Planning Board narrows mall frontage to 60 percent commercial in Village Center draft

LINCOLN — January 16, 2024 — Lincoln Planning Board tightens Village Center frontage to 60 percent commercial ahead of Feb. 20 hearing. Member Margaret Olson led the board to a consensus that 60 percent of ground-floor frontage along Lincoln Road and the mall's primary access road must be "real commercial," with 20 percent street-activating use and 20 percent unrestricted for lobbies and elevators; the lot-wide 33 percent commercial floor-area requirement stays. Town Counsel Joel Bard cautioned that "commercial is not a defined term," prompting the board to anchor the definition in the existing non-residential use list, minus bed-and-breakfast. Rural Land Foundation Chair Michelle Barnes told the board the draft "won't actually permit a viable mixed-use project" and announced an RLF public forum Thursday. Utile Consulting's Matthew Littell modeled a partial mall redevelopment at 52 units and a teardown at 96 units against roughly 45,000 rentable square feet.