Braintree infill and small developments

Justbuildit said:
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.
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Yeah. I think if done correctly it would really help the problem actually.

Unlike the Nobscot development mentioned a couple posts ago... this is like a mile and a half from the Red Line. Not walkable to it though. I'm not sure if that makes it millennial friendly enough to support the market rent rates it would be. So it might be more that the developer ended up using the complaints as an excuse to bail. Same thing happened at Riverside.
 
Great link address, pretty solid editorial. Fighting words in bold!

www.bostonglobe.com

Why is the state still letting places like Braintree kill the housing we desperately need? - The Boston Globe

Local control is a choice, not a law of nature, and the demise of a 500-unit plan near South Shore Plaza is yet more evidence that it’s thwarting the Commonwealth’s urgent need for more housing.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

"The Braintree saga, recounted by the Globe’s Andrew Brinker last week, was a reminder — if any more are needed — that the state simply can’t count on communities doing the right thing of their own volition and must weaken the ability of municipalities to thwart development."
 
Braintree seems like it could be another town in the Boston metro area where parents with kids who are in their 20s and early 30s, make comments like "my kids will never be able to afford to buy a house in this town" or "it's too bad my kids won't be able to raise their kids in the town they grew up in because housing costs so much".

I have a colleague who lives in Sharon making these kids of comments about her kids. Sharon, a town that is less than 30 miles from Boston, has direct highway access and a commuter rail stop, yet is so low density. It's a stark contract to a town like Franklin, which has 2 commuter rail stops, and has multiple larger scale developments within walking distance of both stops.
 
mass88 said:
Braintree seems like it could be another town in the Boston metro area where parents with kids who are in their 20s and early 30s, make comments like "my kids will never be able to afford to buy a house in this town" or "it's too bad my kids won't be able to raise their kids in the town they grew up in because housing costs so much".
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By house I assume they mean SFH. Building apartments isn't going to make SFH prices cheaper, unless they devalue the property.
 
themissinglink said:
www.bostonglobe.com

Developer once again files plans for controversial housing development behind Braintreeâs South Shore Plaza - The Boston Globe

ZOM Living has filed new plans with Braintree to develop 325 apartments on the nearly nine-acre chunk of land behind the plaza, in hopes of transforming the mall into a bustling mixed-use complex.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
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“ The $140 million complex ZOM proposed this week has 200 fewer units than the original plans, which envisioned 500 units spread across two five-story buildings. This proposal envisions one four-story building with more green space and a tall landscaped berm to shield it from the nearby neighborhood.”
 
Ripped from the article.

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Suffolk 83 said:
Agreed but it could be pretty difficult putting residential there- it’s right next to a landfill. I know I wouldn’t want to live there
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I mean, It's been capped and is no longer active - right now it's basically a hill with a solar farm on top. It wouldn't be a noxious neighbor. Danehy Park in Cambridge is also a former landfill, surrounded by residential areas - and it actually only closed something like a decade after the Braintree one. Though I concede the Braintree landfill isn't the most attractive thing, that didn't matter when it was in an industrial area. If the area redevelops into more mixed use and residential, I can see Braintree making it's landfill more Park-like.
 
Stlin said:
I mean, It's been capped and is no longer active - right now it's basically a hill with a solar farm on top. It wouldn't be a noxious neighbor. Danehy Park in Cambridge is also a former landfill, surrounded by residential areas - and it actually only closed something like a decade after the Braintree one. Though I concede the Braintree landfill isn't the most attractive thing, that didn't matter when it was in an industrial area. If the area redevelops into more mixed use and residential, I can see Braintree making it's landfill more Park-like.
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There’s also still an active trash sorting facility on the other side with trash trucks coming and going
 
South Shore Plaza apartments are one step closer to happening. What's next

The Braintree planning board on Tuesday night voted 4-0 to send to the town council a favorable recommendation for a mixed-use planned development zoning district on a portion of 250 Granite St., just north of Old Quincy Reservoir. The South Shore Plaza's address is 250 Granite St. If the town council ultimately approves the district, it sets the stage to start a new public process for developer ZOM Living to formally pitch its plan for 325 apartments called The Residences at South Shore. [...] The complex would surround a 475-space internal parking garage, and plans also call for a pool for residents, open space as well as a walking and bike path for the public.

[...]

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Braintree resident Charlie Donovan affixed signs to his truck parked outside of town hall that showed his opposite to ZOM Living's reproposal of apartments at the South Shore Plaza on Aug. 13 2024. Hannah Morse/The Patriot Ledger

Many people who spoke against the project said they weren’t against development, but feel this project wasn’t compatible with the surrounding neighborhood or Braintree as a whole. They also expressed safety concerns and worries about public infrastructure.
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KCasiglio said:
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Braintree resident Charlie Donovan affixed signs to his truck parked outside of town hall that showed his opposite to ZOM Living's reproposal of apartments at the South Shore Plaza on Aug. 13 2024. Hannah Morse/The Patriot Ledger
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NIMBYs are so freakishly weird. "STOP MONSTER PROJECT"... how about we stop the monstrous housing shortage? (which is actually important... unlike "saving" the vague, nondescript "neighborhood character")
 
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The neighborhood character bit is sending me on this one. I'm sorry, the neighborhood character of...the south shore plaza?? How can you "we're not against development just THIS development" this. Like, if not here, where!?
 
I've beat this drum a million times but a lot of these people just lie about obviously falsifiable things like the character of a decrepit mall. As we all know, they hate change per se and are using the levers available to them by state and local government to interfere with a private property owner's rights. It takes the tiniest amount of political courage to get this over the line; it's just a question of whether anyone has it in them to ignore the liars.
 
Boston Globe this morning:

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www.bostonglobe.com

Remember the controversial housing project at Braintreeâs South Shore Plaza? It took a big step forward. - The Boston Globe

It has required an all-out political war to get to this point, but housing may be coming to New England’s largest mall soon.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

".........The project is not fully approved yet; the Town Council still has to approve the zoning plan for the site, and then the Planning Board has to issue a special permit approving the project plans. But this week’s vote marks a significant political shift. Last year, ZOM’s original proposal sparked one of the ugliest local battles over a housing development in recent memory, with ZOM eventually retreating. Now ZOM is back, with momentum to make the project a reality, after last fall’s local elections swung against former Mayor Charles Kokoros, who vehemently opposed the project and promised to veto it if it got to his desk.
Challenger Erin Joyce, who unseated Kokoros, has said she’s supportive of the idea of housing at the mall.
Braintree’s Planning Board has also changed its tune; last year the five-member voted down ZOM’s project 3-2. This time? The board, which has just one new member since last year, was unanimous in favor.
“The live, work, model is alive and thriving in Massachusetts and it’s time that Braintree uses their existing retail stock, land and excess infrastructure for something more productive,” the town planning department wrote in its recommendation. “The days of empty parking lots, excess asphalt, open space with no public use or recreating benefit need to end..........”

Per the italics - - -elections COUNT, people!
 
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themissinglink said:
NIMBYs are so freakishly weird. "STOP MONSTER PROJECT"... how about we stop the monstrous housing shortage? (which is actually important... unlike "saving" the vague, nondescript "neighborhood character")
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These are not NIMBYs. These are BANANAs. NIMBYs, on occasion, have a point. There is no real rational reason to oppose this. This is a mostly empty surface parking lot at a mall near a major highway interchange. If anything, this will improve the neighborhood character.
 
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