WALTHAM

Business owners, city talk shop

Moody Street's future is focus of meeting

Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Stephanie V. Siek

Globe Staff / May 4, 2008

The retail district along Waltham's Moody Street is alive and, for the most part, well, but more comprehensive planning could ensure its continued health, said business owners who gathered at City Hall on Tuesday for a meeting with officials. Merchants, restaurateurs, and property owners voiced a number of opinions about what such planning should include.

About a dozen business owners met with members of the Waltham-West Suburban Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Jeannette McCarthy, and City Councilors Paul J. Brasco, Sarafina "Sally" Collura, Robert Logan, and Kathleen B. McMenimen.

The two-hour meeting produced a lot of discussion but no major decisions or policy changes, except a plan to have another meeting at a date to be determined, participants said.

That was OK with Alex Green, the owner of Back Pages Books, who said he believes both the government officials and the business community benefited from the frank, unstructured talk about their concerns.

"Now that everyone's aired their grievances on the issues, and now that everyone knows roughly where things stand on the issue, I'd like to see action - to see what studies we need, what kind of support the city needs from the business leaders, and what the business leaders need from the city," Green said.

Each speaker seemed to have a different idea about what should be done to boost the Moody Street area's mix of stores and restaurants, what the primary barriers to success were, and even about what constituted success for the commercial district. One person identified a lack of foot traffic as a problem for businesses, another pointed to lackluster aesthetics, and another pointed to landlords who charge high rents for run-down spaces. Others argued that recent closings of stores on the street weren't part of a trend at all, suggesting that the reasons behind the closures of the Construction Site, Harry's Shoe Store, and others were unique to the businesses themselves.

A lack of parking, especially in the evenings, however, was acknowledged by all to be a major problem for the Moody Street area. Representatives of the Waltham Restaurant Association handed McCarthy a petition with 38 signatures that urges the city to purchase a parcel on nearby Cooper Street and build a parking deck there.

McCarthy said the city is trying to take the Cooper lot by eminent domain for that purpose, but the purchase would require approval from at least 10 of the 15 councilors. The mayor added that she was unsure whether she had the votes to get it passed.

"I'm not going to say the political reality is one thing when it's another," McCarthy said.

McMenimen, who is an at-large councilor, urged the business owners to make their voices heard on issues concerning development in the city, particularly three mixed office-retail proposals that are seeking special permits from the City Council and eventually could be competing for shoppers' business.

"There are other people who make the decisions I do," said McMenimen. "Make sure they understand how important it is for you to stay in business."

Nick Pappas, owner of Lizzy's Ice Cream, said Moody Street holds the potential to be marketed as a family-friendly destination - a place where families could hop off the commuter train, have a meal at a nearby restaurant, and browse in local shops before heading home. He asked, without getting a clear answer from the mayor, councilors, or Chamber of Commerce members, why the city couldn't do more to develop and market that kind of image.

"I'd like to see some sort of a coherent plan," Pappas said after the meeting. "I'd like to see more momentum here. Moody Street is an ideal place for families. It's got some real possibilities - the fact that it's close to public transportation, and the river's there."

In an interview Wednesday, McCarthy said she thought the area's "theme" could be "the arts, the history, the food," referring to Moody's successful eateries and ethnic markets, Boston University's Center for the Digital Imaging Arts, and the area's connection to the beginnings of American industry on the Charles River. She said that the area's empty retail spaces should be filled with an array of diverse, independently owned shops.

McCarthy and the city Planning Department's assistant director, Alison Steinfeld, have met with various real estate brokers to say, "This is what we're looking for," the mayor said. "But, overall, if you compare how many vacancies there are with how many aren't vacant, there are many more that are occupied."

Stephanie V. Siek can be reached at ssiek@globe.com.