During its monthly meeting on Monday, Skip Marcella, a Harbor View Neighborhood Association (HVNA) Board Member, shared some updates with attendees about two ongoing processes, one at 64 Homer Street and the other at 636-638 Bennington Street, which have been hot topics in previous meetings.
First up for discussion was 64 Homer Street. This vacant city-owned parcel, which spans 2,500 square feet, has been the subject of a debate amongst residents to determine its best use since at least last year.
Specifically, there has been debate about whether the parcel should be used as public or private open space.
Fast-forward to Monday, and Marcella dispelled rumors that the property had been bought and was now part of 66 Homer Street through a letter from Theresa Strachila, a Program Manager with GrowBoston — the city’s Office of Urban Agriculture — who has been working with the HVNA to gather feedback,
“64 Homer Street is still very much an open parcel of land that has interest from different parties to do things with it, but to keep it open space,” said Marcella.
Reading from Strachila’s letter, Marcella added, “The Mayor’s Office of Housing, which is the department that GrowBoston is located within, has heard from community members a strong preference for the development of a public open space at this location.”
“The Mayor’s Office of Housing is currently planning for the issuance of an RFP (request for proposals in compliance with Mass. Chapter 30B, which requires a fair, open, and competitive process for the sale of public land.”
Marcella also noted that the timeline for the release of the RFP is currently being worked on and could happen toward the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
For those who have questions or want to provide feedback on 64 Homer Street, Strachila can be reached via email at theresa.strachila@boston.gov.
The next update was for 636-638 Bennington Street. A restaurant called El Parche is proposed at this property, which has received vehement opposition from the community.
Specifically, the proposal applicants are seeking a beer, wine, and cordials license, a common victualler license, and live entertainment for the restaurant from the Licensing Board. They also need approval from the Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA) to change the building’s occupancy from a beauty salon to a restaurant, expand the bathroom to make it handicap accessible, and do additional work like painting and framing.
As mentioned, opposition to this project has been strong, with residents expressing concerns about the hours — 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. — having a restaurant serving alcohol in an area with so many children, trash, rodents, and more.
Marcella noted that the letters of opposition gathered recently have gone out to city officials like City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, State Representative Adrian Madaro, Eva Jones, a Community Engagement Specialist with the city who has hosted the abutters meetings for the project, and more.
At Monday’s meeting, Marcella noted 47 letters from abutters and 173 signatures from residents opposed to the project.
Further, he assured residents that this project needs to be presented to the HVNA to complete the community process.
“It will need to come before us. In a way, I’m kind of hoping it doesn’t; [I’m] kind of hoping what the new owner and her family and the attorney will decide is if maybe there’s another location,” said Marcella.
Marcella also noted he had not gotten the sense from Jones that the applicant was looking to come before the HVNA yet.
Finally, he told attendees to let the HVNA know if they know of anyone who has not signed in opposition to the project. For more information about the HVNA or to contact the Board, visit its website at https://harborvieweastboston.com/ or its Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/harborviewna.