Wayland grapples with proposed town center
Some worry $100m project will lack intimacy, feel detached from rest of town
Wayland is struggling to make sure a proposed megadevelopment will have that intimate, village-like feel appropriate for a small suburb.
A development team has plans for a $100 million ``town center" on property once owned by the
But some residents are concerned that what they'll get will be more a strip mall than a town center. They worry the dry cleaners, hair salons, and card shops they had hoped would give the center a neighborly feel would be too large. Hemmed in by the Sudbury River and two major roads, the project could also feel detached from the rest of the town.
The builders have permission to construct up to 100 housing units, 155,000 square feet of retail, and 10,000 square feet of office space. A zoning ordinance also requires the developer to set aside 40,000 square feet for a municipal building and to incorporate a 2.5-acre open space into the design.
The most recent plans feature a municipal building -- possibly a library -- as the centerpiece of the project and the first building visible from the entrance off Route 20. The building would overlook a town green bordered by two streets of shops and restaurants and an entrance to the condos, a combination of flats and two-story units.
But Wayland's design consultant questioned whether the project is too isolated from the rest of the town. The consultant, Steve Cecil, compared the architect's design to the insulated feel of college campuses, rather than the inclusive feel of historic town centers.
Chuck Irving of KGI acknowledged that his team's challenge is to create pedestrian connections to the site, bordered on the south by railroad tracks. ``At the end of the day," he said, ``the community doesn't want to feel like this site is disconnected from the rest of the community." So the developers said they would take suggestions from residents on how the open space, an integral part of the project, should be designed.
And the Wayland Planning Board has been touring town centers in neighboring communities, including Weston, Concord, and Sudbury, to get a feel for what members think works, and what doesn't.
The goal, said board chairwoman Lynne Dunbrack, is to make sure it's not ``a cookie cutter lifestyle shopping center."
But Dunbrack, one of two board members who voted against the project, said some aspects of the project are out of her panel's control. She worries that some of the store sizes are too large and will turn the project into a destination shopping center, rather than a neighborhood one.
The town has yet to formulate a plan to tackle a major part of the project: traffic. A consultant to the Planning Board found the project would generate a dramatic increase in traffic, to 11,000 car trips on weekdays and 13,000 on Saturdays. Dunbrack said her board is in the process of hiring its own traffic consultant.
But opponents, who successfully beat back the first, larger proposal for the development, argued the traffic from the revised project is still too much. ``I'm concerned it cannot be mitigated," said Jeff Porter, an environmental lawyer and a member of Citizens Against Reckless Development.
But many town leaders, particularly Michael Tichnor, the former chairman of the Board of Selectmen, feel strongly the project is crucial to the town's financial future. As part of town approval, Tichnor worked with developers to craft an agreement that provides for a $3.03 million gift to the town. Added tax revenue is estimated at $700,000 a year.
And Irving, a Wayland resident, has more than a professional interest in how the project turns out. He wants to design a town center that residents will want to visit even when they don't have shopping to do. ``This project," he said, ``is going to create a new standard for town centers." 