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Developer files plans for urban village with a couple of high rises near Andrew Square
By adamg on Tue, 10/20/2015 - 11:23pm
Architect's rendering.
A developer today filed its plans to turn a 4.9-acre collection of small industrial buildings into a new neighborhood with 656 residential units in eight buildings, 96,000 square feet of retail space - including a grocery store and a pharmacy - and 2.4 acres of "public realm" space.
In a filing with the BRA, Core Investments says its Washington Village - at Old Colony Avenue and Dorchester and Damrell streets - will include both apartments and condos at affordable, "mid-market" and market-rate prices.
The tallest of the buildings would rise 24 stories - 20 for residential units and 3 for a parking garage.
The proposed development would have 560 parking spaces. Core says it anticipates many of the people who live there will forego cars in favor of the nearby Andrew Red Line stop, bus stops and Hubway station - and the convenience of the new stores that will come with the project, including a grocery store.
[T]he Project will transform a mostly vacant, underutilized site into a vibrant mixed-use village that will be a natural extension of the surrounding South Boston neighborhood. The nature of the Project will improve the quality of life for existing residents by providing a variety of neighborhood retail stores and a range of complementary housing options. The Project’s housing component is intended to provide a diversity of options for a variety of income levels, including local residents seeking to downsize but stay within the South Boston neighborhood as well as new renters and/or buyers seeking to establish roots and be a part of the Andrew Square community.
Core hopes to begin construction next summer, with the final construction ending in 2021.
Washington Village project notification form (61M PDF).
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Comments
Wow
Looks great but somewhat unrealistic....at least in the near future..
Why unrealistic?
The demand for rental housing, especially subway-accessible rental housing, is through the roof.
Market deteriorating
Southie's housing market reached its peak about a year and a half ago. With the exception of the waterfront/ fort point, I don't see Southie (especially the area around Andrew AND THE PROJECTS) gentrifying significantly in the near future.
And yet two bed rentals are
And yet two bed rentals are still going for well over $2,000. That's what happens when a market has reached it's peak?
That's the most ridiculous statement I've read
The housing market deteriorating in the last year and a half? I've seen condos that were sold in 2012-2013 being offered now for 25-50% more than was paid 2 years ago. There has been no deterioration at all.
Regardless, this project is actually in an even better location than most of Southie, as it's subway-accessible.
Plus a stretch of the leg to
Plus a stretch of the leg to Green Freedman bakery and various drinking establishments...........
This is 'deteriorating' ?
3 Bedroom condo in an older building less than 1/4 mile from the T.
On the market for 3 days before they accepted an offer.
$525,000
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3-Glover-Ct-UNIT-2-Boston-MA-02127/601...
Sorry, Mike. You don't know what you're talking about.
What are you talking about?
The housing market all over the city, and especially Southie, has skyrocketed over the last two years. People who bought in 2013 will be selling for 30-40% more next summer.
Southie is basically fully gentrified, so Andrew is next (and has already begun).
Old Harbor Projects HISTORICAL LANDMARK
Your clearly forgetting that the Old Harbor Housing Projects are a historical landmark, meaning the bricks aren't going anywhere in the near future. MEANING, gentrification in Andrew Square is going to a lot more difficult than Southie developers are expecting...
Tom, you don't know what you
Tom, you don't know what you are talking about. The Old Colony projects are in stage 2 of a complete demolition and re-construction of new buildings. There is nothing historical blocking their demolition. Once completed, the BHA will no longer manage the buildings. They will be privately managed.
two different places
Old Harbor and Old Colony are two different projects though close.
How can they be two different
How can they be two different places when one location goes by two different names. Old Harbor and Colony are basically two different names for the same location. Old Harbor street is one end and Old Colony Ave is the other. I called it Colony because that is the closest end to this development.
Because they are different
The one variable missing is that Old Harbor is in fact called the Mary Ellen McCormack now. but being Boston, we still call things by names not officially in use for decades.
He said OLD HARBOR. In
He said OLD HARBOR. In addition, Phase 2 is it. There's no more funding to complete the re-construction.
Old Harbor = Mary Ellen
Old Harbor = Mary Ellen McCormack which is tucked in on side streets further down Old Colony Ave. There is no redevelopment currently taking place at this site. This property is completely unrelated to Old Colony (other than both being BHA owned public housing).
Old Colony = is bounded by Columbia Rd., Dorchester St., and Old Colony Ave. This entire property is being redeveloped through a combination of HOPE VI grant funds, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), and debt. DHCD sets aside LIHTCs for Old Colony each year so that all phases can be redeveloped. So in a few years all of the old brick buildings will be gone.
This area is set to take off due to its proximity to the Red Line.
HIstorical Landmark?
Citation please.
Looks Unrealistic
Hi,
Yes It really looks unrealistic. I can't imagine this in near future.
Any other Polish neighborhoods around the metropolitan area?
Any other Polish neighborhoods around the metropolitan area?
Chelsea by the sea ( Polish
Chelsea by the sea ( Polish Political Club 58 Broadway Chelsea, MA 02150 )
What churches around the metro area have Polish Mass/Worship ?
What churches around the metropolitan area have Mass/Worship in Polish?
Polish Church in Boston
Our Lady of Częstochowa in Andrew Square has masses in Polish and is a great community center for the Polish community in Boston.
It's on 655 Dorchester Avenue
http://www.ourladyofczestochowa.com/
St. Stanislaus Bishop and
St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Church 163 Chestnut St.
Chelsea, MA. 02150.
tel. (617) 889-0261
Polish Roman Catholic Parish Sunday:
8:30AM [English] 10:00 AM [Polish]
If they drive out D&J from the neighborhood, I'll be sad
Where am I going to get my pączki, dammit!
Pączki
Pączki
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C4%85czki
Fo serious?
"public realm" space = BS
"mid-market" prices = BS
"Core says it anticipates many of the people who live there will forego cars in favor of the nearby Andrew Red Line stop, bus stops and Hubway station - and the convenience of the new stores that will come with the project, including a grocery store"
...HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Natural extension of the surrounding neighborhood? No, by its very nature it is entirely the opposite. Improving the quality of life of existing residents by creating what will be the city's worst cluster f^
The American Mantra:
I’m here, all development can stop.
Foreign investors
and Kairos Shen's legacy at the BRA will turn this city into 10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag. We don't have the infrastructure or the space to develop like NYC. High rise residential buildings are legitimately the worst types of development; greatly reducing the quality of life for all residents and are far from being family-friendly. I'm here, and have always been here, that's why I actually care about this city.
Yes!
I can see all the Chinese and Saudi billionaires lining up to buy condos in Andrew Square.
Pretty sure the old Aces High building
Is foreign owned.
High rises
Reduce the quality of life for everyone around them if they're public housing, which is not the case here. Last time I checked, no one's complaining about places like Kensington, except those who thought their $700/month rents were going to last forever.
Boston used to have another
Boston used to have another 200k people living in it. The current infrastructure can handle it if maintained properly and can be improved/expanded into the 21st century. The notion that the city has to remain a static entity confined by the current conditions is pathetic.
Look how much made land there is in the city. Look at the water supply. Look at the railroads. Look at the highways. How much of that had to be made to turn the tiny Shawmut peninsula into what Boston is today?
Those extra 200,000 people that Boston supported
That would be something, because urban density is sort of a multiplier effect for all sorts of cool creative and intellectual things that make a city hum.
But Boston's peak population was immediately after World War II, when the city had far fewer cars and a much more extensive rail infrastructure (both in terms of streetcars and inter-city rail). Given how lots of people here keep screaming about how we need suburban-type low-density car storage for all those new apartments and condos rather than screaming about how we need to bolster public transit, I'm not sure the current infrastructure could handle the load.
Well not everyone works at a
Well not everyone works at a location that is accessable by public trans, time wise or location wise. Cant really walk to the shipyard anymore for work, or for that matter any other large work place. Good working jobs make a city hum , not just creative intelligence stuff. Worker ants are needed too!
Been in the hinterlands too long?
Sounds like you were last in the city in 1998 or something. There is plenty of employment in the area.
Ever hear of State Street Bank? Huge office on A. Fort Point is a longish walk or easy bike ride, as is much of downtown. Two stops on the Red Line gets you vastly more.
These are not being built for car lovers - they are being built for people who don't want to use cars, other than the occasional rental or zip car.
Your idea of work , and mine
Your idea of work , and mine are very different, as is our idea of A street .
You don't even live in the city
You made your choice. Others are free to choose.
These are apartments for people who don't choose to drive everywhere. Plympton is for people who choose to drive everywhere. Andrew Square doesn't need to meet Plympton criteria.
Oh no you didn't
kvn knows twice as much about Boston and Southie than you will ever know. And I know because he knows twice as much about Roslindale than I've gotten in 45 years.
Trust me. I've known people in Southie who have had to drive to 495 for work. I've known people in the Polish Triangle who have done the same. If you are, say, in logistics, you are driving to where your day begins. If you want a place where people will have to move if their job changes, Andrew Square will not be a "community" but a bunch of apartment buildings.
Bzzzzzt!
Sorry, but he knows what the city used to be like, not what it is now.
If you live on the Red Line, and, say, lose your job at Tufts Medical, you can still get to all the places in Kendall and all the places in Alewife, etc. You will still have many, many jobs within and hour commute on the T!
That's the modern economy, dear. If you like to have a car, nobody is making you move to this sort of place. Take your car someplace where it won't take up such valuable space.
Okey-dokie
What if you work for Fidelity and they move your division from South Boston to Nashua (which happened to a guy I know.) You like your neighborhood. Your kids are in a good school with their friends. You're saying that they should have to move not to be closer to work, but purely because he would have to drive to work?
W , go raibh maith agat !
W , go raibh maith agat !
If it wasnt for forced busing
If it wasnt for forced busing dude, I would have already converted a bunch of 3 deckers to condos, with parking. Others choose to social engineer under the guise of educational dilution.Maybe I will choose to liquidate my cranberry bogs and move back to Boston , or the Kendall Boiler Works thing in Cambridge .And I will need parking for my pickup truck and my arty retro restored old Mack B61 twinscrew. I still know the working end of a shovel, so I wont need my John Deere.My money is just as green as yours....
N.B , Re: Kendall Boiler , (I used to work around the corner, I got dibbs. )
There may have been more
There may have been more people in the city years ago, but they were multi-generational families; parents, grandparent or two & lots of children rather than huge amount of unattached young adults. These families didn't tax the infrastructure the same way. There were probably less than a quarter of the automobiles. People used less power and water. It was a completely different paradigm comparisons of raw numbers are apples and oranges comparisons.
Settle down
I bought a single family in Andrew 2 years ago, a VERY short walk to the T.
I drive less, take the T more and
welcome this development with open arms.
I see: you're another NIMBY
I see: you're another NIMBY who wants to sit on his asset and watch it appreciate in value while the poor and even the middle class go homeless or get forced out of the City. You are redistributing wealth from the poor to the rich with your anti-development attitude.
Quite the contrary
Most of the NIMBYs are grumpy old geezers who are OK with keeping the area ghetto as long as their property taxes don't go up by a few dollars. Newcomers to the area would be delighted to pay an extra $200-300 a year in property taxes in exchange for all the amenities this development would bring.
...and the whole place place
...and the whole place place will smell like donuts, unless they plan for the DD bakery to turn into condos.
And the problem is...?
I'm not a DD fan but I can imagine worse things than the smell of baking doughnuts. My dad still remembers the smell of chocolate wafting from the Baker factory.
you do get sick of it
I used to live in Atlanta, across from a Krispy Kreme store that made the donuts on site. It was a nice smell for a while.. but after a few months it was nauseating.
(I also worked at KK in Medford briefly.. and the smell now makes me want to vomit)
My family went on a sailboat
My family went on a sailboat trip every year, and one port had a nutrasweet plant on the walk to town. I mean, it smelled fine walking past it for a minute, but I'd imagine if I was smelling it constantly it'd make me sick, too.
That said, isn't most of the baking done overnight?
Do the officers/directors of
Do the officers/directors of the developer's entity name even live in or near the neighborhood? Didn't think so.
Didn't Know We Needed A Passport To Enter Southie.
More South Boston is an island crap. Money talks and neighborhood BS walks Ghost of Jimmy Kelly / Spirit of John Ciccone.
This development is replacing an outmoded laundry that moved to Brockton for a new / better facility and a worker base that could actually afford to live near their work.
It also replaces a transmission facility that has made money twice in the past 20 years by buying and holding (re: investment) for residential redevelopment in a crappy area that people questioned the developer's thinking. (Adams Transmission was once on the site of Laconia Lofts on Harrison Avenue).
I'm also sure Drive In Paintmart will find a soft landing.
Maria - Remind me the number of housing units that are on this site today that were contributing to increasing the overall supply of housing in a tight market?
Dorchester Street
Not Ave
Sigh, rookie mistake there
Fixed, thanks!
Cars
With all the talk of city living and transit, it's a little surprising to see a surface parking lot in the 2nd rendition image...
I was wondering about that
I was wondering about that too, but I took a look a the project filing and it turns out that parcel isn't part of the project.
But you think they might have faded it into the background in the rendering like the areas around it.... I agree it's not very flattering.
I'd guess
That's for the supermarket, or the other stores in the development? The story mentions garage parking for the apartment buildings.
good design
nice to see a variety of designs used for the different buildings and not a simple glass box :)
Boston needs about 100 more
Boston needs about 100 more developments like this to meet the pent up demand driving prices through the roof.
I live 2 blocks from here and
I live 2 blocks from here and this is exactly what I've been waiting for. The area is such a sad sight of boarded up businesses and meth zombies. The only thing happening here is the renovated old colony projects. Other than that you have an H&R block / D'Angelos sub shop, a closed Cinglar store, a closed Stadium bar, a closed auto mechanic. Andrew SQ has very little in terms of pharmacy, grocery store, and restaurants and bars. This project and hopefully another development on the unused land on Dot Ave will put some life into the area.
Here! Here!
I live in Andrew and couldn't agree more.
Build more housing and parking
Keep all the immigrants down the lower end and out of the real Southie neighborhoods. These newbies love density and no parking, build more for them near all the fake restaurants.
I bought in Andrew in 2008.
I bought in Andrew in 2008. This is me going to the bank: "hahahahahaha"
Any idea if they are going to
Any idea if they are going to be upgrade the d street projects. they look really out of place. Haven't been touched in over 50 years.