Brookline Infill and Small Developments

Brookline mulls over development opportunities on Route 9:

brookline.news

A dreary stretch of Route 9 could help shape Brookline's financial future - Brookline.News

On a sunny Saturday morning in May, about 35 Brookline residents gathered in a parking lot off Route 9 in Chestnut Hill. As they walked around a half-mile stretch of land dominated by a partially vacant office building and parking lots, town officials and a consultant carrying clipboards...
brookline.news brookline.news
 
#bancars said:
Brookline mulls over development opportunities on Route 9:

brookline.news

A dreary stretch of Route 9 could help shape Brookline's financial future - Brookline.News

On a sunny Saturday morning in May, about 35 Brookline residents gathered in a parking lot off Route 9 in Chestnut Hill. As they walked around a half-mile stretch of land dominated by a partially vacant office building and parking lots, town officials and a consultant carrying clipboards...
brookline.news brookline.news
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They shared concerns about traffic on nearby Heath Street, as well as the height of new buildings and the shadows they might cause. They wondered about the possibility of bringing new green space or a park or playground to the area.
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Across the street, I learned that the weird angle of the front face of the Star Market row of retail follows the town boundary. Interesting that the parking is on the Brookline side and the actual businesses are in Newton.
 
Plen-T-Pak said:
Across the street, I learned that the weird angle of the front face of the Star Market row of retail follows the town boundary. Interesting that the parking is on the Brookline side and the actual businesses are in Newton.
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Never knew that either, I actually thought Brookline's border stopped essentially at Hammond Street and that the businesses beyond were in Newton, for both sides of Rt 9.
 
FK4 said:
Never knew that either, I actually thought Brookline's border stopped essentially at Hammond Street and that the businesses beyond were in Newton, for both sides of Rt 9.
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i want to say that CVS on the corner of Hammond and Route 9 is sometimes listed as Newton, but the neighborhood of Chestnut Hill is making everything confusing (as it often does)
 
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stick n move said:
Balfour Brookline

U/C opening 2024
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“Located on a nearly four-acre site in Fisher Hill, a community first designed by the famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, that is steeped in history, Balfour’s senior living community at Brookline will combine the comfortable elegance and quality care that define “The Balfour Way.”

Balfour Brookline will feature independent and assisted living and memory care communities. You will enjoy all-inclusive services, including chef-prepared meals that meet an array of dietary needs, a robust catalogue of life-enriching programs and personalized concierge services. As with all Balfour communities, your safety, peace of mind and personal needs are of the utmost importance.

Once completed in 2024, Balfour Brookline will restore an important residential use to the historical Mitton House, a mansion that was once home to one of Boston’s most important merchants and later occupied by Cardinal Cushing College and Newbury College. The mansion is being lovingly restored, as designed by the world-famous Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) firm….”

“Within 190,000 square feet of new construction and 20,000 square feet of restoration to the historic Mitton House, the project includes 81 Independent Living, 38 Assisted Living and 40 Memory Care units.

https://www.hyminvestments.com/balfour-at-brookline/

https://www.balfourcare.com/brookline
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The Balfour has changed hands last year at some point so it's renamed the Newbury. Here's a link to a Brookline News article indicating some pricing (40K to get in!). Looks like they will be opening soon. Interesting roof line gives it some character.
 

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Thats some nice brookline vernacular architecture. Looks good.
 
The old reservoir, now a park across the street, is one the views
 

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"They shared concerns about traffic on nearby Heath Street, as well as the height of new buildings and the shadows they might cause. They wondered about the possibility of bringing new green space or a park or playground to the area."

Translation:

Open landspace YES, Humanoids NO.
 
FK4 said:
Never knew that either, I actually thought Brookline's border stopped essentially at Hammond Street and that the businesses beyond were in Newton, for both sides of Rt 9.
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All of the Chestnut Hill commercial area has been influenced by that. You can't exit the Wegman's onto Florence Street because Brookline threatened to literally dead-end Heath Street at the town line if Newton allowed it.

Also - cast shadows on what? The site is across the street from a cemetery, and the office block currently on the site is the tallest thing around.
 
#bancars said:
Well, that didn't take long at all:

brookline.news

Developer withdraws plans for Harvard Street apartment building, will aim for smaller project - Brookline.News

The developer behind a controversial proposal to build an apartment building on Harvard Street has withdrawn his plans and will pursue a smaller building instead. Town officials and neighbors were frustrated by Oak Hill Properties’ original proposal, which called for a six-story, 40-unit...
brookline.news brookline.news
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The snobs remain undefeated:

".......The company wanted to move forward under 40b, the state’s so-called “anti-snob” zoning law, which allows developers of mixed-income or affordable housing to override zoning regulations in communities where fewer than 10% of the housing is affordable....."
 
Read the letter the town wrote as to why this shouldn't qualify under 40b. Great (miserable) stuff. Remember everyone, when you have decision making power and discretionary authority (or just influence) on how to enforce said power, you can just make it up as you go along!!


In accordance with state regulations(2), the Town respectfully requests Massachusetts Housing Financing Agency (MassHousing) not approve a Project Eligibility Letter for this project as the design is not generally appropriate for the site on which it is located, the project design is inconsistent with local housing needs and concerns, and the site is not generally appropriate for the proposed residential development, taking into consideration previous municipal actions taken to meet affordable housing needs.

They cite precedent in Easton where a similar 40b application was rejected for (waves hands) reasons. So now there's precedent and pressure to block these developments when THE WHOLE POINT OF THE 40b PROGRAM WAS TO AVOID THESE TYPES OF DISCRETIONARY VETOS.

Brookline goes on to reference their new by-right zoning capacity of 4 stories as to why it should be smaller (thereby implicitly recognizing that the recent upzone was "good") but then putting the brakes on this specific project using the most classic NIMBY language there is:

Contrary to the state’s December 2014 Guidelines for 40B Comprehensive Projects: IV(A)3(b)1,the site is not appropriate for a project of this design as the property is not large enough to: (i) accommodate modulated massing, steps in height, bulk or scale to create any transition to adjoining sites; (ii) include any landscaping to help buffer the building mass; and (iii) does not take into account take the existing street frontage pattern nor human scale design by reasonably relating the height of buildings to the width of the public way, especially on Coolidge Street

Brookline is beautiful, it could be the greatest town on earth, but my god is their zoning and land use process a bunch of misery.
 
thepixelnation said:
I would love if Mass followed California's lead (damn I never thought I'd say that) and pass something along the lines of SB 423. SF just lost their strict permitting process since they were too slow to build new units, and for suburbs like Brookline that are too picky with their zoning, it would be great to have some sort of a consequence that would open their mind to compromise.
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Builder's remedy enforced by the state, overruling local rules made at a town-meeting would be electoral suicide for anyone caught responsible. The kindly gentle people of our fair suburbs would declare holy war on Beacon Hill.

I say let's do it.
 

City Realty Begins Condo Sales at Alaia in Brookline​

“City Realty has tapped Collin Bray with Century 21 Cityside to launch sales for Alaia in Brookline. The upcoming luxury condo project is located in Coolidge Corner at 14 Green Street. The property will feature 5 residences total, 1 of which is already reserved….”


alaia


https://www.bldup.com/posts/city-realty-begins-condo-sales-at-alaia-in-brookline
 
stick n move said:

City Realty Begins Condo Sales at Alaia in Brookline​

“City Realty has tapped Collin Bray with Century 21 Cityside to launch sales for Alaia in Brookline. The upcoming luxury condo project is located in Coolidge Corner at 14 Green Street. The property will feature 5 residences total, 1 of which is already reserved….”


alaia


https://www.bldup.com/posts/city-realty-begins-condo-sales-at-alaia-in-brookline
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This is the former Osaka Sushi and Steakhouse restaurant - right behind Otto Pizza. It was a place that closed at 11:00pm weeknights and 2:00am Fri and Saturday nights.....we need more of those places for Boston/Brookline to be real cities....

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Agree, it should have been mandatory if they built here that there is ground floor restaurant space, preferably the same one comes back.
 
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