808 Huntington Ave | Mission Hill

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Hutchison

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Walked by today and there was an earthmover in the backlot off of frawley st and fencing up around the entire site (808 huntington). Anyone know what's going on/plans for the site?
 
Hutchison said:
Walked by today and there was an earthmover in the backlot off of frawley st and fencing up around the entire site (808 huntington). Anyone know what's going on/plans for the site?
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If its the same parking lot, going by Google maps, there is also an entrance off Mission St.,
 
It's not just the parking lot but also the site fronting huntington (possibly defunct ed burkes?)
 
Apparently this is being worked on by columbia construction but I couldn't find out much digging through their site. The building is completely gutted, but I'm not sure if they are keeping the facade or not. Here are some photos:


IMG_0100 by greg.miao, on Flickr

url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/105207452@N04/12778676053/]
12778676053_b51635afdd.jpg
[/url]
IMG_0101 by greg.miao, on Flickr


IMG_0102 by greg.miao, on Flickr


IMG_0103 by greg.miao, on Flickr


IMG_0104 by greg.miao, on Flickr

Now if only something would happen with this site (775?):


IMG_0105 by greg.miao, on Flickr
 
Well, I just walked by and the building is now a pile of rubble.
 
Here's some destruction porn for your Friday evening happy hour.

12841562845_c369b6055b_b.jpg


12841559995_b708dabb8c_b.jpg


12841556785_76d4fb93ff_b.jpg


12841623873_fed2f8cd94_b.jpg


So what the hell is happening here? The googlewebs isn't helping me out and the BRA has nothing.
 
kz1000ps said:
So what the hell is happening here? The googlewebs isn't helping me out and the BRA has nothing.
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Hopefully a parking lot. The area needs more parking with all this new development!
 
Really too bad they didn't focus the wrecking ball on pretty much anything across the street, or on the 1-story concrete bunker/taxpayer next door.

Hopefully this will be another Mass Eye & Ear facility. Losing 100+-year-old, character-enhancing buildings is always bad, but when they are replaced by spaces in which medicine is practiced or improved it certainly lessens the blow.
 
My wager, if the BRA has nothing, is that it is a parking lot, and the income from parking is greater than the rent the Mexican restaurant was paying. Eventually, something will be built on it.
 
The firm's portfolio consists largely of Day Care centers, playgrounds, and single family homes. Wonder if a day care is being constructed (perhaps under the threshold for Article 80 review - 20,000 sq. feet?) or a playground? I don't know if projects under the Article 80 threshold would appear on the BRA's website.
 
stellarfun said:
My wager, if the BRA has nothing, is that it is a parking lot, and the income from parking is greater than the rent the Mexican restaurant was paying. Eventually, something will be built on it.
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Stel -- the construction permit is good until 3/9/2014

That tends to imply something either prefab or else just clear the debris, level the dirt and later in the spring pour the asphalt

I'd vote for Parking Lot
 
Historic tavern demolition surprises

The sudden demolition of a historic former tavern at 804-810 Huntington Ave. last week took local officials and residents by surprise. The lack of notice led to a City stop-work order and questions about historic review. And it is unclear what is planned to replace it.

“That place was a landmark,” said state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez, who grew up in Mission Hill and sent city inspectors a letter questioning the lack of notice. “I hoped the property owner would have understood the need to talk to us.”

The City’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) issued a stop-work order on the project for failure to notify abutters about the otherwise legal demolition. ISD reports that the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) approved tearing down the 87-year-old tavern last fall, but the BLC and the Mayor’s Office did not respond to questions about when and where that process happened.

The tavern was a one-story building with a corner entrance at Huntington and Frawley Street. Decorated with roofline moldings, including a shield and a lion, the structure was built in 1926 and was long home to Burke’s Tavern, an earthy Mission Hill landmark. Burke’s Tavern, owned by the same family for at least two generations, was known in decades past for hosting music acts. Burke’s closed in the mid-1990s and the place later became Pat Flanagan’s. That also closed, and the building has been vacant for at least several years.
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Demolition of any building over 50 years old requires a review by the BLC, including at least one public meeting. Known as “demolition delay,” the process involves a 90-waiting period to discuss possible alternatives to demolition.

Timberlake said BLC approved the demolition last November and notified ISD about it. But there was no public notice of such a meeting, and the project does not appear on the BLC’s publicly posted agendas from that time.
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Sánchez—who held his first election victory party at the tavern in 2002—told the Gazette he had talked to the demolition manager, who said there are no further plans for the site beyond cleaning up the site, filling in the pit with gravel and fencing it in.
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http://missionhillgazette.com/2014/03/07/historic-tavern-demolition-surprises/
 
Ugh... there are no words.

The facade on that place was beautiful. This is just careless by all parties involved.
 
It was a pretty benign taxpayer, the only thing that separated it from its cousins lining most neighborhoods retail corridors is that it was in good shape and had a paint job that highlighted the precast detailing. All in all it's not worthy of any sort of preservation, and hyping it as much as that article does gives HP a bad name.


Thatbeingsaid, demolishing ANY structure with no plans to replace it, particularly skirting the demo delay requirement is not okay. I was kidding about my parking comment earlier, it is unfathomable that a serviceable building was torn down to be replaced with a vacant lot. Particularly in this section of the city, with new development going on next door.

Demolition by neglect and demolition without plans for replacement are big issues that need to get more attention. It would be nice if this spawned some conversation outside of the local rag.
 
davem said:
It was a pretty benign taxpayer, the only thing that separated it from its cousins lining most neighborhoods retail corridors is that it was in good shape and had a paint job that highlighted the precast detailing. All in all it's not worthy of any sort of preservation, and hyping it as much as that article does gives HP a bad name.

Thatbeingsaid, demolishing ANY structure with no plans to replace it, particularly skirting the demo delay requirement is not okay. I was kidding about my parking comment earlier, it is unfathomable that a serviceable building was torn down to be replaced with a vacant lot. Particularly in this section of the city, with new development going on next door.

Demolition by neglect and demolition without plans for replacement are big issues that need to get more attention. It would be nice if this spawned some conversation outside of the local rag.
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Hear, hear!

_____________
Unimproved land = lower tax bills.

If one Google's the address, the last tenant seems to be a Mexican restaurant.
 
And in one fell swoop this just locked up the award for Best Empty Parcel 2014. Great work, everyone.
 
Not to defend the demolition but from the property owner's perspective, with an eventual sale being the end goal, it was a smart move.
 
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