Purpose 

In this project, more than 20 community volunteers are examining two Town-owned properties in Dedham Square: the current police station site and the Keystone parking lot. The project's goal is to provide the Select Board and Town Meeting with recommendations about potential future uses of those properties.

The police station site will become available for other uses after the department moves into the combined public safety building to be constructed on Bryant Street. The Keystone lot could, in the future, be redeveloped to provide new tax revenues and community space, while maintaining public parking on the site.

Committee members are working to analyze the two sites and the real estate market. Along with the consultants, the Committee will generate ideas on potential transformations of these sites in the coming decades, evaluate the viability of each scenario, and weigh the long-term economic, fiscal, and civic benefits of each. Findings will be presented to the Select Board in early 2021. 

This page will be updated with documents and presentations.

History

Dedham Square is a traditional New England town center that developed around a train station which once offered service to Boston and Providence. Over the past century, the rail corridor evolved into a highway for automobiles, and the historic train station was razed and turned into a parking lot. Ten years ago, with the assistance of a State grant, the Town invested more than $6 million to revitalize the downtown, improve public safety, and encourage real estate investment. Those improvements spurred the creation of several new buildings with residential apartments over ground-floor storefronts. 

Dedham Square has long been an important center of public life in the town. Civic institutions include a post office, town hall, police and fire stations, the main public library branch, the local historical society, Norfolk County offices and courthouses, and the Registry of Deeds. The Town center has historic architecture, more than 20 family-owned restaurants and retailers, including a bookstore, a bike shop, gourmet ice cream, fitness boutiques, a cigar shop, and a community movie theater.

This Design Concepts & Strategies effort will build on earlier studies of Dedham Square and build on recent public engagement efforts, including the Dedham Square Design Guidelines project.

Project Area

Located at 600 High Street, the Town's police station was built in 1962. The building is a two-story, brick colonial design with a shingled pitched roof. The building appears to be in good condition at first glance. However, shortcomings of the station were identified as early as 1987 in a report commissioned by the Select Board. Additional studies have cataloged the shortcomings of the 58-year-old facility.

The Keystone Lot, located one block east at 10 Eastern Avenue, offers 138 parking spaces on nearly 1.4 acres of land abutting the Providence Highway. It is the largest single parcel of land currently undeveloped in the Square. Potential redevelopment of the site could generate new growth and property taxes, create new public space, and retain public parking for residential and commercial needs.

Funding

This study was budgeted at $50,000 and funded by an appropriation from Town Meeting and Economic Development funds.

Dedham Square Study Committee

The Dedham Square Planning Committee are supported by staff from multiple Town departments. The consulting team is a partnership between the architectural firm Gamble Associates and the real estate planning firm Abramson & Associates.

Committee Meetings

The Dedham Square Study Committee holds public meetings once a month. Meeting dates, times, and agendas are posted online and  at Town Hall at least 48 hours before each meeting in compliance with the Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. 

Contact

For more information, please contact Senior Planner, Michelle Tinger, (781) 751-9244.