Last Wednesday, several Westwood merchants won a small victory
in their fight against developer Alan Casden’s $100 million
residential and retail project that would have closed Glendon
Avenue for up to a year.
Their pleas were answered with a compromise. Glendon Avenue will
remain partially accessible and business owners may be more open to
the idea that the project will bring more parking and customers
that will eventually benefit the entire Village’s
livelihood.
But the agreement is just a small piece of a larger puzzle that
will determine the types of businesses and residents that will call
Westwood home in years to come ““ a debate essentially void of
students.
While most likely to complain about the Village, students are
also the ones doing the least to ensure it becomes the college town
freshmen anticipate before they walk its sidewalks for the first
time. The only voices currently in the fight for Westwood’s
future are merchants, developers and homeowners.
The details of this specific agreement still need to be
finalized in an August meeting of the city council. If students
want to see a different Westwood they need to speak up, beyond
whining to their friends at other schools about the lack of bars.
Attending that August council meeting might be a good start.