Granite Ave Committee dismisses hotel option

by Frank Schroth

In a vote taken at their meeting on Tuesday night the Granite Avenue Study Committee agreed not to recommend a hotel development on as an appropriate use for the DOT lot that may be acquired by the town. The vote was the result of strong opposition from the neighbors who have been routinely attending the sessions and expressing their concerns.

The neighbors concerns regarding a hotel included but were not limited to a rise in crime. The room last Tuesday was packed with  neighborhood residents and they were vocal in their concern.

Bryan Furze, Chair of the Committee, said that the committee did not like removing the option as a hotel as a possible use. However, he noted that the issue had become such a negative and was so contentious that it was impeding constructive conversation from happening on other good potential uses. “We listened to the community,” he said. Immediate abutters asked that the committee look at other uses.

The work of the committee had been held up for a period while they waited for the appointment of a neighborhood representative to take the place of Andrea Doherty who had stepped down. The committee made a decision not to move forward until that neighborhood representation was in place. The Selectmen appointed Nancy O’Sullivan of Thistle Avenue to fill the spot.

The committee will meet again in May to discuss possible street scape improvements to the area.

  11 comments for “Granite Ave Committee dismisses hotel option

  1. Paul Yovino
    April 17, 2014 at 11:38 am

    I think the fears of having a Motel 6 situation as exists on Union Street in Braintree are unwarranted.

    Quincy has the Boston Marriott hotel and Braintree has several other hotels with its town without the problems that have existed at the Union Street location.

    I believe the careful selection of upscale hotel would eliminate any of these potential problem that the neighbors in that area fear. No one wants a rent by the hour situation in their back or front yard but careful town zoning and regulation would make sure that could not happen.

    This town needs a more solid and welcoming commercial tax base to offset one of the highest residential real estate tax burdens in the greater Boston area. I would hope the residents in that area appreciate and understand that the development of this fallow state DPW yard is a great opportunity under tight controls to help alleviate some of that residential tax burden for the whole town.

    If a hotel is now out of the question a smaller and appropriately sized version of Hingham’s successful Derby Street open mall should now be given serious consideration for the benefit of the whole town.

    As well meaning as those residents are they should be allowed to participate to the fullest extent but not allowed to have complete veto power over this necessary development.

  2. Peter Jackson
    April 17, 2014 at 11:50 am

    I think dismissing a hotel option at this time is short sighted. I think the strong opposition form the neighbors is based on unreasonable fear of what kind of hotel development would end up at the site. They doubt the ability of the town to draw a quality development and to control what happens on the site. Being right near an Interstate exit so close to Boston makes this a great site for a high quality hotel/restaurant/conference center development.

    A residential development at this location would miss a commercial tax base expansion that so many in town are crying out for.

    I’m glad the recommendations of the committee are not binding.

  3. Dick Burke
    April 17, 2014 at 1:16 pm

    Has the committee/ anyone determined the highest and best use of the property ?
    Also, what type/ size of revenues would we be looking at IF a hotel would be built on the site ?

  4. Bob Hannigan
    April 17, 2014 at 1:49 pm

    With all due respect to the neighbors, I believe it is a very bad mistake to eliminate the possibility of a hotel on that site. It narrows the options dramatically. The current rate of commercial office space is high, witness the unfortunate circumstances at 2 Granite Avenue. A very high end office building that is only partially occupied since State Street moved out quite some time ago.
    The site would be ideal for an upscale hotel in close proximity to the City of Boston.
    That decision should be reconsidered.

  5. April 17, 2014 at 2:08 pm

    As Chair of the Granite Avenue Study Committee in Milton, I am proud of our diligent review of the potential uses for the Granite Avenue Park and Ride site. With specific reference to the proposed hotel use, there are positive benefits that this use would bring to our town. However, over the course of a year of public meetings, Milton residents – especially those living adjacent to the site – made very clear that the potential concerns with the use outweighed the benefits. As such, our committee elected to not recommend this use in our final report. By the beginning of summer, our final report should be complete and many other, highly beneficial uses will be recommended. THIS IS THE TYPE OF PLANNING THAT MILTON NEEDS, a process that involves the public, considers abutters then puts forward a thoughtful plan upon which the town can move forward.

  6. April 17, 2014 at 4:16 pm

    This committee’s charge is to “research potential uses for the development of the parcel of land on Granite Avenue, currently owned by the state, and that any planned development be done in conjunction with the Town’s master plan and will consider uses that will be of maximum benefit to the community, create a source of revenue for the Town while minimizing any potential cost to the Town.” The committee’s final report is not binding.

    A hotel is just one of 6 or 7 uses that our committee is considering, all of which will in varying degrees bring direct economic benefits to the town as well as services and amenities to our community. We have had 13 public meetings as a committee and have opened every meeting with Citizen Speak since December 11 (5 times to date).

    During citizen’s speak, we have had significant feedback, both positive and negative for a number of uses including retail, office uses, multifamily and even a for-profit indoor athletic facility. However, we have had overwhelming negative feedback to the hotel use at every citizen’s speak. Our committee reached an impasse on Wednesday night – we could move forward and recommend a multitude of uses that “will be of maximum benefit to the community, create a source of revenue for the Town while minimizing any potential cost to the Town” or we could fold up the tent and inform the Selectmen that no agreement could be reached because of opposition by members of the committee responding to the overwhelming negative comments from the public to a single use.

    I stand by the committee’s decision. We will submit a report that will outline a path to make a blighting, non-revenue producing parcel in Milton into a revenue-positive site that will enhance this gateway to our town and hopefully bring much needed services and amenities to our community.

  7. Dick Burke
    April 17, 2014 at 8:16 pm

    Mr, Furze,
    I certainly.believe it is the Committee ‘s prerogative to eliminate a hotel as an option in the pending recommendations but I would like to know , what the committee projected as revenue , if a hotel were built.
    I ” m assuming that factored that figure into their cost benefit analysis.

  8. kelly a gallagher
    April 17, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    I am a lifelong resident of Milton who initially thought the proposed hotel for the current Park and Ride site on Graniite Avenue was a great option for our town’s ongoing struggles to address our tax rate issues, etc. I wonder, however, if any of the hotel supporters posting on the website are aware of the state provision that allows for the Department of Transitional Assistance to place those unfortunate struggling families hoping to secure long term housing at vacant hotel rooms in both small and large communities within our Commonwealth. One only has to Google Bedford Plaza Hotel in Bedford, MA to learn of how small communities with hotels have come to face this issue and consequent burdens placed upon it to both meet the difficult needs of struggling individuals and balance the needs of their community. The state provision does not discriminate between motels and so called upscale hotels presently. A hotel in Milton might be a very attractive option to those supporters who are hoping for property tax reductions. Please take note, however, that a hotel in Milton located conveniently to an exit off 93 and an urban location will also prove to be a very attractive and efficient resource to the Department of Transitional Assistance in its mission to meet its housing efforts.

    ONe final question as it relates to any proposed structure for the Granite Avenue site…Doesn’t this land fall in the newly redistricted FEMA Flood Zones? What does that translate as to the height of any type of strucutre..higher than 3 stories? Will there be additiona town expenses related to insurance rates, etc?

  9. Andrea Doherty
    April 17, 2014 at 9:59 pm

    For those of you wondering about the kinds of crime that we feel is inappropriate across the street from single family homes, please see a recent sample, below. None were from the Motel 6. As the neighborhood has stated for over one year, we believe that there are better options for this site that will be a win for the neighborhood and a win for Milton. We just wish that our concerns were heard one year ago, rather than last week. The neighbors did not have any veto power. It was a unanimous decision to remove the hotel as an option. Several committees members had been opposed to it all along.

    BRAINTREE Candlewood Suites hotel – Police say a Marshfield man was hit in the head with a hammer after three masked men burst into his family’s room at a Braintree hotel. Police said the three people staying in the room were all from Marshfield at had been at the hotel for about a week.

    BRAINTREE A Braintree man has been sent to prison for three years on child pornography charges. (xxxx xxxx) was arrested at the Boston Marriott Quincy Hotel, where he was in a room with a 16-year-old boy.

    Braintree: Two Randolph residents were arrested in Braintree last Friday after detectives discovered them allegedly dealing drugs out of a hotel on Wood Road. The (men) were charged with trafficking heroin and possession with intent to distribute of both marijuana and cocaine after a search of a room at the Candlewood Suites.

    Randolph: Comfort Inn hotel suspects hit the victim in the head with a metal speaker knocking him to ground. Suspects then repeatedly kicked victim until rendered unconscious and removed money, phone & credit cards from victims pockets.

    BRAINTREE – Extended Stay America hotel. Police say they arrested a Roxbury man after he pulled a knife on a prostitute who “wasn’t working” and threatened to kill her.Police said an 18-year-old woman told officers that she worked as a prostitute for (xxxx) but was threatened by him Wednesday because “she wasn’t working.”

    Quincy -Best Western Quincy Adams Inn in North Quincy, MA. Police arrested a man for allegedly kidnapping a 15-year-old girl off a street and forcing her to work as a prostitute in hotels including a Best Western, Comfort Inn and Ramada Inn. Prosecutors said she escaped from suspect at the Best Western, Quincy.

    NORWOOD Police arrested a scraped-up and soaked (xxxx xxxx) early this morning following reports of car break-ins at the Courtyard Marriott on River Ridge Drive, Police Spokesman (xxxx xxxx) said the front desk clerk at the Courtyard Marriott called police after hearing breaking glass and a car alarm.

  10. Terrence McNeil
    April 18, 2014 at 10:49 am

    In my opinion, many of the comments above focus on taking the hotel use off of the table rather than recognizing the tremendous progress made by the committee, and the community members who participated, in retaining for consideration a wide range of potential uses for this site.

    As many people know, this site was previously made available to Milton many years ago, for free, and the process dragged on without any tangible result, except that the state rescinded its gratis offer to us. Now, we are the in the unusual position of having a second bite at the apple, albeit one that comes with a purchase price. The committee members and the residents, whether abutters or not, who have commented in support or opposition to various uses should be commended for taking the time to do so and getting the process to a point that we can truly move forward to the next state of this opportunity. The committee members should be commended for considering each use, as Mr. Furze notes above, and evaluating it openly and honestly, during understandably contentious discussions with concerned neighbors. A hotel may be ruled out (after extensive evaluation), but a number of viable and productive residential and commercial uses remain and suggest that we may someday see much-needed revenue generated for our community from a development without generating the concerns voiced by the community.

    Many thanks to the committee members, the abutters and other residents who have shown the progress that can be made in this town through a community process, which like any community process can be lengthy and often frustrating. This is a positive result and I look forward to the next step and encourage those with strong feelings about this site or its use to attend the future meetings of the committee.

  11. Paul Doherty
    April 18, 2014 at 2:53 pm

    Terrence and All,
    Some good points here but the first one is absolutely not correct. What’s the old saying, “If you repeat a lie long enough people start believing it’s the truth”?

    The property was never offered to the town for free. Anyone who keeps repeating this is just not informed or intends to mislead people. I am and have been an abutter to this property for 20 years. I have been down this road before. The State approached the town years ago but they wanted to lease the property. The State wanted to collect rent and let the town collect property tax on the site. Why nothing came of it back then is debatable but there was never a gratis offer.

    I’m also concerned about the 6 million dollar price tag. Maybe if we keep repeating that number long enough people will believe that’s what it’s worth also.

    The committee is doing a commendable job. There are plenty of options left that they can recommend in their report. I’m sure there’s a happy medium that can be met where the town, the neighbors and all of the community can benefit.

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