Thursday, April 18, 2024

These are just some of the municipal meetings and civic events for the coming week. More are on the City of Somerville website.

whitespace

A display case at Lyndell’s in Somerville’s Ball Square. (Photo: Lyndell’s via Facebook)

Redeveloping Lyndell’s

720 Broadway Neighborhood Meeting, 6 p.m. Monday. Developers DiCamillo Associates and their attorney, architect, landscape architects and engineers present a proposal for a mixed-use development at 720 Broadway, Ball Square, the site of Lyndell’s Bakery. The developer seeks to tear down the one-story building constructed in 1900 and the adjacent triple-decker house, replacing them with a multistory development with first-floor retail and upper-story housing. Lyndell’s owner, Bill Galatis, has said he looks forward to a modernized space and plans to relocate in Ball Square during construction. The neighborhood meeting is the first step toward an application for a special permit and site plan approval. The presentation will be followed by public comment on the proposal. Watchable by videoconferencing.

Look at school maintenance

School Building Facilities and Maintenance Special Committee, 6:30 p.m. Monday. This City Council subcommittee chaired by Beatriz Gomez Mouakad hosts a joint meeting with the School Committee Finance and Facilities Subcommittee to discuss recent failures in essential systems in schools across the city. Mouakad has called for more frequent reporting on school facilities status, claiming that the city has neglected its school buildings for decades. Ensuring that repairs and ongoing maintenance are scheduled in a timely manner will prevent costly emergency repairs, she said. Watchable by videoconferencing.


Third electrical transformer

Planning Board, 6 p.m. Thursday. This board chaired by Michael Capuano considers the proposal by Eversource Energy to add a third transformer to its existing substation at 51 Prospect St., Union Square, across the street from the green line MBTA station. The transformer would be screened with perimeter walls; most of the existing substation would be newly screened with mesh fencing. Three neighborhood meetings have been held for this proposal in the past year and now the board can decide whether to approve it. Watchable by videoconferencing.


Boynton Yards’ past and future

Boynton Yards History Walk, 10 a.m. to noon Saturday. In celebration of Preservation Month, the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission partners with local organizations to host events honoring the city’s history and assets. A walk exploring “Boynton’s Changing Yards” will also honor Jane Jacobs, a world-renowned urban activist, as part of the international Jane’s Walk movement. The walk begins at the Union Square Dunkin Donuts, 282 Somerville Ave., and ends at Portico Brewing, 101 South St., between Union Square and Cambridge’s Inman Square. All Preservation Month events are open to the public, accessible to those with disabilities and happen rain or shine.