Allston-Brighton Infill and Small Developments

GW2500 said:
Not sure, but I thought they came from the the excavating for the basement of the stalled science complex.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's where they were found, but where they were before they were dumped there was the mystery. kz1000 had spoken to one of the project managers from Turner one day, and IIRC, Harvard was going to try and figure out the building they came from.

IIRC, there were six or more lions, and some in better shape than others.

I don't know when that section of Allston began to be filled with debris, but if it was early enough, I always wondered whether they were from a building destroyed in the Great Fire of 1872.
 
Charlesview relocation apartment development:

img0573g.jpg

By gw2500 at 2011-07-21

img0575fo.jpg

By gw2500 at 2011-07-21

The ice skating rink getting demolished and relocated to where a 10 year old building gets torn down on Everett St just before the bridge.
img0574sh.jpg

By gw2500 at 2011-07-21
Machinery getting set up
img0576ik.jpg

By gw2500 at 2011-07-21
img0577jx.jpg

By gw2500 at 2011-07-21

Fencing goes all the way to the begining of Brugers Bagels. Its going to be a sizable project.
img0578fk.jpg

By gw2500 at 2011-07-21
goes back to the Fugal Fannies
img0572r.jpg

By gw2500 at 2011-07-21
 
Ron Newman said:
Are they tearing down the entire Brighton Mills shopping center?
Click to expand...
No. The Shaws and stores/shops adjacent to Shaws remain up. The drive through McDonalds slides east a bit on Western Ave. (Some neighbors objected to the McDonalds move, or even letting McDonalds stay.)
 
stellarfun said:
No. The Shaws and stores/shops adjacent to Shaws remain up. The drive through McDonalds slides east a bit on Western Ave. (Some neighbors objected to the McDonalds move, or even letting McDonalds stay.)
Click to expand...

If i recall, the objection wasn't because it was a McDonald's, but because they were rebuilding the current mcdonalds exactly as it was. I.E. Drive-through. They actually want it as ground floor retail.
 
palindrome said:
If i recall, the objection wasn't because it was a McDonald's, but because they were rebuilding the current mcdonalds exactly as it was. I.E. Drive-through. They actually want it as ground floor retail.
Click to expand...
True. But there is not enough foot traffic for a storefront McDonalds, and they weren't keen on the parking either.
 
I live right by the park and went over today. had to escape to heat of my ancient tripple decker and paid a visit to the lion pit.

a lot more greens have grown in already and there was not a soul in the park. which quite frankly I enjoyed. and the lion pit was perfect.
 
stellarfun said:
I am becoming convinced a lot of their pissing and moaning stems from them thinking they were going to get a big pay day from selling their homes once Harvard started building in earnest, and professors etc. started buying houses near Harvard's Allston campus.
Click to expand...

Or did they think an increase in home values would drive their taxes up and drive them out?

I went to a couple community meetings before I just couldn't take it anymore. It seemed as though most people there had nothing else to do with their time. The arguments were weak at most and conducted in such a disruptive and immature manner (as most community meetings seem to go) that any valid points were immediately overlooked.
 
BostonYoureMyHome said:
Or did they think an increase in home values would drive their taxes up and drive them out?

I went to a couple community meetings before I just couldn't take it anymore. It seemed as though most people there had nothing else to do with their time. The arguments were weak at most and conducted in such a disruptive and immature manner (as most community meetings seem to go) that any valid points were immediately overlooked.
Click to expand...

Maybe I'll take a random sample of residential assessments and see how values are holding up.

The disgruntlement started with the first building that Harvard proposed for Allston, which was to be a combination art gallery and conservation/storage facility. Modest in size, and perhaps too avant garde in design. The objections were it wasn't grand enough, and gallery visitors could see into back yards. The result, Harvard pushed off building it, and decided to spend money renovating/expanding the Fogg.

From then on the litany of unhappiness and displeasure goes on and on. Moving the Charlesview (I suspect some would rather the Charlesview be out of Allston altogether). Moving the Boston Skating Club (complaint, first build residential housing in that area; too many parking spaces). Having a pizza restaurant with a liquor license; not family-friendly. Renovation of the former WGBH building into an Innovation Center (complaint, nothing in it for Allston). Business School building a new residence hall (complaint, don't build it before finishing the science complex). New sidewalks and trees along Western ave.; (complaint, low priority project.) Some of the new retail shops Harvard is bringing in to fill empty spaces; (complaint, these aren't the kind of shops we need and will frequent).

Its almost as if some have discovered the way to get in print and get called for a quote is to be negative, and that's the path they're now following.

Oh, and the new Library Park that Harvard built. Hardly a syllable is heard from them about that.
 
Sounds like all the NIMBYism coming out of Southy that led to a lot of bad initial compromises in the Fan Pier, Seaport Square and BECX development proposals

Southy was worried that there was nothing in it for them and that was part of the reason that only minimal housing was included

Same kind of dumb NIMBY-like reactions killed the original TelecomCity on the Malden River (Medford, Everett, Malden) -- the planning board originally didn't want housing at all on the site to make sure the manufacturing jobs would go to E,M,M residents -- of course no manufacturing jobs came about and so eventually they had to allow the private developer some leeway and there will be housing as well as office / labs

Basic problem is that the locals and the professional planners are like the proverbial generals fighting the last war over again -- so they think Blue Collar manufacturing in Kendall back in the 1970s to replace the defunct Blue Collar manufacturing -- if someone had told them (Cambridge residents and Cambridge RA planners alike) 40 years ago that the dominant employment in Kendall in 2010 would be High Tech Research Labs (e.g. Mitsubishi, Schlumberger, EMC), major home-grown internet infrastructure service provider (Akamai) and Bio/Pharma companies -- no one would have believed it -- it would have sounded like science fiction

Same is true with the Innovation District -- I think the public and planners have to just be willing to let it evolve with the opportunities -- don't try to force fit the place into today's model -- it might be totally irrelevant in the 20= years it will take to build out the next gen of the former mud flats
 
What I don't like about this proposal is both Rugg Road (rehersal spot) and this other place that I currently play at (close to Arthur st) are both in the immediate redevelopment areas. These rehersal places are a part of Boston's awsome underground music scene. To loose them is to loose a piece Boston, much like the Old West End.
 
Rugg Road also has a couple of big artist-loft buildings (maybe the same buildings as the rehearsal spaces?)
 
budman3 said:
I'd hate this neighborhood to loose any more of its character. It's totally selfish, but I'm absolutely an advocate of "Keep Allston Shitty." It may just be a neighborhood of students/kids, immigrants and low income, but it's an urban space that works (in my opinion best international food in the city) and pushing out the kids and businesses that make it work would suck. It's probably just because I literally face these parcels that I'm so worried - I'd have no problem if they redevelop the Volvo dealership, but leave me Marty's Big Buys, and don't displace the thriving congregations that have filled up some of the storefronts.
Click to expand...

An interesting point. There is something to be said for this perspective, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find anybody on this board who prefers Kenmore Square now vs. Kenmore Square 20 years ago. As a former denizen of Alston, I too would miss some of the more Bohemian flavor if it went upscale. But don't you think development along the Pike/rail corridor/new Harvard campus can happen without completely infecting the entire neighborhood?
 
HenryAlan said:
An interesting point. There is something to be said for this perspective, and I think you'd be hard pressed to find anybody on this board who prefers Kenmore Square now vs. Kenmore Square 20 years ago. As a former denizen of Alston, I too would miss some of the more Bohemian flavor if it went upscale. But don't you think development along the Pike/rail corridor/new Harvard campus can happen without completely infecting the entire neighborhood?
Click to expand...

Totally. In fact, I looked at the map some more and didn't even realize the zone excluded the retail immediately along Cambridge and N. Beacon. This is why I was so supportive about NB's original Guest Street plans - it's exactly what should go in that area and is positive redevelopment. The area along the Pike is blighted and I'm glad a local company is invested enough in the area to change it for the better. My concerns are exactly just about how it would integrate into the neighborhood at large, with Kenmore being the perfect example. It's a delicate balance and I'm excited to see how it all plays out. This is one development that shouldn't be held up and in the immediate Guest Street area would only benefit the neighborhood.

As far as the goings on in "Lower Allston" regarding the Harvard Campus, I don't see any reason why that shouldn't happen or why the neighbors in that part of town have proceeded to bite themselves in the ass in holding up what would've been positive development. My landlord owns a bar on Western Ave directly facing these parcels and it's these businesses that have suffered because of their nit-picking with Harvard about plans for the area redevelopment. This part of town, like the Guest Street area, needs the infusion of development from interested and capable parties like Harvard and New Balance because in truth they are not included in the interesting and thriving retail community (ie Harvard Ave) that I described in my previous post. I just don't want to see encroachment on an urban fabric that works, like that found on the Brighton Ave/N. Beacon corridor in Upper Allston - which truthfully isn't the description I would give Western Ave, Brighton Landing etc.
 
Walked by 9-23 Griggs today... was shocked to find tons of construction activity going on! No traces of the old auto repair garage left. Lots of large dirt piles being pushed around.

Anyone seen a rendering of the 5-story apt that's supposed to go up here?
 
Sad day for America in Allston today. McDonalds on Western Ave is fenced up, slated to get demolished I believe. Demolition will probably get going soon.
 
GW2500 said:
Sad day for America in Allston today. McDonalds on Western Ave is fenced up, slated to get demolished I believe. Demolition will probably get going soon.
Click to expand...
IIRC, it, and the drive-thru window, just gets moved to the east a bit.
 
I think these acres would be a great candidate for an "island of height" - especially if all that green space will be insisted upon.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top