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Master plan for Hicks-Logan redevelopment nearing
completion
By Charis Anderson
Standard-Times staff writer
 NEW
BEDFORD — A master plan for the redevelopment of the
Hicks-Logan neighborhood is a step closer to being
adopted after it was presented at a public meeting
Tuesday night.
It was the last of three public meetings held both to
inform the community on the progress of the plan and to
solicit input.
The plan, which has been in the works since April, now
needs to go to the Planning Board for approval. It will
then move on to the City Council before winding up at
the state's Department of Housing and Community
Development, which will have the final say.
The goal of the master plan is two-fold: to develop a
set of frameworks and principals for how development
could move forward in the neighborhood; and to define a
strategy that will help new development integrate
successfully with existing uses, according to Jen
Gonsalves, chairman of the Citizen Participation
Committee.
"We're setting the rules," she said. "It's the city
creating its own destiny."
The plan was developed along three main principles:
developing open space, creating a roadway network and
focusing on flexible land use.
Additionally, future development will be guided by nine
design principles, including making the area
pedestrian-friendly, improving the connection to the
waterfront and preserving the neighborhood's historical
character.
"We need to think about this area in a new, modern way,"
Ms. Gonsalves said.
The master plan is focused on a mixed-use development of
the neighborhood and incorporates a number of open
spaces, like an urban open space around Logan Pond that
will include boardwalks and trails.
The plan also emphasizes the need to improve public
access to the waterfront along the Acushnet River.
Some local residents and property owners raised concerns
that they would be forced out of the neighborhood by the
potential redevelopment.
But the plan's architects said that it is merely a
strategy, and that no one is being displaced.
"The long-term vision is this," said Fred Pulitzer, one
of the consultants who has worked with the city on the
master plan.
"There's a process the city has to go through with all
the individual property owners."
Contact Charis Anderson at
canderson@s-t.com
December 05, 2007 |
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