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This is a big problem in transit planning – the assumption that what's convenient for *my specific circumstances* can be applied to what everyone else needs. It even has a name: elite projection. A significant number – and quite possibly a majority – of Concord Coach and Downeaster riders get...

This probably means that the developers will rent out the unit, instead of trying to sell it. In other projects it's been hard to find condo buyers who are eligible for the city's affordability requirements and willing to accept the deed restrictions to keep them affordable for future buyers.

7-unit "Solaris" infill on Munjoy Hill is complete:

Roughly 1/3 live on the peninsula, 2/3 off peninsula (including the islands). The "peninsula" includes census tracts 1 through 13, with a total estimated population of 24,324 (vs. 68K for the city as a whole)...

I didn't stick around for the entire discussion, but last night's workshop seemed to mostly be a general overview of the project with some discussion of its previous approvals under the master development plan framework, and how the planning board will evaluate this site plan under that...

A few new renderings from tonight's planning board workshop... Overview massing: View of "block 4" from the SW corner along Thames St. Extension: Water view of "block 6": Western facade of "block 6", cul-de-sac at the end of Thames St. Ext. in the foreground:

Yeah, the proposed cut-through of the Cobb building is definitely clunky, and I'm not sure what the point is. If you want to draw people in from Congress Square to the sculpture courtyard, a more productive and less destructive approach would be to improve the High Street sidewalk, instead of...

Calling this a "bridge project" is inaccurate. The bulk of the $4 billion price tag is booked for highway expansions on nearby roadways – the new bridges make up a relatively small portion of what MassDOT is trying to fund here. The bulk of the project costs in MassDOT's proposal are booked...

Never was a more apt example of the "sunk cost fallacy" than plowing ahead with a proposal for a site that's literally sinking under the rising seas. Speaking of those traffic studies – they're making a pretty ironic assumption that most people are going to avoid transit to drive to this site –...

Looks like this would be about 40,000 square feet, which is a little bigger than the Wishcamper Center. Here's the architects' website: https://pfeifferpartners.com/

Whoa! Almost twice as many homes as the failed 'Midtown' proposal a decade ago! Also note they're planning a 19% net reduction in parking: there are 1,216 existing parking spaces on these properties, and they're proposing to have 988 in their final product.

I've heard that a prospective buyer had a meeting with the city planning office about a mixed-use proposal, but it's still in the early stages of development. The city has conceptual plans for reconfiguring the streets and the I-295 ramps around that lot, which could potentially add more...

Looks like a great arbitrage opportunity for someone who isn't afflicted with car brain. The original site plan for this project had a ridiculous amount of surface parking in it, and the current average construction cost for a parking lot is about $15K/space. Replace 5-10 of those zero-rent...

The Intermed project spent half a year driving deep piles on the site. If your tenant is a medical office with premium rents, yeah, it's financially feasible (or rather, it was back in 2007). But if you want to build apartments in 2022, it's going to be a lot harder to make those costs pencil...

All the soils at the bottom of the hill in East and West Bayside are terribly ill-suited to high-rise construction – the "ground" is basically a big tub of oozing clay that goes 100+ feet deep, which is why every time a building goes up in the neighborhood there needs to be months' worth of...

Here's the (existing) Bayside height overlay. Just bear in mind that zoning is always up for negotiation: https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/a821b715-a089-4c12-b273-d96bf23f9a2b And here's an annotated version of the new Port Properties parcel map with the zoning code's maximum allowable...

Here's an explanation of how these retaining walls work (and I believe that this project may have used some beefier steel rebar for the "grid mesh"). https://www.allanblockblog.com/2018/01/how-does-reinforcement-grid-work.html

They're the developers of 52 Hanover, aren't they? And were also involved in the smaller "The Goodwin" project in Parkside.

You should call them and get them to hire you! Care to show off any of your local work here? IMHO the built-out public spaces in this project are actually quite well done, even if I think the rest of the project is trying too hard to pander to obnoxious wealth. The staircase photo above is...

34 Hampshire Street – only $9,927/month at our current 7% mortgage rates (presuming you've got $330K in cash to pay a 20% down payment) – and 1/4 of the square footage is an unfinished parking space. But check out the backyard views of some HVAC exhaust fans! Good luck finding a buyer!