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One of the highest points in Brighton could get a residential tower

Architect's rendering of Brighton project

Architect's rendering, with birds.

A downtown developer has filed plans to replace the old Hahnemann Hospital at 1515 Commonwealth Avenue with 330 apartments and condos, in a building that would include a 180-foot tall, 17-story tower.

It's the eighth multi-family development proposal for a relatively small area in Brighton - from Comm. Ave. and Warren Street up to Washington Street and then down Washington towards both Brighton Center and Brookline - that, if all built, would add more than 1,900 residential units, all in developments pegged as "transit oriented" because of their proximity to the already overloaded B Line and several bus lines (see below for list).

The plans by the Davis Companies for 1515 Commonwealth Ave. include 200 parking spaces for the roughly 175 apartments and 155 condos in the complex, which from the outside will look like two buildings, with the tower and a second, nine-story wing.

In its filing, Davis says nearly 40% of the 2.2-acre site will turned into "publicly accessible green space," including "a flexible lawn for games and passive recreation, and a seating plaza with tables and a canopy structure to serve as a gathering area for small groups." The site is currently almost completely covered with four old hospital buildings and a parking lot.

Davis hopes to begin 20 months of construction in early 2020.

Stairs

The developer provided a list of the other nearby projects either underway or under review by the city:

159-201 Washington Street (St. Gabriel's) – This project consists of the renovation of several existing buildings, including St. Gabriel's Monastery, as well as the construction of 660 units of housing in several new buildings and approximately 510 parking spaces within an 11.6-acre site, of which 7.3 acres will be kept as open space. This project is under construction.

Brighton Marine Health Center Residential Development – This project consists of the redevelopment of a 1.5-acre site into approximately 101 residential units with ground floor amenity space and 87 parking spaces located in a surface lot and a below-grade garage. This project is under construction.

139-149 Washington Street (AvalonBay) – This project consists of the construction of two new five-to-six story residential buildings. The first building will contain approximately 180 apartments and the second building will contain approximately 48 condominiums. The project will include 228 parking spaces. This project is under review by the BPDA.

101-105 Washington Street – This project consists of the construction of three separate buildings: a reconstructed Mikvah facility of approximately 5,030 sf, a reconstructed Synagogue facility of approximately 9,285 sf, and a new 70-unit residential building of approximately 85,330 sf with 70 underground parking spaces and 70 bicycling spaces. Twelve above-grade parking spaces will be created for the new religious facilities. This project has been approved by the BPDA Board.

15 Washington Street – This project consists of the development of an approximately 2.3-acre site, including the construction of up to 270 multi-family apartments, an approximately 45,753 sf Whole Foods grocery store, and an approximately 3,593 sf Citizens Bank branch with 323 parking spaces to serve the three developments. This project is under review by the BPDA.

5 Washington Street – This project consists of the development of an approximately 43,500 sf site into an approximately 131,500 sf building with ground floor retail and 115 dwelling units above. Approximately 104 parking spaces will be provided in a partially below-grade, two-level garage, with 25 spaces for retail use and 79 spaces for residential use. This project has been approved by the BPDA Board.

40 Mount Hood Road – This project consists of the redevelopment of a 1.7-acre site into a residential building of 163,000 sf, containing approximately 151 residential units with a mix of rental and condominium units, and 204 parking spaces. This project has been approved by the BPDA Board.

1515 Commonwealth Ave. project-notification form (27M PDF).

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Comments

I live in this area, the T can not handle the increase in our neighborhood.

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The MBTA is redoing tracks and stations along the B line. Maybe it is to better handle more frequent trains or 3 car trains. Though what is probably needed most are two things:
Better traffic light priority for the trains over traffic crossing Commonwealth Ave.
Better methods for fare collection allowing all doors to be used on said trains.

Also to note, much of the daily downtown commutes may be heavily reduced over time as more employers wake up to the folly of not having nigh every white collar worker telecommute.

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So add a condition that residents of this building are forbidden from riding the T.

The line is too long at the supermarket, so don't let them use that either. And the local day care has a huge waiting list, so that's out. And 4th of July at the Hatch Shell? Don't even think about it.

Hey, if they can do it for parking, why not?

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I say build it.

Rip up on-street parking along bus routes and create dedicated, year-round bus lanes.

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Oh look another tower that uses the staggered offset panel motif...yawn

http://www.nadaaa.com/portfolio/mit-mixed-use-development/
http://www.howeleryoon.com/work/34/212-stuart-street

...amid countless others that I'm too lazy to link to

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Another example of the Post-Stalinist Soviet school by the interns at RODE firing up the software. The job won't be done until Boston looks like Toronto.

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I'm not a fan of the whole "towers in the park" aesthetic. This building doesn't seem at all designed to engage with their surroundings and while I am generally pro-green space, it's hard to imagine members of the surrounding community making any use of this front lawn. I also don't get any sense of place with this proposal--this design looks like it would be at home in any suburban "town center" or commuter rail stop.

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It's crazy!

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