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BRA to look at rezoning to increase housing along two key corridors in South Boston and Roxbury and JP
By adamg on Mon, 07/06/2015 - 10:58am
The BRA this month begins a formal look at ways to spur "transit-oriented" residential development along Dorchester Avenue in South Boston and Washington Street from Forest Hills to Columbus Avenue in Egleston Square.
The BRA will work with community members and elected officials, as well as planning, design, and economic development professionals over the course of the next year to create detailed plans that include recommendations for updating zoning in each area so that it is consistent with current redevelopment goals. Given their proximity to major public transit nodes, the Washington Street and Dorchester Avenue corridors are seen as prime locations to support new middle-income housing, which is a priority for Mayor Walsh’s administration.
The BRA says the Orange Line and the Red Line will play key roles in figuring out just how much more housing can be built along the two corridors, although the city has nothing to do with increasing capacity along the two lines. The BRA says it will also study traffic patterns along the two streets to see if there are ways to reduce congestion.
In South Boston, the BRA says, it will look for ways to turn "underutilized light industrial buildings" along Dorchester Avenue into housing, stores and offices.
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
This is what the BRA should
This is what the BRA should be doing instead of pursuing limitless Urban Renewal powers and Olympic follies.
For those who criticize Mayor Walsh
You gotta give him credit on these steps - Menino was all about building luxury towers to grow the tax base - and his power. Walsh said we need 50,000 units of housing - not just for the rich - and he's working on keeping his promise.
Good on him.
The role of the BRA is misunderstood.
The BRA is funded by developers and represents the interests of the developers. It is a development organization, not really a city planning organization in the normal sense of city planning agencies.
Arborway Yard is key
In many ways, it's a little late for the rezoning along Washington Street in JP.
In the block between Forest Hills and Williams Street, along the train tracks, there are already 2 big residential projects approved. One is under construction.
There are lots of infill projects under discussion in the neighborhood, some already begun. Not everyone in the neighborhood is pleased to see even a modest increase in density. the JPNC recently refused to approve a project near Eggleston that they believed didn't have enough affordable housing (correct me if that's wrong, someone who knows better).
The big question mark is Arborway Yard. The "temporary" bus way is now 10+ years old. MassDOT has yet to allocate any money for the project. The current plan allows 8 acres of housing and other development along Washington Street. There is also an alternative plan floating around that would move the bus yard a mile away to the American Legion Highway, which would free up the entire site, which is pretty big.
The other big parcels in this area are the LAZ parking lot and the T station parking lots. During the Forest Hills planning initiative the city caved to some neighborhood opponents who objected to density on those sites. Eventually they'll get built, the question is by how much.
If the mayor really wants to see serious housing construction in this area, he needs to settle the Arborway Yard logjam and get the state to fund the new bus yard, whether at the current location or elsewhere, so housing and other construction on the site can move forward.
Jinx!
(Sort of)
Yep. 76 apartments, 18 of them affordable , which is just over 1.5x the city's requirement, but less than the (new, completely arbitrary) limit set by the JPNC.
There are no eggs in Egleston
There are no eggs in Egleston square.
Older relatives have told me that
it used to be referred to as "Eglestein Square" because it was so predominantly Jewish.
I think the T needs both
I think the T needs both those parking lots. I say this as someone who parks at the LAZ lot every morning. i drive to the lot and park daily because the parking cost plus commuter rail cost for the Westie stops is ludicrous and the parking downtown is even more ludicrous. Plus the Needham line almost always has some sort of issue. Both lots are always full of cars for commuters. I would be so upset if either of the lots were replaced with housing. That being said the bus lot on the Arborway doesn't seem terribly needed.
The T owns the parking lot
The T owns the parking lot and the Needham line. They shouldn't have to maintain a sea of parking at Forest Hills just to provide a better alternative because their own commuter rail line is sub-par.
So the right solution is to fix the problems on the Needham line, run it more often, and lower its fare and parking fees.
The best solution is to
The best solution is to convert the Needham line into an Orange Line Extension
Great news!
This is great news! I can't really speak for Dot Ave, but Washington Street in JP is criminally underused. Most parts are less than a five minute walk to a T station, and five minutes the other direction from the largest park in Boston. And yet, among a historic housing shortage, anything bigger than a triple-decker draws the ire of the JPNC. I've been involved in a couple of shouting matches with some townie NIMBYs over on Jamaica Plain News about the ongoing BRA hearings concerning the development planned on the corner of Montebello and Washington. I am literally not able to comprehend how people can be opposed to this project, while in the same breath lamenting the rising cost of rent in the neighborhood. There is no reason why a six-floor mixed-use building IN BOSTON should require the approval of the neighborhood council to grease the skids with the BRA. None.
Amen.
The JPNC seems to want to have it both ways--placate the abutters who want petite-scale buildings with abundant parking AND the angry anti-gentrification folks who show up at meetings to demand--their term not mine--housing that is 100% affordable for households making $26k or less. The combination of these two contradictory forces may be enough to squelch any possible development so that we'll continue with the status quo.
Keeping it poor
I think that's their intent, too: to prevent any development that might improve the area. Maybe they like it poor and dangerous so the affordable housing people can justify getting money to build things there themselves, because it's such a terrible neighborhood.
I live in Egleston sq and the
I live in Egleston sq and the majority of people and families on my street have been renting for decades at very low prices. You have to keep in mind when development like this enters a neighborhood it breaks apart a long standing community. I worry for myself and my neighbors when this kind of development goes insane in Egleston sq. Diversity gives a city character. Not fedora-wearing-all-terrain-baby-stroller-pushers.
Nice stereotyping there.
And not really helpful. Frankly I'd rather have ANYONE out pushing a stroller living here than a. empty, decrepit buildings or b. people who are paying half a mil for a one bedroom condo and just want to drive into their garages at night and have no interest in walking, talking to people, shopping etc in the neighborhood. There are potentially 18 affordable units coming out of this development. I'm not sure how that's destroying a community.
I'd hardly call it a terrible neighborhood
But there's a lot of room for improvement, especially on Washington Street. There is also a ton of affordable housing already in the area including Urban Edge and all sorts of institutional housing. AND an increasing number of condos in the $700k plus range. What we need is more housing in the middle, especially rentals.
samsies
Same situation on Dot Ave. Moronically underutilized. Short walk to Andrew red line station at one end and a short walk to Broadway red line station at the other. Walkable even to South Station for the ambitious. Also walkable to major employers such as Boston Medical Center at the Andrew end and Gillette P&G at the Broadway end.