225 Centre @ Jackson Square | 225 Centre Street | Jamaica Plain

Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

armpitsOFmight said:
^I think he's referring to Columbus Ave....yeah that stretch has nothing.
Click to expand...

^ Yeah, this is what I meant.


I forget that Centre St is nearby, as I've never been on Centre St, except maybe once when I didn't really know where I was. However, yes, I am in JP for work every day. And I've been on Columbus numerous times, and thus my dismal outlook on the area.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

New Housing in Jackson Square

75-Amory-Ave_Rendering_July2013.jpg


Total Project Cost: $15 million
Total SF: 46,858 SF
Housing Units: 39 affordable units
Jobs: Approximately 10-15 permanent
LEED: LEED Silver Certifiable

"The BRA Board unanimously approved new transit oriented housing for Jackson Square. The new building at 75 Amory Avenue will replace a vacant lot and is one of several projects planned as part of the Jackson Square Master Plan that will revitalize a key Roxbury and Jamaica Plain crossroads.

75 Amory Avenue will feature 39 units of affordable rental housing nearly three quarters of which will be two and three bedrooms. The project also includes a large common room, a property management office, recycling, bike parking, and a laundry room. The building totals 46,858 square feet and is located close to the Jackson Square Orange line MBTA stop. The project developer is the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation.

The Jackson Square Master Plan envisions a phased, transit oriented, mixed-use neighborhood on 11.2 acres of underutilized public and private parcels. The master plan was developed with the input of hundreds of community residents, youth, and business owners from across Jamaica Plain and Roxbury. 225 Centre Street, the first of 14- planned projects for the area, broke ground in May 2012. In addition a mixed income residential building, Jackson Commons, and a multi-purpose indoor rink are planned."

From: http://www.bostonredevelopmentautho...ino-announces-new-projects-moving-forward-13/

This is a vacant backlot against the orange line tracks. 225 looks to be almost finished with exterior work (I bike by fairly often), but no photos for now.

PNF (essentially) - http://www.bostonredevelopmentautho... K Jackson Square_SupplementalInformation.pdf
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

Reduction from 55 units. But also they're cutting out the 40 space garage and replacing it with 28 surface spaces. That should cut costs considerably.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

I happened to be on an impromptu trip on the 22 and managed to snap some shots.


9522408200_c8e00e0b6f_c.jpg

9519624019_69ba35e049_c.jpg

9522409972_9298d985d2_c.jpg


Sorry for the shit quality, it was totally unplanned, just in passing. I was shocked at the change since last seeing this parcel in person.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

How many units in there?

Boston needs this type of residential infill project 100 times over.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

103 units. This is the first building in the 14 building master plan, which provides for roughly a total of 400+ units I believe.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

The color palette and beefy proportions strikes me as Midwestern/Rust Belt-ish. Looks good.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

My prediction is this building is going to tank as an apartment rental project...the rents are relatively high and, let's be honest, the neighborhood sucks. The projects there are crime heavy, the aesthetics of that intersection are grim and there are no amenities in the near vicinity. While it's on the southwest corridor, there ain't much within 1/4 mile. It lacks things to do (hyde square is a long walk) and the traffic noise is considerable.

That said, it's a handsome building done with quality materials.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

sidewalks said:
My prediction is this building is going to tank as an apartment rental project...the rents are relatively high and, let's be honest, the neighborhood sucks. The projects there are crime heavy, the aesthetics of that intersection are grim and there are no amenities in the near vicinity. While it's on the southwest corridor, there ain't much within 1/4 mile. It lacks things to do (hyde square is a long walk) and the traffic noise is considerable.

That said, it's a handsome building done with quality materials.
Click to expand...

The proximity to Bromley-Heath is going to keep a lot of people away. Maybe the dynamic shifts as more parcels fill in...
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

sidewalks said:
My prediction is this building is going to tank as an apartment rental project...the rents are relatively high and, let's be honest, the neighborhood sucks. The projects there are crime heavy, the aesthetics of that intersection are grim and there are no amenities in the near vicinity. While it's on the southwest corridor, there ain't much within 1/4 mile. It lacks things to do (hyde square is a long walk) and the traffic noise is considerable.

That said, it's a handsome building done with quality materials.
Click to expand...

Not much within 1/4 mile?
- Super Stop & Shop
- Orange Line Station literally 10 feet away
- Bank of America
- Brand new, modern playground 100 feet away
- Plenty of cafes and restaurants
- New developments opening around it in the next two years.
- Walk Score: 82 (Very Walkable)

The neighborhood is multi-cultural, it doesn't "suck" you racist POS. And the crime is no different at Jackson Square than it is in the South End or South Boston where they command much higher rents AND have worse access to heavy rail transportation.

Also I don't know how you define a long walk, but to me 0.5 miles (10 minutes) ain't very long. Heck I bike the 4 miles from Allston regularly just to go to The Haven & Brendan Behan's Bar.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

Not bad but certainly a lesser effort from Add Inc. I'm sure it was watered down though from interesting to average by the "community".

Mostly, it makes something of a mockery of TOD. It's right next door to a train station. The only way you could be closer is to be right on top of it. It should be twice as tall with double the amount of units.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

The neighborhood sucks...I'm there once per week as I have two "little brothers" who live around the corner. The urban fabric there is in bad shape. Columbus Avenue is a highway at that point and there are lousy buildings across the road.

For a project that is asking $3k rents for a 2 bed, it will need to sell the transportation link pretty hard. Is a stop and shop nice to have? Sure. The area around mozart and chestnut street is depressing and poorly kept. It is. Bromley Heath is a tough project with significant gang problems. They've been trying to recruit my little brother for years. If I'm paying 3k a month I'd like some nice restaurants/not highway noise/greater degree of safety.

The biggest problem in that immediate area is the urban fabric...crappy street grid, lot of run down buildings.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

Isn't the point of this to be part of the revitalization of the whole intersection? It was a nasty highway before, but in the future it will be much better.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

That's true...but there won't be any road narrowing of that intersection. It will still feel unfriendly to the pedestrian. Any additional new construction will help the feel of the area. But this project has a significant market rate component. Potential renters are going to judge this option and the area's current amenities against those available elsewhere. I don't think the calculus will work in favor of this option for most renters.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

Maybe this is just an artist's rendering but it seems worth a shot. It'll take time but we really need to get spaces like this developed properly. We can't afford to waste them anymore. Hopefully the next municipal administration, whoever wins, will be more forward-thinking.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

Pretty sure Oliver Lofts is doing ok with similar rents on the bromley/terrace corner.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

Hyde Square isn't far from this at all and that is where all the bars are located. The brewery is a bit of a walk from this location, but the renters can always use the bike path on the SW corridor to get there. It's freakin awesome that it's right next to a s&s and a T station. Yes, the main drawback is that it's right next to the BH projects and that isn't going anywhere soon. For those of you with a blindfold over your eyes; sometimes when I jog through this area (I loop around the laundromat) I see cops frisking random minorities.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

I bet this place rents just fine. At any given moment of the day, walking through there is usually fine. It's just the 0.000001% of the time you see something unusual. They'll sell is as "JP! Close to the T! New Construction! Supermarket!" Renters will walk down once to check it out, probably not see anything weird, and jump on it.

Bromley Heath needs to be Hope VI-ed ASAP though, and I don't think there's even a time table for it.
 
Re: Jackson Square/225 Centre

Oliver/Ditson did have the benefit of the 20% historical tax credit...which helps a bit on the revenue end. You don't have to get great rents to make your numbers. I am sure the CDC that did this project also had some help and it doesn't have the profit imperative. Still, that was not cheap construction. It had to be $225+ per foot in hard costs. With the amount of affordable units in the project you need to get good revenue in the door to cover the debt service.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top