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Brookline selectmen vow to fight five-story apartment building on West Roxbury line, even after losing in court

Wicked Local Brookline brings us up to date on the war between Brookline and the owners of Hancock Village, who want to add 184 apartments to the Brookline side of the complex, including some in a five-story building that selectmen say is completely out of character in a part of town where single-family homes and two-story townhouses are the norm.

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Because nowhere else in the world would you ever find a 5 story apartment building next door to townhouses and family homes.

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So, their argument is "The rent is too damn low, we need to restrict the supply of housing!"

Great. Just... great.

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Doesn't offer "Affordable housing."

http://www.chr-apartments.com/hancock-village-apartments/floor-plans

$2,000/ month to rent a 1 br in a secluded section of the city.

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The project includes some designated affordable units.

Plus, the only *real* way to lower the price of housing for everyone is to build more housing. Preferably more dense than single-family.

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everyday, on Independence Drive (in addition to the Boston VFW section). It's a huge complex. The way it's currently configured is perfect for the surrounding neighborhoods. As for the addition 190 units, including the 5 story building, there's no question it would have a major impact on traffic which is already heavy. The only MBTA access in the area is the #51 bus between Cleveland Circle and Forest Hills, which I take off and on. It's well used by folks who live at the Hancock Village complex and is very convenient, taking only 10-12 minutes to get to Cleveland Circle. They also operate private shuttle to and from Cleveland Circle, at least on weekdays. Management seems to do a very job with vetting who they rent. But I can see the concerns Brookline has (Boston should have them,too). I think this addition is too large.

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Brookline and other well off cities have had over 40 years to comply with 40b. Instead of planning to meet the requirements the way they best see fit, they have fought and dragged their feet through the decades, so developments like this one do not need local approval. Its their fault, comply with 40b and you won't have these issues. I hope prominent Brookline residents, like Michael Dukakis (who I admire), voice their displeasure at the absurd opposition to this project and push Brookline to comply with a 40+ year old law.

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IMHO, this is 100% about the fact that more families in Hancock means more kids in the nearby Baker school. From what I hear the Baker is an excellent school and this everyone wants in. However, it's getting overcrowded and there aren't a lot of good alternatives to expand it. It's a tough situation.

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If the building is in West Roxbury, how does this affect Brookline schools?

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"...who want to add 192 apartments to the Brookline side of the complex..."

You're welcome.

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Says that right in the post that you are replying to.

(however, the linked article says 184 units)

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192 was the original proposal. Fixed.

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You're talking about a town which tried to block BROOKLINE RESIDENTS from sending their children to BROOKLINE SCHOOLS for living too close to the Boston border.

Brookline is a seething hotbed of bigotry. Just ask those poor turkeys.

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Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but the issue involved a relatively small number of people whose houses are bisected by the town line. Small and petty minded perhaps, but not quite the same as blocking the schoolhouse door to people in far off SoBro.

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Hancock Village is in both West Roxbury and Brookline. So this would impact the school.

Some of the older plans details are here:
http://www.preservebrookline.com/proposed_dev/assets/2010_08_10_HV_FactA...

There are seven parcels of land. Three are in Boston. Four are in Brookline. More details here:
http://www.preservebrookline.com/Download/files/HancockVillage1984on.pdf

There is also concern that some of the space was intended for open space
http://www.preservebrookline.com/Download/files/HancockVillage1984on.pdf

And more building plans are here
http://www.brooklinema.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4119

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Brookline and West Roxbury are so far west...they might as well be in upstate NY.

- The Original SoBo Yuppie

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