Boston's only trailer park could get company: Two apartment buildings
A developer has proposed replacing an abandoned parking lot and scrubland on the southbound side of VFW Parkway with a two-building, 258-unit apartment complex.
Lincoln Property Co. of Waltham submitted a letter of intent with the BPDA last week to create a "vibrant neighborhood apartment community" on 4.6 acres of land between the Boston Trailer Park and the Prime auto dealership, on land currently owned by a trust started by James Clair, who started the dealership that became Prime.
The proposed four-story buildings would house one- and two-bedroom apartments and have a total of 387 parking spaces and "signficant open space." Some 34 of the apartments would be rented as affordable, Lincoln wrote.
Lincoln's next step is to submit a detailed "project notification form" for the proposal.
Lincoln said it has gotten support from trailer-park residents and local officials. Its letter does not mention any discussions with officials in Dedham, right down the road.
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Comments
Parking lot.
Perfect place for trailers.
Just sayin'.
luxury trailers!!
move the affordable housing ones to another part of town...
Not shocked
This was just a matter of time. At least they’re not taking over trailer lot. Live and let be.
Car dealer.
He's been trying to get the whole thing forever. The trailer park never gave up. I'm going back many years.
Yep, he gave up
Clair finally threw in the towel and sold the trailer-park land to the residents, who now run the place as a co-op.
Back in 2011...
More details on purchase and the park:
http://www.wickedlocal.com/x227108496/West-Roxbury-celebrates-Boston-Tra...
Affordable housing
More so out west than here, but still ...
I remember that the trailerpark that I spent the most time in as a kid was under constant threat of redevelopment after the freeway opened and the road was widened for distribution centers and trucking hubs. Not long after my parents finally were able to purchase a house, I noticed that the status of the parcel on county zoning maps had shifted to something like "protected low income housing" along with the neighborhood of houses directly to the west of it.
I'm concerned
How long before the new apartment building tenants start complaining about their "trailer trash" neighbors? I hope there's something done to protect the trailer park tenants.
More Likely
The owner of the trailer park decides to cash in and sell to a developer to build another large complex.
It is owned
by most of the residents who live there. The formed a Tenant's Association around 2010 or so. So I don't think it is going anywhere anytime soon.
Nope
That makes it even better.
If a developer wants to buy it, then they have to pay more.
A relative of mine lived in a resident-owned RV Park in Florida. When they moved there in '84, there was nothing around them except a gas station. Now its all built up. Some developer offered each land owner a very shiny penny and every one agreed to sell. It can happen.
Well
As described above, the residents own the land, so there isn't much anyone can do to "protect" them. They took care of that themselves.
Only in Boston would people
Only in Boston would people complain about building new housing.
I don't see anyone in the
I don't see anyone in the article or the comments complaining.
Having lived in both Florida and New Hampshire
You’d think that trailer park is well, what you’d stereotypically expect from a trailer park. In reality it’s full of mostly older retireees and long time Boston residents who took it up as an offer to actually buy something. My uncle lived there for 20 or so years, he never had any complaints about it!
Having lived in both Florida and New Hampshire
You’d think that trailer park is well, what you’d stereotypically expect from a trailer park. In reality it’s full of mostly older retireees and long time Boston residents who took it up as an offer to actually buy something. My uncle lived there for 20 or so years, he never had any complaints about it!
Take a look at the pictures
Take a look at the pictures in this article:
https://patch.com/massachusetts/westroxbury/photo-gallery-trailer-chic-a...
res. apts.
Noone asked the residents, i am an owner in the park. Iam concerned about loss of daylight sun affecting gardens, trespassers in the park, increased crime, and traffic burdens.
Perhaps you can bring these concerns up with the developer?
The article says they got support from park residents. Is that not true?
Regarding loss of sun: It sucks, but that's kind of the way life goes in a city. You can't get mad at someone for building on their property. I recently lost some sun in my yard and garden due to the house next door being renovated. It was rebuilt slightly taller and slightly closer to the property line resulting in larger afternoon shadows. I'm bummed about it, but I can't blame the owner for doing what he/she wanted with their own property, provided it conforms to laws and zoning. All I can do is try to adapt as best I can.