THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, April 23, 2021 Page 9 DECISIONS | FROM PAGE 1 nance-imposed leash on highrise residential construction in Malden’s downtown district, capping new development at a six stories in height maximum. When a new developer/financier, Quaker Capital, sought a special permit to construct a nearly $100 million, 12-story, state-of-the-art office/commercial building at 11 and 17 Dartmouth St. in the heart of Malden Square, it was the first such proposal in almost a decade. Spadafora was all ears, but also wary of its implications and potential effect on the downtown and the community in general. Once again, Spadafora played a key role in researching the proposal, gathering information on both sides of the argument, for and against such a development, and then working closely with his colleagues in determining if this project is best for Malden. In the end, the developer adjusted plans for the development, lowered the proposed height of the 187,000 square foot structure to nine stories and also, though not required by ordinance, devised a way to add about 145 parking spaces to the site, in what turned out to be a welcome move in the eyes of Spadafora and his fellow Councillors. “It’s fair to say I had some concerns. I had several conversations with the developer, which led to the reduction in the size of the building and the inclusion of additional parking,” Councillor Spadafora recalled. A combination of circumstances The longtime Councillor-at-Large said it was an additional combination of circumstances that swayed him to back the ambitious project, one that the Malden Planning Board had unanimously rejected (9-0 vote), citing dimensional concerns with the nine stories in height. “Ultimately it came down to two things. First, the knowledge that the developer would have to come back before us once a tenant is identified gave me great comfort that we didn’t hand anyone a ‘blank check’ but rather the OK to keep moving forward knowing there’s continued checks and balances,” Spadafora said, before citing another key reason Councillor-at-Large Craig Spadafora, the longest continuous term City Council member, weighed in on two consecutive major decisions on Malden’s future this week. (Courtesy Photos) for his support: Backing a fellow Councillor’s direction. “But more importantly, it was the strong support the project had from the Ward Councillor Ryan O’Malley that tipped things for me,” Spadafora said. “I give great weight to the view of the councillor for the ward where the proposed development is located.” “Councillor O’Malley [Ward 4] is passionate about this type of development being right for Malden Square and convinced me that it was worth giving it a chance to succeed,” Spadafora added, “and [O’Malley] has spent a lot more time than anyone studying and understanding this type of development.” At several meetings where the new office building was discussed, the merits of the proposal – described by O’Malley, Spadafora and most strongly by Councillors Peg Crowe (Ward 1), Paul Condon (Ward 2), David Camell (Ward 6), Debbie DeMaria (at-Large) and Steve Winslow (at-Large) – were many, most notably for the injection of a new, increased population for Malden Square to patronize the many restaurants, shops, service businesses and other business outlets in the downtown. Councillors Amanda Linehan (Ward 3), Barbara Murphy (Ward 5), Jadeane Sica (Ward 8) and City Council President Neal Anderson (Ward 7) all spoke of the continuous refrain heard around the city of Malden’s need for commercial space development to expand and diversify the city’s tax base. A new bus/bike lane will be installed on Route 60/Eastern Avenue/Centre Street from Franklin Street to the MBTA Station. The restriping and repainting will be done in May, according to plans. They were unanimous in identifying this project as a commercial development project “we have all been waiting for.” City Council backed special permit in remarkable turnaround In a remarkable turnaround, the project that was unanimously rejected by the Malden Planning Board received an 11-0 unanimous vote in favor of a special permit by the City Council, after receiving additional strong recommendations from Mayor Gary Christenson, the Malden Redevelopment Authority (MRA) and its Executive Director, Deborah Burke, in addition to the Malden Chamber of Commerce and its Director, Donna Denoncourt. Spadafora said his support of the major change proposed, and ultimately approved by a 9-2 vote of the City Council, which will transform Malden’s most densely traveled roadway, Route 60/Eastern Avenue/Centre Street to a single-lane for private vehicles, was also fueled by the work and commitment of City Council colleagues. Councillor Spadafora said he was convinced by the work and presentation of two Councillors to get behind the proposal to accept over $600,000 in state grants to restripe and refashion the traffic patterns and signalization of Route 60 for about a 1/2 mile stretch on the southeast edge of the downtown district. “On the Route 60 proposal, the two key drivers behind it were Councillors O’Malley and [Steve] Winslow,” Spadafora said. “They have been working with the MBTA since late October or early November of last year, and they both came away absolutely confident that this change would improve safety and actually improve traffic at the same time. O’Malley represents Ward 4, the downtown district and Winslow is an at-Large Councillor along with Spadafora and Councillor DeMaria. Backed two fellow Councillors on Rt. 60 plan Spadafora said that he would have preferred to have gone deeper into his research on this project, but understood the time element involved with the acceptance of the offered grants. He said he trusted their judgment and was impressed by their passion for the plan. “They [O’Malley and Winslow] are both passionate transportation advocates, and while I would have liked to have had the time to review this comprehensively along with them, sometimes you have to show good faith when your colleagues feel so strongly about something and have had access to all the data,” Spadafora said. The veteran Councillor noted that the City Council had established an ad hoc committee to keep tabs on the efficacy and impact of the restriping of the roadway and the addition of the bus/bike lane and reduction to single-lane travel for regular cars, SUVs and trucks. “Ultimately, the impact of this change will be apparent to all, and if it isn’t what we’ve been promised, I know we will revisit this,” Spadafora said. “But the promise of reduced accidents and better flowing traffic is something we are all interested in, and I wanted to give both Councillor Winslow and O’Malley the chance to implement their vision.” “We understand that we are talking about paint on the road that can be undone, if the reality [of these changes] turns out different than what we’ve been promised,” Councillor Spadafora added. Spadafora said that he is encouraged by the recent display of unity and joint enthusiasm shown for some major projects and decisions involving the future of the community by the City Council. He said that with more major decisions awaiting the City Council in the near future, he would continue to use his veteran voice and experience to foster this unified approach on behalf of their constituents, Malden’s residents. “As the longest serving continuous councillor, part of my goal here was to show faith in my fellow colleagues where they felt so passionate about these two projects, in hopes that it carries forward to the next issue and the issue after as we work together as a City Council to find common ground,” Spadafora said. For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net
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