A West Cambridge developer recently solidified plans to knock down Faces, the long-abandoned nightclub off Route 2, to clear the way for an apartment complex near the Alewife T station.
The developers, The McKinnon Co. and Waltham-based Criterion Development Partners, have proposed a four-story complex with about 240 units where Faces now stands. While the empty disco at 223 Concord Turnpike has been shuttered for over 18 years, officials rewrote zoning laws in 2001 to allow commercial and residential development in the surrounding area.
But some residents have concerns about the McKinnon/Criterion proposal.
“It’s a complicated urban planning (issue),” said Michael Brandon, clerk of the North Cambridge Stabilization Committee, a neighborhood advocacy group. He said an apartment building may exacerbate traffic problems along Route 2.
“It’s gridlocked for hours as it is,” Brandon said, adding that air quality may suffer from an influx of idling vehicles during rush hour.
Brandon cited additional concerns, including the site’s accessibility to the Alewife T station and its proximity to Alewife Reservation wetlands. His group remains undecided on the proposal.
The McKinnon Co. submitted a pre-application to city planners in May.
“It was a very preliminary application,” said Beth Rubenstein, assistant city manager for development. “(Planners) were just taking in all of the information.”
The McKinnon Co. and Criterion could submit a formal application in October. Public hearings would follow, with construction starting as early as next spring if the companies won approval.
Richard McKinnon, head of The McKinnon Co., said addressing environmental issues is a top priority for every project.
“To try to ignore environmental constituencies is just silly,” McKinnon said. He noted that his plan leaves the 100-foot buffer zone between Faces and the reservation untouched. Also, the law allows him to build a facility more than 90 feet tall, while he plans to build a 60-foot apartment site.
“That’s not because I’m a nice guy,” McKinnon said. “That’s because the price of steel and cement has skyrocketed.” Building a larger complex in the buffer zone would require more of both, he said.
McKinnon conceded that an apartment building would bring more traffic to the area. But an office complex would be worse, he said, because everyone using the facility would be driving during the commuter rush.
As for the T stop, McKinnon plans to connect the apartment building to a pathway leading to the Alewife station from Cambridge Discovery Park.
McKinnon will brief the neighborhood group on the project later this summer. He estimated construction costs at $75 million. The complex would have affordable housing units, as well as some “very nice” apartments.
“You wouldn’t compare it to the Ritz-Carlton,” McKinnon said. “But we’re planning on having the nicest apartments we’re able to build.”
