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Brighton gas station on edge of Brookline could be replaced by apartment building
By adamg on Tue, 11/18/2014 - 11:11am
Architect's rendering (note Chicago cop in lower left).
A developer has filed plans with the BRA to replace a gas station and small office building at 5 Washington St., across from the Whole Foods and next to the Brookline line, with a 145-unit, six-story residential building.
In its filing, Urban Spaces LLC of Cambridge says it would also build a two-level, 105-car garage under the 80-foot-tall building and leave space for new stores.
Urban Spaces is proposing units that run the gamut from 496-square-foot studios to 1,024-square foot "two bedroom +" units. Some 19 units will be set aside as "affordable."
The Project will transform a site currently used for a gas station and offices into a distinctive residential building with ground floor retail space and related sidewalk improvements and landscaping. Rather than the constant flow of cars entering and exiting the site that is typical of a gas station, the Project will result in an active pedestrian environment more suitable to this thriving residential neighborhood.
Also:
The Project will also contain a bicycle maintenance facility for the residents that will be conveniently located on the ground floor. Additional outdoor bicycle racks will be provided and will be accessible to visitors to the site.
Urban Spaces does not list any Brookline boards as having jurisdiction over the project, even though two small pieces of the land, which it is leasing for 99 years from its owner, sit on Bartlett Crescent in Brookline.
Urban Spaces hopes to begin construction this coming spring or summer. It anticipates construction will take 14 months.
BRA filing (77M PDF).
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Comments
Deja Vous all over again
Looks just like the building that was proposed for Broadway in Southie.
Which looked like a building that was proposed for Allston.
Which looked like a building that was proposed for ___________.
My thought exactly.
And the one in East Boston last week, though at least here you can see how the first-floor retail will work and it does provide a livelier streetscape.
all those buildings look the same as well
Funny, all the buildings in the south end look the same as well. 4 or 5 stories, Double entrance doors up a staircase, mansard roofs, each with slate, copper gutters and wood windows, nearly all of them brick. How boring!
;)
Big difference
Terraced housing has appeal. Some of the most exclusive address in the world are terraced. Think Belgravia London.
Sadly, these cheaply made cookie cutter boxes dotted around the city are designed to last no more than 50 years, by which time they will be replaced by bigger cookie cutter boxes.
They do
Don't they.
Luxury Units
1100 Square feet each.
Stainless steel appliances and Granite. !!!!!GRANITE!!!!!
$540K each floor.
Sounds of neighbors arguing above and below included.
Do they float
And can you go ice fishing off them?
Sushi chef included?
Oy.
If you're really comparing the aesthetics of an 1870s brownstone with these, then you've got a lot more work to do. Even in neighborhoods with a consistent design, like the South End or in the typical Boston triple decker, a lot of variation and detail is built in--just compare the ironwork on the stairs in a typical South End row, or the stonework or the more modest but charming details on a lot of the old three deckers, porches, railings, trim, etc.
The point here though is that it seems to be the same design ALL OVER the city and in fact all over the country. There's nothing distinctive, no detail, no craftsmanship or quirk or charm. Not that this is surprising but please don't pretend that we're looking at a South End brownstone and we're just too dim to see it.
The more times change, the
The more times change, the more they stay the same.
In the 1800s there were loads of complaints about the monotony of districts like the South End or the brownstones of New York City. It took decades for variety to emerge as the buildings aged differently, were replaced or repaired by people of differing means and were put to different uses.
They were kind of like the subdivision of their day -- groups were built all at once by one speculator and sold as soon as possible. But because 19th century developers didn't understand what they were doing any more than 20th or 21st century developers, they lacked the things that make for a vibrant neighborhood and swiftly became blighted. The South End rowhouses (they're not brownstones because they were built out of brick and not brownstone) were built to compete with middle class neighborhoods as they fled immigrants in the North and West Ends and were priced out of Beacon Hill and Back Bay. But within a generation they had continued out to Brookline, Brighton and other neighborhoods while the South End was left to blight. This allowed it, like Harlem, to become a center of Black culture in Boston. The South End didn't become desirable for wealthy white people until artists and restauranteurs started moving in, around the 1970s.
As for a building in Boston looking like one from anywhere else around the country, it's the same deal. There was a style based on Italian Renaissance palazzi that was everywhere in the US, Britain and Canada in the 19th century.
There's the downtown of the town I grew up in, Rutland, Vt: http://greywolf.bravepages.com/img12/VTRUT071912A2O.jpg
Larimer Street, Denver: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/03/f0/35/larimer-stree...
Helena, MT http://www.helenahistory.org/main_st_helena_mt_1960s.jpg
I guess if there's any point I'm trying to make, it's that architecture is irrelevent. Rutland is a dump, but Boston is cool. Even the parts of Boston that kind of look like Rutland. It's the people that make the difference.
I like this style of architecture
I must be alone in thinking this though. It's much more pleasant looking than the boring glass/concrete towers and fits the streetscape better.
It's better than the old habit of building squat brick apartment blocks that look straight out of Queens.
As long as single developers keep building one massive chunk of apartments I don't see anything really innovative being built. Eclectic old brownstones and three-deckers were interesting because each builder had a bit of their own style. Also with new building and fire codes you couldn't get away with a lot of what was built back then.
Looks like
They are already planning for cookie cutter tenants.. CVS anyone?
At least it isn't a bank.
Last thing that area needs is
Last thing that area needs is yet another pharmacy. Do Russians get sick more than other people or do the have a higher rate of hypochondria? There are probably a half-dozen russian pharmacies within a quarter mile of Washington and comm ave.
They could always put in
another bank branch instead.
Disappointing
My office is in that building, what are the odds? I'd heard some rumors but nothing substantial until now.
Not the most cutting edge space in the city, but the place is a hidden gem. Easy to get to by car or transit, tons of parking, walking distance to a plethora of food options. In other words, way too good to last in this town.
That gas station, however, is pretty sad. It's one of those rare place that pumps it for you, but they never actually seem to have any gas to pump. There are constantly "No Gas" signs taped to the pumps.
Also, RE: Brookline jurisdiction: The mailing address for and address physically posted on the office building are actually 167 Corey Rd., Brighton. There is a second, smaller office building behind the station and office building in question that may be part of Brookline, but doesn't seem to be part of the plan, based on the aerial outline in the filing.
Gas station
Maybe that's why they're leasing the land out.
Back in our Brighton days, it used to be two separate, competing stations. I'd always go to one of them for both gas and service.
That makes sense
They just put a dozen Zipcar spots in at the end of summer as well, so clearly the land itself has way more value than what they're getting for office space and gas/service.
As much as I love the space we have, if I owned the land and could let someone else deal with developing the property and wash my hands of having to manage it, all while I sit back and collect an undoubtedly huge windfall from the lease, I would too.
Gas Station or Parking Lot?
When I lived in that neighborhood, I rented a parking spot from the gas station. It seemed to me that it was more about that, than it was about gas. I agree that it's a hidden gem for all the reasons you've listed. Over a period of several years, I lived in three different apartments nearby, and have very fond memories.
This is a good place for this kind of development.
The rendering sucks, but most do.
It won't seem so high because of the steep hill directly behind (and those nursing home/care facilities diagonally across Washington Street are pretty high anyway)
The interesting thing will be whether any of the units will be partially in Brookline, since that would, presumably, make any children in those units eligible to attend Brookline schools and thereby increase the price of said units by 75% or something ridiculous like that.
Nope
The building itself will be entirely in Boston. I don't think they want to replicate Hancock Village.
Ha!
Someone who wrote that has never been to that "gas station". There's never anyone at the pumps.
Because there's never gas at the pumps!
There is a steady flow of traffic in and out of the office though. There are a few children's education programs, senior services, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, and a driving school in the building.
Wasn't this place called .U.S Petroleum?
Note the placement of the periods in the name. Every so often they put a sign out front that said "Good Mechang Wanted" I think it was more of an overnight parking lot that occasionally sold gas.
BREAKING NEWS --On the
BREAKING NEWS --On the Waterfront -- article about Easties waterfront--
in the (Wall Street Journal)
At least they're brick
or what appears to be brick. Check out the numerous condos in South Boston that have to be resided and recaulked after a few years. Not sure if these fell to the new energy codes or just poor workmanship, but there are a lot of condo associations wanting to sue or are in the process of suing the developers. Unfortunately they want to keep it quiet or else their values are going to decline.
Didn't know this was so common
On Mass Ave in Cambridge near the bike path there's a condo building being repaired. There was scaffolding outside for almost a year. The construction worker I asked said it was build in 2004 and had all kinds of leaks.
make it so
it would a great upgrade to the neighborhood...right beside whole foods ...as a boston resident living so close to whole foods is a huge desire and plus...especially in such walking distance...also between two major T stops...really no need for a car and a great way for boston residents to subsidize their living expenses