The Town’s new 2022 Public Safety Building combines fire and police, replacing the 1962 station along High Street and rendering it obsolete. Community opinions varied widely about what should occupy the space along Dedham’s most historic street. A range of development and design scenarios was explored to elicit community feedback. Options included adaptive reuse of the existing building, selective demolition, new construction, and the creation of a new Town Green.
Broad community support emerged around a new civic open space along High Street. Dedham Square lacks a central common or square. The design concept creates a civic-scaled loggia as a screen to an existing Verizon switch building. The lightweight structure screens the blank facade and provides a frame for small-scale commercial activity at its base for community needs. Large canopy trees shield the space from existing historic homes.
A Request for Proposals is being prepared to transform the underutilized site into a new municipal open space for the community.
- Abramson & Associates
Town of Dedham
Redevelopment spectrum
Many historic New England towns have a central gathering spot. Despite Deham’s remarkable collection of 19th and early to mid-20th-century buildings, High Street lacks a primary gathering space for all ages. Community sentiment has advanced the notion of a civic public space.