A redeveloped cleveland circle

Study: Cleveland Circle development unlikely without Boston-Brookline collaboration
By Neal Simpson/staff writer
Wicked Local Brookline

An underused rail yard in Cleveland Circle will likely remain that way unless officials from Brookline, Boston and the MBTA are willing to work together to redevelop the entire neighborhood, a group of industry experts said last week.
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Interesting...
The team also suggested that any future development in Cleveland Circle be brought all the way to the street edge to form a uniform storefront, rather than allowing buildings to sit back behind large parking lots, like on the Circle Cinema and Applebee?s sites.
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http://www.wickedlocal.com/brooklin...likely-without-Boston-Brookline-collaboration

This area has so much potential, I just don't see this going anywhere anytime soon. If they do anything, i would at least like to see them implement the beautification projects Shepard talked about on page 1. Wider sidewalks with benches, possibly a little foliage around the t terminus repave the streets and redo the intersection. And for God sakes get rid of those round lights along the c terminus.

Also, the article states that the applebeas parcel is for sale. Maybe i should forward them a link to this thread.
 
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Would be good to have any new development include a movie theater, though. Preferably either a local independent, or a chain not already represented in our region (Sundance?)
 
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so simple, yet so far from ever having the chance of happening.
 
What would be the main obstacle to builidng on those three sites?
 
I know this is the common answer, but NIMBY's.

I say this because of all the opposition the redevelopment of the shell gas station is getting. It is only 4 stories and they are claiming its too high, and the first floor retail would create to much traffic even though the gas station is much more of a traffic causing problem IMO.
 
Because Cleveland Circle itself is somewhat multi-jurisdictional, if Brookline and Boston can put a plan together then NIMBY's just may have less leverage to derail it. CHA between Beacon and Comm is prime NIMBY territory, being firmly Brighton.

By the way, the argument that ground floor retail would bring more traffic than a gas station is downright idiotic. Ground floor retail is a destination for feet - feet which can come off of any one of 3 transit lines and any nearby residence. A gas station is a destination for cars and cars only. It's so obvious it doesn't even need to be said. What does it take to show the emperor has no clothes?
 
Who are the NIMBYs stopping the gas station redevelopment? I thought that entire area was basically a student ghetto.
 
blade_bltz said:
Who are the NIMBYs stopping the gas station redevelopment? I thought that entire area was basically a student ghetto.
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It's the usually bunch of Brightoners who would be better off in Mansfield then Boston.

Neighbors organize against Chestnut Hill condo plan
By Jonathan Seitz/correspondent

...As reported in a previous story in Allston-Brighton TAB, Argiros commissioned a traffic study that claimed that the proposed development would actually reduce traffic along Chestnut Hill Ave versus traffic to the current gas station. However, Webster criticized the study because it uses traffic standards that don?t represent the Shell location in Brighton.

?The parcel is located along the stretch of [Chestnut Hill Avenue] where traffic jams frequently form, and the narrow sidewalks are heavily used,? Webster wrote. ?Retail use, replacing the gas station use, would be appropriate ? but combining retail use with a 52-unit housing development on top, will be creating major conflict.?
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Here is the whole article with their other excuses.
 
It's unfathomable how these people can't learn from examples of this same arrangement in their own neighborhood.
 
About that article...there are no words.

Owners of the abutting properties have expressed concern about the size of the building blocking natural light to their properties. Additionally, residents in the area have been concerned about the increased traffic on Chestnut Hill Avenue and Englewood Avenue, the presence of a loading dock in the street and about the removal of trees from the lot, Webster said.
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If you look at a map you'll see that the very trees in question are aligned perfectly so as to block "natural light" in the same way a new building would. It's funny...trees also happen to be the most "natural" way of blocking "natural" light. Much of Brookline (and any other older suburb) is shrouded in darkness because of it, and nobody there is complaining.
 
hotel proposed

Boston Development eyes Circle Cinema plan
Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 10:19am EDT

Boston Development Group has filed a proposal with city officials to take over and develop the property that previously operated as the Cleveland Circle Cinema on the outskirts of the Boston College campus.

David Zussman, the CEO of Newton-based Boston Development, said the plan is still being conceived and will be formalized, with the city?s blessing, in the weeks to come. The property, located at 399 and 381 Chestnut Hill Avenue in Boston, has historically housed a multi-screen cinema and various restaurant concepts including the Ground Round and most recently Applebee?s.

The site is owned by Sumner Redstone?s National Amusements, a movie theater and entertainment conglomerate based in Norwood, Mass.

Zussman said the current proposal would transfer ownership of the property to Boston Development, which hopes to win city approval to build a ?limited service? hotel with around 150 rooms and 24,000 square feet of retail space.

As it stands, the property is slated for demolition. The site overlooks the city?s bustling Cleveland Circle neighborhood, replete with restaurants, modes of public transportation and traditional haunts informally linked to the Boston College community.
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http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...ton_development_eyes_circle_cinema_pitch.html
 
Thanks for posting. As I understand it, this would also involve the Applebees restaurant and lot as well, which is part of the proposed redevelopment.
 
I'm amused that the article describes Applebee's and Ground Round as "restaurant concepts" rather than actual restaurants.
 
^ Well, isn't that how you can tell they're not real restaurants?
 
Usually the lack of anything resembling service or food is sufficient to make that determination.
 
Has anyone seen the models that they're discussing here?

From Brookline Patch ( http://brookline.patch.com/articles/part-of-new-cleveland-circle-hotel-would-fall-on-brookline-land )

A new hotel and upscale restaurant could be coming to Cleveland Circle, and a least part of it would fall on the Brookline side of the town line.

Newton Centre-based Boston Development Group has proposed a 180-room Hampton Inn and Suites hotel, plus 18,000 square feet of medical offices and 9,000 square feet of retail space on the site of the vacant Circle Cinema and adjacent Applebee's restaurant.

The $44 million project could bring in extra tax dollars for the town while eliminating the blight of the deserted theater site, which John Meunier, chief operating officer for Boston Development Group, called a haven for "transient homeless people and vermin."

"We think we can make it work for the site," he said. "We think we can make it work in terms of traffic."

Representatives for the developer showed several possible models for the development at a Town Hall meeting attended by about 60 residents last night. Most focused on the site of former Circle Cinema, which closed in September 2008, because the developer hadn't finalized its purchase of the Applebee's property until last week, Meunier said.

Boston Development has said it plans to invest $44 million in the development of the cinema parcel, not including any work on the Applebee's side of the property. Meunier said new designs that incorporate that site will be available in a few weeks. The developer is also working to negotiate an early termination for Applebee's lease on the site, which still has four years remaining.

"We will now work very quickly to flesh out that part of the plan," Meunier said.

The latest plans show at least part of the hotel on the Brookline side of the town line, meaning the town would be able to collect property taxes on the new building and have a greater say on what is build there. The project would also be subject to zoning and planning review procedures in both Boston and Brookline.

Residents voiced several concerns about the project, mostly around traffic and the height of the building. The developers said the site would have one vehicle entrance at Chestnut Hill Avenue and two exits, at Chestnut Hill Avenue and at Beacon Street. They also discussed the possibility of moving the existing traffic light at the Chestnut Hill Avenue railroad crossing to control traffic coming and going from the site. In fact, the project could lead to opportunities to improve the entire Cleveland Circle intersection, Meunier said.

The height of the building was of particular concern for Clinton Road residents, who live on the other side of the MBTA D line tracks and now have views of the movie theater's tall, white walls. The proposed hotel could be as much as 10 feet higher than the existing building, and some residents said the lights coming from the hotel would make their view even worse.

In response to a question about alcohol service on the site, Meunier said there would only be one liquor license, and it would be for the restaurant, not the hotel. He mentioned The Palm Restaurant and Davio's Northern Italian Steakhouse as examples of high-end restaurants that could occupy the site.

"We're not trying to get into the liquor business and serve college students," he said.

Depending on the size of the restaurant, the retail space could also include shops or something like a Starbucks. Other potential tenants that inquired about the site were Walgreen's and two banks.

Walgreen's "desperately tried" to get the site, but Meunier said he heard loud and clear that residents did not want a large pharmacy, and he pledged, "I will not build a Walgreen's." As for the banks, "they're not known for enlivening the street front," Meunier said.
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Haven't see any models, but from what i can tell so far is that both boston and brookline neighbors are relatively in support of it. Everything I have read says that the building will have ground floor retail, and it will come up to the curb. There will be an underground lot, with some above ground parking on the applebeas site.

Unfortunately, a quick google image search of Hampton Inn's is extremely discouraging.
 
Many Hampton Inns are highway-exit/roadside cookie-cutter templates. This may not be a pretty building, but hopefully at ground level it will work. Nonetheless, this is the right class of hotel for this site, I think; Boston lacks affordable hotels with T access, and this would be particularly well-suited for BC, BU, Longwood, and near-Metrowest.
 
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