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Youth group, developer propose two buildings on Amory Street in Jamaica Plain
By adamg on Fri, 06/04/2021 - 5:39pm
Bird-enriched rendering by Embarc.
Youth Enrichment Services and Watermark Development have filed plans with the BPDA to replace an electrical contractor's building on Amory Street with a new headquarters for the non-profit group and a separate four-story, nine-unit residential building.
YES, which provides "affordable and impactful sports-based youth development and leadership programming" for roughly 1,600 kids a year in Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan, would use the lot recently vacated by J&M Brown Co. - which moved to Dedham - at 267 Amory St., near New Minton Street and overlooking the Southwest Corridor.
The street is already home to a number of non-profit groups, including the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., which owns the Brewery complex on the other side of Amory.
Included in the YES headquarters part of the project would be a ski rental shop for kids in its programs, storage space for YES ski equipment, offices, classrooms and indoor recreation space
The exterior of the building will be clad in a combination of wood or wood-like siding and corrugated metal evoking the industrial past of the site and referencing ski lodge vernacular. Large punched operable windows and tall storefront on the ground floor allow generous amounts of daylight into spaces within the building and begin to blur the line of inside and out. The second and third floors will feature outdoor decks allowing direct access and sight lines to the neighboring tree canopy of the Southwest Corridor Park. The west façade facing the MBTA rail tracks will feature a large, locally-commissioned mural and signage displaying YES’s logo and name.
Eight of the apartments would have three bedrooms; one would have two bedrooms. None are "affordable," - that requirement only kicks in with projects of ten or more units - but Watermark says it is forgoing its usual developer's fee to make the project more affordable to the non-profit group and will make a contribution to the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp.'s planned Center for Equity and Prosperity.
Watermark says it was not trying to avoid the ten-unit affordability requirement, just that the size of the lot limited how much it could fit in while still including a building large enough to meet YES's needs.
The proposal calls for a total of 14 parking spaces: 9 for the residential building and the rest for YES employees. Watermark would also build a "raised crosswalk" across Amory that would heighten visibility of pedestrians and force motorists to slow down.
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Comments
In support
As a member of the YES community I had been aware of this project for some time. As a neighborhood resident I would say I'm in support of this project. My main concern is about the use of the building. Since I'm familiar with how they work I'd like to hear how they plan to load and unload the buses for their ski trips. Amory street is quite narrow there and is not amenable to parking buses. Maybe they will use New Minton? The Stony Brook T stop is close but most parents drive to drop off/pick up their kids. Especially the VERY early morning drop offs!
As far as the building and the residential units I am fully in support. There is a real nonprofit concentration in the area (Community Servings and Elliot School annex in addition to what was already mentioned) so it will not be a new type of neighbor. This is a good organization who needs better facilities. Good for them.
Ski trips?
How many ski trips per year?? 6?7?
It's a none issue..
Luckily
You only have about 3 months a year to clutch your pearls about some buses being in place for 45 minutes once or twice a week for all those trips to a nearby mountain.
That being said, Let's hear it for YES. The group that took me to my first beach that had actual waves as opposed to "tea" colored ripples in Boston Harbor before clean up.
pull-out planned
I haven't reviewed the plans, but the announcement from BPDA notes:
• A bus turn off is incorporated into the site design to allow for two buses to pull up under a canopy at the YES building for covered loading and unloading of ski equipment and people.
Yes!! Positive.
Yes!! Positive.
I'd be excited if the
I'd be excited if the sidewalk gets expanded to full-width there. The tiny strip right now is barely passable.
The raised crosswalk across Amory there would be a huge improvement and help connect the Brewery complex and neighborhood to the SWC.
J&M never shoveled. I won't miss them.
9 units, eh?
For a non-profit to build just 1 unit short of the number of units that would require the construction of affordable housing is shameful.
Plan JP/ROX stipulated a max
Plan JP/ROX stipulated a max building height of 45 feet with step backs on that parcel (as detailed on page 17 of their proposal). Given that restriction and the need to accommodate YES, I don't really see any way they could have done more units.
That being said they could almost certainly squeeze another two units onto that parcel if they got rid of those 9 parking spaces.
Affordable housing ain't everything.
If a bit more money comes in from the people living in those new apartments to support the non-profit's programs for neighborhood kids, that's not a bad thing.