When the MBTA built the Southborough commuter rail station, they gave the town the wedge of land across from Fritzgerald’s General Store at the corner of Southville Road and River Street (Route 85) as part of the deal. That was in 2002. Seven years later, the town is finally prepped to make something of the space.
A plan developed by the MBTA Triangle Committee aims to create a green space that will be attractive for people entering town from the south, while celebrating the town’s unique history. The MBTA station sits on the site of the former Cordaville Cotton and Woolen Mill, and the triangle lot is the site of a former blacksmith shop.
Triangle Committee member Nancy Vargas tells me the park will be designed with “passive recreation” — strolling, sitting, dog walking, gathering — in mind. It will also feature historical displays like an interactive walking tour. So while you’re recreating passively, you’ll be able to check out the remains of a livery stable on the site (currently buried, but soon-to-be excavated) and the bell from the old Cordaville mill.
The Triangle Committee recently selected the landscape architecture firm Bartsche & Radner Design, Inc to do the work, and they’ll start the design phase this week. They plan to break ground in the spring and hope to complete phase one of the project by the end of this summer or early in the fall.
The work is being funded by a $112K grant from the Southborough Community Preservation Committee that was approved at last year’s town meeting.
Sorry to be the one to say it, but, DUMB idea. Where are all us groups of folks supposed to park? I live right up the road and I’d never use the beautiful sidewalk to get there, what with the speeding traffic. How much did it cost to beautify to the point it is now, and now you want to dig it up???
Gary, good point about parking. I wonder if that’s part of the design plan?