Revised plans for Cove get scrutiny
Neighbors still worry about traffic
It's less dense than originally proposed, but the Crystal Cove project as planned, some Shirley Street-area residents believe, might still be too large and could exacerbate traffic problems.
The project's manager and architect said they used community feedback to scale back the plans, which cover 17 percent of the lot, despite being allowed under zoning regulations to build on 75 percent of the parcel.
About 40 neighborhood residents got their first look last week at preliminary plans for the redevelopment of Crystal Cove, consisting of four 55-foot-high residential and mixed-use buildings, separated by gaps to maintain waterfront views from adjacent streets.
If unchanged, the new development would feature 104 one- and two-bedroom condominium units, a marina office and boat repair facility, a restaurant overlooking the water, a health club, and a harbor walk along the water's edge.
As they unveiled their plans for residents at the Senior Center last week, project representatives emphasized that the plans, although preliminary, varied significantly from those presented about nine months ago, and that they relied heavily on resident feedback submitted to them by a town-hired consultant.
"The reason we came so early is that we wanted to get the information to you as early as possible," project manager Dustin J. DeNunzio told residents. "We hope to have a transparent relationship. We could go denser, but we tried to keep it as pristine as possible."
Under zoning regulations, the developer is allowed to build up to 159 units. Currently on the site are several eateries, variety stores, apartment units, and a marina.
The project is still in the preliminary stages and is being presented to abutters for additional feedback. Once plans are submitted to town officials, a site plan review with department heads would follow. The project also needs a Chapter 91 license from the state in order to develop along the coast. Ideally, DeNunzio said he hopes that construction will start in spring 2009.
Concerns about the Crystal Cove redevelopment among some residents have spanned more than a year, mainly because the project is led by the same firm, Somerville-based RCG LLC, that was behind the recently completed Atlantis Marina, a luxury condominium development on Pleasant Street, about 1 1/2 miles from Crystal Cove Marina, which many residents have contended is too large.
At 55 feet and with additional 15-foot peaks, Atlantis meets waterfront district zoning requirements, but its scope still prompted resident Robert Massa last year to petition the Town Council to reduce the maximum allowable height of 55 feet for future coastal developments. Town Council voted in favor of the measure last December but it failed to get the required two-thirds vote.
Massa, who was in Florida and did not have a chance to attend last week's meeting, said that while "the height issue is dead," he is happy that the preliminary proposal for Crystal Cove does not include a lot of retail space, as it would add to the area's traffic woes. Separating the buildings, instead of having one massive one, will be better for the neighborhood, Massa said in a phone interview from Florida.
"It sounds like they're at least trying to listen to the town, and they've got to make money, so they can't be totally leaning one way," Massa said. "Some people don't want the area developed at all. You can't do that; we have to be a little realistic."
DeNunzio told residents at the meeting that the buildings' living spaces will not reach higher than 55 feet, but that they may include additional 6- to 7-foot "architectural peaks" or ornaments.
Moore Street resident Maripat Raiter stated in an e-mail after attending the presentation that, while she appreciated the changes made to the original concept since the first discussion several months ago, she is still concerned about the development's fit into the neighborhood.
"The rendering looked like buildings that belong somewhere like Flagship Wharf in Charlestown," Raiter wrote. "I am proredevelopment and I do not think change is a bad thing, but this small 'cove' may not be able to take the grand scale of such a development."
Commuter traffic, parking, and drainage issues were sticking points among those at the meeting. Resident Genia Cerulli pointed out the many small one-way streets that run off of Shirley Street. Planning Board chairman Richard Dimes described the town as a bottleneck of traffic. Resident Bob DiMento said after the meeting that the developer should perform a shadow study because of the height of the buildings.
"Anybody who questions us, just go look at Atlantis," DiMento said. "But I have to give them credit. They're being more open and didn't come to us with 170 units."
DeNunzio and project architect Jai Singh Khalsa assured residents that a traffic study will be performed and that a civil engineer will work with the developer to address necessary infrastructural improvements, including flooding issues. Changes to the project or study findings will be presented to residents in future meetings, they said.
Katheleen Conti can be reached at kconti@globe.com. 