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Architects unveil cost estimates for community center

The five community center site options and costs from ICON Architects (click to enlarge).

At a June 13 public forum, architects presented five basic site designs for a community center that satisfy the three cost parameters approved by residents in November 2022 — but some residents were disappointed in some features of the lower-cost options.

All five concepts call for 60 parking spaces behind the “solar-ready” community center (a solar PV canopy would be installed as part of a separate project). Site work is expected to cost $3.5 million regardless of how the buildings and parking are configured. The figures include site work, construction and “soft costs” (professional fees, owner’s contingency, furniture and equipment, etc.) as explained in the presentation that will be posted soon on the Community Center Building Committee website.

Option 1 (the “100% option”) come to $22.6 million and includes a new two-story building to replace pods A and C, a new maintenance building, and a renovated pod B. Options 1A, 1B and 2 are $16.7 to $18 million, while Option 2A would cost $11.3 million. The four options at 50% and 75% would require some combination of less new construction, not renovating one of the pods, and/or fewer total square feet for programming for Parks and Recreation and the Council on Aging and Human Services. 

The price points were set as percentages of a $25 million estimate for two concepts developed by Mary Ann Thomson Architects in 2018. Those concepts were estimated to cost $15.2 million to $16.2 million in 2018 dollars. In 2021, that figure was revised upward by cost estimators to $25.4 million in 2025 dollars. However, Ned Collier of ICON Architects reported that his firm’s cost estimators looked again at the 2018 concepts and determined that they would cost about $30 million today, partly because construction costs have risen by around 8% annually rather than the projected 5%.

“Materials and labor and labor have greatly increased over the intervening years,” he said.

Only Option 1 includes a new maintenance building on the Hartwell campus, which would add about $1 million to the price tags for options 1a, 1B, 2, and 2A. “We ask the town to consider whether this is the highest and best use [as a] large percentage of the project cost,” Collier said. But he got immediate pushback.

“A maintenance building is a must — you can’t not include that in the cost,” said Susan Taylor, the School Committee’s representative on the CCBC.”You can’t just lop off part of this project and say we’ll think about maintenance another day.”

“I’m discouraged that you dispensed with a function that’s currently being provided” in part of pod B, said Buck Creel, former Administrator for Business and Finance for the Lincoln Public Schools. Collier responded that the structure could be added to any of the other options, which (except for option 1A) are “below [cost] targets by a sufficient amount.”

Other residents at the forum were worried about losing the possibility of not renovating the LEAP pods (Options 1A, 1B and 2A)  or losing program space. Option 2 would deduct 1,000 square feet, while option 2A would remove 3,000 square feet. 

“This doesn’t have enough space for the programs we already have,” said Parks & Recreation Commission member Rob Stringer. “I’m concerned that Lincoln is selling itself short.”

He also noted that if some of the programs of the COA&HS and Park & Rec (which is headquartered in pod C) were to remain in Bemis Hall and an unrenovated pod C respectively, the cost to renovate those buildings would have to be figured in. Collier estimated that a standalone renovation of any of the pods (which would include bringing it up to current building code) would cost $3 million.

If square footage is removed for the COA&HS as per Options 2 and 2A , “what are Abby [Butt, COA&HS director] and her team expected to do?” Select Board member Km Bodnar said. “If you’re building a building that’s shrinking but adding services [over time], how does that make sense if we’re using this building for the next 30 years? I understand the price points but I don’t think we are going in a realistic direction by decreasing the size.”

“More people will be coming,” said resident Wendy Kusik, noting that as the town’s population ages, the need for COA&HS will only increase over time.

Taylor said she had thought before the forum that the three price opinions would deliver the same programming. “What programs or services are we eliminating?” she asked.

“I shared your hope that we would be able to fit the [full] program in each of the scenarios, but changes in the market are really preventing that,” Collier said, adding that “this exercise is cost-driven” and the architects are not taking a position.

There was still some sentiment to scale back the community center size and/or locate some services in other buildings in town. “Do we really need 13,000 square feet? I don’t think so. The rooms we designed are way too big,” said resident David Cuetos.

Over the summer, ICON will flesh out the options with some design detail in preparation for a presentation and charrette at the State of the Town meeting on September 30. Residents will choose a preferred option at a Special Town Meeting on December 2 and then vote to authorize a spending measure at Annual Meeting and at the ballot box in March 2024.

Rezoning ideas to comply with HCA and redevelop mall are aired

The five parcels proposed for multifamily rezoning (click to enlarge). Some combinations of four of them would satisfy HCA requirements.

Five parcels of land in Lincoln have been identified for possible multifamily rezoning to satisfy the state Housing Choice Act, according to a consultant hired to help the town comply with the law. In a separate effort, the Rural Land Foundation is also proposing to rezone the area occupied by the Mall at Lincoln Station to allow redevelopment of the mall along with multifamily housing.

The HCA and mall initiatives were both presented at a multiboard meeting led by the Housing Choice Act Working Group on June 6. There will be two public forums later this month where residents can get information and ask questions, and more detailed proposals will be presented at the State of the Town meeting in September in preparation for a vote at Town Meeting in March 2024.

The state law aims to encourage more transit-oriented zoning areas on land surrounding MBTA stops by mandating “by right” zoning of at least 15 units per acre across the district. Lincoln, which has two MBTA stops (the train station and bus stop), must allow a total of 635 units.

The timeline is tight because the HCA requires commuter-rail towns such as Lincoln to have a rezoning plan in place by 18 months from now. Plans must be presented prior to a townwide vote ahead of time to the state Department of Housing and Community Development, which (along with the Attorney General’s Office) must also sign off after voter approval at Town Meeting — all by December 2024.

Early proposals for rezoning parts of Lincoln have identified five candidate parcels, four of which together would allow enough multifamily units to satisfy the HCA. Three of the parcels are in South Lincoln near the train station; the others are in north Lincoln around Oriole Landing and the Lincoln North office complex. Four of the five possible subdistrict combinations would meet all the conditions.

“You have options as a town. This is a good place to be,” said Will Cohen of consulting firm Utile Design.

Towns aren’t required to create a single multifamily district; they may split it up into several nonadjacent subdistricts. However, the work to determine which areas would together meet state requirements is constrained by a complicated set of rules and formulas. For example, one of the subdistricts must account for at least half of the district’s total land area; all the land targeted must be developable (i.e., not conservation land or wetlands); and existing properties may not be divided into more than one new zone.

In Lincoln, the district must total at least 42 acres, and 20% of that land must be within half a mile of the commuter rail station. Some of it may also be around the bus stop at the corner of Hanscom Drive and Old Bedford Road. The working group focused on those areas as well as others that already have multifamily housing.

Additional wrinkles:

  • Since the HCA is aimed at residential zoning, commercial use cannot be required in a compliant district (though it may be allowed). This limits the ability to require mixed-use development in places like South Lincoln.
  • Lincoln now requires 15% of the units in multifamily developments to be income-restricted, but the HCA doesn’t have any requirements around affordability. In fact, if a town wants to have a zone mandate that more than 10% of the units are affordable, it must pay for an independent feasibility study that will demonstrate that that local requirement will not hurt the economic viability of a proposed project. Lincoln has already taken steps to have such a study done.

Lincoln and other towns can require developers to submit a site plan review and comply with reasonable design guidelines relating to traffic circulation, screening, lighting, etc., but “they can’t put out guidelines that make it impossible to do something,” Planning Board member Margaret Olson noted.

Finance Board member Andy asked if the state would pre-approve several rezoning proposals and allow voters to choose which one they preferred. “Lincoln has a history of getting state approval, [then] turning things down at Town Meeting and getting in a bind,” he said, referring to the school project that was pre-approved and partially funded by the state but was subsequently shot down at Town Meeting in 2012.

“That’s a great question that I don’t know the answer to,” Cohen said.

The HCAWG public forums will be on:

  • Friday, June 16 at 8 a.m. in person at the Town Hall
  • Tuesday, June 20 at 7 p.m. via Zoom — click here to register.

Redeveloping the mall

Along a parallel path in recent years, the Rural Land Foundation has been thinking about how to redevelop and revitalize the Mall at Lincoln Station to make it more attractive to commercial tenants and encourage multifamily housing. They propose to create a mall subdistrict that could accommodate 42 housing units above the building now housing the Bank of America and other stores (the portion with the post office and restaurant would not be affected).

“We though that looked pretty nice and in keeping with a town village center feel,” said Michelle Barnes, chair of the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust/RLF Board of Trustees, as she showed a rendering of one idea. “Greater density doesn’t have to look as scary as we might think.”

An artist’s rendering of one concept for how the mall might look after rezoning and redevelopment. Donelan’s is the white building at left rear.

As a commercial use, the mall area can’t be in the HCA district, as noted earlier. Instead, the town could rezone the mall to allow mixed use by right while also ensuring that commercial space is preserved.

A better quality of commercial space is crucial for the economic viability of the mall, which the trustees see as “an increasingly risky and hard-to-justify fiduciary obligation of the RLF,” Barnes said. However, without the opportunity for a developer to create a viable mixed-use project, the value of the mall will decline and the RLF will probably need to sell it (which it may have to do in any case).

RLF doesn’t have the capital to redevelop the mall by itself, so the group is working with CIVICO, which won approval for and built Oriole Landing before selling it in 2022. The RLF and CIVICO are conceptualizing a project with the idea that the mall would eventually be sold to the company, but contingent on an agreed-upon design “in keeping with the town’s ethos and values” that’s developed with input from residents and town leadership, Barnes said. To guarantee long-term financial viability for the project, a minimum of 25 housing units per acre built above the commercial spaces would be needed, she added.

Along with the HCA proposal, a mall rezoning measure will be presented at the State of the Town meeting on September 30 and at Town Meeting in March 2024.

Correction

In the June 6 edition of “News acorns,” an incorrect link was given for the website showing what parts of the Battle Road Trail are closed for repair. Click here to see the map (scroll down). The original post has been updated.

News acorns

Evenings at Gropius 2023

The Gropius House on Baker Bridge Road.

During an evening slide show and house tour on Friday, June 9 (as well as July 7, August 11, and September 15) from 7–9 p.m., see how Walter Gropius’s innovative lighting scheme comes to life at night. Gropius, founder of the German design school the Bauhaus, was one of the most influential architects of the twentieth century. His 1938 home at 68 Baker Bridge Road highlights the clean lines of Modernist design. Light refreshments are individual “nibbles” picnic bags. $65 for Historic New England members, $75 for nonmembers. Advance tickets required; call 781-259-8098 or buy online.

Class for kids on making summer recipes

Lincoln dietician and Happy Jars owner Jodi Gorman will offer a cooking class featuring summer parties and picnics for kids age 10+ on Friday, June 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library. Jodi will go over basic kitchen skills as well as how to create a versatile, tasty salad for all seasons. All materials will be provided. Email sfeather@minlib.net for registration and more information.

Talk on Middle East policy

The GRALTA Foundation presents “What Can Progressives Do to Change America’s Middle East Policy?” with Philip Weiss, founder and senior editor of Mondoweiss, on Saturday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Weiss is co-editor of “The Goldstone Report: The Legacy of the Landmark Investigation of the Gaza Conflict,” a 2011 retrospective on the official report prepared for the U.N. on Israel’s 2009 incursion into Gaza.  Mondoweiss is a source of news and analysis for progressives interested in the struggle for human rights equality for all people— Jews and non-Jews—living in Israel and the territories it has annexed and/or occupies. For more information, contact Steve Low at 781-259-1300 or steve.low@gordianconcepts.com.

Summer concert series at St. Anne’s

The Society for Historically Informed Performance (SoHIP) presents concerts at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church on most Thursdays from June 20 to August 8 from 7:30–9 p.m. The June 20 event, “The Road Less Traveled,” features 18th-century sonatas and dances performed by Titti Bassi — baroque cello duo Sarah Freiberg and Colleen McGary-Smith of the Handel and Haydn Society. Click here to see the full schedule of performers and to buy tickets ($26 regular admission, $21 for students and seniors, or $150/$117 for a season pass).

Battle Road Trail getting improvements

One of the recently repaired boardwalks in the national park.

As part of a park-wide $27 million refurbishment project, several sections of the Battle Road Trail in the Minute Man National Historical Park are scheduled for trail rehabilitation and multiple boardwalks are scheduled for replacement this summer and fall. These projects will require temporary trail closures to the public at different locations along Battle Road Trail for safety and protections of the park’s natural and cultural resources. Click here for locations of the temporary closures and estimated closure dates.

Apply to teen Youth in Philanthropy program

The Foundation for MetroWest is now accepting student applications to its 2023-2024 Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) programs. YIP offers high school students who live or learn in MetroWest the opportunity to develop leadership, critical thinking, and collaboration skills while giving back to their community. Participating students work together to identify community needs, learn about local nonprofits, and make funding decisions that have a direct impact on youth in the MetroWest region.

To learn more or apply, visit yipmetrowest.org. Students interested in the fall programs are encouraged to apply before the fall priority deadline on Friday, June 30. Rolling admission then continues throughout the summer based on availability. The priority application deadline for spring 2024 programs is October 31, 2023.

SSEF receives $90,000 grant

The Lincoln-based South Sudanese Enrichment for Families has awarded a three-year, $90,000 grant by the Cummings Foundation. SSEF is one of 150 local nonprofits Selected from a pool of 630 applicants that will share $30 million through the foundation’s annual grants program.

SSEF is committed to building self-sufficiency and promoting community for all South Sudanese Americans in Massachusetts. “We are so grateful for this investment in our community that will be transformative for SSEF’s Educational Empowerment Initiative,” said Susan Winship, SSEF’s executive director. “Connecting the families we serve to existing educational resources and making sure the children of immigrants are receiving quality enrichment is our goal.

SSEF created a position to focus specifically on the Covid-related educational crisis impacting the South Sudanese community. The new Educational Liaisons assist families in connecting and communicating with schools, and advocating for their children. With the grant from Cummings, SSEF will increase the scope and efforts of this initiative.

The Cummings Foundation owns commercial property that is managed at no cost to the foundation by its affiliate, Cummings Properties. The Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the foundation.

News acorns

STEM robotics open house

On Thursday, May 31, the Lincoln GearTicks will host a STEM Open House from 7-8 p.m. at Hartwell Pod A where you can see some of the robots that students built this year and learn more about joining one of the many teams.

Robotics programs are organized through FIRST and the Lincoln Recreation Department. FLL Explore introduces kids in grades 1-3 to STEM through Lego building and programming activities and runs for six weeks starting in January. In FLL Challenge, students in grades 4-8  build and program Lego robots for specific tasks on a playing field for lasting 12 weeks starting in early September. FTC caters to those in grades 7-12 with a commitment of 9+ hours/week designing robots using 3D-printed and laser-cut materials and programming in Java. Questions? Email hello@gearticks.com.

Lemonade social to celebrate Dr. Sharon Hobbs

All are invited to a lemonade social at the Lincoln School to celebrate Dr. Sharon Hobbs, who is retiring as principal after 17 years of service to our community, on Friday, June 2 from 4–6 p.m. at the Lincoln School. Click here if you would like to donate toward the campus legacy gift.

Softball league welcomes players

It’s not too late to sign up for adult Lincoln summer softball! Some teams need a few more players to avoid the last-minute scramble when someone can’t make it. We especially need women, but can use anyone 18+. The league tends to be on the older side, and we are not highly competitive — we just want to get out and have fun. The season will start on Sunday, June 4, with another game June 18 and then the full season starts with the Sunday/Monday/Thursday schedule on June 25. Games are at Codman Field next to the pool at 6 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, and 5 p.m. on Sundays. Click here to register. The cost is $36 through May 31 and $40 thereafter.

Camp counselors needed

Lincoln Summer Camp is seeking qualified, responsible applicants to join the team for the 2023 camp season. Click here for more information.

Kids’ triathlon coming up

The Splash, Mash and Dash, Lincoln’s triathlon for kids ages 5 -14 on Saturday, June 24 from 8–11:30 a.m. is the perfect race for a first-time triathlete. The swim/bike/run event takes place at the Codman Pool; the older you are, the farther you go! Information about the race can be found at www.kidstri.net. There are T-shirts, goody bags and medals for every participant plus awards and raffle prizes. Entry fees are $30 per person (maximum $90 per family) before race day and $40/$120 maximum on race day. For maximum family discount, please contact ldumont@lincnet.org. Packet pickup is Friday, June 23 from 12:30–6 p.m. in Hartwell B Pod. Click here to register.  

Codman Community Farms birthday celebration

Codman Community Farms will mark its 50th birthday with a celebration for all ages on Saturday, June 10 from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. This will be a day of games, food, and music, with special T-shirts available for purchase. Among the activities:

  • Live music by the Honey Steelers
  • Farm themed games & entertainment for kids
  • Strawberry pie-eating contest
  • “American Gothic” photo contest
  • Birthday cake and ice cream for all (cake-cutting at 1 p.m.)
  • Food for purchase including Codman’s own smoked ribs or maple sausage, grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh veggie & hummus basket with pita chips, and beer/wine/nonalcoholic drinks

While the event is free for all and no tickets are required, please click here to “purchase” your free tickets as an RSVP. This will ensure enough fun for all.

Give feedback about Farrar Road

The Farrar Road advisory shoulder pilot has reached the one-year mark and the town wants to know how you feel using the roadway with the new striping If you have traveled on Farrar Road at all in the last year, whether walking, biking or driving, please take this brief survey. The results will be combined with other feedback and data collected during the pilot and included in the town’s report to the Federal Highway Administration.

Honor Lincoln teachers and staff 

Are you looking for a special way to thank a teacher or staff member for all they have done this school year to support our kids? The Lincoln School Foundation’s HATS (Honor A Teacher & Staff) program allows you to recognize learning coaches and other staff members of your choice while supporting the LSF. For a small donation, we will prepare a certificate of appreciation with your personalized message to be delivered to the recipient. In addition to your child’s learning coach/teacher, consider celebrating the hard work of teaching assistants, specialists (art, music, drama, science, wellness), support specialists, office staff, nurses, custodians, METCO staff — anyone who works in Lincoln schools. Follow the instructions on this LSF webpage. Your HATS gifts support LSF’s grants to teachers and innovation in the classroom. To learn more about the LSF and the grants we have given in recent years, see www.lincolnschoolfoundation.org.  

15 L-S graduates win scholarships

The 2023 Atkinson Scholarship recipients. Top row, left to right: Rebecca Edwards, Alijah Williams, Caleb del Rosario, Aviel Stutman, Chris Kornblum, Lily Gordenstein, Chloe Mazza, Anuvab Deb. Bottom row (left to right): Norah Lee, Carly Robinson, Lea Murphy, Mary Ogunsanya, Neeva Manandhar, Melissa Andrade, Ava Flynn. Not pictured: Faimah Nalwanga (click photo to enlarge).

Lincoln’s Neeva Manandhar is one of 16 seniors to receive an Atkinson Scholarship. Neeva and 14 others will graduate from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School while Ava Flynn will graduate from Marblehead High School. The other scholarship recipients are Melissa Andrade (Boston); Anuvab Deb, Caleb del Rosario, Lily Gordenstein, Christopher Kornblum, Norah Lee, Faimah Nalwanga, Carly Robinson, and Aviel Stutman (Sudbury), Chloe Mazza (Hudson), Lea Murphy (Framingham), Mary Ogunsanya (Mattapan), and Rebecca Edwards and Alijah Williams (Hyde Park).

The Atkinson Scholarship Program was established 28 years ago to recognize local students with financial need, academic promise, and the capacity to make a meaningful contribution to society. Recipients get a $5,000 scholarship and an opportunity to reapply for support each year of their undergraduate academic career. Selected students embody the qualities valued by former Sudbury residents Herbert and Esther Atkinson, who established the foundation in 1952.

Senior actors wanted

Senior citizens are invited to join the cast of “Cat Tales,” a family show featuring “Jellicle Cats II” from Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot and “The Cat that Walked by Himself” from Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. The show will be directed by Eugene Warner, a recently retired theater professor and high school teacher. Performances in August will include a special appearance at the Bread and Puppet Theatre in Glover, Vt. For more information, see seniorcattales.org or contact Warner (617-826-9080, seniorcattales@gmail.com).

Kids get colorful (Lincoln through the Lens)

Lincoln Public Schools students in grades K-5 came together on April 3 at the eCordova Sculpture Park for The Great Create, where they work collaboratively to complete creative challenges and create sculptures using unexpected art-making materials. The event was sponsored by the Lincoln School Foundation.

Children working on their Great Create project. (Photo by Corrina Miara)

  

Qianhe Ma gets his hands dirty (or blue, anyway) at the Great Create. (Photo by Corrina Miara)

Correction

In the May 17 article headlined “Watering limited to one day a week as town works to repair leaks,” the word “not” was missing in the second-to-last paragraph. It should have read:

Though the old pipe’s contents are not counted as part of Lincoln’s water usage, “it is water we’re losing from Flint’s Pond and we’re eager to get it fixed,” said LaFalam, adding that the Water Department hopes to get it fixed this spring or summer.”

The story has been updated, and a photo and video have also been added.