After four and half years of discussions and approvals, including six hardship variances through Somerville’s Zoning Board of Appeals and separate zoning actions in Medford, Woody’s Liquors owner John Wood got final sign-off Thursday from Somerville’s Planning Board for a two-story commercial structure at 483 Broadway.
Builder Babbitt Design can change the height of the building from three stories, as written in the zoning code, to the shorter two-story structure, and the longtime Magoun Square package story is allowed to move one-tenth of a mile up the street, according to final architectural plans. The property has been boarded up since 2013, when a fire caused more than $100,000 in damages at the former Winter Hill Laundromat.
A parcel referred to as a “horrible blight on the city” by a neighbor will now see “a substantial improvement,” said builder Tavis Babbitt of Babbitt Design, representing the owner. Babbitt wrote that final designs incorporate input from three neighborhood meetings and numerous conversations with Somerville officials and boards.
Babbitt did not immediately respond to a call regarding when Wood would begin the building permitting process and if a second retail tenant is under consideration.
Many properties along Broadway between Magoun Square and Ball Square are like this one: on the border of Somerville and Medford. When the site was a laundromat, only the parking spaces in front were in Somerville, and the building was completely in Medford. Because Wood wants to extend the front of the building toward the sidewalk and build a second floor above, that design puts approximately one-quarter of the structure within Somerville limits, meaning the parcel must comply with both cities’ zoning, planning and building rules.
Somerville and Medford were awarded $75,000 from the state Housing Choice grant program in 2022 to develop a shared zoning vision plan for parts of the Broadway corridor. The project description includes addressing “boundary issues that affect parcels split between Somerville and Medford, which forces developers to satisfy two sets of zoning regulations.” Somerville has already kicked off a Central Broadway Corridor discussion after a 2024 study was completed with zoning recommendations, and Medford is conducting its own comprehensive zoning review.
According to a final plan narrative review, property design beyond the taller building includes two new on-street parking spots on Broadway and sustainability touches such as more trees, green building materials and the fact that 80 percent of the existing building will remain. A second-story retail front appears in the plans as well. At the Planning Board meeting Thursday, members added a condition that the city’s mobility department needs to approve how a loading zone interacts with existing roadway conditions such as the bike lane on Broadway.
A stronger
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The bike lane should not be striped in front of a solid curb. stopped bike lanes show conflict zones. The current woody’s location loves to park their delivery vehicles in the bike lane. This lack of attention to detail doesn’t bode well.
The new zoning was also specifically oriented around supporting more housing along this corridor. Disappointing that this is not building out the whole of the envelope and adding housing above the businesses.