Bay Village Infill and Small Developments

I prefer the personal freedom of not having a car.

Get a lease. The only headache in my life with the car is winter parking... in which case I just shove it in a garage.

The trade-off is I can anywhere, at anytime, on my schedule, with whatever stuff I want. Oh and my car is air-conditioned and heated, has extremely comfortable seats, plays music, and is devoid of people acting like jackasses on the T. Oh and I get a brand new one every 3 years.
 
Key thing to me is that, given it being smack dab in the middle of the city, much of Bay Village is a sleepy, dead zone. That's fine for Alewife or outer Charelestown, but not for this particular location.

It is now (although it still has Jacques' Cabaret). I can assure you it was much more "lively" and "dynamic" back in the day, which I am sure residents are rather happy doesn't exist anymore. The entire neighborhood is tiny - I believe the smallest land area with one of the densest populations. It has an interesting historic past, orginally created as the housing for the craftsman and workers that built the more elaborate housing on Beacon Hill/Back Bay, it has a ton of architectural merit. Of course you also have things like the Coconut Grove and fire that happened, too. Plus, with Mike & Patty's there, I fail to see needing much else. I'd also argue that it is pretty hemmed in, and while close to other T Stops, nothing goes really there. By your definition here much of Beacon Hill, the South End, North End, etc should be raised razed to the ground, too, outside of the main drag business districts (hello, West End). Bay Village is tiny and can fit in any of those neighborhoods, and borders it's own "lively" district in Park Square.
 
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I don't believe this info is posted elsewhere; mods please move if it has.

A groundbreaking for a memorial to the victims of the Coconut Grove fire will be held on Nov 26. .

The memorial will be erected in Statler Park.

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See also Boston Herald,
https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/1...break-ground-in-boston-decades-in-the-making/

The monument will be built to the specifications of the club – 18 feet wide and 11 feet tall – with three 7-foot arches, said Michael Hanlon, vice president and treasurer of the Cocoanut Grove Memorial Committee. There will be 490 granite bricks inscribed with the names of each victim along with informational panels describing the history of the fire.
 
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That would be the compromise for the condo owners not wanting random folks ogling their front door being in the approximate location of the doors at the club.
 
That would be the compromise for the condo owners not wanting random folks ogling their front door being in the approximate location of the doors at the club.
That would be the condo owners not wanting explicit acknowledgement that their condos sit on the site where 490 people died, reducing their property values.
 
I do remember the excavation for the condos revealing the foundations for the club. You could map them to the plans as published in the news articles about the fire.
 
As of 12/22/23
 

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Small house on micro lot in tiny neighborhood approved​

Rendering of proposed small house


“The Zoning Board of Appeal yesterday approved plans for a single-family home on a 348-square-foot lot at Arlington and Melrose streets in Bay Village.
The variances and other approvals granted yesterday mean Steve and Josh Cohen can replace the tiny, vacant commercial building on the micro triangular lot with a four-story, three-bedroom house with two bathrooms, built around a spiral staircase with a 40-square-foot roof deck……”

https://www.universalhub.com/2025/small-house-micro-lot-tiny-neighborhood-approved
 

Small house on micro lot in tiny neighborhood approved​

Rendering of proposed small house


“The Zoning Board of Appeal yesterday approved plans for a single-family home on a 348-square-foot lot at Arlington and Melrose streets in Bay Village.
The variances and other approvals granted yesterday mean Steve and Josh Cohen can replace the tiny, vacant commercial building on the micro triangular lot with a four-story, three-bedroom house with two bathrooms, built around a spiral staircase with a 40-square-foot roof deck……”

https://www.universalhub.com/2025/small-house-micro-lot-tiny-neighborhood-approved
The street view from the other side does a better job of showcasing just how tiny that lot actually is; the render is a little confusing about just what is new since they also color rendered their abutter on Melrose, but the new construction is only the bit with the white metal siding. I was about to be annoyed at a single family in this location, but that lot is legitimately tiny - even with the overhangs I suspect the usable square footage when they're done won't exceed 1000sqft by much, if any.

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That is a paramedic's nightmare. If someone broke a hip in a top bedroom they would have to strap their ass to a board and then raise them vertically and lower them 3 floors with the straps. If they break or you let go they might fall 5 floors in this building
 
That's approaching Spite House dimensions, though this one is wider at one and not as long. It's not the type of place I (nor more importantly, my wife) would want to live in but I can see the appeal.
 

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