the other shoe drops...
Leslie Ogden
Leslie Ogden
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) last month identified buildings that could come down to make way for extension of the T’s Green Line through Medford.
The U-Haul building at 600 Mystic Valley Parkway; the 196-200 Boston Ave. office buildings, which include some research facilities of the Cummings Foundation; and the Elizabeth Grady Headquarters at 222 Boston Avenue could potentially be affected by construction on the subway addition.
But the proposal to extend the Green Line to Route 16 relies on federal funding that is itself contingent on the cost-effectiveness of the project.
The location of the U-Haul building makes it the prime candidate for seizure, according to Ken Krause, a member of the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance (MGNA), a local citizens’ group.
“The U-Haul building is the last building before Mystic Valley Parkway [Route 16], and that’s where they envision the actual station going,” he told the Daily.
The upcoming planning processes will deal in more detail with the status of the other two buildings.
“We are still in the very early planning stages and have identified the structures that we believe, given the current level of engineering we have, … are in the envelope of space,” Kate Fichter, the deputy director of the project at the EOT, told the Daily. “But we are far, far away from knowing anything for sure.”
The EOT has only identified a small part of the 200 Boston Ave. building for possible demolition, but it is possible that the entire building may need to be relocated due to its proximity to the rails.
“[The EOT] has indicated they need at least part of it, because the tracks run really close to the back of it,” Krause said.
Commuter rail tracks can generally be shifted to make room for the Green Line tracks. In this case, though, the tracks cannot move because they are near a bridge over Route 16, according to Krause.
“Basically, there is less room to work with,” he said. Planners are attempting to figure out if the route can pass through that section “without taking the entire building and the entire property,” he added.
Demolishing the entire building at 200 Boston Avenue would have a negative effect on Medford, according to Krause.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation (EOT) last month identified buildings that could come down to make way for extension of the T’s Green Line through Medford.
The U-Haul building at 600 Mystic Valley Parkway; the 196-200 Boston Ave. office buildings, which include some research facilities of the Cummings Foundation; and the Elizabeth Grady Headquarters at 222 Boston Avenue could potentially be affected by construction on the subway addition.
But the proposal to extend the Green Line to Route 16 relies on federal funding that is itself contingent on the cost-effectiveness of the project.
The location of the U-Haul building makes it the prime candidate for seizure, according to Ken Krause, a member of the Medford Green Line Neighborhood Alliance (MGNA), a local citizens’ group.
“The U-Haul building is the last building before Mystic Valley Parkway [Route 16], and that’s where they envision the actual station going,” he told the Daily.
The upcoming planning processes will deal in more detail with the status of the other two buildings.
“We are still in the very early planning stages and have identified the structures that we believe, given the current level of engineering we have, … are in the envelope of space,” Kate Fichter, the deputy director of the project at the EOT, told the Daily. “But we are far, far away from knowing anything for sure.”
The EOT has only identified a small part of the 200 Boston Ave. building for possible demolition, but it is possible that the entire building may need to be relocated due to its proximity to the rails.
“[The EOT] has indicated they need at least part of it, because the tracks run really close to the back of it,” Krause said.
Commuter rail tracks can generally be shifted to make room for the Green Line tracks. In this case, though, the tracks cannot move because they are near a bridge over Route 16, according to Krause.
“Basically, there is less room to work with,” he said. Planners are attempting to figure out if the route can pass through that section “without taking the entire building and the entire property,” he added.
Demolishing the entire building at 200 Boston Avenue would have a negative effect on Medford, according to Krause.
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