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This house is just one of the many along Montana Avenue last summer that show-cased disapproval o
Businesses, Casden agree on terms of street closure
Glendon Avenue will be closed partly during retail complex's construction
After three years of extensive discussion, a tentative compromise was reached between Casden Properties and many Westwood businesses – resulting in the partial closing of Glendon Avenue during the developers’ constriction.
At a Planning and Land Use Management hearing held July 21, City Councilmember Jack Weiss announced Glendon would remain open during developer Alan Casden’s $100 million construction project.
The decision represented the middle ground between the business owners and the developers, as the street now only will be partially closed.
In order to accommodate the building needs of Casden Properties, the three members of the planning board decided the two parking lanes of Glendon would be closed along with one sidewalk, said Steve Sann, a member of Save Westwood Village who testified at the hearing.
“I’m pretty pleased. I’m glad they’re not closing the street. I’m also glad that they are going ahead with the project,” said Charlotte Chastanet, owner of Muriel Chastanet’s Fine Jewelry.
Contentions first arose when Casden announced plans of closing Glendon so he could build a subterranean parking structure. The parking structure was part of a proposed residential and retail complex meant to be developed at Glendon and Tiverton avenues.
“We were unalterably opposed to any closure of the street because of the detrimental effect it would have on Westwood businesses,” Sann said.
Merchants and concerned residents in Westwood said the closure would result in reduced sidewalk flow, therefore harming businesses located on Glendon, such as the Westwood Brewing Company and Muriel Chastanet’s Fine Jewelry.
Business owners in the village fought hard to keep the street open and attended numerous meetings with city officials and representatives of Casden, and, now that Glendon will remain open, only a few issues need to be resolved.
“There are still a lot of details that need to be hammered out. It’s not all finalized, but we have a meeting in August. … We’re hoping we can now all work together,” Chastanet said.
Howard Katz, Casden Properties’ vice president of community development, said he was happy about the decision made, saying the project was “one step closer to being done.”
Though there has been tension between Westwood business owners and the developers, there is new hope Casden’s project will fit into Westwood’s atmosphere.
“We would like to have a nice project and something that fits in nicely with the Village. … We don’t want an 800-pound gorilla,” Chastanet said.
In addition to the decision made over the closing of Glendon, a few other decisions concerning Casden’s project were made at the planning meeting.
Weiss, a member of the planning board, gave Casden the rights to build a tunnel under Glendon at the July 21 hearing, Sann said.
The right to tunnel under the avenue has caused some concern about Westwood business owners and residents.
“I know of no other private developer that has been allowed to tunnel under a city street for free,” Sann said.
In 1929 the Village was subdivided and property owners were given easements, which meant that no one could close the street and dig underneath their property without gaining the owner’s easement rights, Chastanet added.
The precedent set at the hearing has some property owners worried, as there is the possibility of easement damage, Chastanet said.
But Katz says there is no need to worry and that they have “sufficient control.”
Another issue that has some in the Village concerned is the congested parking situation.
As developers close off the parking lanes on the avenue, business owners hope Casden will provide more parking at the end of the project.
“We feel this is a golden opportunity to put some extra parking in the city … in a city that is in desperate need of parking,” Sann said.
In addition, business owners hope Casden will participate in a parking validation program, which will lessen the strain caused to customers by the project’s construction.
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