Woodfall Fail: No Bids For Controversial Belmont Parcel
Land usage was restricted in August after homeowners protested plans for a single-story hospice in the residential neighborhood.
It's back to the drawing board for the town and Board of Selectmen after the town did not receive a single bid to build up-scale homes on undeveloped town-owned land in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Belmont Hill.
The lack of interest in the five-and-a-quarter acre site – which abuts the Belmont Country Club and is accessible at the end of Woodfall Road – comes after the Selectmen restricted future use on the parcel to residential development following an August meeting where more than 80 residents voiced their displeasure that an Atlanta-based developer expressed interest in placing a single-story hospice care center on roughly one-and-a-half acres of the 229,000 square-foot site.
At the Aug. 8 meeting, homeowners – who expressed concerns of a commercial building and associated traffic coming to a residential neighborhood – said the land would be highly prized by home builders to develop upscale homes – including some who were attending the session – which Selectmen noted when they authorized the restriction on future use to residential construction.
The town also extended the time for bidders to examine and perform due diligence on the property an additional three months, from Oct. 24 to Jan. 31 with the aim to provide developers ample time to formulate their bids.
View the town's Request for Proposal for the parcel on his page or here.
Yet neither actions could lead any developer to the site, despite robust sales and prices for new construction in Belmont.
"It's now up to the town and the board to decided what the next step is," said Jeffrey Wheeler, planning director for the town's Department of Community Development.
This marks the second time in the past five years that the parcel – overgrown with vegetation and debris in and around wetland – has turned fallow for the town. In November 2008, a proposed developer could not raise the funds to continue with his plans to create homes on the site.
Carole arenge
7:16 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
As i stated earlier, this NIMBY behavior is simply disgusting...may those who opposed the hospice project never need a peaceful spot to spend their final days ....
Shirley Duggan
9:05 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I agree with Carole ..Note what they would like ..."homeowners said the land would be highly prized by home builders to develop upscale homes – including some who were attending the session" ....Somehow, it just doesn't seem right to me...
Lee Adams
12:56 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Life can be funny. The Hillcrest Community felt Hospice Care was wrong for their neighborhood. They should be ashamed of themselves. These Elitist’s are not only an embarrassment to the Belmont Hill Community but Belmont as a whole. They’ve shown their true Elitist’s colors and lack of compassion for fellow man in their hours of need. Then again, what can we expected from a community in which Tagg Romney lives in who’s known nothing else in life. I do hope the Hillcrest Community and Mr Special Interest Selectman Chair Mark Paolillo enjoy the 45-65 decibels noise as passenger jets passing over head. The FAA will alter the routes taken by planes departing from Boston's Logan International Airport effective March 7th. 2,600 Belmont Hill residents nearest Route 2 between Pleasant and Prospect Street will be impacted. The good news is the Hillcrest Community and Mark’s Pilgrim Street home will be in the new flight plan.
See Mark’s support for the Hillcrest Community as report in BelmontPatch August 16, 2012 --- http://belmont.patch.com/articles/selectmen-cripples-hospice-project
Quiet Skies Over Belmont No More as reported in the BelmontPatch February 1, 2013 -- http://belmont.patch.com/articles/proposal-will-put-more-of-belmont-under
Rich Snow
12:56 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
This is somewhat ironic, noting that historically the MacLean land on Concord Ave was originally donated to the hospital. The site was ideal at the time because of its pastoral and quiet location. Similarly one could imagine that a hospice might seek such a quiet environment for the benefit of its clients. One could not hope for a better neighbor.
John Bowe
9:15 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
So the land is "highly prized by home builders"? Perhaps they got a glimpse of the character of the neighborhood - or rather the neighbors - and changed their minds. The BOS blew this opportunity by caving to Tagg and the other neighborhood bullies. This will make me and other Town Meeting members much more skeptical of future development proposals and revenue opportunities driven by the Selectmen.