Mixed use, new park among suggestions for current Grafton DPW site
Visitors voted via sticky circle on a chart suggesting uses for the DPW site on Upton Street. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
Town Planner Joe Laydon gestures to a map showing the property line of the current DPW site on Upton Street. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI 
A map shows the property line of the current DPW site on Upton Street. PHOTO BY JENNIFER LORD PALUZZI
It’s the last winter that the Department of Public Works will be running snow plows out of the Upton Street DPW barn. On Sunday, visitors at Grafton Celebrates the Holidays gave the town a little bit of feedback about what they might want to see replacing it.
“Obviously, this isn’t a binding vote,” said Town Planner Joe Laydon, who discussed possible plans for the “eastern gateway” to the Grafton Common area with residents during the celebration. “We’re just getting people’s gut reaction. We haven’t even started to talk about funding yet.”
A large chart outlined a few of the potential uses: residential, senior housing, mixed-use, retail, office, government, parks and recreation, or light industrial/maker space. Opinions, in the form of orange sticky dots, measured the public’s response.
The suggestion that the site be used for parks and recreation was a popular one — the property abuts conservation land and Norcross Park, home to the Little League’s “mini Fenway.” Also popular was the suggestion that the site have mixed use, meaning a mixture of shops and restaurants, along with apartments.
Other residential uses weren’t as popular, including the potential of senior housing. Likewise, residents we not in favor of industrial uses or office space.
A survey for public opinion is available at graftoncommongateway.com. The survey closes Jan. 8, 2020. A Visioning Session for the site will be held on January 16, 2020, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at Apple Tree Arts, One Grafton Common.
