Senior center at Emery Grover site explored

Published by The Boston Globe

The Senior Center Exploratory Committee Tuesday night. presented selectmen with a study on the feasibility of locating the proposed new center at the Emery Grover site on Highland Avenue.
Architect Joe Bargmann from Bargmann Hendrie Archetype, Inc.offered positive and negatives outcomes of choosing the Emery Grover site, addressing several concerns from neighbors, committee members and local historical commission members.

He began his presentation with an old photo of the building, which now contains the Needham Schools administrative offices, showing historic landscaping and what the building might look like if restored.

“It’s a great building,” said Bargmann. “It has great windows, copper gutters, plenty of light.”



The architect’s presentation showed an overhead view of the building, located downtown and surrounded by other busy buildings, such as St. Joseph’s Church and Elementary School. The building’s parking lot currently has 72 spots.

To acquire the necessary 100 parking spots, Bargmann proposed using ten spaces available on the street, 17 spots at the nearby Stephen Palmer building on Pickering Street, where the senior center is currently located, or taking some of the 20 spots leased to the school.

The Emery Grover building currently has three floors, which Bargmann pointed out was not ideal for a senior center, and the whole building is 1,200 square feet too small for the desired program space. However, Bargmann noted the third level has a big, open space—which could be divided into four multipurpose rooms—with big windows and a kitchen.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty close. Closer than we all anticipated when we first started,” he said.

The building would require some repairs, Bargmann said, including rebuilding the chimney, restoring the arch windows, fixing the masonry and gutting the interior to make more room for programs.

If the Emery Grover building is restored, Bargmann estimated it would cost the town about $6.1 million, which would include an estimated $2.5 million in Community Preservation Act funding. The Community Preservation Act was established to fund municipal projects that restore historical buildings, provide open space or increase affordable housing.

Emery Grover is one of five sites being considered. The others are the Ridge Hill site on Charles Street, Greene’s Field on Pickering Street, Rosemary Hill on Rosemary Street. and the Needham Heights MBTA parking lot site off West Street

Bargmann estimated a senior center project on the Ridge Hill site might also receive preservation money. The total cost of the project would be about $6 million with some $4.5 million coming from the preservation act funds. However, Ridge Hill is not downtown like Emery Grover, Greene’s Field, or Rosemary Hill.

Selectmen voiced their concerns about the Emery Grover proposal, with Selectman Denise Garlick representing the Senior Center Exploratory Committee as the co-chair. Garlick asked about the historic archway located at the front of the building, because the original plans would eliminate the arch to make room for more programming, a concern to the Needham Historical Commission.

“It’s not a dealbreaker,” said Bargmann. “We would work through that in the next phase.”

Several selectmen asked if traffic would significantly increase in the area, suggesting that putting the senior center at Emery Grover would require the closing of the Oakland Avenue entry to the parking lot. Bargmann admitted a left turn out of the parking lot on Highland Avenue is difficult for many drivers, and exiting on the Oakland side might be easier. He said, however, that the traffic engineer studying the site does not expect an increase in traffic in that area if the center was located there.

“The issues are overcomeable,” said Bargmann. “If you don’t want it to work, it’s easy to find reasons for it not to work. You need to have the right attitude.”