The house at 166 Spring St. will turn into a mosque and Muslim community center after the Planning Board approved The Muslim American Community Center of Lexington’s (or MACCLM) application to renovate the dwelling at its meeting Wednesday.
MACCLM has leased 344 Lowell St. since 2019 and operated its services there since. The group bought 166 Spring St. last year and will move in after these renovations are completed.
During the first phase of the approximately $1 million project, a construction group will: knock down walls on the first floor of the house to create a prayer hall, turn the rooms on the second floor into classrooms, add bathrooms, and create a parking lot with 48 spaces. MACCLM plans to expand the mosque in the second phase.
“There is a need for what we provide,” Mohamed Miled, president of MACCLM, told LexObserver. “There isn’t a mosque close by, and the Muslim community in Lexington, it’s significant in the number of Muslim families…so there is really a need for it.”
The group, which started in March 2019, often squeezes 150 people into its current location at 344 Lowell St. for Friday prayer, Miled said. After phase two, the new mosque will be able to accommodate all of those worshipers and then some.
MACCLM’s usual services such as Friday prayer, Eid celebrations, monthly study circles called halaqas, social events, and youth Sunday school, among other things, will live on at the new mosque. The group will introduce new youth programs and women’s-only sisters’ halaqas once the Spring Street location is up and running.
The entire project will be paid for with donations. MACCLM has raised about one-third of the $1 million cost estimate since the end of Ramadan on March 29. The group isn’t unfamiliar with fundraising — it raised over $1.3 million to pay for the Spring Street property.
Miled told LexObserver he and his team hope the first phase of the project will be completed before September when the next Sunday-school year begins.
Miled and Isam Hijazi, owner of Boston Contractors and Developers and general contractor on the project, have met with Lexington’s Planning Board three times this year to get the first phase of their project approved. The Board doesn’t have much jurisdiction over the project, however, Abby McCabe, Lexington’s planning director, told LexObserver. Massachusetts law prevents municipalities from restricting the use of land or structures for religious purposes. There are some exceptions to the state law related to the height of the structure, setbacks, and other similar regulations.
The Planning Board unanimously approved Miled and Hijazi’s application to renovate the property, but not without a few suggestions.
Melanie Thompson, a member of the Planning Board, advised the group leaders to add an outdoor space for children. Tina McBride and Bob Creech, both Planning Board members, proposed Miled and Hijazi add more trees than required to increase privacy and wetland protection.
“Do something there beyond what you have to do,” Creech said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Beyond those suggestions, the group has not faced much resistance to bringing the new mosque to town, Miled told the Observer.
Next, the group must get approval of the project from Lexington’s conservation commission.
I want to thank our Planning Board members of Melanie Thampson and Tina McBride of their valuable suggestions for the site of bringing a new Mosque to 166 Spring Street. I drove by that address often and am happy to know a new Mosque will be build.
Congratulations to the MACCLM community! Wishing you all the best!