Atlantic Ave Residences | 25 Atlantic Ave | North End

stellarfun

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dont know where to put this.

http://northendwaterfront.com/2016/07/5-story-residential-condominium-proposed-former-lavanderia-site-25-atlantic-avenue/#lightbox/0/

This is a new proposal and should have its own thread. Certainly better than what's there now: a once-upon-a-time gas station. And a better design than the architecturally misplaced, brutalist. faux podium for the former Prince Macaroni building next door. The Prince building was renovated to residential in the late 1960s, primarily intended, IIRC, for residents of the North End, and subsequently converted to condos in the 1970s.
 
Re: What's Happening With Project X?

According to NorthEndWaterfront.com, the City of Boston is holding a public meeting regarding the 25 Atlantic Avenue project on-site this evening at 6:00.
 
Re: What's Happening With Project X?

I'm not in this location all that often at all, but Commercial St./Atlantic Avenue seems to have enough foot traffic to justify some ground floor retail on this one, right? I feel like if it weren't wedge shaped, we'd be ripping it to shreds.
 
Re: What's Happening With Project X?

I'm not in this location all that often at all, but Commercial St./Atlantic Avenue seems to have enough foot traffic to justify some ground floor retail on this one, right? I feel like if it weren't wedge shaped, we'd be ripping it to shreds.

This:
All new project’s shall incorporate additional freeboard in developing a Design Flood Elevation (DFE) and determining the base floor elevation for buildings, as well as elevations for underground garage portals, ventilation and exhaust systems, building mechanicals and utility connections. The level of freeboard shall be determined in accordance with the sea level rise ranges associated with the moderate to high emissions scenarios specified by Climate Ready Boston guidance documents. Consideration shall be given to the design life of the building and the most conservative, applicable range of anticipated sea level rise.
DOWNTOWN WATERFRONT DISTRICT MUNICIPAL HARBOR PLAN

It appears from the rendering that they made a design choice to armor the ground floor against future storm surges. If this were an existing building, they would receive zoning relief to add one or two floors to allow moving mechanicals/electrical from ground floor / basement to an upper floor.
 
Re: What's Happening With Project X?

^Nonetheless, a cute little pocket cafe wedged between mechanicals on the ground floor would be a lot nicer than a couple hundred feet of blank wall. I could also picture something nice fitting into the "nose" of the wedge at ground level.
 
Re: What's Happening With Project X?

^Nonetheless, a cute little pocket cafe wedged between mechanicals on the ground floor would be a lot nicer than a couple hundred feet of blank wall. I could also picture something nice fitting into the "nose" of the wedge at ground level.
Yes, in theory.

However, this is a small unit development where any retail will not contribute much in the way of income to the condo association. As a condo owner, or an officer of the condo association, why should I want the hassle of being landlord to a small commercial / retail business? And depending on how well you can isolate the retail space from the rest of the building, there is always the matter of the effect on flood insurance rates.

(As an aside, I am friends with the treasurer of a luxury, high-rise condo association, and he can recite chapter and verse about the travails of getting absentee tenant/owners (who paid all-cash particularly) to pay their condo fees. That's unlikely to happen at 25 Atlantic, but it illustrates that when a developer has no further property interest in a building, its the responsibility of the condo association to manage the non-residential.)
 
Great thanks.

Now, I'd like to emphasize that this is an active area and that ground floor is a joke from the 80s.
 

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