By George P. Hassett

Aldermen passed zoning June 6 to allow as many as 199 units to be built on the 5 acre patch of land that once housed the MaxPak paper factory. The move marked the end   of three years of community negotiations and could mean the beginning of a new era in the neighborhood adjacent to the development known as ‚Äúthe patch.‚Äù

“The patch” is the area on the Clyde Street side of the development once populated with close knit families and Italian immigrants, said Ralph Russo who has lived in neighborhood for 71 years. The area is experiencing a major change and is now “in play” for real estate speculators and transient residents, he said.

“It’s changed a lot here, it used to be everybody knew everybody else on the block and looked out for each other. If you were born here you died here,” he said.

The development at MaxPak promises to bring even more change to the neighborhood with 65 units to be built on the Clyde Street side during phase 1, 65 more units during phase 2 and up to 69 more units in the final phase. A change in the covenant by Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone or a future mayor could add 34 more units to the property.

Aldermen passed the measure almost unanimously with only Alderman-At-Large Bruce Desmond dissenting. Desmond was not satisfied with the covenants between the developers and the neighborhood.

President of the Magoun Square Neighborhood Association Joe Lynch said he and many other neighborhood residents are satisfied with the zoning. He said developers KSS Realty originally wanted to build 350 units at the site.

“A lot has happened since then, the developer has met in good faith with the neighborhood and listened to the concerns,” he said. “We feel comfortable that with 199 units, the surrounding roadways can handle the traffic.”

Lynch said the three year negotiations included some tense times between the community and elected officials such as Ward 5 Alderman Sean O’Donovan who led the discussions until he recused himself when he bought property abutting the development. Last week Lynch pulled papers to run against O’Donovan in November.

“The community, the development and the planning department should pat themselves on the back. It’s been a long process but I think we’ve come to the best solution possible, due mainly to the active community participation,” he said.

However, for Russo the deal was “the lesser of two evils” in the face of rampant development coming to the quiet little corner of Somerville known as “the patch.”

‚ÄúWe were going to get something no matter what and this was the best we could do. Nobody was going to push the patch into a deal that was no good,‚Äù he said.