Hampden Happenings
April 2006

Rotunda Project Gets Mixed Reviews From City Design Pane
By George L. Peters

As many Hampden neighbors probably already know, the Rotunda will soon undergo some major changes. Hekemian & Co., a New Jersey-based real estate investment and development company, has bought the complex and are currently moving forward with plans to further develop and redevelop the property.

The proposed project includes a new 70,000-square-foot Giant grocery store, 50,000 square feet of additional retail space, 300 apartments, 100 condominiums and 10 or more townhomes. Hekemian & Co. will provide roughly 1,600 onsite parking spaces by building both an underground and above ground garages, as well as reconfiguring the current surface parking.

On March 30, Chris Bell of Hekemian & Co. presented the most recent design plans for the Rotunda project to the city planning department’s Urban Design and Architecture Review Panel commonly referred to as UDARP. Genny Dill, chair of the HCC zoning committee, Richard Kaminski, president of the Medfield Community Association, and I were present to formally express the concerns of our respective neighborhoods. We also provided the members of UDARP with written copies of all letters that had been submitted to the HCC zoning committee prior to this meeting.

UDARP commended Hekemian & Co.’s goals of creating a mixed-use project, a pedestrian friendly environment, and connections to the surrounding neighborhood. They also commended Hekemian’s attempt at sensitivity to the existing context and character of the neighborhood as well as the original Rotunda buildings.

However, they did have numerous recommendations for improvements to the design of the project. It was recommended that additional massing studies be done, and that the philosophy behind the heights and massing, be further developed and refined. UDARP felt that the site layout with its multiple entrances, roadways and levels may become confusing. They challenged Hekemian to create a complex that could be part of the neighborhood fabric and everyday life. It was also recommended that the entrance from 40^th Street be given a greater processional quality, almost like a boulevard, for both vehicles and pedestrians. In addition, panel members felt that the connections to the surrounding neighborhood, pedestrian and vehicular, still needed more study.

I was given the opportunity to speak on behalf of the HCC at this meeting and conveyed some of the written concerns of our neighbors. I explained that the proposed 17 story high-rise that would house the 300 apartments seemed quite out of place just 60 or so feet from 38^th Street, which is lined with two-story rowhomes. Many members of the Panel had already expressed this point in their evaluations and agreed.