The Boston Conservation Commission next week considers a Brockton car-wash magnate's plans to expand his empire with a new outlet in West Roxbury - where a small McDonald's used to be on VFW Parkway, kitty-corner from the Waves car wash.
Ronen Drory, who has been washing cars since he was a young teen in Jerusalem, currently owns car washes in Canton, Brockton and Taunton. Drory, who also sells imported rugs, is also seeking commission approval for a convenience store, at a hearing that begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in the Piemonte Room on the fifth floor of City Hall.
He needs conservation approval because the lot sits next to the Charles River, or, technically, "borders land subject to flooding."
Drory is the second Israeli-born businessman to try to build on the property. In 2015, developer Nissim Shimon Trabelsi proposed putting a kosher hotel on the land. He later withdrew the proposal from consideration.
The McDonald's that used to sit on the parcel, across from a larger McDonald's on the other side of the parkway, burned to the ground in 2013. The lot is currently used to park school buses.
Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!
Ad:
Comments
Prestige has cheap gas but
By DPM
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:12am
Prestige has cheap gas but their car wash is pretty meh. Sunnys in Brockton is where its at.
West Roxbury Wetlands
By Keiko
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:23am
There's a full page ad in the Bulletin by Protect West Roxbury Wetlands encouraging people to attend that meeting to voice their concern about the loss of wetlands. They have before after pics of the loss of wetlands here https://www.protectwestroxburywetlands.org/the-destruction/.
Personally, I think the big difference in the pictures is that the before picture is of the trees in leafy green and the after is without the trees in leaf. But I'm still interested in what that group has to say. There was an "old-timer" on my street that insisted that our neighborhood (by Star Market) didn't have any problems with flooding basements until Dedham's VFW got heavily built up. Unfortunately, I have a commitment that night and can't get out of it.
Hope someone here can go and report back here. Please?
P.S. isn't there still a car wash nearby on Washington near the KFC? So this would be the 3rd car wash in the Dedham/WR area?
Oh, how could I forget that car wash on Washington Street?
By adamg
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:35am
It's my normal car-wash place! And 100% in West Roxbury (the town line runs through the gas station it belongs to).
Am planning to go to the meeting, will, of course, report back.
To be honest, I'm a bit suspicious of that site at this point: It doesn't say who's behind it, that "after" photo shows everything in brown, like a photo taken after the leaves had fallen and that other photo looks more like an attempt by somebody to clean up an overgrown patch by the side of the road than wholesale ravaging of an urban wild, at least to my completely untrained eyes. So hopefully I'll be educated Wednesday.
It's totally just because the leaves have fallen off
By Gary C
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:39am
Those photos are a joke. Yes, in the Autumn trees lose their leaves. Note that the "after" photo is taken (or cropped) farther away to a) include more land and b) to make it difficult to see if the land was even touched. There is one in the print ad showing (before) overgrown weeds that have been (after) nicely removed. Devastation!
Someone has got it in for this new car wash....but who?
Yeah, stupid photo
By adamg
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:47am
Latest Google Maps satellite view - notice all the green!
Note: For some reason, Google puts the pin on the mini-plaza where the pet-supply store is. The old McDonald's site is immediately above it.
It is crazy how accessible,
By DPM
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:51am
It is crazy how accessible, high quality and free satellite imagery is these days.
Private registration
By Gary C
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 12:47pm
I tried to "Who is" the website registration, but they used a proxy service so it's private.
Local conspiracy theory - change from the national ones!
By Keiko
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 12:57pm
Kudos on the detective work. There aren't any names on the website either.
The Russians are here! The Russians are here!
No connection to the Charles River Watershed Association
By anon
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 3:37pm
That right there says that it is one lunatic's quest for giveaways or just obsessive behavior outlet.
Why would they use grainy,
By DPM
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:41am
Why would they use grainy, blurry, out of season pictures when google maps has fantastic images of the site from 2017?
I call BS.
So Fall is the real danger!!!
By Winter is coming
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 1:52pm
So Fall is the real danger!!!
Thanks for reminding me
By Waquiot
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 2:05pm
I saw that last week and meant to follow up. But yeah, the true desire to "protect the wetlands" was as clear as mud, which lead me to ask who was behind it. The competition, no doubt. I mean, there's pretty much just asphalt and buildings in the area, so if anything the new development could mean perhaps a more environmentally friendly layout.
I call shenanigans
By Ari O
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 4:01pm
The website says:
23,000 acres is 36 square miles.
The land area entire city of Boston is 48 square miles.
Was 3/4 of the city wetlands which were destroyed in October of 2015?
This is in white goose territory as far as incohence goes.
No shenanigans?!
By Waquiot
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 5:56pm
In October of 2015 100% of the land area of Boston was wetlands, and 75% of that was disturbed. They're just speaking the truth. The utter truth.
EDIT- I meant punctuation in the subject line.
The city was silent
By Ari O
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 4:21pm
How true. The city has been silent about the destruction of wetlands for 387 years.
My demands are simple
By ANon
Sat, 07/15/2017 - 7:55am
We must restore the Back Bay to a wetlands
I'm going to go contest it
By Will LaTulippe
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:32am
And demand that the owners put in a Taco Bell.
Smart move
By adamg
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:36am
We need a Taco Bell there so people don't have to make a U-turn to get to the one that's already there on the other side of the road.
That's too many car washes.
By ShamusJP
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:39am
I really think it should be a community center instead.
Maybe
By anon
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 11:56am
Roxbury Prep can open its doors here....
What if there's a detergent
By anon
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 1:53pm
What if there's a detergent spill out into the Charles? Save the Carp!
Why not ask the dealership what they do?
By anon
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 3:38pm
Dealerships wash cars, and that Toyota dealer has parking lots all the way to the shoreline.
Brockton... car-wash...
By anon
Fri, 07/14/2017 - 2:28pm
Brockton... car-wash... magnate
Add comment