Technical Review Committee

The Technical Review Committee reviewed a proposed redevelopment at 9 and 9R Oakland Street that would renovate an existing mill building into a mixed‑use project with 124 residential units (including 7 live‑work artist studios), three commercial spaces, and a three‑level parking garage providing 154 spaces. The applicant has submitted for a historic preservation special permit and site plan review; the public hearing on the project opens next week and the applicants expect a Planning Board peer review and at least one follow‑up TRC meeting. The presentation covered building massing (four stories at Oakland St., six stories down the hill toward Chestnut/Water Street), roof deck and mechanical locations, trash and loading circulation, and efforts to preserve mill‑style architectural features.

Committee discussion focused on technical and public‑safety details rather than final approvals. Staff and members raised issues including stormwater management and infiltration chambers, water and sewer service connections, steep/ADA‑challenged sidewalks and the need for stairs or revised thresholds at Oakland Street, fire access to parts of the building above the garage (despite full sprinkling), and coordination of curb cuts and sidewalk widths with DPW and Fire. Parking was a major topic: the proposal provides roughly 1.25 spaces per unit (154 spaces) versus the zoning calculator’s 1.5 spaces per unit, creating a shortfall and the likely need for waivers and a parking table showing bedroom counts and unit sizes; visitor parking, EV charging locations, compact spaces, bike parking, and whether some ground‑floor studios should count as commercial were also discussed. Other items noted for further review included potential naming conflicts for the development, historic‑tax‑credit/preservation‑restriction considerations, landscaping/tree survivability, and several plan clarifications to be handled offline or at the Design Review Committee.