By JILLIAN BROSOFSKY
Waltham Times Contributing Writer
The Conservation Commission voted for a continuance of Michael Colomba’s application for a five-story hotel at 210 Moody St. at a Dec. 5 public meeting.
The 210 Moody St. site, located on the east side of Moody Street next to the Charles River, is home to a long-vacant retail space that once held The Construction Site toy store and other businesses.
Paul Finger, consultant at Paul Finger Associates, which is assisting in the development of the building and land, offered an overview of the planned project during the Conservation Commission meeting.
Colomba was also in attendance.
The application to the commission includes plans to demolish the existing building and construct a new five-story structure as well as create parking under and behind the building.
The application also includes plans for improved infrastructure to better handle stormwater. Right now, when it rains or snows, all the water runs directly into the Charles River. Finger explained that the proposed new system will separate sediment and oils from the water before the stormwater merges into the groundwater.
That plan got a nod from the city. “It’s good for the Charles River, but also it’s just baseline for what the commission allows to be permitted,” said Meghan Sullivan, the city’s conservation agent.
The seven-member, volunteer-based Conservation Commission works to uphold the Wetlands Protection Act in Waltham and to make sure projects meet Department of Environmental Protection stormwater standards.
The commission is tasked with reviewing Colomba’s project to ensure it meets DEP standards. Sullivan said the project does meet DEP standards.
Sullivan said because the project is within a 100-foot buffer zone along a densely developed area of the Charles River, the commission also needs to verify that the parcel lies outside of a 25-foot riverfront area. She said the parcel appears to be far enough from the river but she still needs a wetlands scientist to define the exact boundaries of the building.
Before the next meeting on Dec. 19, Finger and Sullivan will verify and iron out where the resource boundaries are and get conditions in place for the limit of work, which involves creating a site plan that marks where the construction team will be approved to store and use equipment and materials while they’re building.
Long time coming
The demolition of the current building and redevelopment of the property has been a long time coming.
The building has been vacant for nearly two decades. Remnants of the building’s past life appear in the The Construction Site signs still plastered on its facade. Since The Construction Site’s closure, the building’s roof has caved in and fire has charred the building.
Past attempts to redevelop the property were unsuccessful. The Nelson Companies owned the building by 2010. In 2011 it received a permit from the Conservation Commission to redevelop the site but its development efforts stalled.
Colomba, who also owns and operates Brelundi, a restaurant on nearby Crescent Street, acquired 210 Moody St. in 2015 after The Nelson Companies’ three-year Conservation Commission permit expired and it looked to sell the property.
Colomba had presented plans to redevelop the site soon after he acquired it. In fact, Colomba’s plans to redevelop the property had received City Council approval in 2018, but those plans stalled, too, due mainly to air rights issues.
Many in the city have expressed frustration with the long-vacant building, considering it an eyesore on Moody Street and a missed opportunity to take advantage of prime riverfront space that could draw more people to Waltham. Many in the community have also voiced support for redevelopment of the parcel.
Conservation Commission members said they, too, want to see building plans take shape.
“I’m excited to see development starting here,” commission member Philip Moser said during the Dec. 5 meeting. “It’s been a long time coming.”
The project, as it stands now, meets many of the standards which the commission will need to approve it, according to Sullivan. The commission is scheduled to vote on the project at its Dec. 19 meeting.
“I think for the commission, it’s not really that controversial of a filing,” Sullivan said. “We’re just doting our ‘i’s’ and crossing our ‘t’s’ right now to make sure everything’s done the right way administratively.”
Even after the Dec. 19 meeting, the project is not likely to start immediately. Many proposed construction projects come to the Conservation Commission for a permit first before they are submitted to other city departments for any needed reviews or approvals, Sullivan said.
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