The following is the text of Chapter 1 of the
Draft Environmental Impact Report for Jefferson at Salem
April 28, 2000
(This was prepared for JPI/James D'Amico, Jr. by Rizzo Associates, Inc | Wallace Floyd Design Group | Epsilon Associates, Inc. and furnished to salemcitizens.org for mounting on the web). The full report is LARGE, and is available at the Planning Department or the Public Library.
Any blue text contains a "button" link to visuals.
This Draft Environmental Impact Report presents and analyses the Jefferson at Salem development in Salem Massachusetts, proposed by JPI/James V. D'Amico, Jr. The project is described in this section and compared to other alternatives in Section 2. The development's design has been refined through ongoing coordination with state and local agencies and citizens. The Preferred Alternative is compared to a No-Build Alternative and the alternative presented in the January 2000 Environmental Notification Form.
The Project maintains an easement corridor for the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD) Bridge Street Bypass project, which passes through the site. Since the timing of the Bypass project is uncertain, this DEIR analyses Jefferson at Salem both prior to and subsequent to completion of the Bypass. The project does not depend on the Bypass to be fully functional and to satisfy all environmental commitments. In general, the pre-Bypass condition is analyzed first, and any differences when the Bypass is completed are noted in a subsequent subsection of each section; however, the post-Bypass condition is described first where the discussion of the subject matter is clearer in this order.
The Jefferson at Salem development is a predominantly residential, multifamily development with some commercial space on a 14.7 acre site on Bridge Street in the City of Salem, Massachusetts (see Figure 1.1). The development consists of 266 residential units (236 market-rate apartment units in five 4-story buildings, plus 30 two-and-a-half story attached townhome units), as well as on-site parking, and landscaped public open space. Figures 1.2 through 1.10 depict the site plan, landscape concept and building elevations.
As shown on the site plan, MHD intends build the Bridge Street Bypass Road across the site, occupying 4.1 acres of land. The signalized intersection of the Bypass with Bridge Street will be across from the main entrance to the development. A secondary entrance is located on Bridge Street opposite Ash Street, and access to the townhomes will be via Howard Street Extension. During the period before construction of the Bypass Road, a site driveway will provide access to Bridge Street (see Figure 1.3).
Public accommodation space totaling approximately 9,090 square feet is located on the first floor Building 4. This space will include a 3,046 square foot fitness center, 1,016 square foot coffee/juice bar, 2,825 square feet of retail space, and 2,203 Great Room/Rotunda; there will also be 2,205 square feet of leasing offices.
The Project site is filled land separated from the North River estuary by the MBTA commuter rail line. This portion of the North River is tidal, and mudflats are exposed for most of its width at low tide. The site is associated with the Parker Brothers manufacturing complex which first occupied the site in 1875 and expanded to 14 buildings by 1974. The vacated buildings were demolished in 1996 by Hasbro, Inc. The site is currently graded flat and fenced off.
The proposed site plan contains 437 parking spaces, some of which will be used by the fitness center and commercial space in Building 4. There has been an overall reduction of 39 spaces since the Environmental Notification Form for the project was published in January 2000; the overall site area occupied by parking has been reduced by 29 percent by reconfiguring the parking layout and using compact parking spaces for approximately 23 percent of the spaces. As a result, the site plan provides more generous landscaped public open space.
The ratio of parking spaces per unit is 1.64, including all spaces (although some will at times be used by the fitness center and ancillary commercial uses). This ratio is extremely low for a market apartment development. Residential developments of this kind typically provide at least 1.75 parking spaces per unit, and other residential projects of the proponents range from 1.7 to 1.8 parking spaces per unit. Parking requirements for market units have been steadily increasing over the past 25 years, primarily as a result of a greater proportion of households with two wage earners, who increasingly commute to suburban rather than downtown destinations for employment and child care. These households increasingly perceive it necessary to own two cars and will not be interested in a housing opportunity that does not provide two parking spaces. This is the case even though the proximity to public transportation to downtown, like the MBTA commuter rail, may lead them to leave a car parked during the work day. When the mix of unit sizes and the need for some visitor parking spaces is factored in, it has become increasingly difficult to market housing with lower parking ratios.
The parking requirements of zoning are also indicative of parking need. Although the proposed project is a planned unit development, for which Salem's zoning does not dictate a minimum amount of parking, other multifamily housing in Salem (including the downtown area) is required to have a minimum of 1.5 parking spaces per unit.
In addition to the 437 parking spaces serving the development, the site plan also provides 5 spaces for the exclusive use of neighboring residents of Woodbury Court, subject to approval of the Salem Planning Board. These parking spaces are not accessible from within the project, although emergency vehicles will be able to cross a mountable curb to provide a second point of access to Woodbury Court.
The proposed project includes landscaped publicly-accessible open space, including a 10-foot wide landscaped central public accessway from the main entrance to the edge of the site nearest the North River, a 10-foot wide landscaped public accessway providing a promenade along the rail line/riverfront edge of the site, and three landscaped sitting/viewing areas, one of them elevated for better views across the commuter rail line to the North River. The site plan provides 75% more publicly-accessible green open space than the site area occupied by building footprints, a total of 4.2 acres of publicly-accessible green open space, excluding roadways and parking (these figures apply to the post-Bypass condition and do not count any of the temporary green space within the MHD easement reserved for the future Bypass Road, nor a private swimming pool which will be open only to residents of the development). This publicly-accessible open space amounts to 29% of the total site area and 40% of the site area remaining after right of way is taken by MHD for the Bridge Street Bypass Road (see Table 5.1). In addition to the landscaped paths and sitting/viewing areas, two large open space areas are provided next to the Bridge Street neighborhood where they can be conveniently used by residents of the neighborhood.
As discussed in the relevant sections of this Draft Environmental Impact Report, the proposed development is subject to a special permit for a planned unit development from the Salem Planning Board; a Massachusetts Wetlands Act Order of Conditions from the Salem Conservation Commission, and a Chapter 91 Waterways License from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Coordination with these bodies and with the Salem Planning Department, Salem Historical Commission, and citizens of Salem is ongoing. As a project receiving state permits, the proposed development is subject to review by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, with which preliminary coordination is also ongoing. Coordination is also ongoing with the MBTA to secure unused railroad property to expand publicly-accessible open space; EOTC approval will also be needed for this use of former railroad land. No permits are required from Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD).
The Jefferson at Salem project is located in the City of Salem near Route 114, which provides regional access to Route 128, downtown Boston, and the regional highway system. The site is adjacent to the MBTA Salem commuter rail Station, which provides service to North Station in Boston, as well as regional bus services.
The site is immediately north of Salem's downtown, including shopping on Washington Street and Essex Street and at the Museum Mall on Church Street near the Peabody Essex Museum. St. Peter Street is an important link from the site to downtown Salem (see Figure 1.11).
Although the site has always been industrial in the past, it is adjacent to the Bridge Street neighborhood of historic homes and small businesses, part of which lies in the Salem Common National Register District, and part of which is being studied for potential inclusion in the Salem Common District or a new National Register district. The latter portion includes Howard Street Extension adjacent to the site, and nearby Northey Street and Woodbury Court. Gonyea Park, at the end of Northey Street, overlooks the northern part of the site. Salem Common lies approximately 800 feet to the southeast via Howard Street. The North River Neighborhood Association represents residents in the Bridge Street neighborhood as well as on the opposite bank of the river.
On Bridge Street across from the site are the historic Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, Old Essex County Jail, and Howard Street Burying Ground, as well as two modern six-story senior apartment buildings, and three modern multifamily condominium buildings on Rust Street, which is now a pedestrian Street. The Downtown Salem Neighborhood Association represents residents in this part of the city.
Salem is a vibrant City experiencing the effects of a prosperous regional economy. The housing market is active, as illustrated by a new 125 unit apartment development on Highland Avenue and investor interest in the 252-unit Folly Hill apartment complex in Beverly. There is also interest in potentially remediating and developing the recycling yards on the north side of the North River for housing and park expansion.
Tourism activity is strong. The Salem Witch Museum and Peabody Essex Museum respectively ranked 5th and 11th in attendance among Massachusetts' largest museums in 1999 and the Peabody Essex Museum is expanding. A new hotel is being constructed on Pickering Wharf south of Downtown.
It is anticipated that many residents of Jefferson at Salem will walk to the downtown to enjoy opportunities for shopping, dining, and entertainment. In the downtown area, the Peabody Block on Washington Street is being rehabilitated for ground floor retail and upper floor offices, with the City as a tenant. The Old Salem News Building at Washington and New Derby Street five blocks south of the project site is being converted to an assisted living center. Activity in the entire downtown area remains strong, and these initiatives will contribute to further revitalization.
Expansion of the Salem Courthouse on Federal Street across Washington Street from the site is being studied by the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management. One possibility for courthouse expansion is construction of a court annex and parking garage on the sites presently used for City and MBTA commuter rail patron parking, immediately across the commuter rail line from the Jefferson at Salem site. A 5-level parking garage with 1,075 spaces was proposed for the MBTA parking lot by Transit Realty Associates in 1998. The project would have utilized the existing vehicular connection to Bridge Street and provided new pedestrian access from the Bridge Street/Washington Street intersection via the garage's third floor. The existing freight railroad spur closest to the seawall would have been relocated to permit pedestrian access to a waterfront walkway. The project was withdrawn after publishing an Environmental Notification Form in 1998, but a new proposal for the land with or without a courthouse element is possible. The Jefferson at Salem project is compatible with an adjacent project of this type, which could improve pedestrian connections to the commuter rail platform from Bridge Street or even provide a pedestrian overpass connecting to Jefferson at Salem's walkways.
The desirability of a direct pedestrian crossing to the commuter rail platform through the Jefferson at Salem site has been recognized for some time. For safety reasons, the connection would probably need to be an overpass or underpass. This project is beyond the capability of the Jefferson at Salem proponent, but the site and its pedestrian accessways have been designed to connect to this potential crossing if constructed in the future by others.
The Historic Old Essex County Jail across Bridge Street from the project site is being considered for reuse. No specific uses have been proposed for the jail complex, but the City intends to issue a Request for Proposals for a feasibility study later in 2000.
The project which most directly affects the Jefferson at Salem development is the MHD Bridge Street Bypass and related reconstruction of Bridge Street. In 1997, MHD had reached the 75% level of design for a new roadway intended to remove traffic to and from Beverly from the Bridge Street neighborhood. The Bypass will reduce traffic impacts on the Bridge Street neighborhood, and the reconstructed Bridge Street east of its intersection with the Bypass will act as an enhanced neighborhood main Street.
As originally planned by MHD, the Bypass would have carried traffic on a high viaduct over the railroad tracks north of the Hasbro site, transitioning to a surface roadway next to the commuter rail. This prior alignment would have created a visual barrier between the City and the North River and was dropped in 1998 in favor of the current design, in which the Bypass diverges from Bridge Street in front of the proposed Jefferson at Salem site and crosses the site as the road heads north toward the commuter rail corridor. The Bypass Road will meet Bridge Street at a new signalized intersection, one leg of which is the entrance to Jefferson at Salem, as shown in Figure 1.2. A signalized intersection will also be provided at St. Peter Street, and a triangular open space will be created in front of the old jail complex and Howard Street Burying Ground. The new alternative is currently in design.
Jefferson at Salem will be completed before the Bypass Road, and in the interim a temporary entrance drive will be provided as shown in Figure 1.3. The area to be used for the Bypass Road right of way will be maintained by Jefferson at Salem as a grassy, temporary open space. (This area is not counted in the project's open space calculations.)
During the process of finalizing MHD's design and right-of-way for the Bypass Road, there will be an opportunity for Jefferson at Salem coordinate with MHD regarding appropriate treatments of the edge between the two projects, such as an appropriate sidewalk, planting strip and Street trees along the north side of Bridge Street and both sides of the Bypass Road. Such improvements would potentially benefit pedestrian accommodation for residents of the Bridge Street neighborhood, including the project.
Chapter 1 Figures | Chapter 3 Views
Prepared by: Rizzo Associates, Inc | Wallace Floyd Design Group | Epsilon Associates, Inc.