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Jeffries Point could get new residential building that doesn't look exactly like every single other new residential building in the city
By adamg on Sat, 12/12/2015 - 1:00pm
Note use of exotic material known as "brick."
A developer has filed plans with the BRA to tear down three old buildings at Frankfort and Maverick streets to make way for a 23-unit residential building.
East Boston Management and Development LLC says the building, between the Maverick and Airport T stops, would include a 20-space garage and storage space for 30 bicycles. It would sit on about 8,050 square feet of land.
Three of the units - which range from 650-square-feet one-bedrooms to 1,100-square feet three-bedrooms - will be set aside as affordable.
In its filing, the company says:
In what will be a substantial improvement for the site in the Jeffries Point Neighborhood, the building has been designed and modified with input from neighbors and residents of the community through community outreach and over the course of six (6) meetings held since August 2014 with the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association.
In addition to the BRA, the project will also have to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals.
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Comments
Space saver wars continue!
With zero setback leaving no room to put snow and inadequate off-street parking, this project insures traditions of parking spot squabbles will live on!
Off-Street Parking For 50 Vehicles Sounds Plentiful For 23 Units
Oh I'm sure there will be excess bicycle parking
for the few wanting it. Over time, unwanted bicycles will be abandoned and fill up spots and need to be thrown out however.
Why do you even care?
You aren't going to be moving here, and it isn't any of your business.
Because space savers and battles suck
anon coward. There would be no need for stupid space saver battles if places had enough off-street parking and/or there were places to shovel the snow. With no building setbacks, there isn't anywhere to put show but to block sidewalks making walking in the street unsafe for pedestrians or to lose some of the insufficient parking spaces to snow storage.
So, such a building design has stupidity designed in, just like you.
What part of 20 parking spaces do you not understand?
Or do you really not consider that adequate? It's Maverick Square, not Lincoln--they're two T stops from downtown.
It's 20 spaces for 23 units.
It's 20 spaces for 23 units. My understanding of East Boston's car ownership rates, it should provide enough spaces.
The lack of setback I do see an argument at least, but it seems the setback is the same as it is now. Since we haven't heard of massive problems, I say it will maintain the status quo in those types of problems. You can argue that the status quo is in a terrible shape, but I point out that things still remain functional.
Meanwhile disparaging 30 bikes space as a place for bikes to die is just reflecting your views rather than any reason thought on building design. First reason, like it or not, this is the type of unit that will bring a good number of people who will bike. Total national or even city-wide usage paints a low usage of bikes and thus low amount of space. But many times those usage are disproportionately clustered and I suspect this is one of places where a lot of will have and use a bike. Meanwhile if it car spaces, it will probably provide 5 spaces at best and probably around 3.
Edit: On a side topic, is there a reason why a black and white photo is used for showing the current buildings? It's not like it some o'timey historical picture or an attempt to be art-sy. It just take away information we can gather by looking at a picture of the current building.
Is This Better?
Google Maps | Street View
That explains the B&W
Now, can anyone complain about the looks of the proposed building?
One thing
If you're a 9-5er, forget commuting via bike if you live in Eastie. Mine has been collecting dust for years.
Stupid comment
If you don't like it, don't live there. Simple.
Pretty simple-minded comment as well...
Despite the fact that the comment you replied was a bit misguided (as has been pointed out multiple times), this is the best you have? What if this was an actual problem?
hello anon
Welcome to Uhub... Mark is the king of stupid comments.. :) Thought you'd like to know.
It must be a placebo day for him today..
23 units on a 8500 square
23 units on a 8500 square foot lot, so if I owned a 4500 square foot lot in Eastie , would I be able to build 13 units. How does that work out, is it always the case that developers set aside 2 units as affordable units or is it all bullshit the two units will sell for over $400k.
Tear downs are a way to go in
Tear downs are a way to go in Eastie, with these old wooden 3 family structures with poor interior layouts , bedrooms without closets etc.
Let's say you have an old wooden 3 family structure that is attached to several other structures and you make a proposal to BRA for a teat down and a rebuild of brand new buildings -you joint venture with your abbutting neighbors it's a win win because each individual brand new unit will sell more than what the former old 3 family wooden structure will ever be worth.
Oh realistically add an extra
Oh realistically add an extra cost of tearing down of house and police detail and haul away debris in trucks, it can add up cost.
Yes
I like it a lot, looks like the North End
I suppose
But more specifically, it looks like most of the buildings in the area. Bounded by Maverick, Porter, and Orleans, that area is predominantly brick buildings.
Yes, that's something Boston architects forgot
In their zeal to build "marquee" buildings (which all look the same), they come up with these oversized buildings completely out of sync with the existing neighborhood. This building is obviously new, but the brick, the almost rounded bay-windows thing in the front (remember when bay windows had gentler curves instead of all 90-degree angles?), the fact it doesn't tower over the neighboring buildings, even the restrained non-grand-entrance entrances all look more like part of the existing neighborhood, rather than an attempt to shove a square Dallas or San Diego peg into a round Boston hole. Kind of refreshing.
Nice summary, Adam
And I agree. Great job of building into the existing neighborhood.
So
"remember when bay windows had gentler curves instead of all 90-degree angles?"
You can still have these, the window glass just costs more than my annual salary per each.
True
and technically a bow window is curved. Modern versions might leave out the curved glass and use flat panes of glass with curved structural elements. A bay window has angular sections.
"You can still have these,
"You can still have these, the window glass just costs more than my annual salary per each."
I think Adam is referring to the traditional bay (not bow) windows that have 3 flat sides (so flat glass) but the two side windows aren't at right angles to the house walls as they are in so much of the (graceless) new stuff, rather more like 45 degrees.
___/---\___ not ___|---|___
#mehitecture
We're getting there. It definitely is better than the DSW-esque parade of cheap-ass shoe boxes that we've been inundated with recently. It does fit the n'hood better and the bays and bump-outs look like what they tried for on the block on Chelsea Street (where the building collapsed a year or two ago). It's about as far as you can go with the restriction of trying to wring out every fucking cent that you can from a property.
But I would agree with the commenter below who feels like there's nothing particularly innovative here. There are efforts to echo the past with doo-dads and brick placed on DSW shoe-boxes. As far as something new -- well the "new" look is cheap-ass, I'm wringing every fucking cent out the square footage here crapitechture, so hopefully some architect can come up with something that doesn't break the bank but isn't as ugly as a bucket of farts.
Height
Wish they could have gone higher. Not a tower, mind you, but 4 stories, or even five with stepped-back upper floors, wouldn't overwhelm the neighborhood, and we could really use the inventory. Oh well. Kudos to the architect! That is a lovely exterior.
Seconded. There are old
Seconded. There are old buildings of this exact same design all over the city that are four and five stories tall. If 3 stories is the most we're willing to build without considering it "out of scale for the neighborhood" then I think we can say goodbye to the idea of reasonable rents forever.
The idea that short buildings and "sunlight" can possibly be more important to someone than people not being forced out of the neighborhood is just sickening to me.
There is an additional floor,
There is an additional floor, setback and also a greenish roof. This was a great example of working with the community, the original version was a box.
always interesting...
...to take the pulse of the UH community in reaction to the architecture that is being proposed for the city esp in terms of housing developments. This recent entry is fine but doesn't show much imagination...good background architecture but with few cues to the era in which it will be built. Fine. Looks like it was designed by committee which is sounds like it was in terms of community input...."just give me something that looks like came out of Allston and I'll be happy". Brick is also a tremendous material but overdone in Boston IMHO (yes, I am from here) . Boston tastes are very traditional and often a little shy. If we build all new housing per this approach, we'll feel safe and comforted in our 1920's tastes and never re-imagine a new urban landscape that reflects our times. my 2c.
I'll take it over another
I'll take it over another featureless concrete box or mirrored glass rectangle. The interior shots of the latest "luxury condos" generally look pretty nice, if not to my personal taste, but the idea of walking up to those soulless exteriors every evening fills me with existential dread.
To each their own -- a lot of people don't care or are happy with the compromises they've made to get a place in the city, but as a neighbor I do appreciate any indication that the developer is actually trying to please all the non-buyers who still have to look at the thing every day.
The bar has been set so low by other recent developments that a project like this making any effort at all is a breath of fresh air.
I'm not so enamored of this one
We've had UH reports on four similarly sized projects in four different neighborhoods over the past two days, and I rate this one third in terms of interesting architecture. I'd rank them this way:
To me, this one seems to be trying to look like something from an earlier era, but failing and looking worse for the effort.
I would totally agree if
I saw any creative, beautiful, or inspiring new designs that somehow defined our era. I just don't--the state of modern architectural design seems so dire, especially when it comes to anything low or mid-budget or apartment buildings. And I had a Dwell subscription for a while! I'm not a total fuddy duddy, but sheesh...it just seems so rare to see innovative new buildings that relate to their surroundings or seem oriented towards...humans? Actual families or living, breathing people and not droids.
Nice!
I am a long time East Boston resident and it does like like the buildings I grew up around in the 60s and 70s and nicely fits into the area. Interesting to see one that looks like the old buildings yet looks "new". The original buildings were built in the early part of the 20th century and already looked old by the 60s. Good to see something like this instead of the generic looking monstrosities that are so popular now.
Won't global warming flood those garden level apartments?
Seems like they are not planning for the future by having such low windows when much of Boston will resemble Venice due to China's continued burning of coal.
I have it on good authority
I have it on good authority that there are tunnels under the current building on that site, which contain: animal bones, a car, old liquor bottles, Coke bottles old enough to list cocaine as an ingredient, and many disturbing dark corners.
Like the rendering, Back bay
Like the rendering, Back bay style!!
East Boston would look better if most of the new buildings being built would look like this.