Cushing Square Paving Set For Thursday, July 16; Seek Alternative Routes

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Photo: The Bradford in Cushing Square.

As the construction of the Bradford, the Toll Brothers Apartment Living project in Cushing Square nears completion, the developer is finishing the restoration of the roads this week.

On Thursday, July 16, paving will occur on the following locations:

  • Trapelo Road, from Williston Road to the main intersection at Common Street;
  • Common Street, from Trapelo Road to Belmont Street; and
  • The main intersection up to the crosswalk at the gas station at Common Street and Trapelo Road.

Appropriate signage will be in place, but the work will definitely impact traffic flow.

Toll Brothers’ Contact person is Steve Iacaboni and he can be reached at 978-870-0603.

Town Issues Cushing Sq. Starbucks Occupancy Permit

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Photo: The location of the new Starbucks in town.

The Belmont Office of Community Development issued a certificate of occupancy to Starbucks Coffee Company on Tuesday, June 19, to allow its cafe at 110 Trapelo Rd. to open for business, said Glenn Clancy, the town’s director of community development.

“It will be opening up any day now,” Clancy told the Belmontonian at the School Committee meeting at the Chenery Middle School.

The cafe is located on the ground floor of the Winslow building in the Bradford development which occupies the block surrounding Common Street, Trapelo Road, Belmont Street, and Williston Road. The apartment/retail/parking project is being built by Toll Brothers Apartment Living.

The 42 seat store staffed with 25 to 35 employees will have approximately 20 off-street parking spaces adjacent to the location.

While the store will be open daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., the company will likely ask the town to approve a closing time of 10 p.m. which was permitted in the special permit approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Starbucks Returns To Cushing Square, Opening In Mid-June

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Photo: Starbucks returns to Cushing Square.

Caffeine lovers, hipsters and teenagers, rejoice! Starbucks is returning to Cushing Square with an opening in the second week of June.

The multinational coffeehouse chain with 30,000 stores worldwide came before the Select Board on May 29 at Belmont High School to obtain a common victualler license which was granted unanimously.

“We’re still probably not going to be able to open for about another week or so trying to finish up the site, make sure it’s safe in the public,” said Daniel Brennan who works for dpb Design Consultants which partners with Starbucks on permitting and licensing.

“We don’t have a concrete [opening] date but after talking to the construction manager, it will probably be a week to two weeks after Friday [May 31], when we get our certificate of occupancy,” said Brennan.

Daniel Brennan, dpb
Design Consultants

Brennan said the store will likely have a “soft” opening. “[Starbucks] usually does a ‘friends and family’ where they invite the employees and their families so they can test out all the equipment and get it going,” he said.

The best approach for the public to know when the store is open “is go by and see people inside.”

Town Administrator Patrice Garvin noted the health department has signed off on the site.

The 42 seat store will have 25 to 35 employees working on the site. There will be approximately 20 off-street parking spaces adjacent to the location between two buildings.

While the store will be open daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., Brennan asked the board to approve a closing time of 10 p.m. which was permitted in the special permit approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals.

“We will likely want the later time after it is open so we don’t want to come back for the change,” said Brennan.

The Bradford Update: Starbucks Back In Cushing Sq. In May, First Units For Sale This Year

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Photo: The plans for the Bradford currently under construction.

Expect the return of $4 cappuccinos as the Starbucks returns to Cushing Square this spring, according to a press release dated Feb. 1 from Otto Weiss, project manager of The Bradford for Toll Brothers Apartment Living.

Weiss’ update on the construction of the largest commercial/housing development in Belmont focused on the progress made on the three structures being built in the heart of Cushing Square. 

Winslow (built on the former municipal parking lot on Trapelo and Williston roads)

Work on the interior and exterior finishes of the Winslow is underway in anticipation of the building being completed in May. The contractor has started work on the Starbucks space and expect to have the coffee shop open in May as well. Sidewalks and outdoor areas around the Winslow will be completed as will the vehicle access between the Pomona and Winslow. 

Hyland (located at Belmont and Common streets)

At the Hyland, the framing of the residential floors has begun and construction will soon start on the roofing and exterior work with the anticipate that the Hyland will be complete later in 2019. 

Pomona (at Common Street and Trapelo Road)

Work continues on the structural steel and wood framing of the Pomona which will have 35,000 sq.-ft. of commercial space. The contractor is concurrently working on the area between the Pomona and Hyland and anticipate finishing the segment in the coming months. The Pomona will be the last of the building to be completed and will be finished in early 2020. 

For residents that have inquiries on leasing information, Weiss said Toll Brothers is not quite ready to start the process “but we will send out information when the time comes.”

 

 

Bradford Show And Tell: Material ‘Mock Up’ At Cushing Square Site Saturday, Noon to 2 PM

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Photo: Residents view samples at the Sept. 6 Planning Board meeting.

The developer of the multifaceted complex in the heart of Cushing Square is inviting neighbors and the public on Saturday, Sept. 29 for a bit of show and tell.

Representatives of Toll Brother Apartment Living, owner/developer of The Bradford, the retail/housing/parking development under construction on three blocks along Common Street and Trapelo Road, is opening its doors just a tad to allow residents to view a “mock-up” of the materials to be used on the exterior of the three buildings occupying the approximately 170,000 square foot site.

From noon to 2 p.m., employees from Toll and Nauset Construction, the primary contractor, will escort groups from the “Winslow” building (the structure being constructed on the former municipal parking lot) along Williston Road to the area set aside for the demonstration. Citizens will then get to see the material – concrete, tiles, granite, and frames for the windows – and examine how they look in the daylight where they will be used. The developer stressed that the viewing is not a tour of the future landmark in Cushing Square.

Early this month, the Planning Board was provided a preview of the samples that will be on display. 

Christmas Cappuccinos? Starbucks Looking At Late November Opening at Bradford

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Photo: Design for the new Starbucks in the Bradford development. 

Belmont will soon have a third Starbucks Cafe in the Town of Homes as the Zoning Board of Appeals approved unanimously a special permit allowing the Seattle-based coffee mega-chain to run a “fast food” restaurant at The Bradford, the retail/housing/parking development under construction in the heart of Cushing Square.

Plans submitted to the town shows a narrow 2,500 square foot cafe/store located on the left side of the two-story Winslow Building which is being built approximately on the site of the former Starbucks’ location on Trapelo Road. The store will have two entrances, in the front and rear, with 42 interior and 12 seasonal outdoor seats located in the back. The cafe will seek to operate most days from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., employing four to six workers per shift. There will be 22 parking spaces – including two handicap spaces – dedicated to the store located between the Winslow and the main Pomona buildings.

The cafe is the first business to commit to The Bradford – previously known as Cushing Village – which has close to 38,000 square feet dedicated to retail. The project, which includes underground parking and 112 apartments, is being developed by Toll Brothers Apartment Living, which rescued the proposal after the original developer, Smith Legacy Partners, failed in its efforts to secure the necessary funding.

Danial Brennan, a consultant, assisting Starbucks in securing municipal permits in New England, said the current schedule is for construction of the cafe to begin Sept. 15 with an anticipated completion date “hopefully at the end of November.” 

“But [the dates] are always estimates,” said Brennan.

Unlike other fast-casual restaurants and quick stop retail operations that came before the Zoning Board of Appeals – a proposed Dunkin’ Donuts on Pleasant Street comes to mind – there was no resident opposition or comment concerning Starbucks, which operates approximately 28,000 stores around the globe.

Zoning Chair Nicholas Iannuzzi noted the last well-known “fast food” restaurant to come before the board, for a Subway franchise in Belmont Center, required four meetings before it received a “special” to operate.

“God bless America. God bless Starbucks,” he said.

Bradford Update: First Steel Frame Going Up After Thanksgiving

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Photo: The foundation takes form at the future home of the Bradford in Belmont.

The metal superstructure for the first of three buildings will begin raising from the ground next week as work on The Bradford project marches on, according to the latest news from the former Cushing Village site.

The structural steel erection of the Winslow building – on the former municipal parking lot adjacent Trapelo and Williston roads – “will begin after Thanksgiving and continue through the end of the year,” said Otto Weiss, project manager for property owner and developer Toll Brothers Apartment Living. 

Also, sewer tie-in work on Williston Road for the new building was expected to be completed this week with no further in-road utility work scheduled for the near future, noted Weiss.

The Winslow, a three-story residential structure with ground level stores, is expected to be the first building completed by the team in approximately the early fall of 2018. The Winslow will be the location of the new Starbucks Cafe, replacing the popular coffee shop leveled in the spring. 

In other news, foundation work is moving forward at the Hyland building site – located at the corner of Belmont and Common streets – while excavation of the large parking garage and the Pomona building, at the intersection of Trapelo and Common, will continue through the winter. The Pomona will house a 35,000 square foot retail space, a centerpiece of the 168,000 sq.-ft. apartment/retail/parking complex. 

The development is expected to be fully occupied and all detail work finished by the first day of 2020.

Outside the construction site, the MBTA will be relocating one of its catenary poles located along Trapelo Road.  While this work in not being performed by Toll Brothers or its construction partners Nauset, “we are unable to give you specific scheduling information, it’s our understanding that the work may take place during the week of the [Nov.] 27th and will be done off hours,” noted Weiss. 

Starbucks Coming Down Wednesday; Disruptions To Cushing Sq. Traffic

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Photo: The work is underway at the newly dubbed Bradford in Cushing Square.

The Starbucks Cafe has closed and the Trapelo Raod is about to be dug up as the developer of the Cushing Vill … The Bradford prepares to move forward with excuvation and infrastructure work at the 167,000 sq.-ft. residential/retail/parking complex.

Otto Weiss, project manager for Toll Brothers Apartment Living who is building the development told the Belmontonian on Tuesday, June 7, construction is “on schedule” and, weather permitting, the foundation for the Winslow – the first of three buildings on the site located at the former municipal parking lot adjacent Trapelo Road – will be poured in early August. 

He also said the company will officially take possession of the now closed Starbuck’s cafe on Monday, June 12 and the building – which was constructed as a Friendly’s restaurant in the 1970s – will be razed starting on Wednesday, June 14. 

In preparation to the demolision, “[o]n Monday (June 12) we will relocate site fencing that runs behind Starbucks to the curb at Trapelo Road and tie it into the fence running from the corner of Common Street,” said Weiss in a press release sent on Friday, June 9. 

The side walk between Williston and Common Street along Trapelo road on the project side will be close to pedestrian traffic and signage will be installed instructing pedestrians to cross the street at Williston Road and Common Street.  

All utility cut offs will be performed on Monday, June 12, weather permitting, which will require utility crews with trucks working in the street. Police details will start at 7 a.m. on Monday.

The utility shut-offs should not affect service to the surrounding community, said Weiss.

“However the various utility companies may inform you of shut offs need to accommodate their work. That would be out of our control. If we are notified of any suck shut offs we will pass the information along immediately,” he said.

Cushing Square Starbucks To Close Noon, Monday, June 5

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Photo: Farewell, espresso friend.

In the coming fortnight, you’ll have to find any other place to spend a few hours of free wifi and strong coffee in Cushing Square.

The notice has been taped to the front door of the Trapelo Road Starbucks: the final day of operation will be Monday, June 5 at noon. 

Not that the shutdown comes as a surprise to anyone as Toll Brothers, the developer of the 167,000 square foot apartment/retail/parking project once known as Cushing Village before a name change to The Bradford, stated in February of last year the popular hangout for students, seniors, and general layabouts would be demolished soon after construction began.

With the already limited parking reduced to a handful of spaces due to work around the site, the store’s hours were cut in the past few week to where it will be open only seven hours during its final week of operations.

While the building, built as a Friendly’s restaurant in the 1970s, will soon be coming down, like the legionary Phoenix Starbucks will return in just over a year’s time, to occupy a significant space in the residential/storefront building – dubbed the “Winslow” – under construction on the grounds of the former municipal parking lot.

So Long, Cushing Village; Say Hello to ‘The Bradford’

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Photo: Otto Weiss, the “Bradford’s” project manager.

A sly smile crossed Bill Lovett’s face like he had a secret he wanted so badly to tell.

So he did.

Lovett, a senior development manager at Toll’s Apartment Living which owns the 168,000 sq.-ft. apartment/retail/parking complex set to be built in the heart of Belmont’s Cushing Square told the 40 residents who flocked to the Belmont Gallery of Art on Thursday afternoon, April 27, came to hear the latest on the project, that a significant change had occurred in the development.

The name. Goodbye to Cushing Village, the moniker was first given the project nearly a decade ago by the project’s initial development team.

Welcome to Belmont: “The Bradford.”

“Like the pear or tree,” said Lovett, likely referring to the Bradford pear tree, the ornamental fruit tree known for its snowy white spring blossoms and sweet smell that lasts for a quite a long time.

“Hold your applause,” said Lovett, as the residents reacted rather nonplus to the announcement. 

Oh well.

Lovett, who was joined in the meeting by Otto Weiss, the project manager, and architect Peter Quinn, said the name change was proposed by the project’s marketing team to provide a new image to the project. 

Apparently, the marketing team didn’t know of the tree’s increasingly horrific reputation among garden club enthusiasts, city planners, and arborists, all who have increasingly come to hate the Bradford with a passion. As the New York Times noted last year, “Today, the Bradford pear may be the most despised tree in this part of the world.”

Apart from the name change, most of the news that came from the Toll Brothers team were updates on the construction of the three building project and minor alterations to the development.

Regarding development, Weiss told the audience that the excavation of the municipal parking lot adjacent to Starbucks and Trapelo Road would begin Monday, May 1 and last three to four weeks.

After the digging is finished, laying of the foundation for the retail/residential building known as the Winslow will begin. Simultaneously, the evacuation of the former CVS/First National site (dubbed the Hyland) will commence, said Weiss. That location will house a portion of the parking garage.

Currently, the project area, which has the appearance of a strip mine, is undergoing “dewatering” as the ground water is being decontaminated on the site before being released into the public system. The soil is also being treated and being sent to offsite locations. 

Once all the necessary regulatory “is are dotted and ts crossed” construction will begin in earnest with the Winslow being completed and ready for both residential and commercial occupancy in July/August of 2018. It will also be the new home of Starbucks, the only retail lease the firm has signed so far.

The Hyland is scheduled to be open in December 2018, with the centrally located Pomona building, which includes 20,000 sq.-ft. of retail, opening in June 2019. The development is expected to be fully occupied and all detail work finished by the first day of 2020.

(As an aside, Lovett said other than the Winslow, the names of the two other buildings could be given new names. “We didn’t want to call them Building 1,2,3. But there could be changes in Phase 2.”)

In other news concerning the Bradford:

  • The number of apartment units in the three buildings has been decreased from 115 to 112, and the total number of bedrooms have fallen by ten as the units have slightly increased in size in some locations. 
  • Changes have been made to exterior design features on each of the buildings – larger, more prominent windows, new material, removal of some architectural segments – “but we have not increased the size or scope of the building as noted in the Special Permit,” said Lovett.
  • The rooftop area on the Winslow has been removed, leaving only the Hyland to have a common area on its roof for residents. But don’t expect to see wild, 20-somethings partying hardy on the deck as “those elements” do “in Alewife or East Cambridge” noted Lovett. “It’s going to be a different feel” at the Bradford, “a more refined” lifestyle from a “different demographic.” 
  • The rents for units have not been set “as it will adjust to the market” with the opening of each building. 
  • Parking for construction workers will be provided off-site.
  • While it’s a certainty that Trapelo Road will need to be dug up to supply utilities to the project, all repair work to the roadway will be extensive including milling and resurfacing an entire segment of the street. 
  • When asked if bars or other alcohol-related businesses could go into the 34,000 sq.-ft. of retail space, Lovett said commercial areas are condominiums like the rental units and “we’re very restrictive on retail uses.” 
  • Yes, dogs and cats will be welcomed in Cushing Vil …. oops, The Bradford.