Copper Mill Development submitted an application to the state of Massachusetts on Dec. 22 seeking approval to build a 25-story, primarily residential, tower in Davis Square. Many residents have raised concerns about the limited time allotted for public comment on the development. In response, the Davis Square Neighborhood Council voted on Monday to urge the city to ask Copper Mill to withdraw the proposal and resubmit only once a neighborhood plan has been made.
“We’re requesting that the city urge the developer to withdraw because the public has not had enough time to review and comment meaningfully,” Elaine Almquist, president of the Davis Square Neighborhood Council, said. “The request is to give the neighborhood and the city the ability to work on the neighborhood plan.”
The developers are seeking approval under Massachusetts’ Chapter 40B statute, which allows for local oversight of the project.
“We’ve worked closely with the City of Somerville for many years, including the prior administration, who guided us towards the 40B process,” Copper Mill founder Andrew Flynn said. “The reason for that direction was to ensure a process that the city can participate in that is community driven.”
Community concerns about the proposed development have been wide-ranging, with one major issue being its potential effect on local businesses along Elm and Grove Streets, including The Burren, McKinnon’s Meat Market, Dragon Pizza, Martsa on Elm and Kung Fu Tea.
The public comment period is currently set to end on Feb. 6. Despite the limited timeline, others at the meeting argued against delaying the project, citing the urgent need for more affordable housing in the area.
“We desperately need more housing in Davis Square,” Christopher Beland, Davis Square Neighborhood Council vice president, said. “The 40B process is designed and comes with subsidies to increase affordable housing, and the reason that it has a consolidated process is so that the developer doesn’t burn money for an indefinite period of time. … I think it’s important to stick with the timeline.”
The City of Somerville has voiced conditional support for the project and said it will look to the Davis Square Neighborhood Council’s position, among other factors, to assess community support.
“If and when a proposal comes forward, I’ll evaluate it based on what residents tell us, the level of affordability it delivers, how it fits in the Davis Square neighborhood,” Mayor Jake Wilson wrote in a statement to the Daily.
The proposed tower would add 502 units of housing to Davis Square, with 126 affordable units and 376 market-rate units, according to Copper Mill. The projected rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the affordable units is $1,829 per month and the market rate would be $4,250 per month, according to a financial viability model based on a local market survey of comparable buildings.
“Adding 500 units of housing [and] giving 1,000 people a place to live definitely has an impact on rents, and this would be a 100% rented building,” Beland said. “Just the law of pure supply and demand means that rents would not go up as much as they would otherwise.”
Copper Mill stated that they have worked with current tenants and incoming businesses to reduce potential impacts on neighborhood establishments. The ownership of The Burren demonstrated its support for the development by submitting a letter endorsing the project after securing a long-term lease in the new building.
McKinnon’s Meat Market, Kung Fu Tea and Martsa on Elm have declined to return, with the latter two refusing to return on the same rent.
“[Copper Mill] made some commitments to [the Davis Square Neighborhood Council] about how they were going to engage with the public and making sure that the storefronts were not falling apart during this process,” Almquist said.
A Davis Square Neighborhood Council FAQ document further notes that Copper Mill declined to discuss leasing any storefront space with banks based on community feedback. The developers also opted not to pursue discussions with Tatte Bakery & Cafe out of respect for Diesel Cafe, a Davis Square local coffee shop.
“My team and I have been patrons, admirers [and] residents of Davis Square over the past 20 years,” Flynn said. “What we’ve always loved about Davis Square is its unique character. … I think that there’s a shared perspective that this project could be a catalyst for Davis Square, as it’s in a bit of an inflection point right now with a lot of dark storefronts.”
Community members also expressed concerns about the height of the tower, and how it might change the character of the neighborhood. While shortening the building to 11 stories would not be financially viable in its current dimensions, Copper Mill has expressed openness to widening the tower.
Some residents have also expressed concern about the proposed development’s lack of parking spaces. Flynn, however, frames the absence of parking as a positive step toward sustainability initiatives.
“We think that the answer to less cars is not to build a lot of parking,” Flynn said. “We have always viewed either no parking or a limited amount of parking as something that is well aligned with the future of our cities.”
