CREDIT: Courtesy of Neshamkin French Architects, Inc.

CAPTION: An artist’s rendering of the proposed Bridgeview Lofts residential development.

A pair of high-rise buildings planned for Rutherford Avenue has raised many questions regarding future development in the neighborhood and how the project has changed since it was first proposed 20 years ago.
At a Charlestown Neighborhood Council Development Committee meeting last Thursday, CNC representatives and a small number of concerned residents and abutters discussed Bridgeview Lofts, a $70 million residential development planned for the area north of the Bunker Hill Community College Athletic fields.
The project would consist of two buildings — one 20 stories and 250 feet in height, the other 14 stories and 181 feet tall. The development’s 180 one- and two-bedroom loft-style units, described as affordably priced and with little finish work (e.g. granite countertops), could be marketed as rentals or condos, depending on the market. A three-level garage would also provide 280 on-site parking spaces at grade and in two underground levels, and retail space would likely be available on the first level. The project could be completed in three years, with proper funding in place, according to the developers.
The developers are Byron Gilchrest, president of Gilchrest Associates, Inc. of Boston, and Jack Millerick, executive director of the Life Focus Center, Inc. (The Life Focus Center is a City Square-based non-profit that assists the mentally handicapped and provides other social services). Jack French, president of Monument Square’s Neshamkin French Architects, Inc., is designing the project.
Development Committee co-chair Judy Brennan questioned the new designation of the site as a for-profit residential complex, since the Boston Redevelopment Authority granted development rights of the parcel to the Life Focus Center in 1988 for the sum of $1. Under this agreement, the parcel was designated for a new Life Focus Center facility.
Millerick said the Life Focus Center originally hoped to build a new facility at the site, but a sluggish economy made this plan unfeasible at the time. The latest and third proposal that now comes before the CNC is “literally an extension” of the original plan, he said.
Earnings from the development would be used to establish an endowment for the Life Focus Center, which Millerick said was essential to the non-profit’s survival in light of recent cutbacks. The Child Focus Center, a daycare service operated by the Life Focus Center, also plan to expand from its current home at the Community College to Bridgeview Lofts, Millerick said.
In addition, Millerick said the developers would be required to renegotiate the terms of its deal with the BRA and would likely pay more for the parcel rights, given the different nature of the new proposal.
The project’s partnership between a non-profit and a private developer still presented a quandary for some: As Dave Whelan of the CNC said, “You might want to vote for the non-profit, but not for the development.”
Brennan described the height of Bridgeview Lofts as “the other elephant in the room,” pointing out that one of the buildings, at 250 feet, would surpass the 221-foot Bunker Hill Monument as the tallest building in Charlestown.
French countered that the site of the development would be located outside the center of town.
This came of little consolation to the abutting homeowners in attendance, 17 of whom signed a petition against the project. While the name “Bridgeview Lofts” implies that each unit would offer a view of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge and downtown Boston, residents of Essex and Lyndeboro streets fear they will find themselves living in its shadow.
“At the end of my day, I sit down and watch the sun set,” Essex Street resident Patricia Kelly said. “Please don’t take that away from me.”
Others wondered what kind of precedent the height of Bridgeview Lofts would set for future development along Rutherford Avenue and in Sullivan Square.
“Height is a major issue for a lot of people today,” CNC Chairman Tom Cunha said to the developers. “You have an opportunity to decide what gets built on the rest of Sullivan Square
Some suggested future development should be postponed until the implementation of the city’s Rutherford Avenue Corridor Study, which aims to facilitate traffic flow in the area by reconfiguring the roadway.
“Let’s slow development down until the traffic situation on Rutherford Avenue can be addressed,” said Precinct 7 CNC representative Mike Charbonnier during a phone interview after the meeting, “That’s what I’ve been hearing from my constituents for over a year.”
Gilchrest said the project wasn’t being planned in conjunction with the traffic study or other development planned for the neighborhood.
“If you wait for something to get done, nothing gets done,” Gilchrest said. “We could be out here six years from now waiting for the planning to be done.”
For the time being, Bill Lamb, chairman of the Charlestown Preservation Society Design Review Committee, urged the Neighborhood Council to put a moratorium on Bridgeview Lofts until the completion of the traffic study, which he said would “set guidelines for the area to insure coherent, attractive, safe and economically feasible construction.”
Lamb said, “If Bridgeview is approved, we’re putting action before thinking.”
The Neighborhood Council voted six to three in favor of a motion from Cunha stating that the developers would take part in ongoing meetings and revise its proposal based on input from the community and the CNC. The motion also requests that BRA representatives participate in future meetings.
A second motion, put forward by Bill Galvin of the CNC, called for a moratorium on all future development in the vicinity of Rutherford Avenue and Sullivan Square for one year or until the time that the traffic study is completed. Six voted in favor of this motion, while three abstained.

A clear consensus emerged when the Charlestown Business Climate Improvement Committee presented findings from its Community Survey last week: Residents want more food options in the neighborhood, and they are resoundingly unhappy with the current state of the Bunker Hill Mall.
The Business Climate Improvement Committee, which was established in collaboration with the Charlestown Business Association in the spring of 2006, distributed 10,000 hard copies of the survey last November in an effort to determine what types of businesses residents wanted to see in the neighborhood. The survey was also available online in both English and Spanish. According Lynne Levesque, chair of the Business Climate Improvement Committee Steering Committee, 1,095 of the neighborhood’s 7,524 households completed the survey, representing a response rate of approximately 15 percent.
Rob Lockhart, a member of the Community Survey Team, said respondents were representative of the community as a whole, although feedback was low among the youngest (18- to 24-year-olds) and oldest (age 75 and older) demographics.
One of the most telling conclusions from the survey was how much money residents spend outside the community: Of the $225 million that residents spend on retail goods and services each year, only $54 million of these expenditures were made in Charlestown.
“People shop elsewhere because the town lacks a critical mass of stores where people can shop and dine,” said Carol Bratley, leader of the Community Survey Team.
While 71 percent of residents said they typically walked to restaurant and stores in the neighborhood, parking was cited as one of the top concerns for business owners.
“Parking in general is identifies as a problem because businesses must attract tourists and visitors to survive,” Bratley said.
As for where they hope to see more businesses, survey respondents listed Main Street City Square and the Navy Yard — in that order.
With survey respondents listing food as their biggest expenditure, it’s not surprising that they want to see a wider range of restaurants, groceries, prepared foods and specialty food stores in the neighborhood.
“Food is definitely what we want, in one form or another,” Bratley said, adding that casual dining and restaurants topped the list of what respondents most wanted to see.
Other businesses that respondents cited a need for include a bookstore, a hardware store and more gift shops.
Respondents also pointed the need for more complimentary businesses (i.e. a restaurant next door to a gift shop) in a more cohesive shopping district. They said they would be more inclined to shop and dine in Charlestown if there were more places to browse.
Business Climate Improvement Committee members identified the need to integrate Rutherford Avenue and Sullivan Square into the business district as one of the biggest challenges they now face. “An important task is linking those areas to traditional Charlestown through walking routes and satisfactory parking,” Bratley said.
To remedy this situation, Tom Cunha, a member of the Business Climate Improvement Committee Steering Committee, suggested the Charlestown Neighborhood Council could require that developments in those areas include retail space.
The Bunker Hill Mall represents another hindrance in future efforts to revitalize the neighborhood’s business district. While approximately 80 percent of respondents said they shopped at the mall because of parking and convenience, they were critical of its layout and appearance. (Two of the malls storefronts have also sat vacant since March of 2006).
Cunha said Boston-based New England Developers, which owns the mall, had plans for its redevelopment, but the design had yet to be finalized.
“They only want to do it over once,” Cunha said.

As one of the elected officials in attendance when the Charlestown Business Climate Improvement Committee presented the results of its Community Survey last week, Sen. Anthony Galluccio wants to help revitalize the neighborhood’s once-thriving business district.
“What I got out of the survey is that people love to live in Charlestown, but they want to see more exciting retail options,” Galluccio said during an exclusive interview with the Patriot-Bridge last Thursday.
Galluccio’s suggested that residential developments be required to provide retail space on the first floor in a step that he believes could attract more diverse restaurants and shops to the neighborhood.
“It could create an opportunity for smaller, more interesting retail on Main Street,” Galluccio said.
Galluccio said Charlestown should look to Huron Avenue in Cambridge as an example of a residential neighborhood that has successfully attracted restaurants and shops.
“You need a critical mass of restaurants and stores that work together,” he said.
While Galluccio points to the lack of parking as a major hindrance for business owners, he suggested more spaces could be made available in the Navy Yard, among other locations. “The neighborhood has to be ready for parking demands,” he said.
Like the majority of respondents to the survey, Galluccio sees the Bunker Hill Mall as one of the biggest challenges – and opportunities - now facing Charlestown’s business climate. He has offered to facilitate a dialogue between New England Developers, which owns the mall, and the community to discuss how it can be made more attractive to consumers.
“The owners can’t be happy with the current setup of the mall,” Galluccio said, adding that the design is problematic since the stores face away from Main Street.
Galluccio believes the mall, with its available parking, central location and sheer square footage, provides the potential for a true mix of retail opportunities. He suggested New England Developers consider negotiating leases to attract smaller businesses instead of just larger chain stores. “Maybe, there’s a middle ground,” Galluccio said.
Still, Galluccio is quick to point out there are other retail opportunities outside of the mall, especially in light of residential development proposed for the area of Sullivan Square and Rutherford Avenue.
“I don’t think the mall is the only opportunity here,” he said. “The retailers will follow the bodies.”
In order to help the retail district grow, Galluccio said Charlestown should settle on a brand that helps define the neighborhood’s businesses. But there are limitations: “It’s not big enough that you can go in too many direction,” he said.
Ultimately, Galluccio said the community must be prepared to make concessions to attract new businesses if it wants Charlestown to become a retail and shopping destination.
“Charlestown has to make it clear that there are retail opportunities and that it is willing to work with parking and licensing, Galluccio said, “But does the community really want to do that?”

Twenty-two-month-old Matthew Mahan is seen shoveling snow in Doherty Park on Monday morning.

CREDIT: Courtesy of CPS

CAPTION: The Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the Training Field.

The Charlestown Preservation Society has won two major grants that make it possible to begin conservation work on the historic Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the Training Field.
“We’re very pleased to be able to start the new year with this happy news,” said Marilyn Darling, chair of the Campaign to Preserve the Training Field Statue. “Thanks to these grants and generous leadership gifts from the Charlestown community, we now have sufficient funds to start work on the statue this summer.”
The Henderson Foundation awarded CPS $30,000, praising the statue conservation project for including best practices for preserving historic granite. And the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority awarded the organization $4,000 as part of its Community Partnership Fund.
Since June of 2007, CPS has raised over $50,000 toward the cost of restoring and maintaining the statue, including $14,000 in leadership contributions from nearly 70 Charlestown residents and businesses, a $1,000 City of Boston Small Changes grant and a $5,000 contribution from CPS funds.
Darling pointed to the support from Charlestown residents and businesses, as well as 100-percent participation from the CPS board, as playing an important role in securing the grants.
“We’re very grateful to our generous donors,” she said, “And we hope this will be just the first of a series of community efforts to conserve this unique park.”
The Training Field statue, which honors veterans of the Civil War, was created in 1872 by Martin Millmore, a leading Victorian-era sculptor. It is currently in serious need of repair, with a small tree growing out of the top and moss and weeds taking root elsewhere.
A professional conservation evaluation in June 2007 recommended re-pointing, cleaning and granite repairs, in addition to removing the tree and weeds, at a total cost of over $48,000.
The next steps for CPS include choosing a qualified preservation contractor and launching a community-wide campaign to complete a fund for the statue’s continued maintenance.
Darling said the maintenance fund is a vital part of the effort. “With a maintenance fund, we won’t find ourselves in a similar situation 30 years from now, with an historic statue that needs extensive restoration,” she said.
To meet one of the Henderson Fund requirements, CPS will use some of the monies donated to hire an arborist to trim the trees around the statue to admit more sunlight and reduce the potential for damage from falling branches.
Anyone interested in contributing or learning more about the Campaign to Preserve the Training Field Statue can call Charlestown Preservation Society at 617-241-7500 or email info@charlestownpreservation.org. Donations can be made to the CPS Statue Fund, Box 290201, Charlestown, MA 02129.