Marblehead residents shared their thoughts on the redevelopment of the Coffin School site with members of the UConn Technical Assistance to Brownfields program and Director of Community Development and Planning Brendan Callahan at Abbot Hall March 18.
The UConn TAB program gives free assistance to communities who request its services to help create 3D renderings and proposals for the redevelopment of brownfield sites. TAB is funded through EPA grants.
“Our role as community engagement practitioners is to provide general brownfield education, general education on the site, answer any sort of brownfield-related questions that you guys have,” said Katie Malgioglio, community engagement manager for UConn TAB. “Brownfield redevelopment really gives a unique opportunity to get the community and residents involved.”
A brownfield is defined by the EPA as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties protects the environment, reduces blight and takes development pressures off greenspaces and working lands.”
While both asbestos and lead paint were found in recent investigations, the contamination risk to the surrounding area was deemed “very minimal.”
Residents asked about the viability of future development and the diligence taken by the town in testing the land.
“Are you aware that, where the dog-park-slash-athletic-field is, was a swamp?” asked Steve Elliott of Turner Road. “You go down there, just a little bit, there’s a lot of peat that goes all the way from the end of Shepherd Street over to Waterside Road… You haven’t explored for things like the oil tank that used to be in the ground right outside the kindergarten… [If] you’re going to start digging there, you need to know what’s in the ground.”
Malgoglio, along with postdoctoral environmental engineer Hayley Clos, presented the pros and cons of four potential housing developments on the Coffin School site. With present zoning rules, there could be up to 10 single-family homes or 16 to 20 duplexes. Should zoning regulations be changed to accommodate apartments, up to 40 affordable housing units could be built on the site, they explained.
Many of the residents attending the meeting expressed a preference for turning the site into a public space, playground or dogpark, alongside or in place of its redevelopment as a housing area.
“Turner Road has a lot of little tiny houses that have been there since they were built,” said Nancy Davidge of Green Street. “Many of them have never been modified, and they’re clearly meeting a need. So, for me, some combination of open space and small homes.”
The TAB team also asked residents what they believed the most important aspect of a future development at the site would be, with the majority of those present hoping to see any new developments being compatible with the surrounding community.
“Neighborhood compatibility and acceptance is the most important issue there,” said Allen Schiller of Taft Street. “Several years ago, Fair Housing tried to jam a project into the Turner Woods without dealing with the neighbors. That didn’t go well. I think if this happens again, you’ll find a lot of resistance. I think if the main building was used for town employees and seniors, you might find some acceptance. You’re going to need parking for that building. I don’t know how much of it is going to be left after that.”
The TAB team and Callahan hope to see renderings and potential redevelopment proposals presented to the public sometime in May or June.
