The Housing and Economic Development Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) met on April 17 to discuss the Shattuck Hospital campus, the Arborway Yard, and the JP/Rox transportation study.
The committee discussed the planning process for what will happen to the campus of the Shattuck Hospital. The state is relocating Shattuck’s existing medial and psychiatric services to the Newton Pavilion building in 2021 in the South End because the cost of relocating will be cheaper for the state than the cost of renovating the existing facility. The state will be engaging in a 12-month planning process to develop recommendations for the future use of the 13-acre Shattuck Campus.
The committee overall felt that the process was confusing and that there were separate meetings held by different state agencies that should just collaborate to make things easier for the community to understand. A meeting on April 12 was held by Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), and another meeting also about the Shattuck Campus was scheduled to be held on April 26, after the Gazette deadline, by the Division of Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM).
Regarding the JP/Rox transportation study, the committee was disappointed that the plan will not factor in the potential new uses of Arborway Yard, even though it is in the study area. They also said that the plan seemed too focused on a specific isolated area, and doesn’t seem to take into consideration outside factors that affect transportation and traffic.
The JPNC Housing and Economic Development Committee’s next meeting will be on May 15 at 7 p.m. at Bowditch School at 82 Green St.