The Giobbe House: The Saga Continues

While I was out of town last week, the Somerville Planning Board discussed the question of whether MLM Realty will be permitted to subdivide the lot at One Benton Road, where The Giobbe House formerly stood, into two parcels in order to build a second three-condo structure. As I mentioned in a former blog entry, the position of the Somerville Historic Preservation Commission, as well as a number of Somerville residents, is that the renovated house at One Benton Road demonstrates wanton disregard for the preservation of the character and history of the neighborhood.

The Somerville News blog reports that at the May 6 Planning Board meeting, aldermen and residents raised the issue that increased traffic at the site poses a potential danger to children walking to and from nearby St. Catherine's School. Design Consultants Incorporated presented a traffic study that was deemed irrelevant by board member Michael A. Capuano (not to be confused with Congressman Michael E. Capuano) due to the fact that it was conducted at a time of day during which the traffic problem in question was not an issue.

Despite the measures city and state officials are now taking in an attempt to control the chaos generated by the runaway greed responsible for this whole debacle, the outlook appears grim. There will be a May 20 Traffic Commission meeting during which the traffic concerns will be discussed, but board member Dana LeWinter is quoted in the Somerville News as saying, "We can't deny (the permit) unless there are intractable concerns. I want to know what possible mitigation measures there might be." The Somerville News does not mention Mayor Joe Curtatone in its article; all I know is that the March 22, 2010 document recommending conditional approval to MLM for the subdivision of the lot is on his letterhead.

At this point, making contact with your Alderman or -woman, the mayor, and the congressman by phone or e-mail are good options to voice your concerns about this project. Also, Attorney Richard G. Di Girolamo, located at 424 Broadway, Somerville 02145, who is listed as the agent for MLM Realty Trust on the above-referenced document, can be reached at 617-666-8200. Lastly, the May 20 Traffic Commission meeting is open to the public, so show up if you can. If enough people get vocal about this, it will be more difficult for MLM to continue to develop in the irresponsible fashion that characterized the renovation of The Giobbe House. As a community, I think we owe it to ourselves to make this process as difficult for MLM as possible, based on the complete lack of respect they've shown us. They haven't succeeded yet, and until they get full approval from the city, there's still time to fight.

Heartfelt thanks to everyone who signed the petition and posted comments here.

More tales of the Giobbe House

Remember this?
Now it looks like this. Nice, huh?
Just what we needed; another driveway. And a fence. That pink tree and green space looked like they were crying for a good paving-over. Note the four windows to the left of the fire escape. Remember these?
Much better, right? Oh, and remember this?
Maybe this will refresh your memory.
Mmm hm. Well, now we have this.

Admittedly, the Giobbe house needed work. But was it really necessary to strip it of all remnants of character and historical value in the interest of selling condos for a big fat profit? However, it's a fait accompli. At a 12/2/2009 meeting of the Somerville Board of Aldermen and the Historic Preservation Society, it was listed in a presentation as a "missed opportunity" and a "notable loss." (page 5)

In contrast, the same document refers to the Hood house, directly across the street, as a "realized opportunity," and as such, it won a 2008 SHPC Director's Award (see the before and after photos on page 9 of the presentation).

Unfortunately, the worst may be yet to come. A March 22, 2010 document from the office of Mayor Joe Curtatone has granted "conditional approval" for MLM Realty to subdivide the parcel of land on which One Benton Road sits (the Giobbe house, as was) into two parcels for further development construction of another building housing three condominiums, thus effectively removing all open space from the lot.

Apparently, I'm not the only one in the neighborhood who's good and pissed off about this. A petition appeared recently on the door to my apartment building stating that "new construction would damage the...watersheds for...two conservation districts;" that according to The Boston Globe (Monday April 5, 2010), "Somerville is already the most paved over and built upon city in the state, with 77% of its area paved over;" that "the treatment of the Giobbe house has been...the essential destruction of the historic character and design integrity of this house;" and that "the work already done on this site gives us no confidence that further building would be of good workmanship and design."

77% paved over! A friend of mine who regularly visits here from New Hampshire is constantly amazed that we all live together with so little space between us in this city, and he's got a point. Every spring I walk around the hills photographing the flowers, trying to preserve the burst of nature that temporarily obscures the almost ubiquitous presence of humans and our objects. Despite the over-development, I love living in Somerville, and I think our remaining 23% is worth fighting for. So do my neighbors. If you're interested in helping, you can sign a copy of the petition online at http://www.petitiononline.com/giobbe/petition.html or stop by 2 Westwood Road or 5 Westwood Road to sign in person.

Additional info:

The Somerville News blog http://somervillenews.typepad.com/the_somerville_news/2010/04/benton-road-project-criticized-by-aldermen-public.html

The Giobbe House

This beautiful house had been sitting unoccupied at the corner of Summer St. and Benton Rd. for quite some time recently, with a "sale pending" sign on it. I've spent years walking by it and admiring the almost 2-story stained glass window that looks out over the back yard. It's one of the few houses in the neighborhood with lots of land around it, part of which slopes down in a rolling hill toward the sidewalk and the building next door. It's always been surrounded by flowering trees and shrubs where the sparrows hang out. Because there was some really crappy white vinyl siding on the outside, I'd always assumed that the house was probably equally disrespected inside, but to my surprise, and ultimate dismay, that was not the case.

The sale pending sign having disappeared now (I have no idea what the place sold for), workmen have been showing up and making a lot of noise and dust. Curious as to whether they were going to keep it as a single-family or condo-ize, and dying to have a look inside, when I noticed the side door open, I walked in and could not believe what I saw. It was so amazingly well-preserved inside, with all the original molding, framing, stained glass, built-in drawers and bookcases. The wallpaper was even in beautiful condition. The man working in there told me that they were in the process of ripping all of it out. They're selling all the wood and fixtures, including the banister for the central circular staircase, to contractors, and taking all the stained glass out to be sold, as well. They're turning the house into three modern condos, and even though the wood shingles under the siding were in pretty good shape, they're throwing siding up again for the new place. Not that it will particularly make a difference at that point, as it will no longer belie the true nature of the place.

I'm so sad about this. I've really loved that house and was hopeful that someone would buy it and lovingly restore it, but instead they've ripped out trees, torn off all the window and door frames, and all I've been hearing for the last week is the sound of power tools and falling lumber. Fortunately, I was able to get some pictures of the interior, which you can see below.









More pictures here.