tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post8299861439674347448..comments2024-03-28T07:10:16.990-04:00Comments on Bedford Mass - What's new in Retail: Developments in the Depot DistrictAdam Schwartzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-36158007795523237872016-05-03T07:29:08.322-04:002016-05-03T07:29:08.322-04:00Unfortunately government officials are notorious f...Unfortunately government officials are notorious for not considering the unintended consequences of their decisions and policies. And when you bring them up, well, they don't really seem to care.<br /><br />Fred | <a href="http://devlux.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">devlux</a>Frednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-48936594539937404982014-05-20T18:03:03.332-04:002014-05-20T18:03:03.332-04:00First hand information. I have children in system....First hand information. I have children in system. Please talk to the schools to,get census but beware the start of school there will be more after all these homes move out the empty nesters and sell to families with kiddos. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-83923989435035626672014-05-20T10:05:19.210-04:002014-05-20T10:05:19.210-04:00Town officials IRRESPONSIBLE fiscal management res...Town officials IRRESPONSIBLE fiscal management resulting in outgrowing our schools within years of rebuilding and expansion. Talk to the principals and school committee. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-64570910362178548782014-05-20T01:38:18.756-04:002014-05-20T01:38:18.756-04:00Hi Anonymous,
With respect to schools, the last e...Hi Anonymous,<br /><br />With respect to schools, the last enrollment report I see is October 2012 - http://www.bedford.k12.ma.us/images/stories/pdfs/Enrollment_and_Class_Size.pdf<br /><br />Do you know if there is any updated information. Thanks.Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-64327845698861069212014-05-20T00:02:48.353-04:002014-05-20T00:02:48.353-04:00Adam,
We are going to have an issue with where do...Adam,<br /><br />We are going to have an issue with where do we put all these students. Davis School is soon to be too small.This current kindergarten class is full to the limit. Ask the overworked teachers, Superintendent and Principal!!!New increases each year with knock downs and new families coming into town either in mansions and/or apartments.Hello town officials ,figure it out:OVERCROWDED SCHOOLS and too many cars on our roads!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-83652460520244534882014-05-17T10:24:23.778-04:002014-05-17T10:24:23.778-04:00The issue is that the town has added too many resi...The issue is that the town has added too many residential units too fast for the town to manage. Slow down for town to catch up. Further converting of commercial parcels to residential at this time is questionable. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-68570505446320919022014-05-16T18:33:02.272-04:002014-05-16T18:33:02.272-04:00I agree that the tear downs generate additional re...I agree that the tear downs generate additional revenue however replacing a 1500 square foot home with a 3500 square foot home does not see more efficient.<br /><br />For seniors, I guess the question is do they want to remain in town if they decide to downsize. Right now there are few options if they do. I think this question would be worth exploring.<br /><br />I think we must have different numbers on the density question. I get different results. I'm working off the 2012 data which shows there is about 1 school enrollment for every 6 apartments in Bedford (.18 students per apartment). When I combine with the rest of the numbers, the financial impact is less than single families homes. If you want to ping me off list, I'd be interested in comparing our numbers. Thanks.Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-34184060984788148612014-05-16T13:08:33.049-04:002014-05-16T13:08:33.049-04:00Regarding tear downs; this is generally a very goo...Regarding tear downs; this is generally a very good thing since it generates considerable revenue and replaces inefficient older homes. Saving historic homes is separate.<br /><br />Note, there is effectively no demand for Seniors to move to single family homes in Bedford. Tear downs actually help seniors since they help protect town tax rates and may make their property more sell-able and beneficial for estate planning. <br /><br />Higher density residential DOES have a negative financial impact on town infrastructure. The % of students per rental unit in Bedford is greater than other towns. More people and more demand for law enforcement, schools, library, voting services, and more. It collects less tax revenue per person in higher density. <br /><br />The town has added residential and subsidized residential at rates far greater than others.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-34623475774115558492014-05-16T11:10:59.996-04:002014-05-16T11:10:59.996-04:00This is a good discussion. Over the past 10 years ...This is a good discussion. Over the past 10 years a majority of the property tax burden has shifted on to residential property from commercial/industrial. I think the town understands this and is become a lot more active in focusing on attracting and retaining businesses in Bedford.<br /><br />On the residential side Bedford has had a lot of new single family housing in the past 5 years. In addition the past 2 or 3 years have seen a large number of older houses torn down and replaced with much larger houses. On the one hand, these houses are worth a lot more and generate a lot more property taxes while only creating a slight increase in costs. On the other hand, this decreases the supply of lower cost homes making it less affordable for seniors who want to move in to a smaller house and stay in town. It also makes it harder for newer town employees to live in Bedford.<br /><br />On the infrastructure cost side, I think a lot of that depends on location and type of housing. Typically higher density has lower costs per person.Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-71616180006049129672014-05-16T09:33:32.116-04:002014-05-16T09:33:32.116-04:00but, if Bedford adds so many residential units so ...but, if Bedford adds so many residential units so quickly that it hurts our town infrastructure which leads to continued raising of property taxes then the premise collapes: seniors cannot afford to stay in town due to town mismanagement leading to high growth property taxes and high taxes make the town less attractive than other towns like Burlington. It was Bedford's positive fiscal management that originally attracted people here in place of Lexington which is very poorly run. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-52033285264982963382014-05-14T15:07:08.919-04:002014-05-14T15:07:08.919-04:00More info on some of the economic development item...More info on some of the economic development items the planning board is looking at - http://www.bedfordma.gov/planning/minutes/minutes-84Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-89813257737556022382014-05-14T13:55:38.354-04:002014-05-14T13:55:38.354-04:00I agree on the improvements to the Crosby Drive ar...I agree on the improvements to the Crosby Drive area. I know the planning board is working on addressing some issues and making some tweaks to encourage additional economic development. <br /><br />On the housing side, there is such a large demand for housing in this region that I don't see any drop in demand for a long time. There are lots of people priced out of where they want to live. For example right now there may be people who want to live in Lexington, they can't afford it so they make look at Bedford. People who want to live in Bedford but can't afford it may be looking at Woburn. If supply goes up and prices do drop some, you still have the pent up demand that you won't end up with a glut. We saw this a few years ago when prices came down some but demand did not. Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-30295457740414889362014-05-14T12:28:12.231-04:002014-05-14T12:28:12.231-04:00with respect to current demand for housing that ma...with respect to current demand for housing that may be currently higher; it may be short sighted for the town to promote converting important business/retail districts to heavy residential component. Obviously, the pendulum will swing in time and the town will then be left with a glut of vacant residential units. <br /><br />The improvements on Crosby Drive and Rte. 3 is making this area more attractive to business and retail and is resulting in new investment and upgrading of those sites. It will take some time, but the town would be rewarded with patience vs. selling out to residential which stresses town infrastructure. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-11319004354036447522014-05-14T02:00:43.494-04:002014-05-14T02:00:43.494-04:00The Depot Building was repainted in fall of 2012. ...The Depot Building was repainted in fall of 2012. I'm not sure of the reason. I'm guessing it was not clear if the town was going to get the additional money for the next stage of renovations.Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-38990729294625453282014-05-14T01:58:44.700-04:002014-05-14T01:58:44.700-04:00With respect to the business districts being conve...With respect to the business districts being converted, the business parks still have fairly high vacancy rates while housing is in strong demand and retail is doing okay. This makes it more difficult to get financing for business projects and easier for residential/mixed use projects.Adam Schwartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830834770203881220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-82115767918492349512014-05-13T21:12:57.270-04:002014-05-13T21:12:57.270-04:00Why was the depot repainted in the fall if they we...Why was the depot repainted in the fall if they were just going to rip the siding off? Seems like a waste?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-768838965168941672014-05-13T15:00:05.196-04:002014-05-13T15:00:05.196-04:00Ooo really hope Ken finds that quality bakery/coff...Ooo really hope Ken finds that quality bakery/coffee house he's hoping for!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3426330243097067766.post-66137346795619898422014-05-13T11:30:33.933-04:002014-05-13T11:30:33.933-04:00Do we really NEED more housing? Our business dist...Do we really NEED more housing? Our business districts continue to be converted to heavy residential. <br /><br />As result, town infrastructure is self-destroying under the weight of this and the other residential developments pushed by elected and non-elected town leaders in past 3-10 years.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com