New condos coming to Comm Ave in Brighton

Long-awaited plan for Charing Cross condo building in Brighton to be unveiled - Boston.com:

"A local developer will announce detailed plans Thursday night for a long-awaited project to construct a 55-unit condominium building at a highly-visible, city-owned site along Commonwealth Avenue in Brighton... “We’re going to be one of the first ones in Boston to get in on what I think is an emerging condominium market,” said Diamond, declining to disclose the current projected cost of a project that, as of four years ago, was billed at about $18 million."

Nice to see that a private developer can build some owner-occupied housing in Brighton. Does this mean it might be financially viable for Harvard to do the same in North Allston?

Will a March Madness win bring a new arena to Allston?

If #12 Harvard pulls of a big upset this afternoon against #5 Vanderbilt, how quickly will Harvard be able to raise $100M or so to build a new hoops arena in Allston?

http://espn.go.com/ncb/preview?gameId=320750238

Why would anyone "throw out" the Ed Portal?

This is a very strange story. The Ed Portal could certainly be relocated to make space for new development in Barry's Corner. The new Ed Portal could be completed before the current building would be torn down. So the suggestion that the Ed Portal would be "thrown out" or that there would have to be a year without any Ed Portal really doesn't make sense.

Tensions Rise in Allston Over Ed Portal | News | The Harvard Crimson:

“Being thrown out of the building would represent a problem for the various activities we provide for the community,” Lue said, emphasizing the importance of maintaining continuity for the more than 100 children who utilize Portal resources.

“Missing a whole season, or two seasons, could really interfere with their progress,” he said.

Harvard still considering a new Allston stadium

The Rise of Harvard Basketball | FM | The Harvard Crimson:

Prior to the 2008 recession and the steep decline in the University’s endowment, the construction of a new basketball stadium in Allston was in consideration.

“Before the stock market took that big dive it did and the endowment had that big struggle, there was a greater plan for all of those facilities on that side of the river to eventually be relocated,” Mannix says.

Those plans, however, were put on hold with the bad economy. Today, the construction of a new stadium in Allston remains in discussion.

“It’s still a subject of conversation,” [Staples Founder Tom] Stemberg adds. “People are still talking about it. Nobody’s done anything yet because nobody’s given up the money, but I think, you know, if the money were there, I think we’d get it done.”

Speedway comments

To: dcr.updates@state.ma.us

I am writing to follow-up comments that I and other neighbors made at the February 27 public meeting regarding the future of the Speedway building.

To fully realize the potential of a rehabilitated Speedway and help create a financially and operationally feasible project, it is essential to consider the future of the abutting properties.

Adjacent to the the Speedway buildings are blighted and underutilized properties owned by the State and Harvard University. Harvard's property (the former Toureen Kennels / Brighton Animal Hospital) has been vacant for several years and I expect that demolition is the only viable option. If Harvard refuses to engage in constructive discussions, eminent domain should be considered.

To this end, I hope that DCR will reach out to Harvard, the Smith Health Center (who is leasing some or all of the State's adjacent property), and any other related parties to identify strategies for collaboration that can maximize the potential of this set of parcels.

If nothing else, this holistic approach might find opportunities to create shared parking facilities among various future users. This could address the limited space for parking at the Speedway which was noted as an obstacle during DCR's public design charrette.

Presentation from Monday's Speedway meeting

regarding the future of the crumbling building along Soldiers Field Road at the western end of Western Ave

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/news/publicmeetings/materials/parklands/speedwaypresentation2012-2-27.pdf

The 'Ink Block' - The high end of the Barry's Corner spectrum

A Guide to the 'Ink Block' Proposal at the Former Boston Herald Site - South End, MA Patch:

The former site of the Boston Herald for more than 50 years, at 300 Harrison Ave., is 6.22 acres.

National Development’s plans call for the construction of three new buildings, which would all be between 70 and 100 feet high, and the reuse of the existing Boston Herald building, mainly for its foundation. The four buildings would be five, eight, eight and nine stories high and together would be nearly 550,000 square feet.

There would be 471 new residential units and a total of about 85,000 square feet of retail space, including a 30,000-square-foot space for a grocery store and multiple smaller, ground-floor spaces for retail and/or restaurants.

1282 Boylston as a Barry's Corner comparison (using 1/2 as much land)

Harvard is suggesting that 200-400 apartments could be built on 2.5 acres in Barry's Corner. 1282 Boylston St is a recently approved project of a comparable size (210 units, 331,000 sq ft) on a 1 acre site of a parking lot near Fenway Park which was home to a McDonald's until 2009.

From the Boston Herald

Mayor Menino Announces 1282 Boylston Approved by BRA Board - November, 2011:

The 331,000 square foot project that will be developed by The Abbey Group will replace an underutilized surface parking lot with 12,000 square feet of ground floor retail space, 88,000 square feet of office space, a 295 space below grade parking garage, and 210 housing units, including 21 affordable units.

The $150 million project will include a 2,700 square foot ground floor community center furnished with computers and presentation equipment that will be maintained by the building management and available for use by the neighborhood.

Why not develop more Barry's Corner?

I mentioned below that Harvard proposes to develop only 2.5 acres of Barry's Corner's northwest corner. From my perspective, Barry's Corner and this area would benefit from as much new housing and retail as possible, so why think small?

The parcel bounded by Western Ave, Smith Field, North Harvard Street, and Harvard Athletics is 6.5 acres. Developing more land = more housing, more retail, more people enlivening the area, more jobs, and more general economic activity - all of which are good things.

Maybe there isn't enough demand for that much housing and retail, I don't know, but it would be hard to argue that the existing uses are the "best and highest uses" possible. Everyone likes Harvard's Ed Portal, and it could be relocated elsewhere in Allston either temporarily during construction or permanently, and alternative office space for the 10-person staff of the Silk Road Project could be found elsewhere. But if the demand exists, then I hope Barry's Corner can get the biggest boost of energy that it can.

What is "market rate"? $3,800+/month for a 2BR

Harvard is describing its proposed Barry's Corner apartments as being "market rate" and the project as being "market driven". There was discussion last night about what that really means, and what the rents would be in such a situation.

There isn't much comparable new construction in Allston, but here are a couple examples from the Longwood area that might be relevant - these 2BR apartments are $3,825 and $3,950 per month. The Trilogy on Bolyston Street is a "first-class", luxury building and Harvard wasn't clear if it envisions something on par with this, but in the meantime we can consider this to be a possible high-end of the range for rents.

A possible alternative would be to include some "workforce housing" which would be affordable to people who earn approximately the median income. Workforce housing is a priority of Mayor Menino and a report by the Urban Land Institute observes that:

• Housing in the Boston metropolitan area remains unaffordable to the vast majority of workforce households
• Between now and 2020, the Boston metropolitan area market will face an additional shortage of nearly 11,000 units, leaving many of the region’s teachers, firefighters, nurses, and other workers vital to the area’s economy priced out of the market.
• The ability to house workers in key workforce housing employment sectors—teachers, health care workers, police officers, and firefighters, among others—is vital to the economic sustainability of the Boston metropolitan area.
• Workforce renter households, particularly those with three or more persons, are largely priced out of the market for new-construction rental apartments. The high cost of land, entitlement, and construction makes developing new rental housing for these households challenging, if not impossible, without creative public financing solutions and other subsidy mechanisms.

Harvard's Barry Corner proposed 2.5 acre site

One of the questions at last night's Harvard Allston Task Force meeting was about the specific size and location of land that Harvard proposes to use for the construction of new retail and apartments in Barry's Corner. Harvard didn't offer an exact boundary perpendicular to North Harvard Street, but it looked something like this.

According to http://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm this is 2.5 acres.

Deja Vu - More claims that Allston rentals will be subject to city's laws

Mayor Menino Orders Inspectional Services Walkthrough of Allston Area with Heavy Student Population | City of Boston:

February 17, 2012 

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced that the City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD), in collaboration with the Boston Police and Fire departments, has completed a three day code sweep of rental units located at Gardner, Pratt, Linden and Ashford Streets in Allston, an area heavily populated with students. ISD will again be in the area tomorrow at 12 PM to follow up with students, distributing pamphlets with information on rental housing resources and how to protect themselves from potential health and safety hazards. 

“Boston is home to thousands of students, and they all deserve a safe place to live,” Mayor Menino said. “We will not allow landlords to take advantage of students by neglecting their properties and putting people at risk. We also want to make sure that renters in Boston, particularly students, are aware of their responsibilities as tenants. We will continue to work with the student community as well as landlords to ensure a safe environment for everyone.”

Where have I heard this before? Oh, that's right we hear the same thing every year or two, usually in the fall when students return to Allston. I wonder if this time there will be more consistent follow through.


Here's effectively the same story from 6 years ago.

Landlords Who Take Advantage Of Students Targeted - Mayor Tours Off-Campus Housing - http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9771985/detail.html

August 31, 2006

As thousands of college students descend on Boston, Mayor Thomas Menino promised to crack down on landlords who take advantage of students.

NewsCenter 5's Pam Cross reported that Menino said routine inspections of apartments usually rented to college students found trash, rats and other unsanitary conditions.
"It's one of the worst (apartments) I've seen, especially for a neighborhood," said Edward Kennedy, of Boston Inspectional Services. "There is definitely a rat infestation here as well."

"They have debris (blocking windows). Coming out of the window, you would trip over something," Menino said.

What type of housing would improve North Allston

While reading this story in today's Crimson about Harvard's plans for new housing in Barry's Corner (Barry's Corner Plans Worry Allston Residents) I thought back to the home-ownership post I wrote in 2008 regarding the ownership/rental mix for the new Charlesview housing.

During the public review of Charlesview the project was described as having apartments south of Western Ave and condo along Telford St on the north side of Western Ave. For many in the community who believe that more homeownership would be a good thing here, we looked forward to the construction of these condos.


But while construction of the apartments is moving ahead briskly, there is no activity relating to the construction of the condos which are now describes as being "Phase 2" of the project and, according to this Globe story, that "phase’s timing is market dependent" and who knows when or if that means it will be built.


So, getting back to Barry's Corner, the documents that I linked to in that 2008 post have been moved or deleted, and data from the 2010 Census is now available. 

But the story is still the same regarding two topics raised in the Crimson article - Allston has few families and few homeowners.

Allston: 13% owner-occupied housing units. Households with individuals under 18 years = 9%

Jamaica Plain: 44% owner occupied.  Households with individuals under 18 years = 23%

South Boston: 40% owner occupied.  Households with individuals under 18 years = 17%

Roxbury: 20% owner occupied. Households with individuals under 18 years = 35%

South End: 39% owner occupied. Households with individuals under 18 years = 15% 

Harvard's Housing Studies website explains that:

Strong and consistent evidence indicates that homeowners are more likely to: a) be satisfied with their homes and neighborhoods; b) participate in voluntary and political activities; and c) stay in their homes longer, contributing to neighborhood stability. 

Building small apartments in Barry's Corner will maximize Harvard's profit and will also move Allston in the wrong direction - further exacerbating our lack of families and homeowners.

Hopefully it will be possible to balance Harvard's goals for a money-making development of Barry's Corner with the type of housing that will also advance the housing and social goals of Allston.

Alford ask Mayor to remember Allston

Remember Allston - BostonHerald.com:

Mayor Tom Menino offered the correct incentive for Vornado Realty Trust to finally deal with its gaping problem downtown (Feb. 3). I hope he applies the same incentive to Harvard to complete its science complex, which is a 5-year-old, 5-acre, 50-foot-deep hole in our neighborhood.

The BRA has notified Allston that it will “discuss the planning and development of Harvard-owned properties from this point forward.” At this time — and after requests from the community — the BRA agenda still does not include a discussion of the abandoned science complex. Like with Filene’s/Vornado, I hope Menino will not issue more permits until Harvard has completed its science complex or at least shown a plan that would have parallel construction of the complex with any new development.

— Paul Alford, Allston

Gardner School featured in national report

Congratulations to Allston's Gardner Pilot Academy for being featured in this report by the Center for American Progress!

Lightening the Load - A Look at Four Ways that Community Schools Can Support Effective Teaching - http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/01/pdf/chang_wraparound.pdf

"The Gardner Pilot Academy in Boston, Massachusetts, also established an English language program for its students’ families that now serves 100 families. There

are five levels of classes, ranging from Basic Beginner to Advanced, offered on weekday evenings to accommodate the schedules of working adults. Classes are

free of charge, and child care is provided....

While only 25 percent of Gardner families attended parent teacher conferences in 1997, 98 percent of families participated in the 2010-11 school year"

New Balance's New Brighton plans

As I wrote 2 years ago about New Balance's potential expansion, the devil is in the details, and it will be a long time before the details of this plan are worked out. But the big ideas of offices, track and field, hockey, and hotel all sound pretty good. Especially if this spurs infrastructure improvements like a commuter rail stop (and it is hard to imagine a project of this magnitude without it) in the Everett Street / Market Street area it can be really great.

Boston Redevelopment Authority project website

New Balance's Letter of Intent to the BRA

2012 Kickoff Party - Charles River Conservancy Young Professionals

2012 Kickoff Party - Charles River Conservancy Young Professionals:

Wednesday, January 18, 2012
6:00pm until 7:30pm

Join us to help launch the CRC Young Professionals Group, dedicated to supporting the Conservancy's efforts and providing unique outdoor opportunities to interact with the Charles River in every season.

Enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres from OM, enter raffles to win gift certificates from local restaurants and businesses, and learn about our first outdoor event: SNOWSHOEING in Herter Park on February 4th (hope for snow)! Kickoff attendees will receive a beautiful map of the Charles River Basin and parklands, as well as a special copy of "River Stories". All are welcome!

The CRC is a nonprofit citizens’ advocacy group dedicated to the renewal and stewardship of the Charles River Parklands.

Wentworth Students Redesign Allston/Brighton

Architecture Students Redesign Allston/Brighton Neighborhood : Wentworth Institute of Technology:

The Phoenix reviews Stone Hearth Pizza

On the Cheap: Stone Hearth Pizza - On The Cheap:

"There is no shortage of pizza joints in the greater Boston area, that's for damn sure. But Stone Hearth Pizza —with locations in Cambridge, Needham, Belmont, and, as of a few weeks ago, Lower Allston — is the front-runner for guilt-free, locally sourced pizza pies."

Congrats to Rep Moran on his new leadership role

"Via @statehousenews, House leadership changes: Rep. Rushing to whip, Moran to division chair and Michlewitz as Elex Laws chair "