At an emotional meeting, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved a controversial condo proposal in Davis Square.
At a meeting in which residents spoke of a changing community, an alderman got emotional and a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals broke into tears, the zoning body voted Wednesday night to approve plans for a controversial condo development in Davis Square. The proposed condo development, on land owned by the The Veterans of Foreign Wars George Dilboy Post, has been the source of acrimony for years. Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz said the matter has "divided the neighborhood," and in recent months it's led to hard feelings between veterans from the VFW post and some residents. At Wednesday night's meeting, some of the emotions surrounding the proposal bubbled over. "This whole process has been the most depressing thing ever," said …
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-71.11997
Veterans of Foreign Wars George Dilboy Post 529
371 Summer St, Somerville, MA
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The George Dilboy VFW Post's struggles with a certificate of inspection are wrapped up in a broader neighborhood conflict about a proposed condo development—at least that's how the VFW post sees it.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars George Dilboy Post 529, which was founded in 1920 and has been located on Summer Street, in Davis Square, for nearly 70 years, has walled off its basement game room with cinder blocks. At the same time, it's scrambling to get plans approved to build yet more makeshift walls in its function room—where Veterans Day ceremonies were held on Nov. 11—in order to reduce the room's square footage. Why? The short answer is that the VFW post, as of Tuesday, no longer has a certificate of inspection, meaning it can't legally host functions. It needs to either install a sprinkler system, which would cost $60,000, according to Ronald Patalano, a member of the post and former post commander, or reduce the facility's official…
42.39381
-71.11997
Veterans of Foreign Wars George Dilboy Post 529
371 Summer St, Somerville, MA
/articles/fire-code-issue-increases-rift-between-vfw-post-and-neighbors
786622
/locations/5833106
cp kostos
12:44 pm on Thursday, December 8, 2011
I didn't read about anyone coomenting about adding tax revenues by way of property taxes which the city desperatly needs.Also, how about the developer kicking in 4-5 units as low income housing, to be made available to the public as a lottery pick. Don't forget that condos are actually homes. I think the word "condo" has a negative effect. These "homes' will be built to house families. Chill out … more ›