Allston-Brighton Infill and Small Developments

I guess this isn’t a new idea. This article from 3+ years ago says that the Loeb center would be used by the college easing demands on the Saunders theatre, and providing more space for FAS performance and teaching with the relocation of the ART professional company.

This seems like a better use of the lot at 175 N. Harvard than the surface parking and single story building that’s there now.
 
Urban_Hermit said:
I guess this isn’t a new idea. This article from 3+ years ago says that the Loeb center would be used by the college easing demands on the Saunders theatre, and providing more space for FAS performance and teaching with the relocation of the ART professional company.

This seems like a better use of the lot at 175 N. Harvard than the surface parking and single story building that’s there now.
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Yeah - this has been part of the plan for the Allston campus for a long time.
 
9.30--100 Lincoln St (32 condo units)
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Approved

30 Leo M. Birmingham Parkway
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“The proposed project consists of a new six-story, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use building with 117 rental apartment units, approximately 8,289 square feet of shared amenity space, and approximately 5,810 square feet of ground-floor retail, service, and accessory space. Amenities will include screened, covered ground-level parking for 54 vehicles tucked beneath the building.”

https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/30-leo-m-birmingham-parkway
 
Approved

46 Leo Birmingham Parkway
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“The proposed redevelopment of the Project Site calls for the construction of a six (6)-story, approximately 39,905 gross square foot, residential multi-family building (the “Proposed Project”). The Proposed Project is contemplated to include approximately thirty-eight (38) residential rental units, approximately 1,985 SF of lobby and amenity space including a sixth-floor outdoor patio for tenants, 13 accessory off-street parking spaces, and 60 bike storage spaces.”

https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/46-leo-birmingham-parkway
 
And asymmetrical, unaligned windows! Maybe a glass box parked on the roof too.
 
It's forgettable, but this is a very rapid change in the scale of that side of the street, and it's being accompanied by a similar lightspeed development on the other side.

Just gonna use this opportunity to refine my concept for redoing this whole area to include a Pike exit and Urban Rail station.

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That part south of the Pike is a non-starter because of the large substation that was built recently on Electric Avenue.
 
RandomWalk said:
That part south of the Pike is a non-starter because of the large substation that was built recently on Electric Avenue.
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Probably, but this is a long-term thing. Once the substation is a couple of decades old, maybe it's replaceable.
 
DCR Final Master Plan for Herter Park and Soldiers Field Road:


I have to assume there's some sort of critical point being reached here, with both SFR and Western Avenue designated for major losses of capacity while the neighborhood between them dramatically densifies. The only transit improvements being put forward are a BRT-lite concept on Western, which is nice, but probably doesn't meet the capacity needed (particularly because bus services will still need to traverse the congested Western and River corridors in Cambridge to get to the Red Line).

SFR is an inefficient design and can certainly stand some rationalization, but this seems like a recipe for gridlock without significant transit improvements (a rail line).
 
Equilibria said:
DCR Final Master Plan for Herter Park and Soldiers Field Road:


I have to assume there's some sort of critical point being reached here, with both SFR and Western Avenue designated for major losses of capacity while the neighborhood between them dramatically densifies. The only transit improvements being put forward are a BRT-lite concept on Western, which is nice, but probably doesn't meet the capacity needed (particularly because bus services will still need to traverse the congested Western and River corridors in Cambridge to get to the Red Line).

SFR is an inefficient design and can certainly stand some rationalization, but this seems like a recipe for gridlock without significant transit improvements (a rail line).
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I think as long as they can manage adequate turn lanes then the lane reduction will work fine. But based on the limited details in the presentation, the intersection at Everett St and also near Eliot Bridge seem like they will be choke points. Getting rid of legacy highway designs and paved surface reduction is great but my main worry is public backlash due to too much pain inflicted for local drivers. I'm not sure the benefit of added park space in these locations will justify, in the public mind, the worsening of existing car traffic, similar to what happened near Forest Hills with the removal of the Casey Overpass.
 
SFR is far too wide and rather dangerous because of the types of driving it encourages. Rarely actually sees too much volume.

Somewhat similarly, Western Ave just shouldn't be used for through traffic. It's not wide enough to handle it and the road diet there will make the type of travel there that shouldn't happen anyways impossible.
 
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