The Boston Redevelopment Authority is hosting a meeting regarding a proposal to build apartments at the long-vacant property at 99 Tremont Street, just outside Oak Square. It will be held Wednesday, June 25 at 6PM at the Presentation School Foundation, 640 Tremont Street, Brighton. The property has been an empty lot since a fire destroyed the previous building in 1979. If I remember correctly, at least one of the displaced tenants was part of Boston-based band The Cars.
December 10, 2013
80 apartments for Braintree Street in Allston
A proposed 80 unit apartment building for 61-83 Braintree Street will be discussed on Thursday, December 12 at 6PM at a meeting hosted by the BRA. It will be held at the Jackson Mann School, 500 Cambridge Street, Allston. In addition to 80 apartments, it will also include commercial space and parking for 67 vehicles.
December 8, 2013
128 Newton Street: Four single-families, plus a five story building in the middle
Plans presented at last week’s meeting on possible construction at 128 Newton Street, Brighton did not go over well, based on what I heard from people who attended. The plan involves two single-family homes at 128 Newton Street, two more singles on Bigelow Street at the foot of Hardwick Street, and smack in the middle, a five-story, twenty unit condominium building. So far as I know, the developer, Nartan Valbandian, has yet to submit any plans or letter of intent to any city agency. It’s too much crammed into an odd site. Not every corner of every lot is buildable. Keep the single families, maybe add a couple more, but get rid of the condo building.
December 5, 2013
392 Cambridge Street: 36 apartments plus retail proposed
The BAIA will host a presentation for a 36 unit apartment building that would also have retail space on the first floor. The plan calls for 19 commercial and 44 residential parking spaces. The meeting will be Thursday, December 5 at 7PM, Brighton Elks, 326 Washington Street, Brighton Center. Full agenda here. March 2013 Boston Globe article here, site map here.
November 7, 2013
Palace Spa seeks to add beer & wine to the keno & cigars
The venerable Palace Spa, 419 Washington Street in Brighton Center, is seeking a license to sell beer and wine. It’s not clear if this is for retail sales or on-premise consumption. These days the place is an amalgam of convenience store, cigar shop and keno hall. They will present their plans to the Brighton Allston Improvement Association tonight at 7PM. As always, the meeting will be at the Elks, 326 Washington Street, Brighton. The rest of the agenda is here, although the presentation by Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly for a possible development on Chestnut Hill Avenue has been canceled. Still up, a preliminary discussion for an apartment building at 1650 Commonwealth Avenue, currently the home of a gas station and Cumberland Farms.
June 20, 2013
Demolish, rebuild, repeat
The Charlesview Residences, which were built to replace the Charlesview Apartments development that Harvard purchased and plans to demolish, which in turn were built to replace the Barry’s Corner neighborhood that was flattened by an urban renewal scheme, will have its ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow at 12 noon at 400 Western Avenue.
April 3, 2013
With parking or not, 37 North Beacon plan still alive?
Is the 37 North Beacon development a done deal? I haven’t been able to confirm this, but there is talk that proponent Sebastian Mariscal’s option on the property has expired. A new developer may be in the mix. Either way, this site needs a better designed building that is less dense. The city’s Guest Street planning area, which encompasses this site and big swath of the neighborhood, calls for guidelines for height and size that this proposal ignores.
March 16, 2013
Building approved with parking developer didn’t want
The building originally intended for the carless has been approved by the BRA, but with 35 parking spaces for the 41 apartments, along with two spots for bikes per unit. It will occupy the property at the corner of North Beacon and Everett Streets. The final approval is up to the Zoning Board of Appeals, but is extremely likely. Too bad there weren’t any changes to the size and design. Five storys is too high, and the exterior is just ugly.
The no-parking aspect always struck me as a bit of greenwashing and not a new concept. Commonwealth Avenue and its side streets are packed with parked vehicles from residents of the parking-free buildings that line it. This, despite the B-line that runs up the middle.
February 5, 2013
62 units, plus commercial space proposed for 425 Washington & 10 Parsons site
The developer will present his plans for the property this Thursday night at the BAIA meeting at 7PM. It will include 10,000 square feet of commercial space and 104 parking spaces. A design that preserves the house at 10 Parsons would be great. Full agenda here. Last fall the property owner withdrew his plan to demolish 10 Parsons, pledging to work with the neighborhood. Also on the agenda is a plan for 37 units (with no parking) at the corner of North Beacon and Everett Streets.
UPDATE: Will the 37 Everett proposal have parking or not? It depends. At the BRA meeting, it was no parking. At the Allston Civic, 37 parking spaces materialized. It is absurd to think that no one will have a car. Wonder what the developer will conjure up for Thursday night.
CORRECTION: The proposal is for 44 units, as stated in the original post, link above.
January 23, 2013
How green was my Allston?
The compulsion of real estate developers to create new “districts” has come to Allston. The Mount Vernon Company has dubbed several blocks between Commonwealth Avenue and the Brookline line as the “Green District”. It has announced plans to build an environmentally friendly, 108 unit apartment building at the corner of Brainerd Road and Redford Street, adding to projects completed this summer or now underway. All of this adds to the urgency of improving service on the Boston College line.
January 17, 2013
Too tall, too dense
A developer is proposing a five-story, 44 apartment building at the corner of Everett and North Beacon Streets just outside Union Square in Allston. This is too tall and too dense for the site, which sits at constantly congested intersection. Something more akin to the Brian Honan apartments around the corner on Everett Street would be more appropriate. The BRA has scheduled a community meeting on Thursday, January 31 at 6:30PM at the Jackson-Mann School.
December 4, 2012
Pet supply store, condo developer to present plans
Up this Thursday at the BAIA’s meeting:
The Stockyard’s new owner continues his quest to acquire all the licenses he needs to reopen the restaurant.
More than one hundred new apartments may be coming to 75 Brainerd Road, Allston.
And for those who want their pets styled for the holidays, a proposed pet supply store at 20 Market Street will also offer do-it-yourself canine washing space.
Full agenda and meeting time and location here.
June 19, 2012
Over someone’s dead body
The former McNamara Funeral Home at 460 Washington Street, Brighton will be the focus of a BRA hearing tonight, June 19 at 6:30PM, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 321 Washington Street. The most recent iteration of the plan is to convert the existing structure to four residential units, and build 24 new units behind it. There would also a parking garage and outdoor parking.
May 16, 2012
No cure for ugliness
St. Elizabeth's Hospital, circa 1915.
What is perhaps one of the ugliest buildings in Boston is about to get bigger. The BRA has approved a three-story addition to the emergency and urgent care building at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. The expansion will add 23 beds to the current 252. A bit of landscaping is also planned, but it will be behind the new addition. Can’t have greenery disturb the fortress-like structure looming over Brighton Center.
Years ago, when the hospital was seeking another expansion, the architect of the Cardinal Medeiros pavilion admitted he “wasn’t proud” of it. No kidding. (photo via Boston Public Library)
April 30, 2012
Build it and they will buy
The demand for single-family homes in Brighton continues, despite a generally still-weak housing market. This Thursday the the Brighton Allston Improvement Association will be hearing from the owners of two different addresses, 82 Presentation Road and 46 Gerrish Street, both looking to construct one-family houses. As always, the meeting starts at 7PM at the Elks, 326 Washington Street, Brighton Center.