Bridgewater's Vision to Reality: Let’s Talk 2024, A Year In Review
A LETTER FROM THE CED DIRECTOR:
At this time of year, I know it is cliché to refer to “looking back and looking ahead”, but with apologies, I am going to do just that and I appreciate, in advance, your indulgence. The Town of Bridgewater initiated Vision to Reality (V2R) in June 2023 with the intention of implementing the goals, objectives and priorities identified in the Town’s Comprehensive Master Plan that was adopted in May 2022. In 2024 we were able to take numerous steps forward in achieving what residents articulated in the Master Plan.
Housing remains a priority across the nation at the federal, state and local levels, and is acknowledged by leaders of both major political parties. Solving the housing issue has not generated consensus though and will continue to require much more education in order for stakeholders to understand the complexities of the issue. I have written previously on housing, and I encourage you to read that Let’s Talk blog. Though there is much work still to be done, I am happy to report that some significant progress was made in 2024 in addressing the need for housing in Bridgewater.
In February, a plan for the redevelopment of the Perkins Foundry property was approved after three (3) years of going through the approval process. There are significant benefits to the redevelopment of this site, beginning with the comprehensive environmental remediation required before any new construction can begin. Working with Town staff, the developers of this property redesigned the project to be more aligned with V2R resulting in a high quality designed project which will result in 150 residential units and 19,312 square feet of commercial space in three (3) buildings.
In April, the Town Council adopted a significant amendment to the Town’s Zoning Ordinance that puts the Town in compliance with the Commonwealth’s MBTA Communities legislation, which is intended to encourage housing development in proximity to public transportation. Another significant element of the new ordinance was the inclusion of a Form-Based Code (FBC), which offers the development community an expedited and predictable approval process when design and use guidelines set forth in the code are met. And, in December, the first proposed project under the FBC was filed for the redevelopment of the vacant bowling alley and former Friendly’s restaurant site on Broad Street.
In the first quarter of 2025 it is expected the state will be announcing plans for the redevelopment of state-owned land on the corner of Hale and Plymouth Streets. When V2R was launched six (6) sites within the downtown area were identified as being “under-utilized” and desirable for redevelopment; the aforementioned projects represent one half of the “under-utilized” sites. New development understandably raises concerns regarding infrastructure, namely wastewater and water, both for present and future capacity. These are difficult, time-consuming and expensive issues to address and, admittingly, planning for the future should have been initiated years ago. We are aggressively working to address both of these capacity issues and are exploring and discussing options, both internally and with multiple external potential partners. There are no quick solutions and there are no inexpensive solutions. They will require a combination of federal infrastructure funding, state funding made available by being in compliance with the MBTA communities’ legislation, and local funding.
Local funding can be in many forms, the least desirable of which is raising property taxes. The expansion of the tax base is the best solution. Over the past 18 months, we have heard from some residents that Bridgewater doesn’t need any new development. I won’t opine on whether that is a minority or majority of the residents. Beyond water and sewer, there are also the costs for roadway and sidewalk improvements, parks and recreation and school funding - all of which are going to rise. Sourcing those funds without significantly impacting current taxpayers requires expansion of the tax base. New development doesn’t just increase the property tax base, it increases the Town’s share of meals and sales taxes.
Our discussion regarding new development has raised concerns regarding traffic and pedestrian safety. I fully understand those concerns and we are working to address those through V2R. In a recently completed Route 18 Corridor Study prepared by the Old Colony Planning Council (OCPC), virtually every intersection was rated “F”. In late 2024, the OCPC commenced a new corridor study for Route 104. Both of these studies will contribute to our ongoing plans for improving traffic and pedestrian safety in the Central Square area. Preliminary concept and engineering activities have commenced with an esteemed and nationally recognized group of consultants and engineers. A public meeting was held in September 2024 to kick off the process, a second meeting is scheduled for January 16th (event registration information here) where the community will have an opportunity to view and understand recommended alternatives to the current conditions. We were fortunate to secure funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and Governor Healey’s recently approved Economic Development Legislation which are funding 100% of this preliminary work. In the fall of 2024, we also completed sidewalk and safety improvements on Main Street with funding from MASS Department of Transportation’s Complete Streets program.
Assisting, supporting and attracting small businesses was also identified as a key element of V2R. In 2024 we held three (3) small business workshops conducted by industry leading experts on topics such as social media marketing and Google optimization. We have held in-person one-on-one consultations where local business owners had the opportunity to meet with a small business consultant and we will continue to provide this service in 2025. To promote more awareness in the first quarter of 2024 we also held monthly coffee hours at the Senior Center and throughout the year we have met with several community and neighborhood associations. Our outreach and partnership with the Metro South Chamber of Commerce, the Cranberry Country Chamber of Commerce and the Bridgewater Business Association have been invaluable as part of our communication and community outreach efforts.
We are eagerly awaiting the release of an Economic Impact Study by Bridgewater State University (BSU) which will identify the significant contributions the university makes to our local economy. Our partnership with BSU continues to grow on many levels, including receiving joint funding for sidewalk improvements, a grant for the use of drone technology to evaluate safety concerns in the downtown area; and we are working in partnership on initiatives to link more local businesses to BSU for supplies and services. Our small business team has also been working with the BSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business as students (and faculty) develop new business ideas. With funding received from the state we will be working with the public and BSU on the adaptive reuse of the old Mobil gas station site on Summer Street.
The Community and Economic Development (CED) office has been involved in much more this past year, such as managing the new fire station construction, closing out the improvements at the Stiles & Hart open space area, securing funding for additional EV charging stations at the Senior Center and supporting other departments, as well as the Town Manager’s office.
I appreciate the opportunity to summarize our activities over this past year associated with V2R. To those not familiar with municipal or state government, what we have accomplished is extraordinary for one year. The recognition that we have received serves to help us to continue to promote the V2R initiative. Through this process we have identified additional changes to our zoning ordinance to meet economic realities and to respond to uncertainty in understanding what the new administration's priorities and support will be in areas of critical interest to the Town of Bridgewater.
Happy New Year!