New urbanism coming to Wellington Circle

A development project on a 15.6 acre parcel of land in Medford's Wellington Circle will bring hotels, office, and retail space to the area.

The project, which will be undertaken by National Development, a Newton-based development company, is in the process of being approved by city officials. Last week Ted Tye, a managing partner of the firm, took Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn and several city council members on a virtual walk-though of the project.

The development will be a landmark of a new architectural trend called "new urbanism," according to Tye and McGlynn. The term refers to a replacement of the traditional main street.

McGlynn is not particularly worried that this enormous development will change the dynamic of Medford. "Medford is already very diverse and hopefully this will make it more of a destination point [for retired couples]."

The piece of land is zoned for 1.1 million square feet of office, hotel, and retail space. However there is little demand for office space and the square foot price is dropping. Tye says that now there will be 650 residential units, small restaurants, retail stores, and a hotel.

There are also plans for a retirement facility and McGlynn added that "we hope to add assisted living for senior citizens."

Sidewalk caf?©s may even be created, said McGlynn, because with 40-foot wide sidewalks it becomes much more practical than in the rest of the city. The location on the Mystic River will also make the new development an attraction.

The prospective audience to welcome this kind of development includes young working professionals, retired Medford residents who want to stay in Medford but sell their houses, and possibly even some Tufts faculty, Tye said.

Both McGlynn and Tye are highly optimistic about the project and the impact it will have on Wellington Circle and Medford.

Tye said that this development could "allow the city to become a model community." It is a form of "smart growth" and more housing leads to increased tax dollars in addition to "breathing new life into both Wellington and Medford."

According to Tye, Wellington Circle is an area where one can "live, work and play." The Orange Line runs through the circle and will provide easy access to commuters into Boston, he said.

One hang-up of the project, however, is what McGlynn refers to as "antiquated liquor laws." Currently for a restaurant to obtain a liquor license, there must be seating for 250 people.

The liquor laws reflect the trend in the 1950s and 60s of building huge restaurants. McGlynn says that now "it's about time to lower [the required seating capacity] to 99."

But the Mayor is not worried about getting the legislation passed, saying that it will provide big opportunities for both the new development and the Meadowglenn Mall. A big part of the project relies on the existence of small caf?©s and bistros.

McGlynn is ready to present a petition to the city council that wants to deliberate the legislation.

The project is currently continuing forward according to McGlynn who has thus far not heard anything negative about the project. McGlynn, however, still wants "to make sure it doesn't overcrowd the circle."

So far all National Development has shown the council are sketches and the virtual walk-through. McGlynn wants to see concrete plans and "the character of the neighborhood" before pushing ahead with the development.

National Development obtained the land in Wellington Circle earlier this year from Deutsche Bank who received it after Cabot, Cabot and Forbes defaulted on a loan. However before National Development purchased the land there was dialogue with the city in order to obtain theoretical approval of its plan.