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Dramatic transformation could come to Dorchester Lower Mills parcel: Plans filed to replace Metamorphosis convenience store with a residential building

Rendering of proposed Lower Mills residential building

Rendering by RODE Architects.

Developer Joey Arcari has filed plans with the BPDA to replace one of the city's more unusually named convenience stores, at Washington and River streets in Lower Mills, with a 24-unit residential building with 18 parking spaces.

Arcari's proposal for what is now the Metamorphosis convenience store, also calls for 1,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space, in the new building, which would awaken between the Star Market on River Street and Spukies N Pizza on Washington Street.

The units would be split between one bedroom and two bedrooms.

Three of the units would be rented or sold as affordable; the proposal does not specify if the units will be rented as apartments or sold as condos.

According to the filing for the "transit oriented" project:

The building is sited as an architectural extension of the Baker Lofts, taking design cues from the distinctive historic mill building context. Timeless materials, rich masonry detailing, and contextual proportions ground it within the site.

1153 Washington St. filings and calendar.

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Comments

I've always thought that spot was the gapingest hole in the area. This is a significant parcel.

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It's an old gas station which was a Lil' Peach for a very long time.

I think, and I may be wrong that there was a 3-story mixed use wood frame building on this site from the mid-1800's until the 1930's, so back to the future in terms of land use.

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I’ve always wondered about that name…..shouldn’t it be Spuckies?

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as in Last night Anna drank too much and went totally spukies in the back of an Uber.

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What about the parking?

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next door to star market. In the middle of a commercial district. In front of a bus stop. 5 minute walk from the mattapan line. 30 minutes by T, bike or drive from DTX and that doesn’t take into account parking. Seems like a perfectly fine parking ratio to me.

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Do you really believe that a buyer of a market rate unit does not own at least one vehicle? I don’t care if they build these on top of a T station.

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Aside from the parking it is the lame design and location. That area is an absolute shit show when it comes to traffic. As bad as granite and gallivan where except wedged into single lanes. There are 3 lights within 300 yards of each other, all at odd angles. traffic can be backed up for 3/4 of a mile.
Send it back for a redesign.

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As soon as I saw the address, I thought, hm, isn't this where the misspelled spuckies are?

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That building should be six stories. All the parcels near Butler Street should be consolidated and large post-Stalinist Soviet architecture by RODE needs to be stuffed in there also.

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but unironically.

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Although, I could also agree it would be nice to get some better architecture, too.

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Due to zoning Boston a long time ago had shadow laws including height in the buildings they had built. If you live in a triple decker next door the BPDA can not build a 6 story building next to it. Plus it would look stupid if they built that high. As long as they are building to help alleviate housing prices then 3 stories is just fine. Unless this was an old factory building like the Baker Chocolate factory once was then they could convert them into either micro units or, one bedroom lofts which is now the future of housing. I would also suggest, leave them as apartments, no more condos.

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What you are looking at is the side view of the Standish Village Assisted Living that was part of the original Bakers Chocolate complex of buildings. The front of the building on Adams Street doesn’t look anything like the side view on Medway which you barely notice driving by. I am all for the development of these empty parcels but it doesn’t have to be an ugly wall like structure. Plus something needs to be done about the way traffic flows around the intersections of Old Morton, Richmond, Washington; and Dorchester Ave, and Adams Street which all intersect there.
Put forth a better design with parking and more fitting streetscape. There used to be some lovely three story buildings there before they were knocked down to build ugly cement gas station and a pizza place.
Plenty of historic images to go by.

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