Exciting changes are happening in Malden as city hall will be relocating to a number of locations throughout the city. The plans have been in action since 2014 when the city hall was sold for $9.8 million, but the changes have only recently started to become apparent. Mayor Gary Christenson expressed that he firmly believes that the city will benefit from this move for a variety of reasons.
The current city hall is large and dark with an ineffective layout and limited parking. The new buildings will look similar to those located at Assembly Square in Somerville. There will be multiple buildings rather than just one, leaving room for parking and allowing traffic to flow with ease. However, these buildings will be more than just the 42,000 square feet of governmental offices. There will be 26,000 square feet of retail space available as well as 234 apartments and a large parking lot of 276 available spaces.
With the upcoming changes, traffic in the area would improve with Pleasant Street opened once again. This would connect Malden Square, a central part of the city, to Malden Station. The city has tried to find efficient ways to revamp the city, and this seems to be a promising method.
When asked, many of MHS’ students reacted positively when asked their opinion on the new building. They agreed that the new building be more eye appealing and will greatly improve Malden. However, there were concerns that these changes will “take years” and “be very expensive,” which might take a toll on Malden’s community.
Malden’s police station will also be moving. In replacement of the old station, one is being built on Eastern Avenue. If all goes as planned, the station should be open before next winter. The new station is very centralized in the city, and will benefit the community in the sense that the police will be more able to reach locations and will be closer to most places.
It takes a great deal of vision to plan a project like this. Malden is taking advantage of the opportunity to have one of the first city halls to be incorporated in a mixed function facility. All of these changes are very exciting and will greatly impact the Malden community for the better.
