Braintree infill and small developments

[stick n move]

I searched and theres no Braintree thread yet.


Want to live at Greater Boston’s biggest mall? This might be your chance.

A 495-unit apartment building has been proposed at South Shore Plaza, the latest in a wave of housing developments planned at shopping malls that are trying to reinvent themselves.

ZOM Living has proposed two five-story residential buildings on nearly nine acres at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree.HCM DESIGNS INC.

Multifamily housing developer ZOM Living has proposed 315 apartments and 180 senior housing units on parking lots at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree. HCM DESIGNS INC.


Greater Boston has a housing shortage. And malls need more foot traffic. Now a housing developer wants to put a big apartment building next to the region’s largest mall.

National apartment developer ZOM Living has proposed a 495-unit apartment and senior living development on parking lots and wooded residential property at the rear of the South Shore Plaza, a $150 million development that, if approved, would be Braintree’s largest housing development in decades. The proposal follows a pitch last summer to create lab space at the former Lord & Taylor department store.

The projects are examples of how regional malls across the US are being reimagined following the boom of e-commerce — and how their owners are looking to maximize the potential of properties that still perform well.

Putting apartments next to malls or retail properties is a commonplace development strategy, said retail analyst Floris van Dijkum of Compass Point Research and Trading. The strategy gives apartment dwellers access to amenities, and stores a stream of close-by customers. Simon Property Group, the nation’s largest mall owner, has incorporated residential development into its properties for years. Meanwhile, malls around Massachusetts — including in Woburn, Watertown, and Hanover — have been redeveloped in recent years with housing in mind…

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/05/business/want-live-greater-bostons-biggest-mall/

 

[navigator4]

Funny that this article doesn't mention the condos built at the Natick Mall (nee Natick Collection). They hit at the time of a great recession and many were sold at foreclosure. Probably a good investment now, but not then.

 

[jklo]

Residents, officials speak out against huge housing development at South Shore Plaza

Some Braintree residents and officials are voicing their concerns about a proposed housing development known as the Residences on Granite.

www.boston.com

NIMBY's doing their thing.

 

[mass88]

It's remarkable how a town like Braintree, very close proximity to Boston with multiple transit lines, is this opposed to development like this. Meanwhile a bit further outside of Boston in a town like Franklin, they have been building larger scale developments in the vicinity of their two commuter rail stops. The development is in an already developed area. It's not as if they're proposing to develop a portion of the large swaths of woods on the southern part of town.

From what I can tell, this developer wants to fill in unused parking lots and clear some woods to build a development that connects to a massive mall that already generates a ton of vehicle traffic, oh the horror.

 

[Lrfox]

I'm fascinated by proposals for hundreds of apartments at malls (this one, Attleboro, the completed projects at Natick, etc.). It seems to be a trend across the country. Is there big time demand for these residences? Are they an effort to save dying malls? Or is it more of a situation where the approval and permitting process is theoretically easier considering the current use of the land and infrastructure in place to handle large quantities of automobile traffic so it's an easier way to build a lot of units in the 'burbs?

Don't get me wrong, I 100% support anything that can bring hundreds of units of housing to the Eastern Massachusetts market. I hope the developer can get the town on board and get these things built. But to me, this seems like the absolute worst of all worlds. Auto-centric suburban living without the best parts of the 'burbs (larger home, yard, quiet neighborhood, etc.) or the best parts of city living (walkable neighborhood, access to transit, public spaces, and abundant amenities and entertainment). I get that direct access to the mall means some access to retail and dining (and Target in the case of SSP), but is that really a huge selling point to anyone but the elderly mall walkers?

 

[RandomWalk]

I think there is a desire to reuse the large blocks of land to solve the municipality’s 40B and/or MBTA Communities Act requirements in a manner that keeps the impact contained to an a less desirable area.

 

[jklo]

I'm fascinated by proposals for hundreds of apartments at malls (this one, Attleboro, the completed projects at Natick, etc.). It seems to be a trend across the country. Is there big time demand for these residences? Are they an effort to save dying malls? Or is it more of a situation where the approval and permitting process is theoretically easier considering the current use of the land and infrastructure in place to handle large quantities of automobile traffic so it's an easier way to build a lot of units in the 'burbs?

Don't get me wrong, I 100% support anything that can bring hundreds of units of housing to the Eastern Massachusetts market. I hope the developer can get the town on board and get these things built. But to me, this seems like the absolute worst of all worlds. Auto-centric suburban living without the best parts of the 'burbs (larger home, yard, quiet neighborhood, etc.) or the best parts of city living (walkable neighborhood, access to transit, public spaces, and abundant amenities and entertainment). I get that direct access to the mall means some access to retail and dining (and Target in the case of SSP), but is that really a huge selling point to anyone but the elderly mall walkers?

It's close enough to the Red Line that if you were just looking to rent, it wouldn't be that terrible. The Natick one you could say similar except driving to burb jobs back in 2008.

The Atteboro one doesn't make much sense.

 

[DZH22]

The mall is a big enough disaster that I can't imagine residences here would be particularly sought after....

Murder:

Two indicted in deadly January shooting at South Shore Plaza

A grand jury has indicted two people in connection with a fatal shooting at the South Shore Plaza in January.

www.boston25news.com

Bad Drivers:

How Did an SUV Get on the Second Floor of South Shore Plaza? The Driver Explains

Last week social media was abuzz over photos and videos posted that showed an SUV on the second floor of a Massachusetts mall. The video had a lot of people asking how it could happen, and now the woman who was driving is answering that question. Susan Gauthier, 78, of Quincy said she was just...

www.nbcboston.com

Another Shooting:

Yeah not great. Who would pay market rate to live in a place like this?

 

[Smuttynose]

Residents, officials speak out against huge housing development at South Shore Plaza

Some Braintree residents and officials are voicing their concerns about a proposed housing development known as the Residences on Granite.

www.boston.com

NIMBY's doing their thing.

Can Boston.com chill out on the adjectives? Everything is huge or soaring or towering. This is a two-building 5-story development planned for parking lots 20 minutes from the city. When Braintree starts getting 1,500 unit proposals or plans for skyscrapers, we can start calling them huge.

Kokoros is concerned that the development would negatively impact Braintree’s roads, water, and sewer systems, the Patriot Ledger reported.

What Braintree roads? This is at the intersection of three major state-maintained highways on the edge of town. If you can't accept housing development here, where will you accept it?

Resident Justine Huang said that the proposed complex is “not compatible with our neighborhood at all,” according to the Patriot Ledger.

What neighborhood? It's a giant mall surrounded by giant parking lots at the intersection of three giant highways. If this is your neighborhood, this is the shittiest neighborhood ever.

 

[shmessy]

Can Boston.com chill out on the adjectives? Everything is huge or soaring or towering. This is a two-building 5-story development planned for parking lots 20 minutes from the city. When Braintree starts getting 1,500 unit proposals or plans for skyscrapers, we can start calling them huge.



What Braintree roads? This is at the intersection of three major state-maintained highways on the edge of town. If you can't accept housing development here, where will you accept it?



What neighborhood? It's a giant mall surrounded by giant parking lots at the intersection of three giant highways. If this is your neighborhood, this is the shittiest neighborhood ever.

+1 - well put.

I don't understand the thinking of the posters previously who are against this project. What are THEIR prescriptions for the future?:

a) leave it fallow and become more of a desert, let the mall continue to disintegrate 20 minutes away from Boston with great transit access right there for the picking
or
b) improve the area, help solve the housing crisis, put ~1,000 local residents right next to these struggling stores/restaurants who can walk (or wheel) there, increase the local tax revenue by several million dollars per year (which can go a ways towards increasing security in a currently unsecure mall)

I think anyone who takes some time to think about this (especially the residents of Braintree) go for b).

 

[stick n move]

Boston firm to develop TV, movie studio complex in Braintree

“The move marks a new direction for Rise, a real estate firm that specializes in residential buildings in and around Boston.”

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2023/06/02/boston-firm-tv-movie-studio-braintree.html

 

[stick n move]

Some more details

Developer Plans $100M 'Hollywood East' Hub in Boston Suburb

RISE Development aims for deal to build movie studio by end of summer.
By Scott Van Voorhis

Developer has proposed a large movie and TV production studio to be located south of Boston in estimated $100-million project.

Rendering courtesy Gensler

June 30, 2023

“A Boston-based developer would like to turn a suburb of the city into Hollywood East, with plans to build an estimated $100-million movie and TV production studio.

RISE Development seeks to close a deal and start construction by the end of the summer to convert a Braintree, Mass., industrial park into the hub. It said the project will cost roughly $100 million to build, not including land costs, and is set for completion in the spring or summer of 2025.

A major Boston-area residential and commercial developer, RISE is buying the park from Onshore Properties, which has lined up state and local permits for 275,000 sq ft in new construction in a pair of buildings. The developer plans to put seven sound stages in the building, as well as other film production operations.

A 20,000 sq ft building that is currently on the site will demolished.
RISE also is working with commercial real estate firm Newmark on financing needed to break ground, while assembling a team of project subcontractors.

“We would love to break ground before the end of the year,” Anthony Aiello, said RISE executive vice president. “There are a lot of well-capitalized institutions that spend buckets of money on this type of investment. The market feedback has been well received.”

RISE’s contracting arm will oversee the project and field bids from union subcontractors in various trades, including steel, concrete, excavation, electrical and plumbing.

Gensler will lead the project design and planning work. Under agreements hammered out by the previous owner, RISE will be required to pay Braintree andthe neighboring town of Weymouth for traffic upgrades as well as for a new rail system that will link the two municipalities and Holbrook.

RISE will work with New England Wildlife Centers and Braintree to design and build trails and create educational as well as recreational uses for them.

The planned studio project will represent the first major film hub of its kind so close to Boston, with previous area projects that are significantly smaller. The closest potential rival is New England Studios, which has four soundstages in Devens.

The planned Braintree film hub will be just 17 miles from Logan International Airport. Overall, once up and running, is is projected to employ 800 union workers and generate $1.5 million in permit fees and $8 million in local taxes for Braintree over a decade.

As RISE pushes towards a groundbreaking in the next few months, one plus has been a “leveling off” of construction prices,” Aiello said. “It’s a relief from the escalation we have seen over the past few years.”

The developer-contractor, which has specialized in building housing and labs, spent about one year exploring plans and doing research before finalizing the studio project, he said.

“We spent a lot of time doing our homework and to make sure this is a feasible project,” he said.”

https://www.enr.com/articles/56721-developer-plans-100m-hollywood-east-hub-in-boston-suburb

 

[stick n move]

Smh… were in a housing crisis yet were still scaling back projects.

South Shore Plaza housing proposal, facing opposition, shrinks again

ZOM Living's revised proposal includes a single, four-story building.

“An apartment complex on the mall's property is now proposed to be 290 units. It was initially supposed to include nearly 500 residences.”

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/...=40&cx_testVariant=cx_22&cx_artPos=8#cxrecs_s

 

[stick n move]

Fucking ridiculous…


ZOM Withdraws Development Plan On Braintree Mall Site Following Opposition

BostonMultifamily
August 29, 2023 Taylor Driscoll, Bisnow Boston

“More than six months after Florida-based ZOM Living proposed plans for hundreds of units next to the South Shore Plaza mall in Braintree, opposition from residents and city officials has pushed the developer to drop its plans.

The developer had made significant changes to its plans, opting for 290 units, down from the originally proposed 495. But a planning board vote against the recommended zoning for the project in an Aug. 8 meeting prompted ZOM to withdraw its proposal, The Patriot Ledger first reported.

Jim Dunlop, managing director at ZOM Living, told Bisnow Tuesday that although the outcome was unfavorable, the company did expect to face some opposition as part of the development process.

"It just didn't go our way, and it happens," Dunlop said.

The project met fierce opposition when first proposed and throughout its planning process with the city. Most of the pushback has been on the size of the project, which those opposed said would have created more traffic, overcrowded the school system and acted as "an eyesore for all who live within viewing distance," Boston.com reported.

Supporters of the project argued that it would bring much-needed housing to the city.

Earlier this month, ZOM modified its plansby cutting the number of units down from 395 — which had been previously reduced from 495 units in April — to 290 units in one building.

The project was slated to be ZOM's entry into the Greater Boston market. Dunlop told Bisnow in January that Boston had been high on its list of markets for expansion.
The firm wanted to expand into the market before the pandemic and had looked at towns and cities along the Route 128 corridor and in Boston like Allston and Dorchester Avenue before striking a partnership with Simon Property Group for the parking lot next to its South Shore Plaza mall.

Dunlop said the firm is actively looking for other areas in the region to build housing.
"We are looking pretty broadly in the Boston metro for similar towns of quality and infrastructure," Dunlop said. "Hopefully, more welcoming of multifamily."

https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/...rough-after-strong-resident-opposition-120423

 

[Jahvon09]

The mall is a big enough disaster that I can't imagine residences here would be particularly sought after....

Murder:

Two indicted in deadly January shooting at South Shore Plaza

A grand jury has indicted two people in connection with a fatal shooting at the South Shore Plaza in January.

www.boston25news.com

Bad Drivers:

How Did an SUV Get on the Second Floor of South Shore Plaza? The Driver Explains

Last week social media was abuzz over photos and videos posted that showed an SUV on the second floor of a Massachusetts mall. The video had a lot of people asking how it could happen, and now the woman who was driving is answering that question. Susan Gauthier, 78, of Quincy said she was just...

www.nbcboston.com

Another Shooting:

Yeah not great. Who would pay market rate to live in a place like this?

Hello, Amazon & Target!!!

 

[DZH22]

Comprehensive Boston Globe article about the failed development at South Shore Plaza.

A developer proposed nearly 500 apartment units on South Shore Plaza. Then residents killed it. - The Boston Globe

A plan to put nearly 500 apartments in Braintree ran into a buzz saw of neighborhood opposition.

www.bostonglobe.com

 

[stick n move]

The way they talk about how the anti development groups took over and tried to scare people away from speaking out in favor of the development reminds me of exactly what happened to my parents in framingham. People came around door to door asking for signatures not even explaining what they were for but it was against building the nobscot development.

The neighbors got together and started texting all of the neighbors to find out where they stood on the dev and when they found out my parents were in favor they told them that they are only looking for people who are against it to participate. It started getting kind of hostile and my parents never went out and spoke up for the project because they didnt want to rock the boat with their neighbors that they have to live with.

Luckily they ended up replacing the vacant plaza regardless that had been sitting there for years with a new development that improves the area a lot, but it was tense for a while. Now that the other nobscot village project is starting to go through the process this time theyre saying screw it and theyre participating in the community meetings but its already been a shit show and its only gonna get worse. It doesnt make any sense to me because the project literally made the area 5x nicer than before but these ppl are religious about their anti development and they dont even know why.

 

[Justbuildit]

Imagine talking to the press, with quotes and photos of your face in the paper of record, publicly fighting to maintain this. People say we have no culture in this country, but it's clear that the one thing we'll march in the streets for is to maintain the unobstructed view of Dave and Busters from the Lens Crafters across a sea of asphalt. There's no neighborhood here to speak of!

 

[jklo]

Imagine talking to the press, with quotes and photos of your face in the paper of record, publicly fighting to maintain this. People say we have no culture in this country, but it's clear that the one thing we'll march in the streets for is to maintain the unobstructed view of Dave and Busters from the Lens Crafters across a sea of asphalt. There's no neighborhood here to speak of!

Given the Mall's reputation for having crime problems, I am not surprised there's pushback. I think they are afraid that development would make the problem worse.

 

[Justbuildit]

They should probably try to fix the crime problem then. It seems like a great way to deal with a hollowed out 20th century relic that's attracting ruffians and small-time crooks is to put use to the land that's there, ideally with something that adds feet and eyes to the area, such as housing. Also, for a city that's facing a budget shortfall that may not be able to fully fund schools, finding new tax revenue in a sea of asphalt seems like a good deal. Imagine hiring a few more cops to patrol the area with the new revenue raised by a mixed-use development...

Braintree council approves $180 million budget, warns of looming financial problems

The town council has approved Mayor Charles Kokoros' $180 million budget for the 12 months beginning July 1.

www.patriotledger.com