Dorchester Infill and Small Developments

The future emerges at Boston’s South Bay Center

Imagine if South Bay Center emerges as Boston’s next hotspot. With its two rows of big-box-style retail on either side of a ginormous parking lot, the two-decade-old Dorchester shopping complex is no one’s idea of traditional city development. But it bustles, even on a frigid February day, as shoppers from dense Boston neighborhoods seek out the same low prices and broad selection that major chains offer suburban consumers.

Strikingly, South Bay Center may soon become a springboard for a far more intensive mixed-use urban experience. Last week, the Boston Redevelopment Authority disclosed that South Bay’s operator, a shopping center company called Edens Inc., wants to expand the complex by another 10 acres, adding a transit-oriented “town center” with stores, a cinema, hotel, and up to 500 units of housing.

Sketchy as the details are, the proposal illustrates how, as the economic dynamics shaping Boston shift, the range of options for out-of-the-way patches of the city expands dramatically.

The first phase of South Bay Center was built in the early ’90s on the site of a former Sears, Roebuck & Co. warehouse, after plans for a biomedical facility there failed. In that recession-battered era, there wasn’t much private development happening in Boston. Roam around South Bay Center today, and it’s clear how deeply linked the complex has become into the city’s daily routines. (In the above panel of photos, see the one at far left.)

If the expansion plan replaces buildings such as a concrete plant (second from left) with stores and apartments, what remains of industrial-age Boston would shrink even further. But already the shuttering of nearby stores and commercial buildings has left behind wide expanses (second from right) that could do more than serve as a dumping ground for snow.

Building multifamily residential alongside existing large-scale retail doesn’t always succeed; a different developer’s grand plans for luxury condos at the Natick Mall ended up in a fire-sale auction and bitter litigation. And with the MBTA stumbling and wheezing under the weight of the snow, this may not be the best month to rhapsodize about the possibilities unlocked by reliable transit. Plus, turning the windswept commuter rail stop nearby (far right) into a neighborhood catalyst likely requires a kind of self-powered train car that the T doesn’t yet have. But while some key ingredients are lacking now, that doesn’t mean they’ll always be.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/...-bay-center/crkogXo7rA5KHPc1D4TsxK/story.html
 
they should do it right: do this expansion in a way that plans for several taller buildings ~10 stories+ for when the demand in this area increases.
 
BRA approves new residential building near Ashmont station

The BRA board of directors today approved a six-story esidential building with 81 units on Dorchester Avenue, across from the Carruth and the Ashmont T station.

The building, which will also have ground-level retail space, will have 53 units marketed as affordable on what is now the home of Ashmont Tire, under plans by developer Trinity Financial. The project will have 44 parking spaces and storage space for 81 bicycles.
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http://www.universalhub.com/2015/bra-approves-new-residential-building-near-ashmont
 
that first building across the street did wonders for the area - this will only improve things more. great news for this area. ashmont will become a mini nexus from which, hopefully, more new development will radiate.

edit - now: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.283...!1e1!3m2!1sZfp_oZoov5AoMVJag63sEA!2e0!6m1!1e1
nice old building on the corner there too.

as an aside, its amazing that the red line goes underground as far down as here - wish people still thought it worthwhile to bury subways in neighborhoods of this density.
 
Uphams Corner Comfort Station

There’s no finer place in which to make a presentation than Dorchester’s Strand Theater, and that’s where HBI, The American City Coalition (TACC) and bicycle entrepreneur Noah Hicks presented their partnership proposal for rehabilitation of the 1922 Uphams Corner Comfort Station to an audience of about fifty area residents on February 24th.

One of two active proposals for designation to development the historic building submitted to the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development, the HBI/TACC/Hicks proposal for Bike-Kitchen, a combined bicycle repair shop and café, was warmly received by meeting participants. To see the Powerpoint presentation, click here. The other proponent for the property, educator Abram Auguste, has proposed the building as a licensed early education center by day that would double as a tutoring center for adults in the evenings.

Neighbors’ comments and feedback supported uses that would enhance the community’s access to the historic building and enliven the southeast side of Upham’s Corner’s Columbia Road with a community oriented use. The Comfort Station is surrounded by the 1630 Dorchester North Burying Ground and meeting attendees universally endorsed interpreting the history of the burying ground and Uphams Corner inside the Comfort Station.
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Bike Kitchen presentation:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7IilwurK49KX2I3WXRpdG9QekE/view?pli=1
 
update on this project -
http://www.bostonherald.com/busines.../new_life_proposed_for_vacant_dorchester_site
Atlas, which has the four parcels under agreement, has a phased development plan. The first phase, on the northern portion of the site, would include 64 two-bedroom condos in eight four-story buildings along Pleasant and Greemount streets, and 50 condos or rental units in a five-story building.

“The architectural design is kind of fluid,” O’Neill said.

The second phase of development, on the southern portion of the site, would include two, six-story mixed-use buildings with 145 residential units along Hancock Street and Dorchester Avenue, with a 20,000-square-foot landscaped roof deck for tenants. Other planned amenities include a pool and fitness facility.

“Because the retail component may change, there’s nothing completely etched in stone,” O’Neill said. “We will be going back out to the community when we get retail interest.”

The retail space would be on the ground floors of the two buildings. Phase-two development also would include the four-level garage.
 
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Atlas’ plans call for 260 residential units, 40,000 square feet of retail space and a 400-space parking garage off Dorchester Avenue, according to a letter of intent filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority yesterday.
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Wow, 40,000 square feet of retail space! I'm excited to see this come together but I'm not psyched about the 400 space parking garage, especially one right on Dot ave. Hopefully, if the garage makes it into the final design they'll considering wrapping the retail around it so it won't create a dead streetscape. Glover's Corner is pretty much nonstop traffic without more induced demand though and Savin Hill station really is a short walk.
 
It would be nice if they included a new public street from the circle paralleling Greenmount to Dot Ave. Break down the super block into something more walkable and n scale with the surrounding street grid.

I also think it's ironic that the 'solution' to developments causing on street parking shortages is to encourage increased car ownership in garages that will just cause more traffic in a transit-heavy neighborhood.
 
Atlas Investments planning $75M, mixed-use development in Dorchester

n the eyes of Catherine O'Neill, her native Dorchester has been overlooked in the wave of development that's swept much of Greater Boston by storm. Now it's Dorchester's turn.

O'Neill is the community and government relations liaison for DotBlock, a $75 million mixed-use development planned at 1207 Dorchester Ave.

"Dorchester, for a long time, has been a place that people haven't thought about investing in," O'Neill said. "But the developers and the owners of this understood our neighborhood, and they understood that it was just ripe and ready for development like this."

Demetrios Dasco of Atlas Investment Group LLC is spearheading the project's development, and RODE Architects is handling design work.

The phased development would include up to 259 units of for-rent and for-sale housing, a 20,000-square-foot landscaped roof deck, a 400-space central parking garage and 40,000 square feet of retail, according to a letter of intent to file a project notification form submitted to the Boston Redevelopment Authority on March 12.

The 3.5-acre project site stretches almost a full city block and is roughly bounded by 1207 Dorchester Ave., 16 Greenmount St. and 256 Hancock St. Existing properties on the site include a mix of underutilized industrial buildings, including single-story warehouses.

"There are some sites like this around the city, but there's not many, and there's certainly not many that are in the neighborhoods that have some close proximity to (an MBTA) station," said Eric Robinson of RODE Architects, who has lived in Dorchester for 15 years. "This is an area that has a ton of potential, and it just needs somebody to think big. It will be a game-changer for this area."

O'Neill said the for-sale units, which would be about 1,140 square feet on average, would be priced at around $400,000. Rental rates for a 950-square-foot apartment have not been set.

"Our goal is to allow people from the neighborhood to buy homes," she said. "We believe that there isn't a comparable unit in the vicinity. We're offering hardwood floors, granite countertops, all-new construction, at a level that we believe that people can enter into homeownership. ... I believe this begins the renaissance of our neighborhood."
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http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2015/03/atlas-investments-planning-75m-mixed-use.html

Edit: Render: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...s-planning-75m-mixed-use.html?s=image_gallery
 
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Wasn't expecting much when opening the rendering but it's not bad at all so far, contemporary is definitely the way to go. It looks villagey without being quaint, Dorchester needs this kind of love.
 
Boston Home seeks to build additional units for its clients

The Boston Home, which provides specialized clinical care and residential services for adults with progressive neurological diseases, primarily advanced multiple sclerosis (MS), wants to build an apartment building on its property at the intersection of Dorchester Avenue and Gallivan Boulevard that will serve a separate purpose: accommodate people with MS and other neurological disabilities and their families in transition from nursing facilities or in need of specialized housing.

The proposed development, comprising 39 units over 3 floors and named the Harmon Apartments, would feature 29 highly accessible apartments on a section of Boston Home’s six-acre property off Galty Avenue that would have its own parking lot with 23 spaces.
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http://www.dotnews.com/2015/boston-home-seeks-build-additional-units-its-clients
 
So, I have been trying to find any information on this work that is being done, but I am not finding anything. Can anyone shed any light as to what is going on over at the Star Market parking lot next to JFK. It looks like they are putting in a foundation for something.
 
This?

Dorchester's Hub25 will host 278 one and two-bedroom rental apartments adjacent to the MBTA's JFK/UMass Red Line-Commuter Rail-Bus station and the Morrissey Boulevard Star Market supermarket. Hub25 is one of the first developments of its kind within Boston's borders—around the world, such as with Hub25, large surface parking lots further from the city center and near public transit stations are currently being redeveloped into dense, tall residential and commercial projects so as to capitalize upon increasingly coveted public transit access. The convenience of Hub25 is unrivaled—downtown Boston and South Boston are both less than ten minutes away by subway, and the Boston Harborwalk plus the noteworthy dining scene of Dorchester's Savin Hill/Polish Triangle are both a short walk away. Also nearby are UMass Boston, the JFK Library and the new Edward Kennedy Institute. The JFK/UMass-Morrissey Boulevard area is currently undergoing extensive revitalization through a number of developments, including Hub25, the upcoming redevelopment of the current Boston Globe Headquarters site and the planned Mount Vernon Street streetscape improvements.

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http://www.bldup.com/projects/hub25/
 
Is this a screencap from Simcity2000?

cca
 
Christ that thing is a disappointment in every way shape or form imaginable.
 
278 apartments next to a supermarket, bus & subway transit, and a major highway? I'll cut them some slack until we see the actual buildings. Lower your standards and you'll be happier in life. :O)
 
Isn't the zoning for more than twice as tall as this? Would the developer be looking to cut costs by reducing height and building with wood instead of steel?
 
The large mixed-use development at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Hancock Street has a new name: DotBlock. The name lends itself to the development’s size, occupying nearly the entire block of Dorchester Avenue between Hancock Street and Greenmount Street.

Dorchester-based RODE Architects have released new renderings ahead of April, when they plan to make the rounds to local civic associations to pitch the development. Developers have also upped the initially planned housing units to 114, up from 92.

“We’re still in the early stages of permitting,” said RODE’s Eric Robinson. Developers hope to demolish the existing buildings on the parcel in late summer. Phase one, they hope, will begin in late fall with 64 units built at Greenmount and Pleasant Street. Phase two will yield the 50-unit apartment building on Hancock Street.

The first community presentation will take place at the Columbia Savin Hill Civic Association on April 6.

“We think it’s a game-changer,” said Catherine O’Neill, who is representing the developers in community meetings. “As Dorchester residents, we’re not only excited professionally, we’re excited personally.”
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WEB%20Dot%20Block%2014-15.img_assist_custom-400x443.jpg


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Oh man, I hate this. It looks like that sprawling building across from the Christian Science Church and that's just awful.

http://www.dotnews.com/2015/dotblock-plans-take-shape
 
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