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Developers, Tufts propose residential/hotel tower, BPL branch on Tremont Street in Chinatown
By adamg on Wed, 01/17/2018 - 12:18pm
Architect's rendering of proposed tower. Presumably those are not meteor strikes.
A parking lot off Tremont Street next to Tufts Medical Center in Chinatown would be turned into a 29-story residential and hotel tower - with all the residential units marketed as affordable - under a proposal submitted to the BPDA by two well known developers, the Asian Community Development Corp. and Tufts.
The $174-million proposal also sets aside 8,000 square feet of first-floor space on Tremont Street for possible sale - at cost - to the Boston Public Library for a permanent Chinatown branch. The city is nearing completion of a temporary Chinatown branch at the China Trade Center and is looking for a more permanent space.
The library space would be on the first floor of an extension to the current Tufts garage that is also part of the proposal.
The BPDA solicited bids in November for a 99-year lease on the L-shaped parking area. Tomorrow is the deadline; to date, the BPDA has received just this one bid.
One of the developers is Corcoran Jennison, which specializes in mixed-income developments - of which its best known is Harbor Point in Dorchester. It's joined by Millennium Partners, which specializes in luxury towers for the international jet set. Also included in the bid: The Asian Community Development Corp., which builds and manages affordable housing in Chinatown and other areas with high concentrations of Asian-Americans, and a Tufts subsidiary that handles construction and building maintenance for the medical center.
Under the proposal, a tower on Tremont Street would house roughly 140 hotel rooms, conference facilities and a restaurant on the lower 10 floors - all connected to the existing DoubleTree - and 171 residential units on the upper floors.
The residential units would be split between 126 condos and 45 apartments, all marketed as affordable - with the apartments limited to tenants making no more than 60% of the area median income, and the condos sold to people making no more than 80% of the area median income. The units would include fourteen three-bedroom condos and five three-bedroom apartments.
The proposal also calls for 264 parking spaces to be added to an existing Tufts Medical Center garage next to the site.
Bid submission (71M PDF).
From the proposal:
Walkway would connect Tremont and Washington streets:
The current site:
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
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Comments
I'm a NIMBY, but I say in
I'm a NIMBY, but I say in this case: build it! No loss if a parking lot is converted into housing. Knocking down wonderful historical buildings for yuppie luxe housing on the hand I'm totally opposed to.
Pic
What's up with the fireballs in the main picture?
Some art display or are those fireballs throw in protest from the NIMBYs below protesting the new building?
Chinese lanterns
Floating in the air
Edit: I give up. The extra text can stay there.
yes, Yes, YES
Infill, affordable housing, mixed use, and retains pedestrian link to Washington? Yes, please!
I can't wait for the pearl clutching to commence
Potential topics:
There's not enough parking.
On a Tuesday in January a shadow may creep within 6" of the Common.
There's not enough parking.
On a Thursday in June the moon's shadow may not be visible.
There's not enough parking.
It's inequitable to provide affordable housing without building a lot of parking (yes, this point was made in Cambridge last week)
There's not enough parking.
There's so much parking that the cars will clog the streets in this quaint neighborhood which has no traffic today.
There's not enough parking.
No one with kids ever walks or bikes anywhere; they all need cars. Anyone who bikes in a communist.
There's not enough parking.
This may preclude some of Silver Line Phase III which is totally a thing about to happen, you guys, not a colossal waste of money.
There's not enough parking.
You missed the most likely one
The development needs to magically (as it can't be done legally) created so the right ethnicity of tenant has access to the market rate or affordable units.
I get the urge to protect Chinatown but it's not really feasible.Anthony doesn't live in the North End anymore either.
Fortunately the Asian
Fortunately the Asian Community Development Corporation is involved, so Chinatown's residents should get a fair shake there.
Shadows do kill trees. Look
Shadows do kill trees. Look it up: you'll learn something,
Boston Common is a public park for
everyone: all ages, ethnicities, nationalities, financial backgrounds, walks of life, etc. There are hundreds of us Boston citizens who attend puclic hearings, donate money and volunteer time to protect it from a few entitled selfish bozos like yourself.
Interesting
Someone better tell all those trees in Central Park - or the ones on the Common already in the shade.
Library
While they are at it they can maybe get a Blockbuster Video in there too.
All the kids nowadays are talking about it.
I take it
you haven't been to a library lately. They're packed!
If you don't believe me, check out the BPL's usage stats. If you can't find them, I'm sure a librarian would be happy to help you.
Libaries
And one reason they are packed is they do provide access to computers, internet, WiFIi, kid and teen programs (both acdemic and fun, like online gaming) tech classes. You can also remotely borrow e-books and videos. Physical books, cds and dvds still avaiable for time travellers from the early 21st Century.
The Central library does service old school media via the WGBH studio, site of live radio broadcast and occasional tv tapings of Beat the Press. I believe it is also the only branch that serves beer and wine.
In short, lots going on for the modern intellectually curious.
The South Boston Public
The South Boston Public Library is always buzzing with activity. It's a great place for our neighborhood as I'm sure the other branches are to their neighborhoods.
Movies
Nice try, but a Blockbuster would be redundant. Movie rentals are free at the library.
Free Stuff
Not to the taxpayer they ain't.
Chinatown residents can walk (or preferably Uber) the 9 blocks to Copley for their free VHS rental of Ace Ventura II.
A BPL express branch, sure. A branch though.... that is so 2004.
Walking. Yeah. We've only
Walking. Yeah. We've only been doing that for like 5 decades since the original Chinatown branch was demolished. No biggie.
Ignorance is very costly
So is illiteracy. Very costly to the taxpayer.
Hanging out in libraries is one way that people learn that it isn't appropriate to scream NIHAO out the window at every Asian you see.
But do tell us how much taxes you pay to support BPL.
Teenagers and the elderly on
Teenagers and the elderly on fixed incomes don't have money for Uber. It's more convenient for them to have a branch on Chinatown, rather than dependent on a branch a mile away; especially for people of different mobility.
You need a library near where you live. The BPL's traditional standard for accessibility is walking distance. That's how I got to the library as a kid. Chinatown has been asking for a library for decades. Marty's living up to his campaign promise to the residents.
Really?
You're missing out if you haven't utilized the BPL system.
Great Project. Great Team
Enough said
MBTA too!
Lest we forget, broken Orange Line trains struggle into a station right below this site as well.
Win win.
Also, with more residents we can now have the potential for more people to see the shootings that sometimes happen as a byproduct of certain nightclubs in the area.
Good thing
They already ordered a brand new and expanded Orange Line fleet that is already being tested (increasing capacity by 40%+), are replacing the signaling system, and doing accelerated track work - all of which should be done before this building.
residential tower dock square
this tower would put the greenway in afternoon shadows
You mean the cementway?
Not much green to the greenway there.
Library
What's wrong with the Copley branch, they dump all kinds of money into that, can't the people just walk there or take the T?
There's more to a library than just books
Where are the spaces for Chinatown-specific meetings and cultural events in Copley Square?
But as long as we're talking about books, can you think of a reason why a library in Chinatown might want to build up a collection in a particular language?
There's also fairness: Pretty much every other neighborhood has a branch (people in the Back Bay think of Copley as their "branch" and, well, yeah, there's Beacon Hill, but there's also the West End branch).
Jamaica Plain
Has 2 such branches. I think they're pretty high up in the pecking order of usage, too.
Chinatown resident here. Yes,
Chinatown resident here. Yes, we walk and take the T to the Copley branch. Worked there myself. The question is, why were we deprived of a permanent neighborhood branch for 5 decades? We had one before and it was taken away because we needed to make room for the Central Artery. Meanwhile we've watched other neighborhoods get renovated libraries...
Storrow Drive
What's wrong with takign the Pike, they dump all kinds of money into that, can't motorists just drive there or take alternative routes?
Chinatown is such an eclectic
Chinatown is such an eclectic and vibrant neighborhood. A permanent library would be a welcome addition. WiFi doesn’t replace the enjoyment / importance of sharing communal space with neighbors at the library. BPL main branch at Copley is great - but the little libraries in the neighborhoods serve a purpose as well. Good luck to the groups involved - all of them experienced solid track records.
Another branch-related access service
If a particular book\dvd etc is housed at one branch a patron can place a hold and request it be delivered to their neighborhood branch, for example a Roslindale resident would not have to trek to the South End to borrow an item not available in their neighborhood branch. Even the Copley branch does not house all of the titles available in the system. I've picked up books at Copley that were delivered from other branches.
EDIT: sorry, misplaced my comment, which was intended as a reply to Bugs' comment above.
Tremont Street turns 90 degrees right.
In the Boston Chinatown area at 290 Tremont Street corner of Oak St. West, Tremont St. turns 90 degrees right not far from where Edgar Allan Poe used to live. Continuing on the same road straight away from Tremont St it becomes 1 or 2 Shawmut Avenue!
https://www.google.com/search?q=290+tremont+st+boston+ma+02116
What are the Names of the Boundary Streets between nearby Districts/Wards/ Precincts?...
Current online maps are needed...
clearly showing Names of Boundary Streets between nearby Districts.
clearly showing Names of Boundary Streets between nearby Wards.
clearly showing Names of Boundary Streets between nearby Precincts.
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