Allston-Brighton Infill and Small Developments

20210119_164058.jpg

New dealership by Comm and Harvard
 
It's remarkable how many of the dealerships in this area are going super upsacle. Tells you something about who buys a car in the city....
 
To be fair, Commonwealth Avenue in this part of Allston was home to car dealerships before much else. Even the name Packard's Corner has origins with the car and carriage industry (link to history). If you ever take a stroll down Comm Ave between BU Bridge and Allston Village, odds are the older building's you'll see along the route were once car showrooms. So although the planner in me is annoyed to see a car dealership in a city context literally adjacent to the T, the historic preservationist in me is actually smiling to see some of the neighborhood's legacy and history adaptively remains.
 
I bought here and used their service for years and caught the train into work many times. Super convenient.
 
It's 2021. The city needs to double down on eliminating parking minimums, and developers need to scrap parking on transit- and pedestrian-oriented developments like this one. FFS, it's next to the Boston Landing commuter rail station. Activate the ground floor with retail, small office space, or more direly needed housing--it makes sense on a pro forma and helps the region achieve its housing production targets.
 
It's 2021. The city needs to double down on eliminating parking minimums, and developers need to scrap parking on transit- and pedestrian-oriented developments like this one. FFS, it's next to the Boston Landing commuter rail station. Activate the ground floor with retail, small office space, or more direly needed housing--it makes sense on a pro forma and helps the region achieve its housing production targets.

Agree 100%, but my first thought was that they may be going for a higher parking ratio b/c these are condos instead of rentals (wealthier target demos)?

I like the commitment to a pretty small (437 sq ft) retail space for a local business. Hopefully the small size will keep it comparatively affordable. Kinda like Kohi Coffee just down the way in Boston Landing (very small cafe interior).
 
Condo or rental, the occupancy status of residents of transit oriented development in Boston in 2021 does not entitle them to preferred on-site parking—certainly not when neighborhood, city, regional and state experts have highlighted the need for more housing, and to reduce vehicular congestion.

To the prospective buyers of condos at 120 Braintree that want/need a place to park, I suggest you subscribe to a reverse commuter garage pass at the approved, oversized parking garages at Allston Yards.
 
Condo or rental, the occupancy status of residents of transit oriented development in Boston in 2021 does not entitle them to preferred on-site parking—certainly not when neighborhood, city, regional and state experts have highlighted the need for more housing, and to reduce vehicular congestion.

To the prospective buyers of condos at 120 Braintree that want/need a place to park, I suggest you subscribe to a reverse commuter garage pass at the approved, oversized parking garages at Allston Yards.
DSHoost -- unfortunately -- economics like physics sometimes has laws which humans might not like -- but you violate them at your peril
if you look at the comments associated with the "Update to the Master Plan for the RFMIP" -- one of the biggest concerns is that there is not enough parking
it seems as though about 75% of the employees of the RFMIP use a car to commute to work
albeit some of the places such as Autodesk and Reebok have much higher levels of transit commuters than do places such as the Harpoon Brewery and Stavis Sea Foods where a lot of things have to start before the T does every morning
 

I love how much new stuff is going up around Union Square. Between this area, Boston Landing, Allston Yards, all the stuff proposed for / going up along Cambridge and Braintree, this area is changing quite fast, and I think much for the better. Allston already feels more urban (in terms of streetlife) than most outer neighborhoods, and all this development is only going to increase this!
 
Allston already feels more urban (in terms of streetlife) than most outer neighborhoods, and all this development is only going to increase this!
Yeah, it's really pretty unique in that aspect. Like other outer neighborhoods, it is far enough from downtown to have it's own vibe and culture, yet the urbanity might easily fool an observer in to thinking it was much closer in, like the kind of distance the South End is from downtown. Not to say that it looks anything like the South End, just that it could be that close based on the burgeoning built environment.
 
5 Washington Street - demolished the gas station and small office building in November and have been pushing soil around into a flat lot, sinking piles (?) around the perimeter of the site and utility work thru now.

IMG_1122.JPG
1.JPG
3.JPG
5.JPG
6.JPG
 

Back
Top