Page 8 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 9, 2021 BUILDING | FROM PAGE 1 den Planning Board at its December meeting in a 9-0 vote. City Planner Michelle Romero was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting and delivered the official decision. The reason for the denial, Romero reported, was that the Board determined the project was “not in the interest of the public good” due to the size: nine stories. The special permit was required since the limit on downtown construction is six stories, by ordinance. Romero stayed in attendance for the entirety of the meeting and ultimately was a key contributor to the final City Council decision as she was able to assist the individual Councillors, and the body as a collective unit. Her knowledge was evident and invaluable as they navigated through a myriad set of 13 specific conditions that were attached to the special permit. Despite the reservations expressed by the Planning Board on the size and height of the new building – which will be sited at 11 and 17 Dartmouth St., at the corner of Dartmouth and Pleasant Street – nine stories in height and 187,000 square feet in total, nearly all of the Councillors who spoke in favor of the project at Tuesday’s hearing said they are in strong support. The height restriction is the only reason the matter was before the City Council, since the use, as office space, is already compliant with the zoning in that downtown district. Letters were read in support of the new office building from Mayor Gary Christenson, Malden Redevelopment Authority (MRA) Executive Director Deborah Burke, Malden Chamber of Commerce President Donna Denoncourt and others. Letters in favor of the project also came from a number of abutters, including Stephen Pompeo, whose real estate holdings include the entire store block across Dartmouth Street, and fronting on Pleasant Street, down to the Department of Education building. Pompeo stressed the value of the project in increasing pedestrian traffic and potential of increased patronage of his tenants’ businesses, such as Hugh O’Neill’s restaurant, Sunrise Postal and various personal professional service storefronts. Pompeo just requested that “great care” be paid to construction plans, including before and after, to minimize disruption to the business of his tenants as it continues. Before construction begins, the existing four-story building at 11 Dartmouth St. will be demolished. As part of the conditions, the land lots at 11 and 17 Dartmouth St. will be merged. The 17 Dartmouth St. lot is primarily vacant at this time. Councillor-at-Large Debbie DeMaria spoke in favor of the proposal during the public comment portion of the public hearing. “We need commercial development in the downtown. We’re constantly talking about it as Councillors,” she said. “I know the Planning Board balked at the size, but this is a mid-rise, not a high-rise. This building has already seen a great loss of value over the years. We need this ~ Legal Notice ~ MALDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Notice of Upcoming Tiered Focused Monitoring Review During the week of April 12th, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) Office of Language Acquisition will conduct a Tiered Focused Monitoring Review of Malden Public Schools. The Office of Language Acquisition reviews each district’s and charter school’s ELE program every six years to monitor compliance with federal and state English learner education laws and regulations. Areas of review will include English learners’ student assessments, identification of English learners; what programs English learners are placed in, parent and community involvement, curriculum and instruction, student support services, licensure requirements for faculty, staff and administration, program plans, and evaluation and recordkeeping. In addition to the onsite visit, parent outreach is an important part of the review process. The review chairperson from the Office of Language Acquisition will send a survey to the parents of students whose records the review team examines. The survey focuses on key areas of their child’s English learner education program. Survey results will contribute to the monitoring report. Parents and other individuals may call Andy McDonie, Office of Language Acquisition Review Chairperson, at (781) 338- 3541 to request a telephone interview. If an individual requires an accommodation, such as translation, to participate in an interview, DESE will make the necessary arrangements. Within approximately 60 business days of the onsite visit, the review chairperson will provide the Malden Public Schools with a report with information about areas in which the district meets or exceeds regulatory requirements and areas in which the district requires assistance to correct or improve practices. The report will be available to the public at https://www.doe.mass.edu/ele/cpr/. April 9, 2021 project.” Later she said, “It’s fabulous a developer wants to come to our Malden and invest $90 million and use union labor for a project like this.” Senior Vice President Sandi Silk of J Malden Center Apartments, which anchors the west end of the now open-tothrough-traffic Pleasant Street, also supported the project. “This will go a long way toward the transition of Malden Center,” Silk said. “The increase in daytime population is critical to the vitality of the downtown area. We need a diverse mix of employers, employees, residents and consumers in Malden Center. This is a major step toward that goal.” Ward 6 Councillor David Camell got right to the point, referencing the 400-plus jobs the new office building is projected to bring to Malden Square. “Every one of those jobs is a potential customer of downtown businesses.” Camell went on to assure his colleagues he is certain demand for office space is increasing, not declining due to the workfrom-home mode imposed by the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, relating the situation to his personal work situation. “Businesses will be coming to Malden when this space opens. We need this project to diversify our tax base. We have been talking about this for years and years as jobs have plummeted in Malden. It would be absurd to turn this down.” Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley, who represents the downtown district in his ward, was also pointed in his assessment. “If we turned this down, how The existing building at 11 Dartmouth St. is shown. could any other developer step foot in Malden?” “I am fully in support of this proposal as long as we support union labor in the construction phase,” Councillor O’Malley said, later authoring a separate condition to the special permit regarding union labor, which was backed by Councillors DeMaria, Ward 5’s Barbara Murphy, Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora, Ward 3’s Amanda Linehan, Ward 8’s Jadeane Sica, Ward 1’s Peg Crowe, City Council President Neal Anderson (Ward 7), Ward 2’s Paul Condon, Councillor-at-Large Steve Winslow and Ward 6’s Camell. After guidance from City Solicitor Katherine Fallon, O’Malley’s motion for the condition was requesting Quaker Lane Capital to use as much union labor as possible, preferably local Malden union members, in the project. Quaker Lane Capital Principal Carlos Febres-Mazzei agreed to support this and the other 12 conditions imposed. “This is a great opportunity to bring a high-grade office building to Malden. We talk about how we want to be like Assembly Square [in Somerville], like the Seaport District [in Boston]. Why can’t we do it in Malden?” O’Malley said. “Well, here’s how we can.” “The opportunity is here and we have make sure we seize it,” Winslow said. “Restaurants will thrive in the downtown. This proposal fits well with Malden and is not out of scale. It will be a great opportunity to bring union jobs to Malden where, hopefully, our residents will be able to work locally.” “This is an amazing opportunity for the city, offering tax revenue increases and plenty of other amenities for our city,” Councillor Linehan said. “They’ve [Quaker) adjusted the height of the building [down to nine stories instead of 12], and we’ve still managed not to lose the project despite a lot of requests. “We’ll find 10-15 years from now this will be one of the projects that helped put Malden on the map. This will be a huge asset to the Square.” “I was at the Planning Board meeting and understood their concerns,” Councillor Spadafora said. “But situations change, money and business concerns change and I am convinced we should do the right thing for our city and put a stake in the ground with this project. It’s the right time for this project.” “I think this will be a big shot in the arm for our community,” Councillor Condon said. “It’s jobs, jobs, jobs. I’m impressed with the developer. They made a huge investment in parking [$4.5 million, 145 guaranteed spots] when they were not required by ordinance. Our tax base is out of whack – we need it to change. Malden Square is dead at times during the day; this is a way to change that.” Councillor Murphy questioned going against the Planning Board decision: “They do this every month and this is what they are charged to do. But this project has many benefits, primarily job creation.” Councillor Crowe said she is impressed at how the developer wanted to “be a part of the community.” “Jobs for our community and an increase in our commercial tax base are essential,” she said.
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