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Hyde Park/Mattapan to get big-box mall
By adamg on Fri, 04/25/2008 - 12:47pm
A mall developer wants to turn the old Bay State Paper mill on River Street into a mall with room for at least three "big box" retailers, the Hyde Park Bulletin reports. But first they have to come up with a name, since 892 River St. isn't all that exciting.
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Comments
How about Upper Mills?
since it's upstream from Lower Mills?
I was thinking
The Paper Mall.
But it looks like they went with Ye Olde Shoppees atte Riverwoodendell Courte. Sounds fancy, dunnit?
How About
The Mill Collection?
How about...
Mattaponset Park
or
Natick. (with the period)
Another Mall?
How about naming it the "Mall between the South Shore Plaza and all the Mall stores in Dedham"
Where's the outrage people?
Do we need more big box stores?
Who wants to bet they get a fat tax cut
I'd easily wager that Deval Patrick will give them a big fat tax cut and smile for the cameras while proudly pontificating about how many jobs the stores claim they'll bring (after Everygreen Solar, Patrick has shown himself to be the world's greatest sucker.) Meanwhile all the small businesses in the area have been starving and not getting any economic aide. Then, of course, these 'big box' stores (which do little to support the local economy) will run the small stores out of business. Everyone will then no longer have businesses they can walk to for what they need- they'll have to get in their car- not very "green".
Then in a few years, the big box stores will move out or go out of business, leaving empty ugly buildings that can't be used for anything except another big box store or warehouse space (if they're not built so cheap that they fall apart)...and a lot of people whose only job experience was pushing buttons at a cash register or stocking shelves.
Remember, folks- it doesn't matter how many jobs a box store "brings to the area" if most of the moolah goes off to the company HQ's home state (or the Cayman Islands holding company, etc) and the jobs suck.
YUCK!
That type of development has no place in the city. Shame on the BRA if they approve it. It's the same type of ugly sprawl development that ruins cities all over the place.
That's about the most pedestrian-unfriendly development I can possibly imagine. Why not at LEAST put all the buildings together to form a street wall, and put the parking behind it? Why not try to leverage the river nearby and create pedestrian access to it?
The river
$5-million riverside park planned - which will be cool, because currently, that part of the river is one of the most ignored, pitiful rivers you'd ever hope to not see. It's amazing how Boston and Milton managed to turn their backs on it.
Parking behind the buildings
The problem with that is that then you've got all this parking right up against the Neponset River, which is exactly what you probably don't want, especially if the state's planning on turning the river banks into some sort of park.
Southbay
Although I am a much bigger fan of traditional planning and small stores, I dissagree that these big box malls don't have a place in the city anymore. Everyone argued that the South Bay mall was going to be a collosal failure and, as it turned out, its a huge success. The types of stores that occupy these malls (Home Depot, Toys-R-Us etc.) aren't the type of stores that (a) will fit into traditonally planned commercial districts; or (b) that will build in traditionally planned commercial districts. You can argue that people shouldn't shop at places like these for idological reasons but the fact is that many people do. Moreover, putting derelict industrial properties such as these to use as big box malls makes sense. People forget that these were once working industrial properties with all of the ills that came with them (South Bay was a Sears shipping depot) and putting them back into use is a benefit to the tax base if nothing else. Although I remain a critic of regular shopping malls that replace the function of traditional town centers by luring small retailers out to the burbs, big box malls have a place in the city.
Given the location
How about "The Almost Dedham Mall"?
Big and Boxy
I would like to see stores like the one's at Derby street shops in Hingham instead of a big ugly Walmart. The hingham shops are a great success and although the HP stores don't have to be as high end, they can be smaller and what suites the neighborhood residents. Practical is what I think is best for all not just big boxy and cheap goods - at what price?
Here's a good name
"The New Mall where all the Black Ghetto Kids will hang out instead of Cambridgeside until they realize mostly poor people live in that area so there is no one to rob because everyone else is afraid to go there."
You know, like Assembly Square?
Come on people, get out the bulldozers, tear down neighborhoods and rebuild!
There are plenty of ghetto
There are plenty of ghetto white kids too.
I agree!
How about 'ghetto wigger wanna be gangsta wonderbread white kids?"
But yes, you are correct, I should have dropped the color, but have you been to the Cambridgeside galleria during school break? Don't these kids have somewhere else to be besides harassing the people at Panda Express?
Atleast the mall isn't as bad as it used to be, when they had dollar stores! @_@
How about "the Death of
How about "the Death of Cleary Square Mall."
How about an Outlet mall
What if they made Cleary Square into an outlet mall. High quality and designer merchandise at bargain prices. People even rich people will travel far for good deals. There are no outlet malls in the area, closest on is in Maine.
Presently Clearly Square looks like a honky tonk area, stores with poor quality merchandise, and dirty, who wants to go there even good people from Hyde Park don't want to go there and are moving. If Cleary Square were cleaned up property values would rise and good people would move in.
If kids are hanging out in groups of more then 2 and not shopping and bothering customers they can be made to leave