A vision of what Medford Square could be

Waiting in the wings of the Medford Square rezoning project is Transom Real Estate, a Boston-based firm with a plan to redesign the area into a one-stop shopping and living adventure.

Back in November, city councilors met with Peter Spellios of Transom, who answered a request for proposals (RFP) and came with a vision for the city. Spellios said the RFP was very clear about several things, including dealing with parking, bringing people downtown not only to shop but to live, and connectivity.

“Coming up with a project that doesn’t have a front or a back, doesn’t have a left or a right, but really is a project that speaks to its neighbors from all sides,” that communicates with every resident, every business, and, hopefully, sets the table for other things to happen down the road in Medford square, is what Spellios said seemed most important. 

To create this vision, Spellios said, they brought in Prellwitz Chilinski Associates (PCA), a Cambridge-based firm specializing in architecture, planning, and interior design with a focus on mixed-use. Anyone familiar with The Market Place in Lynnfield, The Street in Chestnut Hill, or Legacy Place in Dedham is familiar with PCA’s work, he said. Transom also asked Beyond Walls, a nonprofit that specializes in public art murals, to join the team.  

What’s the plan look like

The plan focuses on the three parking lots adjacent to City Hall. Calling it a fluid plan, Spellios said they’re suggesting a parking garage for the upper lot, up against Route 93, that would have both surface parking and a parking garage.

Two residential buildings with a total of 300 units, 20% of which would be affordable,  are planned for the lower parking lot (lot B) and the Clippership Drive parking lot (lot A), said Spellios. It would be passive house construction, all electric, he added. 

Lot B would, along with the residential component, include ground floor retail, public outdoor space, and courtyards, he said. Lot A, being just across the street from the senior center, would include a 15,000-square-foot grocery store, Spellios said. 

Spellios said he believes they have a good opportunity in attracting what he called a dynamic grocer because the urban grocery store market has been growing. 

“Having a grocery right in downtown Medford Square is going to be absolutely amazing,” said Councilor Anna Callahan.

Spellios also said he believes the project would “really set the table for Medford Square,” by creating connectivity to the rest of the square and by setting a standard.

“Hopefully success begets success and helps others increase traffic volume for business, foot traffic for business, so that businesses that are there now and future businesses will thrive in these locations,” he said. 

But, what about parking

Spellios said preliminarily the project would provide upwards of 600 parking spaces, including 100 dedicated just for staff and visitors to City Hall. There would also be parking dispersed throughout the project, he said. 

“The goal is not to start with asphalt gardens and finish with asphalt gardens,” he said. “But do it in a way that the parking kind of fits, fades away. It's convenient, it's there, but it's no longer the focal point.”

Apprehensions & anticipations

Councilor George Scarpelli worried that while the parking garage might only be two blocks from the senior center, its two blocks too far. He suggested the city consider a shuttle service from the garage to the center giving all seniors safe passage.

Scarpelli also said he hopes the city does a better job than it's done in the past in educating residents about the project and the process, being transparent and eliminating negative discussion.  

But his biggest ask, he said, is to make sure the senior citizens are taken care of.

“Because right now, us talking about this is absolutely devastating to them,” Scarpelli said. 

During a reboot of the Medford Square rezoning project, resident Nick Uhlig was fully in support of the project. He said a downtown grocery store is something that’s been seriously lacking, and the city couldn’t ask for a better anchor business for the project. He also liked the addition of public art and landscape changes, he said. 

At that same hearing, resident David Shank agreed a grocery store was a brilliant addition to the mixed-use area. 

“People will be able to shop there, they'll get their groceries, and they can take advantage of all of the other amenities that are in Medford square,” he said, adding that he expected the area would grow as more businesses took advantage of ground -level retail space. 

When could this happen

While details and legal documents still need to be formalized, more conversations with city officials and residents are to be had, and the permitting process tackled, Spellios said, construction itself would take roughly two years. 

“We'll have to work out the details of how to sequence things and make sure everything's done appropriately to minimize disruption but also accelerate completion,” he said. “That's also something we'll be having conversations with the city about.”