New Copper Mill Office Hours now available

[Ruvim Ginzburg]

Hi all,

There are two new office hours slots that are available via Copper Mill's website:

- Wednesday May 27th, 12:00 pm

- Tuesday June 2nd, 5:30 pm

The link to book tickets is below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/copper-mill-davis-square-small-group-office-hours-tickets-1988512027002?aff=oddtdtcreator

Or you can click the button on the Copper Mill website:

https://www.elmgrovedavis.com/project-information/

Looks like each session is limited to 15 people. I'll be attending the June 2nd session, and I'm planning on asking a few questions and taking notes about the conversation. 

I'm not a board member or anything, so I'm definitely not going to attempt to represent the group in any capacity. But, if anyone can't attend the office hours and wants me to ask a specific question, I can do that!

Ruvim Ginzburg

[rebecrog]

Hi neighbors,

I wanted to add to Ruvim's comment and put in a plug for going to visit the Copper Mill officer hours.  I went yesterday and thought it was helpful.  You can sign up here (I think more times will be added in the future).  There were 5 folks there from Copper Mill plus a bunch of folks from the community and it was great to get a chance to talk to lots of different people one-on-one and in small groups of 3 or 4.  For me, the smaller groups made for interesting conversations.  And it was nice to be able to ask direct questions of Copper Mill and hear immediately what their answers were (and weren't).

During my visit I enjoyed thinking a little more about what the pedestrian experience might be for a building like this.  For me, I think the biggest impact has more to do with the design of the part of the building that directly abuts the sidewalk--the part that Copper Mill calls the "podium"-- and less to do with the actual height of the tower.  For me, I'm much more interested in a shorter podium (2-3 stories) with a greater setback for the main tower.  I really liked the part of the original design that had the corner 2-story building separated from the main tower by a little alley.  I enjoyed talking to the folks there, both Copper Mill people and neighbors, about the pros and cons of different "podium" designs. 

All that podium pondering had me thinking a bit about what it would be like if parts of the building were open to the public.  For example, could there be public access to some of the roof deck space?  Would that be restaurant space?  Public park area?  What if there were a community meeting space in the podium building that was reservable by members of the public for free?   Would I be willing to live with more floors (in a podium, or in a tower height) in exchange for more publicly available amenities?

Anyway, it was a fun chance to do some day dreaming and chatting with other interested folks.  

--Rebecca

[Colin McMillen]

I think the point about the "podium" is a very good one. Here's a Street View photo right out the front of the apartment building I where I used to live in Gotanda -- a medium-density neighborhood of Tokyo. It felt like a "cozy" sort of area, as Davis Square does to me -- it's not in the middle of the hustle & bustle usually associated with Tokyo, and mostly empty of car traffic because it's an 5-minute walk from a subway stop and not on any major streets.

The main thing you'll notice is a mix of heights, from a couple of 2-story restaurant buildings, a couple of 4-6 story apartment buildings, the 8-story building I actually lived in, and also a 24-story condo tower. You don't even notice the 24-story tower in this photo (or when walking around the neighborhood) because it fits in with the vibe of the rest of the neighborhood. You'd have to actually look up to notice how tall it is, but in the normal course of a day that's not something you actually *do*.

What kept it feeling "cozy" for me was the pedestrian-and-cyclist friendliness of the area, and the diversity of street-level shops even on the ground level of all the apartment & condo buildings. There's 6 restaurants in this image, two barber shops, a hotel, a convenience store, a music club, a snacks & tobacco shop, a newsstand, two bars, and even a Domino's Pizza right behind the viewer (as well as a surface parking lot and a row of 8-or-so vending machines.).

Yes, it's more dense than Davis Square is, but my ideal vision for Davis Square would be exactly this sort of mix of the existing 1-4 story buildings, some taller 4-8 story buildings, and yes, a few (but not more than 2 or 3) tall condo / apartment towers, all with ground-level retail that's thriving and a minimum of car traffic. But from the standpoint of a tower building itself, I care a lot more about the looks & amenities (and pedestrian / sidewalk experience) offered on the first couple floors than what it looks like on floors 6-and-above.

--

Davis Square Neighborhood Council · https://DavisSquareNC.org · https://linktr.ee/DavisSquareNC

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