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Row of four side-facing townhomes approved on Allston Street in Allston
By adamg on Tue, 08/08/2023 - 10:28am
Rendering by Choo & Company.
The Zoning Board today approved a developer's plans to build four attached condos with front entrances that would face a new driveway at 108 Allston St., across from the West End House, in Allston.
The board had rejected a similar proposal by Brian McGrath that consisted of five units last fall, saying in part that side-facing condos like that just are not common practice in Boston - although there is an even larger such building just down the block.
The proposal calls for seven parking spaces - four for residents and three for visitors.
Allston Civic Association President Tony D'Isidoro called the proposal "a huge improvement over the original," especially because the units would definitely be sold as condos, rather than rented out as apartments.
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Comments
lol this is so stupid
this goes to show just how stupid and arbitrary everything is here. "it's just not common practice in Boston", do these people ever listen to themselves for one second?
Not sure if it's stupid, but it's not arbitrary
People who have studied planning, architecture and/or urban design tend to disfavor building types which don't face the street (of course there are exceptions) where you want to create a more friendly street wall and not have an otherwise blank expressionless façade. The windows of a building are it's "eyes", and when it faces away it sends a message of of "dismissal" to those in the public realm (sidewalk and street).
There are many of these kinds of conventions in design that happen all the time that try to create harmony in the urban form. Just because one is not aware of a rationale doesn't mean there isn't one. That said, there are trade-offs made to accommodate challenging conditions, like the need for more units on a narrow parcel, there are a few of these in Boston but its not common, like it night be elsewhere along a busy road without much pedestrian traffic, there turning buildings to face each other can create that outdoor room that we get on our streets in Boston.
the only thing more obnoxious than the design...
is rendering a b.m.w. in the driveway.