Pleasant Selling: Long-time Gas Station on Market for $3.8 Million

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Photo: The Star K Gas station at Pleasant Street and Scott Road.

As the residents of Belmont Hill and the Winn Brook neighborhood focus their attention on a proposed Dunkin’ Donuts shop that would occupy a new strip mall at the corner of Brighton and Pleasant streets, they may also want to keep their eyes on the business across Pleasant Street at the corner of Scott Road.

According to the Multiple Listing Service, the Star K Gas station at 368 Pleasant St. is up for sale with an asking price of $3,800,000.

According to a description of the site, the location is “[p]erfect for the entrepreneur or developer, this property/business is ready for your vision. Steps from Route 2 and minutes to Fresh Pond/Cambridge/Boston.”

The business owned by Belmont resident Irakalis Kotzobaldiris consists of a two-story building and the gas station, built in 1975, and is located on a sizable half-acre of prime real estate at the base of Belmont Hill. 

After buying the property in 1985, Kotzobaldiris renovated the two-bay service station building in 1998, adding a 700 sq. ft. retail convenience store, a customer waiting area, the second floor office/storage area and other improvements for $320,000.

The property is listed by Century 21 Commonwealth. 

The Loading Dock Starts Dinner Service as Bistro Increases Seating

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Photo: The Loading Dock on Brighton Street. (Courtesy, Loading Dock)

When Fuad Mukarker received a full liquor license from the town a year-and-a-half ago in May 2014, he mentioned his new business, The Loading Dock on Brighton Street, “would become a destination for shopping and eating”

It took a while for his promise to come to fruition, but Mukarker is now just about ready to begin serving dinner at 11 Brighton St. within a week after the Zoning Board of Appeals approved on Monday, Dec. 7 his request to add 36 seats (30 inside, 6 outside) for a total of 60 on site.

The bistro/market with liquor sales held its grand opening in April. Since then, Mukarker has been slowing gearing up the operation, with an eye on serving dinner from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on three nights, Thursday through Saturday.

“We are finally ready to ask for the seating,” said Mukarker, who came with more than 100 signatures of support backing his move.

The one big issue for the Board was that Mukarker could find the required 18 parking spots for the nearly 40 extra seats. With construction continuing across his parking lot on Belmont Light’s new electrical substation, Mukarker made arrangements with two local businesses, a nearby service center and a business across Brighton Street.

While his fellow commercial condominium client, attorney Joe Noone (whose office is located less than a block away from The Loading Dock), thought Mukarker was attempting to grab a hold on to too many spaces that were not sited adjacent to the bistro, the ZBA approved the request on the condition that Mukarker placed signs that clearly tells patrons where his spots are located.

With the parking issue resolved, Mukarker said he is looking to showcase events at the location, starting with a reading by four children’s authors this Sunday, Dec. 13 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Despite Dunkin’s Postponed ZBA Presentation; Owner Confident He’ll Get An OK for Store

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Photo: An image of how the Dunkin’ Donuts on Pleasant Street would look like.

Belmont residents will need to wait until the New Year before getting their chance to debate whether the town wants to run with a third Dunkin’ Donuts, located at the corner of Pleasant and Brighton streets.

Belmont’s Joseph Noone, the attorney for Vincent and Nicholas Leo, asked the board for a postponement on Monday, Dec. 7, due to attorney/client “issues,” resulting in a dozen or so residents who came to speak to keep their powder dry for a month.

The ZBA rescheduled the hearing for January.

While the decision was a bit unexpected, according to the property owner, Vincent Leo – who also is a well-known Dunkin’ Donuts owner/operator – isn’t fazed by the delay, confident that once residents hear from him and his family, any “concerns” to having a donut shop as a neighbor will be set aside.

“We have been in business for over 35 years, and I am one of the premier Dunkin’ Donut franchisees in the system,” said Vincent, whose family business owns and operates 19 locations in both Massachusetts and Florida.

Vincent said the Pleasant Street property has been an eyesore for decades “and we are trying to make it right.” The Getty Corporation is currently remediating the land. 

“We are going to enhance that whole corner, elevating all of the property values in the surrounding neighborhood,” he said. The family purchased the property for $1,060,000 in July 2014.

Read about the proposed plans for the site here.

Leo said that the City of Cambridge had complimented his operations “many, many times for our passion with the landscape as well as the maintenance of the property.

He reiterated that there would “never be a drive through” at the Pleasant Street location. 

Leo said he believes a Belmont store “will enhance our little micro-market” that includes shops on Mass. Ave., Alewife and Fresh Pond.

IMG_4386

Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owner Vincent Leo (at the door, left) and his son, Nicholas, (door, right) listen to their attorney, Joe Noone, as he speaks before the Zoning Board of Appeals, Dec. 7, 2015.

“It’s just another niche we’re trying to protect and develop as an investment,” he said. 

As for issues of traffic – the intersection of Pleasant and Brighton is known as a choke point for both daily rush hours – Leo said a traffic study that he included with his application to the town, predicts no added vehicle trips due to the inclusion of a donut shop on that spot. 

While some residents have pointed to how close the site is to Route 2, Leo said his experience with his stores in Medford just off Route 93 shows that “no one gets off a highway to grab a coffee then heads back on it.” 

“It’s always a concern when they hear a brand like Dunkin’ Donuts is coming into a neighborhood. But at the end of the day, when the restaurant is in place, you’d be very surprised that it’s not a hindrance at all,” said Leo, noting there are several “as of right” businesses he could locate there that would increase traffic flow and litter. 

“With the type of building we are putting in, it will not be a barnburner regarding sales. This will be a nice neighborhood location that should be profitable and help us with the investment we made,” said Leo.

“It will be a nice place to come in for a cup of coffee,” he said. 

Stroll Cushing Square for Discounts, Sales During 2nd Holiday Celebration

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Photo: Poster of the Cushing Square Holiday Stoll.

The Cushing Square Merchants Association is holding the Second Annual Holiday Stroll on Thursday, Dec. 10.

Running for the entire day starting at 10 a.m., stores in and around the square – located at the intersection of Common Street and Trapelo Road – will stay open late and will be offering discounts, prizes and refreshments.

The Belmont High School Madrigal Singers will be performing from 6:30 to 7:30 around the Square.

ZBA Grounds Airbnb, Punts Internet Lodging to Planning Board

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Photo: The room that Joanne Sintiris rents for $85 a night as an Airbnb host.

Joanne Sintiris found herself uncomfortably close to the edge of a financial cliff. 

A divorce left the Betts Road resident wrestling to make ends meet and seeking some way to make a little extra money. 

“I needed some way to supplement my income. It was hard to see how I was going to do that,” she said.

Then Sintiris discovered the wildly popular online service Airbnb where homeowners can rent out one or more rooms in their house, condo or apartment for a nightly, weekly or monthly fee.

“It turned out to be a real savoir,” said Sintiris, who rents a spare room out for $85 a night, below the $135 average for the Boston area.

The “room” includes a private entrance, one bedroom, living room, private bathroom, use of a washer/dryer, a shared garden and patio with a grill.

“It was crazy. I was turning people away, many people who I didn’t want,” said the Cambridge native. 

And her guests raved about the experience.

“Joanne was a wonderful host, she was easy to communicate with, friendly, and we felt very welcome in the apartment. The location was quiet, relaxing, yet still easy to get to the best parts of Boston,” wrote a lodger who stayed in October.

Sintiris will now see her windfall slashed dramatically after the Belmont Zoning Board of Appeals Monday night, Dec. 7, rejected her request by a single vote for a special permit to would allow her to continue renting the room for less than seven days.

In a debate that once veered off to include the threat of sex offenders and all guests requiring CORI background checks, the board Monday essentially punted the issue off to the Planning Board, which will be asked to create, or at least, modernize the town’s antiquated lodging and boarder bylaws for the 250 residents who host Airbnb visitors in Belmont.

“If it is correct that there will be 250 people with rooms to rent, then in that case it must be thought out in a comprehensive way which is the role of the Planning Board,” said ZBA Chairman Eric Smith. 

Sintiris’ case is the first of what could be several hundred the Office of Community Development anticipates to bring before the ZBA. The town contends that under existing town bylaws, anyone renting for less than seven days must obtain a special permit under the town’s bylaws. Sintiris just happened to be the first Airbnb provider plucked from the website to be required to rent the room for seven plus days. 

Since a majority of lodgers stay less than four days, Sintiris sought the special permit since those potential customers are decamping across the town line in Cambridge (with a 1,000 Airbnb listings), Boston (2,000), and other neighboring communities that have no or very limited restrictions.

“I need to have the flexibility to provide a room for a weekend or a week,” she said.

Airbnb is now one of the biggest success stories coming from the new internet service industry, reporting Monday a net worth exceeding $25 billion.

While there is the occasional sensational negative event, Airbnb have become the “go to” lodging experience for a rapidly growing number of travels around the world. In the seven years since Airbnb was founded, more than 60 million people have used the service, listing almost two million homes in 34,000 cities (Paris alone has 60,000 hosts) in approximately 190 countries worldwide.

Municipalities have scratched the surface of regulating these new fangled rentals; Somerville proposed a six percent tax (but had no way of implementing it) and Boston is pondering restrictions.

For the handful of residents who opposed the special permit, the issues created by this “disrubting ” range from noise to fear of those coming into the community. 

Opponents such as Patrice Shea of Talyor Street, who lives close by another Airbnb location, said her street has vehicles coming in “from all over the country” in addition to “Uber cars” – the online, on-demand car service – as people arriving at “very unusual hours,” while many strangers are seen walking with suitcases on the sidewalk. She also wondered if the town wasn’t loss of town revenued in taxes and fees.

“It’s just plain creepy,” Shea said after her testimony. 

“I get the fiscal benefit to the host … and the renter, they pay less money. [But] what does it do to me?” said JP Looney who lives eight houses up Betts from Sintiris, wondering if “a boarding house” in the vacinity will likely reduce his property values.

Looney also pondered safety issues with unfamiliar people coming into the area.

“Is Airbnb doing a criminal background check? That’s not what I understand from the website,” Looney ask. “We are opening up a can of worms by allowing this.”

Picking up on the critic’s line of questioning, board member Nicholas Iannuzzi said without CORI and sexual offendors background checks, “you should in fear of our own safety with anyone in your house for $85 a night.” 

Sintiris countered that she has had a “great experience with everyone,” including university educators and professionals who are coming to town for work or to visit children at school.  

In the end, the board voted 3-2 (Iannuzzi and Jim Zarkadas voting no) in favor of Sintiris’ special permit; while a purality, it was one vote shy of the necessary threshold for the issuance of the license. 

While Iannuzzi’s negative response was towards the distrubtor aspect of the technology, Zarkadas’ ran towards finding a more precise definition of the town’s lodging bylaws.

“It really is up to the Planning Board to make updated laws because there has been a lot of changes and I’m pretty sure they were written back in … the 1800s. While I’m open to business, but when it starts to cross the line of running and operating a business in a neighborhood, there is a lot of unknowns that need to answered,” he said.

Sami Baghdady, the current chair of the Board of Selectmen and former chair of the Planning Board, said it is incumbent for the bylaw writing entity to fill in the gaps in taxes, zoning and licenses that new technology brings to the town.

“The Planning Board needs to address this quite quickly, just because there is more than 200 units now doing business,” he said.

For Sintiris, the change to seven days minimum stay that began this fall “has already hurt me,” saying the current regulations has cut her income by $1,000 a month. 

“I’m not asking for much. Just enough,” she said.

First Look: Will Belmont Run to a New Dunkin’ Donuts on Pleasant Street?

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Photo: The Dunkin’ Donuts building on Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, that a Belmont store on Pleasant Street would look like.

Vincent and Nick Leo knows something about selling donuts. The Cambridge-based family operation runs 17 Dunkin’ Donut franchises in Massachusetts and Florida. In fact, if you go to Fresh Pond for your morning donut and coffee, it’s a Leo-run business. The DD in Alewife Station? Most of the Dunkins’ in Medford? Those are Leo’s too. And if you have a hankering for a “coffee regular” in Clearwater, Florida, say hello to someone from the Leo family who’s behind the counter.

And now, the Leos hope to expand their donut and coffee empire to Belmont.

Tonight, the Leos will be before the Zoning Board of Appeals seeking a special permit and site review of their proposed 18th franchise location at 344 Pleasant St. at the intersection of Brighton Road, a hop and a skip from Route 2 and Arlington.

The location, a hop, and a skip from Route 2 and Arlington are the former home of a gas station/repair shop that the Leos hope to build a 3,500 sq.-ft. building in which the franchise would take half the space with a pair of 1,000 sq.-ft. store fronts, creating a small strip mall.

The building, which will look like the family’s franchise at 2480 Mass Ave. in Cambridge, will have 21 indoor seats and eight outdoor. Like its Mass. Ave. store, parking for about ten vehicles will be in the rear of the building. 

The proposed hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The restaurant operation will abut the intersection with the small retail operations along Pleasant. There will be a free standing “Dunkin’ Donuts” sign – approximately three feet by five feet – along Pleasant Street 

The Belmont operation will not have a drive-thru component like many of Leos operations. All food will be made off-site and delivered to the store. The store will employ between one and six employees on each shift. Trash would be collected three times during the week. 

The Leos had commissioned a traffic study by Design Consultants that said a restaurant “will not negatively impact the neighborhood by increasing traffic to the site,” as it would have “less impact traffic than the current gas station.”

How the community views the Leos coming into their neighborhood is not yet known. While there are several letters of support for the business (the Leos posted flyers on their Fresh Pond outlets asking patrons to write to Belmont officials with kind words), a town official said that several people have been calling his office for the past month to know the date of the meeting “so they can say what a bad idea this is.” 

In April 2014, the neighborhood banded together to persuaded the town to deny a retail liquor license to Waltham-based D&L Liquor to put its fourth store in the former Mini-Mart opposite Brighton Street from the proposed Dunkin’ Donuts.

And They’re Off: Paolillo Pulls Nomination Papers As Election Season Starts

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Photo: Mark Paolillo.

One week after the official start of the 2016 Town Election contest, there has been a steady stream of residents who have picked up nomination papers to begin their efforts to be elected town-wide or to Town Meeting.

Town Election will take place on April 5, 2016. 

On the town-wide front, it comes as no surprise that two-term incumbent Selectman Mark Paolillo has taken out papers. The long-time Pilgrim Road resident indicated in the fall his intentions to run one final time to the three-person board. 

Joining Paolillo as early birds grabbing their papers in the first week are Mark Carthy seeking re-election to the Board of Library Trustees, Ellen Cushman for Town Clerk and Charles R. Laverty III who raced into the Town Clerk’s Office last Monday to get the process started for his return to the Board of Assessors.

Cushman, who is Belmont’s current Town Clerk, said there has been good interest in becoming and retaining their seats as Town Meeting members, with some already completing the task of returning their nomination sheets with the necessary number of signatures.

More activity is expected as letters from the Clerk’s Office will go out this week to Town Meeting members whose terms expire in 2016 asking if they want to be considered a candidate for re-election. Those letters must be returned to the Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Jan. 26 to exempt the incumbent members from collecting signatures. 

Those seeking to be new Town Meeting members or those selected at a precinct caucus must collect 25 signatures from residents in the precinct being represented and submit the papers back to the Clerk’s office no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2016.

Bag Those Leaves: Final Week of Yard Waste Collection

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Photo: Bagged leaves at the curbside.

If you have been delaying your leaf collecting and garden cleanup, you’re just about out of time as this week, Dec. 7 to Dec. 11, is the final week for yard collection in Belmont.

Place all bagged leaves, sticks and garden waste curbside on the day of your scheduled trash collection.

If you have any questions concerning the policy, contact the Belmont Public Works Department at 617-993-2680. 

Yard collection returns in April. 

This Week: Band-a-rama! on Tuesday, Star Wars Prep, Cushing Square Holiday Stroll

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On the government side of “This Week”

  • The Zoning Board of Appeals is meeting on Monday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. in the Belmont Gallery of Art on the third floor of the Homer Building, located in the Town Hall complex.
  • Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee will hold a meeting updating the committee’s work and discuss RFP for certain sections from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at Town Hall.
  • Other Post-Employment Benefits Funding Advisory Group will hold a meeting with reports and public contributions beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at Town Hall.
  • Community Preservation Committee is reviewing a lot of former grant recipients to see where they are in the process. At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at Town Hall.
  • Economic Development Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10 at Town Hall to discuss Belmont Center and the effect of paving on businesses in Cushing Square.

• ESL Conversation Circle for beginners takes place on Monday, Dec. 7 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• Girl Scouts from the Butler Elementary School will lead a December caroling sing-along at the Beech Street Center on Monday, Dec. 7 at 3:15 p.m. The girls will provide song sheets so everyone can sing winter/holiday songs together.

Tuesday is story time at both of Belmont libraries.

  • Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer-run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex.
  • Pre-School Storytime at the Belmont Public Library beginning at 9:30 a.m.We’ll read longer books, sing, and dance, and make simple crafts. For 3-5-year-olds with a longer attention span.

• The staff from State Rep. Dave Rogers’ office will be available for walk-in office hours at the Beech Street Center on Tuesday, Dec. 8, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

• The Beech Street Center presents The Ambassadors – Joseph Vincent and Joseph Andrea – who will bring the music of the Big Band-era to the Center on Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 1:15 p.m. Vincent was a finalist in a world piano-accordion competition. Joseph Andrea is a multi-instrumentalist and World War II veteran who, at the end of the war, was asked to form a seven-piece dance band to entertain wounded G.I.s, enlisted men, and officers. He played in various symphonies including the Boston Civic Symphony and the New England Symphony.

• Tween Tuesday at the Belmont Public Library is preparing for the new Star Wars movie by talking about the Jedi Academy series by Jeff Brown from 3:30 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 8, in the Flett Room. Copies of the first book available for checkout in the Children’s Room. Register by calling the Children’s Room at 617-993-2880.

• It fills up every corner of Belmont High School’s Wenner Field House and also the stands: it’s the annual Belmont School’s Band-a-Rama! at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8. Every band in the district; from the youngsters in fourth grade all the way to the High School’s jazz ensemble will be in performance. And all the bands come together for a rendition of some Christmas song I’ve forgotten. But it’s fun!

• Wednesday, Dec. 9, is early release for Chenery Middle School students.

• Storytime for 1’s is for walkers and toddlers under 24 months will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 10:30 a.m. in the library’s Flett Room. They will share simple stories, songs, and nursery rhymes, and end with time to play.

• Belmont’s Veterans Service Officer Bob Upton will be answering veterans quires on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at noon at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

• Chenery Middle School students are invited to enjoy some hot chocolate the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Wednesday. Dec. 9 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., to do your homework. This is for middle schoolers only so high schoolers are on their own. This event is provided for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

• Everyone is invited to Chinese Storytime which will take place in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. 0n Wednesday, Dec. 9.

• The Belmont Public Library’s 2nd and 3rd Grade Book Club meets on Thursday, Dec. 10 from 3:30 p.m. Please register by calling the Children’s Department at 617-993-2880. After you’ve signed up, stop by the Children’s Room Desk to pick up a copy of the December book, Three Ring Rascals: The Show Must Go On.  Hurry!  Space is limited!

• The Cushing Square Merchant’s Association presents its annual Holiday Stroll shopping event on Thursday, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. featuring food tastings, discounts, raffles, and the vintage carnival wheel will spin for prizes all day at Westcott Mercantile. The Belmont High School Madrigal Singers will stroll from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. 

• Literacy Playgroup is a parent and child group that supports child’s language and literacy development on Friday, Dec. 11, 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Flett Room. You’ll play, read, sing and take home new ideas. Presented by educators from the CFCE grant program; for children age 4 and under.

• The Chenery Middle School’s Fifth Grade Concert will be performed in the school’s auditorium on Friday, Dec. 11 at 9 a.m.

• The Senior Book Discussion group will meet on Friday, Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Beech Street Center to discuss Doctor Zhivago (Part Two) by Boris Pasternak.

• Boston mezzo-soprano Heather Gallagher, the 2015 first-prize winner of Powers’ renowned Peter Elvins Vocal Competition, returns to the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St., on Friday, Dec. 11, to perform joyous holiday music with a dash of classic American “champagne” styling. The show begins at 1:15 p.m.

• The Belmont Public Library’s OTAKUrabu program offers students (7th to 12th grades) the chance to watch anime, do a craft/activity, plan for future events and nibble on some Japanese snacks (while they last – they’ll go fast) on Thursday, Dec. 10, from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Assembly Room. Provided to you for free, thanks to the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. Just drop in, no registration required.

• Belmont’s three Cub Scout Packs: Pack 377 of Winn Brook/Burbank, Pack 384 of Wellington/Butler, and Pack 96 of the LDS Church, is holding an All Cub Scouts of Belmont Skating Night on Friday, Dec. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the Skip Viglirolo skating rink on Concord Avenue. There will be a short opening ceremony with skating with hot chocolate courtesy of Dunkin’ Donuts. This is the first joint Cub Scout activity organized in years. 

Light the Menorah! Hanukkah Begins At Sunset Sunday

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Photo: A menorah. 

Hanukkah, the Jewish observance celebrating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt, begins on sunset on Sunday, Dec. 6, with the lighting of the first candle on the menorah. 

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of the nine-branched menorah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night which takes place on Dec. 14.