Construction has broken ground on the new Belmont Hill East Campus. Having begun in late August, trees have since been removed from part of the lot acquired by the school. The surrounding area, including Prospect Street in September and Park Ave in October, has seen road closures and detours as the work on the lot interferes with the main roads.
The East Campus project will feature a 43,500-square-foot parking lot, with 143 parking spaces. This addition looks to take some of the stress off the Jordan Lot and Church Lot. Also, a brand new facilities building will be erected, replacing the old maintenance buildings behind the Chapel. One entrance will lead North onto Park Ave and another South onto Prospect Street. A walkway and crosswalk will extend across the street, with more sidewalk laid down and electronic signage.
Currently, while faculty, seniors, and some eligible juniors have the opportunity to park in the Jordan Lot on campus, younger boys must park across Route 2, in the St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church parking lot. If boys miss the timed shuttles running between the lots, they need to walk 10 minutes through two busy intersections.
Furthermore, during major school events, the parking overflows onto Marsh Street and other side roads which clogs the roads and angers neighbors. Alex Behn ’24, who lives just off campus, said, “The parking lot will help limit parking on the side streets around Belmont Hill, which most of the neighbors will agree is a good thing.” The new parking will be reserved for faculty and staff, and all driving students will have the safety and ease of parking in the Jordan Lot.
When the project is completed, revisions will be made to the Jordan Lot to maximize parking as well as to better facilitate the drop-off and pick-up of students. Behind the Jordan Center, 26 spots will be paved, as well as bus lanes for visiting teams to park. In the Upper Lot by the admissions office, spaces will be removed to streamline the parent car line, and a sidewalk will be added for students’ safety. The freed-up space of the old facilities buildings sets the stage for a dining hall that could begin construction within the next decade.
A project of this scale does not arise overnight and has been in the works since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the arrival of Mr. Schneider, Belmont Hill approached the town about the construction of a parking lot, but the town deferred, requesting a plan. During the pandemic, drafted a proposal and went through the town bureaucracy to ensure all rules were adhered to.
Through town halls and meetings, Belmont Hill met with town officials and members of the community. They discussed topics including traffic, stormwater, landscaping, and wildlife to confirm that every aspect would be up to code. After much deliberation, Belmont Hill’s proposal was passed by a 3 to 2 vote of the Belmont town planning board on April 11th of this year.
In late 2021, the Belmont Hill project team held an initial meeting with town officials and approximately 100 neighbors to introduce the project. In early 2022, the project team met again to discuss the progression of plans with local neighbors who directly bordered the lot. By May of that year, personal meetings were held with the major abutters. Mr. Schneider expressed that, “we understand why abutters would be concerned about what they’re looking at in their backyard and the impact and all of that. And we tried really hard to work with the group of people that actually borders the project.” Eventually, through some concessions, Belmont Hill and the local neighbors came to an agreement on the project.
In response to the proposal and development of the project, neighbor-led protests have arisen, accusing the school of handling the job poorly. The primarily voiced focus has been on Belmont Hill’s destruction of forestland and natural habitat. Signs on fences and posters held by environmental advocates read “F in Environmental Activism” and “Honk if you support the environment!”
Backlash has also arisen against Belmont Hill’s buying up of property for school use. As a non-profit, the school is not required by law to pay property taxes to the town. By “taking out a lot of houses,” Keith Dion from Belmont mentioned, “[Belmont is losing] tax revenue for the town.” This issue stems back further than the environmental concerns but has gained traction with the recent purchase of new properties.
While many of the immediate abutters have signed on to the project, the protests have gathered attention from other Belmont residents and members of local communities. On Saturday, September 30th of this year, a sizable group of around 25 people gathered on the rotary circle during the Admission Open House. The group included residents of Belmont but also Arlington and Cambridge. Catherine Scott of Belmont, an organizer of the event, said, “The Hill school’s actions are in contradiction to its mission…[that] it’s educating its students for learning how to negotiate with people, and institutions, giving students skills and how to do that.” When asked how the school could empower its students, she suggested they instruct students on how best to go about projects such as this one.
As part of the Belmont Wild campaign, Ms. Scott of Belmont alleged: “that Belmont Hill school is a bad neighbor to Belmont, that they’ve been asked to make payments in lieu of taxes to the town budget, and that they have so far refused.” Although this argument has found a resurgence in relation to the parking lot project, Head of School Greg Schneider drew a line between the two: “Those are two separate conversations: what Belmont Hill does for the town and our desire to develop our land,” and emphasized the non-profit’s goal “to really communicate the ways in which we add economic benefit.” While Belmont Hill doesn’t pay the substantial property taxes on the main campus or additional properties in the area, it does pay for services, water, and electricity, and keeps its athletic facilities open to the public.
Listening to the concerns of neighbors and members of the community about the project itself, Belmont Hill has tried to see eye to eye with the worried. In negotiation, Belmont Hill’s primary goal was to ensure that those most affected by the development would be satisfied. Three abutters on Rutledge Road bore the brunt of the property line, and they were immediately contacted to ensure there could be a solution. And although, as Mr. Schneider said, “Belmont Hill has worked really hard to be a good neighbor in a whole bunch of ways,” it hasn’t been able to sway everyone with its changes.
Nevertheless, the project team agreed to concede some items. The planned curb of the parking lot, along with the fence shielding the houses from the lot, was moved back from the property line in order to give the neighbors more privacy. The planned location for the facilities building was also moved back for the same reason. A proposed above-ground fuel tank was scrapped as there were questions about its safety and visual attractiveness. Finally, the school purchased an additional plot of land in order to redirect the driveway so that headlights would not shine into houses.
The East Campus Project Lot website reads, “We are confident that the updated proposal is sensitive to the environment, wildlife, and landscape of the community… and aligns with our commitment to being a good neighbor.” In response to environmental concerns, the planning team implemented more eco-friendly measures. Electric car charging stations will pop up on both campus lots. The pavement used will be permeable, allowing rainwater to flow through and maintain the natural pattern. Also, 5.35 acres of the 7.06-acre lot will remain vegetated and almost 200 trees along with 1000+ shrubs will be planted to reduce any build-up of a heat sink.
The schedule for the East Campus Parking Lot sets the completion of the lot for the end of the summer of next year. With the other additions, parking will be revamped on campus, made easier and more accessible for students and visitors alike.
