By Judy Vance
Contributing Editor

Property surrounding the Mattapan MBTA station, including the River Street parking lot, will be up for sale T officials announced last month as they begin redesigning the trolley terminals.

News came as representatives from both the Mattapan Community Development Corporation (CDC) and Trinity Financial spoke to a group of Mattapan residents last month, informing them of their desire to develop the soon-to-be- available space.

At a well-attended meeting of the Mattapan Economic Working Committee (on July 19), members and Mattapan residents were initially confused to learn that the meeting, advertised as one to discuss the redesign of Mattapan's transit system, turned into a meeting about the development of adjacent parcels.

An architect representing the development team presented concept design sketches that showed a six-story building with 142 units of housing to be placed at either the River Street MBTA parking lot or at a parcel of land near the Neponset River. At ground level of the housing development was a plan to relocate the Mattapan Public Library. In addition, elevated parking was proposed.

Residents voiced their frustration that precious time set up to discuss the long awaited redesign of the Mattapan MBTA Station was being used to discuss possible housing development.

"Since we have been waiting 30 years, I think we need to get information on the design of the T," said Mattapan resident, Arthur Sutton as he asked for the discussions to be refocused on designing the MBTA.

Residents challenged the developers on everything from the height of the proposed housing to the reality of their plan to build a newMattapan branch library.

Barbara Boylan, the Director of Design for the MBTA, who presented an overview of the T's design plans for the Mattapan trolley system, asked residents to consider the development stating that renovations to the T were only one part of the revitalization.

"We are the impetus for something else," said Boylan. "The most important thing here is to be open-minded," she added.

Eva Clarke, the executive director with the Mattapan CDC, asked the group what the community would like to see.

"If you could wave a magic wand at the site what would you like to see?" asked Clarke.

Residents then began to list retail possibilities, including a mini- mall with a sit down restaurant, a convenience store, a Dunkin' Donuts or even a Chucky Cheese and other establishments to revitalize Mattapan.

"The right kind of development could spur things in the rest of the square," said Ed Jay, Jr. owner of the Mattapan Car Wash and Board Member of the Mattapan CDC.

As the group began to brainstorm, their ideas started to spill over into the design for the transit station. Ideas that included moving the train tracks closer to River Street, changing the flow of buses so all the vehicles enter in one direction and even adequate lighting.

Howard Haywood, a consultant with the MBTA, said the Mattapan Station redesign will include changing the way pedestrians board the train so they are not walking over the tracks, moving the guard house closer to the station, adding new bathroom facilities and also a change machine. One of the biggest changes for passengers will be the seating area with canopies to protect passengers as they wait, a common design throughout other more modern MBTA stations.

Haywood, now retired after 25 years of working with the MBTA, said he has worked on some of the T's major projects and said the Mattapan T has a lot of possibilities.

"This has the potential to bring Mattapan Square back to an urban area," Haywood commented. "It could upgrade the existing stores and raise the standards."

State Senator Jack Hart, Chairman of the Commerce and Labor Committee helped to push through a $4 million line item in a larger state bond bill for the repairs to the Mattapan Station. Hart, who took over Mattapan as part of the State redistricting last year, saidthe Mattapan Station caught in a time warp from 40 years ago. The bond bill, approved through the Legislature, now sits on the Governor's desk to sign. If approved, the bond will require a match of funds from the MBTA

As the MBTA moves forward with the renovation planning, so will the process for the sale of the available land. Mark Boyle, Director of Real Estate for the T, said they will begin the steps to submit a request for proposals (RFP) to solicit bidders for the site, a process that will involve the community, Boyle said.

Design plans for the Mattapan Trolley Station are expected to take up to one year with a completion date for the design stages scheduled for June 2005. Thirty percent of the designs are expected to be completed by September 2004, at which point MBTA staff stated they will return to the community for suggestions.

After the meeting some residents felt optimistic that the changes would be good for Mattapan.

"I see excitement with families and neighbors getting involved and taking ownership in the community," said Elizabeth Jackson a Mattapan resident. "We care about Mattapan but we just had no real direction."