Imagine 80 micro-apartments in place of the old ice joint.
A place where Roslindale and Jamaica Plain residents used to go for bags of ice and gallons of spring water is being marketed for sale to intrepid developers who want to start extending the Forest Hills residential building boom further down Washington Street.
Falcucci Properties, LLC of Braintree is asking $6 million for the home of the Ice Box on Washington Street - across the street from the Puritan Ice Cream factory - and a single-family home next door that was built in 1910. The city assessors currently value the two neighboring parcels, with 24,480 square feet of land, at about $1.1 million.
Listings extol the lot's potential:
POTENTIAL FOR UP TO 80 MICRO UNITS 70 MARKET RATE 10 AFFORDABLE. DEVELOPERS DREAM LOCATION 5 MINUTES WALK TO FOREST HILLS T.
The Ice Box closed late last year.
The city currently has a pilot program to encourage less-than-stratospherically priced new housing by allowing units smaller than normally allowed by city regulations. An 80-unit micro-unit building on the site would require approval of both the BPDA and the zoning board.
Via the Roslindale Complains Facebook group.
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Comments
timing is everything...
By mboston
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 2:25pm
...they should have hit up the BPDA before all of the federal indictments....
Across the street
By Anon
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 3:07pm
From a beautiful car wash, less than a block away from vibrant Archdale.
The Ice Box will...
By Lee
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 5:20pm
... missed. It has been there for ages! It added to the character of the neighborhood. One of the gravestone places is gone too.
Little by little, old Boston disappears.
Drove by a jillion times, never stopped
By Parkwayne
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 5:58pm
Was it just ice and water?
Can we get landmark status for Pleasant Cafe and Puritan Ice Cream? Those seem to be the cornerstones of old time Roslindale and for all my posts about Doyle's, I would be sad if/when they close down due to generational or business shifts.
McClay Family owned it years ago
By redbaron
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 6:01pm
The McClay family owned it, they ran an oil company as well. 6 Million???
There was another ice machine
By anon
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 2:22pm
There was another ice machine on Spring street up by the VA , Think McClay owned it or serviced it, it was in the driveway of a house. This was all before Joe Savenor made the ice business famous.
Old Boston
By SwirlyGrrl
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 6:05pm
Which Old Boston would that be?
Do you think that someone popping into 1980 from 1880 would recognize the place? Or 1880 from 1780?
Humans make over their spaces over and again. It is the way of the world.
Brilliant observation, SillyGirl.
By Lee
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 6:16pm
Let’s just say it’s whatever Old Boston you want it to be.
No theme parks
By SwirlyGrrl
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 7:03pm
Just so long as it lives and breathes.
I think history is pretty
By anon
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 7:22pm
I think history is pretty interesting. My great uncle grew up in Hyde Park, fought in the Korean War and had a lot of stories to tell before he passed. I'm sure people like that do not interest you, but I loved driving around Boston and listening to him talk about his family and places that reminded him of his youth.
You couldn't have said it any
By anon
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 9:02am
You couldn't have said it any better!
Thanks to Walsh
By Good guy
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 6:08am
Our beautiful city has gone to the dollar.
Oh yeah let's bemoan the loss
By anonononon
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 9:54am
Oh yeah let's bemoan the loss of an effing large ice machine. JFC NIMBYs know no building they won't suddenly love in order to prevent needed housing.
I don't know about a Dream Location
By redbaron
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 8:18pm
The railroad Tracks are right behind you like 30 feet, like someone said you
have the car wash across the street. And I hope there is parking because that side of the street No parking what is it 5AM to 9 AM Bus lane. Your talking 80 Units when will it stop.
Again what is affordable housing? Really how much does an affordable unit cost? 400K?
less? More?
Have you been to Forest Hills lately?
By adamg
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 8:25pm
All the new developments are right on the Northeast Corridor and the Orange Line, except for the new units that are on the Arborway right across the street from the Forest Hills station.
I thought that was the Southwest Corridor
By redbaron
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 9:34pm
Forest Hills is tough driving, with these new units going up next to the Courthouse
I don't know. I think the overpass was better for traffic, but I guess it was falling apart.
Both Names Apply - Sort of
By dmk
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 8:24am
The mainline railroad between Boston and New York is called the Northeast Corridor and abbreviated "NEC." This is primarily an Amtrak term.
The "southwest Corridor" is the description of the Orange Line trench from Boston to Forest Hills which primarily described the Orange Line and its above-ground pedestrian greenway. However for Amtrak that is still the NEC.
Southwest Corridor
By redbaron
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 4:57pm
Did not stop at Forest Hills went right up Hyde Park Ave, Houses on Rowe Street in Roslindale were taken over by eminent domain. Right from Blakemore Bridge across Cummins Hywy. I had friends who sold and had to move. I think there was suppose to be a Highway built right out to Rte 128. I think that was the plan. All along Lamartine Street, empty houses were torched etc. in the 1960's into the 70's that area was a dump. Now it's Beautiful. JP has made an unbelievable comeback, getting rid of the El helped too.
Power lines
By Anonrozzie
Sun, 10/20/2019 - 10:01pm
I don’t care what they build there, but The city really needs to work with eversource to bury the power lines south of forest hills.
Im terms of development the lumber yard is probably next.
Also I really wish they’d go taller at forest hills. And add some office space. We are far enough away from the airport that forest hills could potentially become another high spine.
Yes.
By Sally
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 12:01pm
And a CVS and a grocery store of some kind. Forest Hills should 100% be more of a retail/office hub given how many people pass through there every day.
Target has cvs
By Anonrozzie
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 2:39pm
There’s a cvs inside the target. Really wish harvest hadn’t closed, though. Would really like a Trader Joe’s nearby.
80 units
By Good guy
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 6:04am
This city is sick. All these new units and high rent so the locals can't afford. Way to go Marty. I sure miss Mayor Menino.
You saved me a trip
By Gary C
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 8:35am
I usually go to the Icebox before Thanksgiving to ice up the back porch cooler so the extra beer and wine can stay cool. That's the last bulk ice place I know of, aside from Brookline Ice.
With regard to the apartments and the car wash: Last time we went to the Icebox we were entertained by the blaring music being played by the guys who dry your car across the street. As others mentioned, between the trains and the buses and the car wash disco, it won't be a peaceful place to live.
marketing
By bikenerd
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 10:39am
So, they market the project for micro-units with the $6mil asking price. It stands to reason that the micro-unit is going to benefit the developer via profit. Meanwhile, people are treated like pigeons.
Archdale Housing Projects
By redbaron
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 4:16pm
Right next door. Not a nice area for say 800K condo unit. Trains behind you, Washington st at your front door, and behind the Noisy car wash you have the Needham Commuter rail. Lovely!!!
Read up on the free market sometime
By Parkwayne
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 4:33pm
If they build housing and no-one wants to live there then the price will drop down until it's somewhere people do want to live for that amount of money. That's how it works.
You know this doesn't cost you anything unless you want to live there, right?
I know how it works
By redbaron
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 4:43pm
People pay top price for some of the units then they can't sell the other s and they become Section 8 types or even better Airbnb units like the problem they are having in Southie.
Archdale
By redbaron
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 5:55pm
is really rundown, I thought that it was going to get the same new complex like Beech Street?
Care to share your data sources?
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 10/21/2019 - 7:52pm
Or, hell, just the data behind these statements?
We are waiting.
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