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Cleveland Circle office building could be replaced by six-story apartment building
By adamg on Sat, 08/05/2023 - 9:20am
Rendering by Embarc.
City Realty has filed plans with the BPDA to replace a three-story "underutilized" office building at 358 Chestnut Hill Ave., next to the Circle pizza place, in Brighton, with a six-story, 30-unit apartment building.
The Allston-based developer and landlord says the $10.5-million project would have five affordable apartments and a parking lot for 19 cars, as well as ground-floor retail space.
The company bought the property for $3.45 million in 2021.
As the site is located within the Aberdeen Historic District, much care has been taken in the design of the building and landscape to fit within the district’s guidelines, and the design team spent considerable time working closely with urban design staff of the BPDA and Boston Landmarks Commission prior to the submission of this application. The building’s façade is organized in tripartite with a clear base, middle and top to the building. A strong cornice line at the fifth floor breaks the massing and ties into the adjacent context along Chestnut Hill Avenue. Materially, the use of brick respects the neighborhood context while modern detailing creates depth and texture to the façade. The residential entry is signified by a vertical break in the massing and material tying into the sixth floor which has been stepped back from the lower levels to minimize the perceived height of the structure. Large window openings and Juliet balconies have been incorporated on the front façade to take advantage of view facing the reservoir.
The company hopes to begin 18 months of construction in early 2025.
358 Chestnut Hill Ave. filings and meeting schedule.
$10.5 million project
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Comments
Asking for a friend
How would you go about decommissioning a commission?
This: "Aberdeen Historic District" should not be a thing any more.
Amend the Zoning Code
Give it a go. Have fun.
Protect Aberdeen
Yes it should be a thing, and we should build more
What have they got against windows?
Not a fan of the giant blank wall, unless they plan to paint a mural on it (although probably not, due to "historic district").
In case of future development
The building comes right up to the lot line - what’s called a ‘party wall’ condition. If the neighboring one-story building was ever to expand to be taller, the buildings would be directly touching with that blank shared wall, so you cannot have windows there. It would be nice if a mural or something could be painted in the meantime.
Not uncommon; they're
Not uncommon; they're assuming that someday the neighboring property will build upwards too, and it's easier to assume so now than to have to brick up windows later.
Future-Proofing
I imagine they are planning for a future in which the neighboring building is torn down and replaced with something taller. I don't know enough about zoning/code to know if another new structure would touch that wall, or just create a narrow alley. Either way, it'd be a poor use of windows.
Looks like wallpaper
What I don't get is why don't they create an airshaft as was done until central AC became common.
Even if the windows don't look out to anything once a adjacent building is built, having a functional window for fresh air and light is valuable even if it slightly adds to construction costs.
Today’s architects
should be ashamed if themselves. They’re going down the same scumbag slide as lawyers.
Party Wall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_wall
Probably not
A party wall has either common ownership or, at least, common use. My expectation is that if a taller building were built left of this building, it would have its own wall abutting this wall.
In the case of two walls, each on their own lot, each a part of their own building but not the other... it's not a party wall. It's just two walls next to each other.
I suspect that the wall we're discussing is half of the two-wall scenario.
Per the link I attached
The B, C, D, 86...
Why do they need 19 parking spaces for 30 units right on the T and the bus and BC?
Well the city ok’d 800
Well the city ok’d 800 parking spaces for the office building on top of south station (commuter rail, red line, silver bus, intercity buses) so this isn’t surprising. Boston is still permitting buildings like it’s the 1950s.
no, just no
send them back to the drawing board until they come up with a building that people can live next-door to. This is so ugly it should never be approved. There’s no excuse for building things this ugly.
Tents and RVs are beautiful!
But, no, we can't have ugly buildings because they offend us.
I think it is hideous, but it is also housing - and this sort of DECORATE MY WORLD FOR MEEEEEE nimbyism is a big part of the housing drought.
that is
total bullshit
Extremely ugly
I almost never comment on the looks of a building and have little-to-no artistic sense, but damn that's ugly! Not saying they shouldn't approve a building of that size, but surely the architects could have come up with something that doesn't hurt the eyes.
Maybe I just have bad taste
but I don't really see how it's any uglier than the current building that's there.
Lucky to live there to fight
Lucky to live there to fight for the first choice of seats on the train when you leave. Only to still wonder what rider's MBTA nightmare and fail will happen as you attempt to travel. Brokers should stop advertising new places to be conveniently located near any MBTA mode of transportation.
On that same block
That former Bank of America branch at 350 Chestnut Hill Ave. (which was a Liberty Bank & Trust when I lived near there in the 1970s) seems like a good candidate for housing as the lot is quite large when you consider the building, parking spaces and drive-through access.