At a recent meeting of the Board of Selectmen Chairman Tom Hurley announced that Senator Joyce was asking for a meeting of town officials to meet with the Connellys, owners and developers of the Hendries property. The Connellys were denied a special permit last by the Planning Board last August for a mixed use development. They recently filed for a 40B development. Town Planner Bill Clark updated the board on the issue at that session. Hurley said he would be meeting with Senator Joyce, Alex Whiteside, Chair of the Planning Board, and the Connellys.
The Fallons, owners of the building housing the Steel & Rye restaurant and former Cakes, invited interested parties to submit proposals for the space vacated by Cakes. Several firms submitted applications for consideration including Steel & Rye and The Plate. Rumors are that Steel & Rye may have the inside track and will provide some type of take out offerings.
The Conservation Commission has met with the DCR twice in the last month to discuss the Neponset Greenway, more commenly referred to locally as the bike path. The DCR has been seeking funding to extend the greenway from Central Ave through Mattapan Square and up Truman Highway to the west and south and have a continuous trail to Castle Island to east and north. The discussions have focused on the leg of the trail between Central Ave and Ryan playground in Mattapan. The trail would run along the Milton side of the Neponset and a bridge would cross over to the Ryan playground. The construction would create a 10′ wide path and be located above the high water mark. Construction would require removal of 136 trees sized 6″ or higher. The Conservation Commission expressed concerns about equipment stored on site (e.g. contamination from refueling or leaks). The DCR said the majority of equipment would be at Ryan Playground due to space issues. The DCR is working to get the project shovel ready pending funding that would come from the Governor’s transportation bill. All permits are in place with the exception of Chapter 91 approval for the bridge. (Note – transportation bill is a bit contentious. Find most recent coverage from Boston.com here).
Note: Lee Toma of BikeMilton contributed to this post.
The DCR conducted a site walk of the area. Following is a slide show of the walk. Photos courtesy of Tom Palmer.
