the risk that Phase 2 might be delayed by finance or ownership issues. Public commenters voiced both support and skepticism: a local resident asked technical questions about the bridge abutments and flood study timing; another resident urged the board to hold developers to conditions and questioned school impacts.
After discussion, the board directed staff to draft a decision with conditions for review, asked that draft conditions be available next month for discussion (with the possibility of carrying final action to March), and voted to continue the hearing to February. The board also approved certain meeting minutes (Dec.9) after a quorum was achieved.
