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Parking lot around corner from Broadway T stop could become five-story apartment building
By adamg on Mon, 10/29/2018 - 7:34pm
Architect's rendering.
Developers Peter Spellios and Neal Howard have filed plans with the BPDA to replace a parking lot at West 2nd and Athens streets with a five-story, 55-unit residential building - and two parking spaces for the two cars they will own that residents can rent by the hour.
In their filing, the developers say the sort of urbanistes their building will attract will not likely have cars, given the quick walk to the Red Line and bus lines - and the attraction of a bicycle room with enough space for 61 two-wheelers and a dedicated pick up/drop off area for ride-hail cars. But, they add:
There are times when your own vehicle is the most convenient mode of transportation. To address those specific moments, the Proposed Project will provide off-street parking for two cars that residents will be able to opt in to using as a private car share.
Residents will have access to a rooftop deck. Seven of the units will be rented as affordable.
The developers originally wanted to put in something a lot taller:
The initial Proposal reviewed with the PDA and the various stakeholders was a 115 unit high rise building. While height was not a concern, there was some concern regarding the unit density coupled with the lack of parking. The feedback from the initial outreach is reflected in this Application for a revised and reduced 55 unit development to address the feedback of the BPDA and other important neighborhood stakeholders.
West 2nd Street small-project review application (9.1M PDF).
Proposed plaza out front:
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
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Comments
just when
Just when you didnt think they could pack anymore people into an area.......
At least it only has 2 parking spots...
I agree.
This area is just way too crowded. Doesn’t feel comfortable or convenient to anything other than the train. Just a weird and undesirable Area unless you want to live next to south Boston and FiDi jobs. I think it would be interesting if it had less housing and more of pretty much any service/retail.
I’m all for density-this area just sucks and more cramped housing will make it suck more.
Dare I say it
Andrews gonna end up being more desirable.
That whole Broadway area is just a weird, windy, and unwelcoming spot.
Hypocrites
61 spaces to store bicycles? I thought everyone would be taking the train since Broaday Station is steps away.
Slow your roll
You do realize that people who like subways like bicycles, too, no? I mean, how else are you going to get to Castle Island?
Or are you just desperately trying to find some way to pretend to be outraged? If so, there are better ways to do it.
Open your eyes
and don’t be foolish. This is just a gimmick that developers want you to fall for. Why not cut bicycle spaces down to 12 and have bikes available for tenants to rent?
Developers are getting desperate with this transit orientated bullshit,
61 - 12 = 49
61 - 12 = 49
49 bike spaces is 3 parking spaces.
You are hopeless.
Transit Oriented Bullshit
TOB is exactly what it is. All the sheep will fall for it. Does anyone honestly in their heart of hearts think that’s these prefab apartment building a especially the cheaper ones are going to age well?? Do we think that once these buildings live out their intended 40 year life span they’ll remain desirable? Or will we have 61 vandalized forgotten about bike spaces that people will laugh at as outdated. Well have tons of brown red grey box apartment buildings for the lower income as we have with the brown 1970s style square brick apartments right now.
2 parking spots and 61 bicycle spots just coems offf as obnoxious and ridiculous.
Strollers not welcome
Looks like wheelchairs and strollers might not be welcome on those narrow sidewalks.
Not enough parking spots
awful plan, the new residents come here with two cars not zero cars, most of the new comers drive Audi Suv, and Jeep Grand Cherokee , where does this developer live ?
If you are worried that there is not enough parking
for your two cars on bus and train lines, walkable to downtown, with bicycle parking included...
Don't rent there.
Or maybe, just maybe...
...he/she already lives in the area and decided to voice an opinion that directly affects them. Don’t be a smug prick. That neighborhood (and this city as a whole) already has a surplus of them.
This is the root of the problem
This idea that housing should only be built to meet the needs of new comers and not existing Bostonians is the root of all gentrification. You have to stop working from the mind frame that new housing is for people coming from elsewhere with absurdly high incomes and who work at certain places. What about housing for people who don’t work downtown or in some other hotspot? The very nature of this building is exclusionary and is evidenced by the fact that all the individuals in the rendering are young adult white people except the one kinda black guy he tossed on the far right frame. No families no diversity, New Boston!
NO MORE
NO MORE
Oh Please,
Enough with the hysterics. With all the development around this station, the sidewalks still aren't jam packed and the traffic isn't any worse than it already was. Solutions to the need for more housing in this city are continually hampered by reflexive objections to building anything anywhere. What other place might be acceptable? Is there a location in this city that wouldn't invite some concern about shadows/shade, too much parking, not enough parking, density is fine, but over there, too many cars here, except for mine. Too many people who consider themselves arbiters of appropriate levels of population. You can't suspend a whole city to accommodate your nostalgia or desire that absolutely nothing change. You can't want the benefits of living in a booming, dynamic place without the consequences of growth. Boston can and should make room for everyone who wants to live here.
No more what?
Affordable housing?
This is awesome
Keep all the beautiful, density loving buffoons down the Lower End and out of the neighborhood.
NIMBYS and pearl clutchers
hear this: Anyplace even remotely close to a T stop, even a commuter rail stop, is going to see massive development over the next ten years. It has already been going that way for a while. Don't get shocked when giant developments come to Shawmut, Fields Corner, and Savin Hill. I am watching housing developments go up between Bunker Hill and Sullivan Sq. where I work and they have astounding views of I-93 and a recycling plant and gravel yard. BUT they are walking distance to a train soooo.....
The T is mismanaged, in debt, and will NOT be expanding beyond this GLX debacle for another 20 years so every, single, available, parcel near a train stop is getting crammed with apartment and condo buildings. If you don't like it there are PLENTY of neighborhoods sadly under-served by the T, where a bus can whisk you away to somewhere you'd never, ever want to go aside from the fact you need to catch another bus to a train to a 10 minute walk to another bus to get where you are going. Just move there and stop bitching. This is life in Boston now.
Hidden in the Back
You're never going to see this development. It's tucked away where a construction office currently sits while they finish other surrounding projects. Once it does start going up, you will have just assumed it was always part of the plan.
The cost to live here is too high, especially in Southie. It will be interesting to see how the non-transit infrastructure will handle this level density though.
Yeah but
Yeah but Southie, parking, Dunkins, kids, grew up here, safety, density, sunlight, cyclists, shadows.....
So are parking lot is being eliminated
so that we can build a development with virtually no parking. Putting the cars that park in this lot out on the street. Add in the residents of this development who are going to own vehicles (cue the violins, because we don't want to hear the crap how nobody owns cars because this is near Broadway Station) then add in all the Lyft and Uber vehicles that will be circling this block and you end up with a big traffic clusterf@ck.
You have more concern for
You have more concern for homeless cars than homeless people
I don’t think homeless people
Can afford to live here or any other development in Boston for that matter.
This was a Gillette parking lot, sold 6 months ago.
It was never public parking and this development removes zero spaces from that inventory.
You’re literally 100% right.
You’re literally 100% right. This is the real world 55 units is not gonna get 55 people to abandon cars. I’ve rand Lyft WILL circle thisbblock 24/7 for years to come and parking will be a nightmare. I don’t fret it-why can’t they build a garage?