Notes from a Tour of Malden Hospital, by Brian DeLacey

On Friday, 11/18/16, the Fellsmere Housing Group (Partner Tony Green, Principal William Cress, and Construction Manager Michael Skeldon) led At-Large Councillor Debbie DeMaria, and citizens Bill Muise and Brian DeLacey on a tour inside and outside the Malden Hospital site.

Revitalization of this area is much needed. It will be a complex undertaking, but real progress is certainly not impossible.

After 15 years with so little progress on this, it may be time for the City of Malden to rethink its approach.

At a September 22, 2016 public community meeting, the Fellsmere Housing Group presented their vision. (This was previously reported at https://goo.gl/wMV5ob .) After that event, DeLacey and Muise sought to learn more. They followed-up directly with the developer to arrange a meeting and discuss the latest status and progress related to the hospital site. They also spoke with architectural and regional planning experts and reached out to At-Large Councillor DeMaria to join in a tour of the site.

Walking the corridors of the old Malden Hospital, you can still feel the history of the place. Our visit lasted about two hours. We circumnavigated vast swaths of 400,000 square feet of building structures. We talked about a wide range of issues: peak traffic, schools, economic impact and taxes, regional housing needs, open space, neighborhood concerns, impact on Malden and Medford, the historic significance of this site, and the overall process required to make progress benefiting the community. The Developers spoke knowledgeably and answered questions directly. They asked questions and invited suggestions.

Before departing, we stood along the road to summarize what needs to happen in Malden to see progress at this site. It became our own small-scale traffic study when one of us was quickly pulled out of the way of an oncoming car. (There are no sidewalks in some parts of that roadway.)

The Developers conveyed their firm belief that the next step is in the hands of Malden’s City Council. Any development proposal from Fellsmere Housing Group involves rezoning. Malden’s City Council and Planning Board own the authority and responsibility to address these considerations. Rezoning requires a Public Hearing (indeed, the developer suggested the need for a series of public hearings). A Public Hearing was previously called for in June of this year (see https://goo.gl/WuAXNj ), but was not acted on.
Ballot questions put to Malden voters in November 2015 related to the hospital site. Few updates have been provided since then. More than a year has passed. What is the City’s position on the hospital site today?

If you have specific questions for Fellsmere Housing Group, Tony Green (617-513-3995) or Bill Cress (617-435-8004) would be happy to hear from you. You can find more details of their hospital site development proposal at http://www.courbanize.com/projects/fellsmere-housing/information.

 

Images of the old Malden Hospital, November 18, 2016

Inside View of the Lobby

Inside View from the "fifth floor"

Exterior Photos