Welcome to The Town of Arlington's Symmes Advisory Committee

Welcome to the Symmes Reuse Planning web site!

This site contains up-to-date information from the Symmes Advisory Committee on its efforts to develop a plan for the best reuse, for the Town of Arlington and its citizens, of the Symmes Hospital property acquired by the Town in May of 2002. With the help of a professional team headed by VHB, the Committee has conducted an intensive process of public input and analysis to formulate recommendations to Town boards and Town Meeting.

Click on one of the links above to find out more about the site's history, see ideas for the site as they develop, view minutes and documents from the Symmes Advisory Committee and give us your feedback. We'd love to hear from you!

What's New

FLASH: For Current Information

For current information, please visit the Arlington Redevelopment Board's Symmes web page.

FLASH: Additional information for Special Town Meeting

Symmes Advisory Committee report to Town Meeting

ARB Letter to Town Meeting members 15Sep04

ARB Overview of Redevelopment 15Sep04

FLASH - 9/15/04: Tonite's Meeting Cancelled

The meeting scheduled by E.A. Fish for this evening has been cancelled because it was in conflict with the start of Rosh Hashana.

Following is a note from Patrick McMahon at E.A. Fish regarding their decision to schedule and subsequently cancel the meeting, and offering other modes of communication regarding the project in advance of Monday's Special Town Meeting.

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Note from Patrick McMahon 15 Sep 2004:

Symmes Neighbors and Arlington Residents,

As you know, we had planned an informational meeting for tonight, September 15th, in an effort to answer questions prior to Town Meeting. In no way were our efforts intended to diminish the importance and significance of Rosh Hashanah. We understand that some residents held that perception and we sincerely apologize.

Rather, we (the Symmes Redevelopment Team) were reacting to residents' continued requests that we make ourselves available to answer questions and disseminate information prior to Town Meeting. Unfortunately, September 15th was the first night open for such a meeting. As you know, the Finance Committee and the ARB conducted meetings on Monday evening and then the SAC and ARB conducted meetings about Symmes last night.

In honor of Rosh Hashanah, we are canceling this evening's meeting.

We recognize the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between our team and Town residents. Therefore, we will make ourselves available to anyone who would like to discuss the project. Please feel free to contact me at (617) 517-4259.

Lastly, we still plan to conduct a community meeting on Thursday, September 23rd.

Thank you for your understanding,
Patrick McMahon
E.A. Fish Associates

FLASH - 9/14/04: Symmes meeting schedule

There are an extraordinary number of meetings scheduled for this week concerning the Symmes redevelopment, leading toward the Special Town Meeting next Monday the 20th. Here to the best of our ability is a recap of the complete schedule, including a Community Meeting newly announced by the development team.

Monday Sep 13th at 7pm, Town Hall auditorium: Arlington Redevelopment Board public hearing on the zoning change needed to make the Symmes project possible, and meeting with Transportation Advisory Committee regarding Symmes traffic study
Monday Sep 13th at 7:30pm, Ground floor of Jefferson Cutter House: Finance Committee discussion of Symmes proposal
Tuesday Sep 14th at 7pm, Symmes Hospital Conf Rm: Public briefing on finance issues by ARB
Tuesday Sep 14th at 7pm, Selectmen's meeting room, Town Hall 2nd floor: Symmes Advisory Committee meeting
Wednesday Sep 15th from 7-9pm, Symmes Hospital cafeteria: Community meeting hosted by Symmes Redevelopment Associates with an announced agenda covering

Program, Residential and Medical
Medical Office Building status
Traffic review process and mitigation measures
Environmental
Neighborhood Protection Plan
Questions and Answers [See note below]

Monday Sep 20th at 6:15pm, Selectmen's meeting room, Town Hall 2nd floor: Board of Selectmen continued hearing on Symmes proposal
Monday Sep 20th at 8pm, Town Hall auditorium: Special Town Meeting
Thursday Sep 23rd from 7-9pm, Symmes Hospital cafeteria: Community meeting hosted by Symmes Redevelopment Associates [See note below]

Repeated below is the announcement from Symmes Redevelopment Associates (the Fish team) regarding the two Community Meetings is it hosting on the 15th and 23rd, as well as availability of team members for discussion on other nights this week. For more information, you can contact Patrick McMahon at (617) 517-4259 or by email at pmcmahon@eafish.com.

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Note from Patrick McMahon 13 Sep 2004:

Following the notice of the September 15th community meeting, a number of Arlington residents responded that an evening meeting would be inconvenient for some as this is the first night of Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days.

Before scheduling this meeting, we recognized this important day and knew it would pose some conflict. We apologize for any inconvenience. The reason we decided to plan a meeting was because we had a number of conversations with Symmes neighbors at the end of last week and several residents were asking if we would take the time to explain the progress of the development program and answer questions prior to Town Meeting (Monday, September 20th).

To that end, it was recommended that we schedule a community meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 15th, because Symmes-related meetings were already scheduled for both Monday and Tuesday evenings.

We would like to continue to plan on meeting on September 15th at 7 p.m. for approximately an hour and a half in an effort to address interests and concerns prior to Town Meeting. Yet, we are truly interested in listening to as many residents as possible and therefore we would like to conduct a second community meeting on Thursday, September 23rd at 7 p.m. to speak with those residents who cannot attend this Wednesday. As an FYI: the content of these two meetings should be very similar.

In addition, we will be available to discuss the project before or after the following meetings:

Redevelopment Board Hearing on Zoning September 13, 2004 Location Town Hall Auditorium Time 7:30 PM

Finance/Open briefing September 14, 2004 Location Symmes Hospital Conference Room Time 7:00 PM We appreciate your understanding of our efforts to address questions prior to Town Meeting.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (617) 517-4259.

Thank you,
Patrick McMahon

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FLASH - 9/3/04: Additional public briefings scheduled

The ARB has just announced two public educational briefings on aspects of the plan. These sessions are being offered by the Redevlopment Board to help citizens better understand the issues underlying the project. They are:

Zoning issues briefing Thu Sep 9th at 7pm, Selectmen's Hearing Rm
Finance issue briefing Tue Sep 14th at 7pm, Symmes Hospital Conf Rm

[Note: The Arlington Advocate published an incorrect date for the Finance meeting. The date above is correct.]

FLASH - 9/02/04: Land Disposition Agreement signed; Public review process moves forward

The Arlington Redevelopment Board and Symmes Redevelopment Associates have executed the Land Disposition Agreement as previously outlined (see 8/10 announcement below). The LDA documents and an information package prepared by the ARB for Town Meeting members (to save them to your computer without first opening them in your browser, right-click on the links below and select 'Save link as...') are:

Town Meeting information package [14 page PDF, 225K]

Current site plan (also included in above package) [1 page PDF, 265K]

LDA document [71 page PDF, 585K]

LDA Exhibit A (locus plan) [1 page PDF, 115K]

LDA Exhibit D (Neighborhood Protection Plan) [12 page PDF, 232K]

The Symmes Advisory Committee will meet Tuesday, September 7th at 7pm in the Selectmen's Meeting Room (Town Hall, second floor) to review the project and prepare its report to a Special Town Meeting on September 20th.

FLASH - 8/10/04: ARB and Developer agree on terms of sale

Following several months of negotiations, the Arlington Redevelopment Board and Symmes Redevelopment Associates have agreed on the essential business terms of the sale of the Symmes Site. The resulting Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) will be discussed in detail at a joint public meeting of the ARB and Symmes Advisory Committee on Monday, August 16th at 7:00pm at the Arlington Senior Center, 27 Maple Street.

At this meeting the ARB will review details of the transaction. A general announcement is available HERE. A brief discussion of the issues leading to the LDA is contained in a memo to SAC members by its Chairman Charlie Foskett, available HERE.

Completion of the LDA will set in motion a new series of public processes and hearings leading to a closing on the parcel around year-end. The ARB has announced dates for certain key meetings, listed below.

In addition, the ARB has announced that it plans to hold educational forums to help answer questions about many complicated aspects of controls on the site and its redevelopment, and how the ARB with public input will shape the final outcome. These issues include the effects of zoning choices, how conservation restrictions can permanently protect open space, and how the Environmental Design Review process can affect details of development and mitigation of neighborhood impact. Dates, locations and agendas for these forums will be announced shortly.

ARB scheduled meetings:

Monday, Aug. 16, 2004
The Arlington Redevelopment Board will sign the Land Disposition Agreement for the Symmes project with Symmes Redevelopment Assocates. This will be done at a regular meeting of the ARB, which will be held jointly with the Symmes Advisory Committee. The terms of the agreement will be made public at this meeting.

Monday, Aug. 23, 2004
The ARB will introduce E.A. Fish and other members of the Symmes Redevelopment Associates to the Selectmen at the selectmen's regular meeting. This is largely ceremonial and will last 10 or 15 minutes.

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004
The Arlington Redevelopment Board will present the Symmes project to the Finance Committee at a Public Hearing. The Finance Committee is expected to speak on the project at Town Meeting.

Monday, Sept. 13, 2004
The Redevelopment Board will hold a public hearing on the zoning change needed to make the Symmes project possible.

Monday, Sept. 20, 2004
Town Meeting on zoning change.

FLASH - 05/12/04: Next Community Meeting rescheduled to May 18th

From the text of a notice issued by Patrick McMahon, Assistant Project Director for Symmes Redevelopment Associates LLC:

"The next Symmes Community Meeting will take place next Tuesday, May 18th from 7-9 p.m. at the Symmes Cafeteria. This meeting was originally planned to take place Thursday, May 12th. The schedule change is the result of our invitation to the ARB to attend this meeting to discuss the Special Permit Process. In addition, Jane Howard of Howard Stein Hudson, our traffic consultant, will lead a portion of the meeting on traffic counts/ analysis. Next Tuesday, May 18th was the best date for all parties above. Please feel free to pass this notice along. If you have any questions/suggestions, please contact me at (617) 517-4259."

FLASH - 05/01/04: Community Meeting rescheduled to Thursday May 6th

The Symmes Redevelopment Associates community meeting originally set for April 29th and later postponed to May 3rd has been moved to THURSDAY MAY 6th at 7pm at the hospital cafeteria. With apologies for the confusion, the Fish Associates team has announced this change to avoid conflict with the ongoing Annual Town Meeting.

For additional information please contact Patrick McMahon at 617-517-4259.

FLASH - 04/16/04: Community Meeting to air on Comcast cable

The April 15th Community Meeting with Symmes Redevelopment Associates will be aired on the following schedule:

Fri 4/16: 2pm & 7pm

Sat 4/17: 7pm

Sun 4/18: 2pm

Mon 4/19: 2pm

Tue 4/20: 7pm

Thu 4/22: 7pm

FLASH - 04/13/04: Redevelopment Team continues Community Meetings

The Symmes Redevelopment Associates team has announced that its series of Community Meetings will continue on Thursday April 15th and Thursday April 29th.

Both meetings are at 7pm in the Symmes Hospital Cafeteria. An agenda for the meeting of the 15th is available here. Questions about the meeting can be directed to Patrick McMahon of Edward A. Fish Associates at 617-517-4259.

FLASH - 03/25/04: Redevelopment Team announces next Community Meeting

The Symmes Redevelopment Associates team will host the second in a series of informal Community Meetings on Thursday April 1st at 7pm in the Symmes Hospital Cafeteria.

Note that this is a revised meeting date. The event was originally announced for March 25th. Questions about the meeting can be directed to Patrick McMahon of Edward A. Fish Associates at 617-442-0211.

FLASH - 02/23/04: Fish Team announces first Community Meeting

The team headed by Edward A. Fish Associates will hold an informal Community Meeting on Thursday February 26th at 7pm in the Symmes Hospital Cafeteria.

According to Patrick McMahon, Assistant Project Director for Symmes Redevelopment Associates LLC, "The intent of this meeting is simply to introduce our Team and proposal, and to discuss the community's interests and concerns with respect to the project. We also hope that this meeting provides our Team the necessary insight to develop a more comprehensive Neighborhood Protection Plan that accurately reflects the community's safety and wellbeing. Lastly, this meeting will serve as a point of departure for continual and seamless communication between our Team and the community, especially the abutters."

Questions about the meeting can be directed to Patrick McMahon at 617-442-0211.

FLASH - 2/15/04: Proposal footprint comparisons

A set of overlays showing the various proposed development schemes versus the footprint of existing development is available HERE.

FLASH - 02/10/04: ARB names Fish team preferred developer

The Arlington Redevelopment Board voted unanimously to select Symmes Redevelopment Associates LLC as its top-ranked choice and tentative developer of the Symmes site. The team, headed by the Fish family of companies including E.A. Fish Associates, Suffolk Construction and Peabody Properties, was one of four groups submitting proposals to redevelop the 18-acre site.

Other members of the development team include lead architect The Architectural Team, medical architect Payette Associates, landscape architect Michael Radner Design, site planner Chan Krieger & Associates, and Menotomy Medical Partners as lead medical tenant.

The ARB voted:

That the ARB tentatively designate Symmes Redevelopment Associates / E.A. Fish Co. as the redeveloper of the Symmes Arlington Conservation and Improvement Project, subject to the satisfaction of certain preconditions, including, but not limited to, the execution of a Land Disposition Agreement, completion of a disposition appraisal of the site and confirmation that the appraisal supports the proposed disposition price, the approval of the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, and such other terms and conditions as may be recommended by counsel or as the ARB may deem appropriate.

This action continues a process that is expected to result in a groundbreaking in early 2005.

The proposal will be refined as the ARB negotiates with the developer the details of a formal Land Disposition Agreement, and as the project subsequently undergoes the many review, comment and permitting steps involved, including:

Preparation of zoning changes to accommodate the proposed project;
Modification of the Urban Renewal Plan (URP) that currently governs the site;
Submission of the above to a Special Town Meeting, approval of which is required for all zoning and URP changes;
State approval of changes to the URP;
MEPA (Mass Environmental Policy Act) review of the environmental impacts of the project;
Environmental Design Review, the process by which the developer will apply to the ARB for a special permit, entailing public comment and review of all aspects of the project;
Review by other local boards including the Historic Commission and possibly the Conservation Commission.

Please check back here from time to time for additional information regarding the project as it develops, and be sure to check the meeting schedule and agenda of the Arlington Redevelopment Board regularly.

FLASH - 01/29/04: Preliminary evaluation of proposals by SAC

At a joint meeting on January 29th the SAC offered the Arlington Redevelopment Board a preliminary evaluation of the four proposed development schemes.

In the interest of advising but not encumbering the ARB, the SAC elected not to attempt to rank the bidders directly, but rather to evaluate the proposals against its own detailed recommendations, then to convey to the ARB the sense of the SAC as to whether each proposal, with respect to each recommendation, "Met" or "Did Not Meet" said recommendation or whether it was not possible to judge given the information at hand ("Do Not Know"). Also included in the January 29th report is a recapitulation of the detailed SAC recommendations reported to and endorsed by Town Meeting.

The SAC has not considered any financial aspects of the proposals pending completion of an analysis by the ARB financial consultant.

FLASH - 01/28/04: Comcast to repeat January 26th Symmes public forum

Comcast Channel 8 will air the Symmes public comment session held at Town Hall on Monday January 26th at these dates and times:

Thursday 1/29, Friday 1/30, and Saturday 1/31 at 9AM & 12 Noon

Thursday 1/29, Friday 1/30, Sunday 2/1, and Tuesday 2/3 at 3PM

Note: The Comcast cable staff advises that technical difficulties during the recording of this program resulted in inconsistent audio and video quality.

FLASH - 01/21/04: Event Photos Added

Click HERE for some photos of the most recent Symmes event.

FLASH - 01/12/04: Development Proposals Received; Review Process Underway

Proposals for the redevelopment of the Symmes site were received by the Arlington Redevelopment Board (ARB) on January 7, 2004 from each of the four participating teams.

Introductory information on each proposal is available for download through this web site. The complete proposals are available for viewing during normal hours at the Office of Planning and Community Development and the Robbins Library. The complete documents include much more detailed information such as financial proposals, specific use concepts, detailed plan and elevation drawings, phasing information, and background and experience of team members.

Scale models of each proposal have also been submitted and will be available for viewing at the scheduled events listed below.

Executive summaries, site plans and photos of the model furnished by each of the four teams are available for download HERE.

The ARB has scheduled the following steps in the process:

Interviews with teams - January 12 and 13, 2004 in Town Hall:

Jan 12 7:30pm Edward A. Fish Associates
Jan 12 8:45pm Baran Companies/Keen Development
Jan 13 7:30pm Diversified Funding/Congress Group
Jan 13 8:45pm Archstone Communities

Public meeting and discussion - January 26 at 7:30pm in Town Hall
ARB meeting with Symmes Advisory Committee - January 28 at 7:30pm, Selectmen's Hearing Room, 2nd floor of Town Hall
ARB regular meeting - February 2 at 7:30pm, Second floor of Town Hall Annex
ARB regular meeting and tentative selection announcement - February 9 at 7:30pm, Second floor of Town Hall Annex

Note that the Interview sessions on the 12th and 13th are open to the public, but are intended for the Arlington Redevelopment Board to examine the proposals and to question the proponent teams, and are not a forum for public comment or questions. The major opportunity for interaction on the proposals will be the Public Discussion on January 26th. Regular ARB meetings are of course open to the public.

The Symmes Advisory Committee will meet on January 20th and January 27th at 7:30pm in the Symmes Hospital cafeteria to review the proposals and prepare to offer its advice and input to the Arlington Redevelopment Board.

FLASH: Request for Proposals issued

Four teams have been invited by the ARB to prepare full proposals for the redevelopment of the Symmes site. They will respond to a full Request for Proposals released to the teams on October 20, 2003. The teams were selected on the basis of their responses to an earlier Request For Qualifications.

FLASH: ARB releases Request for Qualifications

On July 18th the Arlington Redevelopment Board (ARB) issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for development teams interested in being considered for the Symmes site.

This important step is an invitation to developers to submit their backgrounds, capabilities, and preliminary approaches to the project. On the basis of the responses to this RFQ, the ARB will select development teams who will be asked to respond to a full Request for Proposals (RFP).

The object of the RFQ/RFP process is to choose the development team that can best develop the site within the stated goals and objectives of the Town and in a manner consistent with the recommendations of the Symmes Advisory Committee Report to Town Meeting.

The RFQ document is available here (If your browser has trouble loading the large report, you can right-click on the link, and choose the closest thing your browser supports to a 'Save link as...' option, which should allow you to save the report to your computer without first having to open it in your browser), or in print from the Planning and Community Development Office in Town Hall.

RFQ introduction only [21 pages, 1.4mb]
RFQ with full attachments [143 pages, 5.4mb]

Important note to developers: For convenience the RFQ can be downloaded here with or without its extensive attachments. However, the attachments are an integral part of the RFQ, and any developer considering a submission is responsible for obtaining the complete document. The material here is as issued by the ARB on July 18, 2003. Developers contemplating reponse are urged to notify the Planning Department at 781-316-3090 of their intent and thereby receive notice of any subsequent changes.

FLASH: What's Ahead?

Redevelopment of Symmes is taking place under the authority of an Urban Renewal Plan established in 2002 by Town Meeting. The Arlington Redevelopment Board is the body that "owns" the property and bears responsibility for carrying out its redevelopment. The ARB and SAC have worked in concert throughout the planning process, in preparation for the ARB to now execute those plans. Through summer and fall of 2003 the ARB will solicit proposals from development partners, evaluate them against the guidelines, and conduct public design review sessions to shape the preferred proposals.

Town Meeting has requested that the Symmes Advisory Committee continue to advise the Town and the Redevelopment Board during this ongoing open process. In the end, Town Meeting will review the final proposed development plans and must authorize appropriate changes in zoning of the parcel to allow the selected development to proceed.

FLASH: SAC Recommendations Approved by Special Town Meeting

On May 12th, a Special Town Meeting voted unanimously to accept and endorse the report of the Symmes Advisory Committee. The text of the vote is available HERE.

The report submitted to Town Meeting, and previously endorsed by the Board of Selectmen and the Arlington Redevelopment Board, includes the SAC's recommendations and guidelines for the redevelopment and disposition of the Symmes campus. The report is available for download here, or can be viewed at the office of Planning and Community Development in Town Hall, or at Robbins Library. If your browser has trouble loading the large report, you can right-click on the link, and choose the closest thing your browser supports to a 'Save link as...' option, which should allow you to save the report to your computer without first having to open it in your browser.

SAC Report only [13 pages, 349kb]
SAC Report with appendices [111 pages, 2.38mb]

Details of the planning process reflected in this report can be found under Visions. We continue to welcome public comment through our Feedback page.

Also:

Workshops:
Reports on the four planning Workshops conducted by the SAC between August 2002 and February 2003, including photos from those events, can be seen HERE.