By Bob Ciampa
Editor’s Note: The first paragraph of Mr. Ciampa’s letter was inadvertently omitted upon publication on October 29. The Citizen regrets this error and has reinstated the missing text below.
Bedford has a wonderful opportunity for some bold action re: the Coast Guard property. The Senior housing on Ashby place is a disgrace. It is a disgrace now and it was when it was built: Two stories with no elevators; No central a/c, etc.. Why not build a new, modern senior housing complex at the site of the Coast Guard property, and then develop the property on Ashby Place. The argument can be made that the Ashby Place site is so convenient, but it is quite common in other towns to have Senior Housing at a more isolated site, and provide a bus for transportation for shopping, etc. Having delivered Meals on Wheels to the Ashby Place complex for a number of years, I doubt that many of the residents that I served could walk anywhere.
Bedford has the opportunity to provide an up to date senior facility and provide a place for Bedford elders to retire to and not have to leave the Town that they love and into which they have invested years of their lives. While the Ashby Place property is probably not as large as the Coast Guard property, its locations would have developers drooling.
Do our Town Fathers exist to serve the needs of our citizens or the needs of developers? Why do we need another McMansion development, with its accompanying influx of children into an already burdened school system?
I’ll probably get slammed for mentioning the above, but so be it if it leads to a good discussion of the matter.
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I can’t agree with you more Mr. Ciampa. I would also like to see this former Coast Guard housing managed by Habitat for Humanity or some like affordable housing focused charity to provide low income housing for any family in need who qualifies not just the elderly.
There is a McMansion two doors down that has negatively impacted my neighborhood. My neighborhood is a collection of houses which were built in 1950s. The quaint ranch and cape houses here are a part of history. All are well cared for and maintained, keeping a very respectable appearance, yet the planning board approved a knock down when the elderly owner sold it to a developer. The one story former ranch house is now a 3 1/2 story Mc Mansion house, towering above its neighbors, looking very MUCH out of PLACE, while destroying the privacy of the surrounding neighbors.
It is an eye sore and interestingly has been on the market twice priced well over 1 million yet it hasn’t sold? Is there are message here? What were the town officials thinking/seeing when they approving this building plan? More taxes dollars? Does it always have to be about the $$$$$. When can we start to prioritize the needs of the community particularly those with substantial needs for safe affordable housing instead of the $$$$$$?