Dorchester Infill and Small Developments

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Interesting, it looks like the Pho Hoa has a new home in this newly constructed three story building (the T Le building). I think it's literally next door to their old location.

Lotta decent new stuff on these main drags, Dot Ave, and Blue Hill over in Roxbury.
 
I've been here(Dorchester) 24 yrs Ashmont has always been alive with action!
 
yes ur right! never felt safe there glad for the upgrade here and at all Dorchester stations,now if they could clean up the place,so filty!
 
Ron Newman said:
What was the former use of the DNA Lofts building?
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Ron: DNA Lofts was a multi-tenant quasi retail (hardware) and light industrial building. It was onwed by Robert Raimondi, the same person who owned the building supply yard off of Norfolk Avenue in Roxbury (R&R Sales). He also owned the famous hardware store between the T Operations Center and the Edison Station on High Street downtown.

He died about two years ago, I think. I know the DNA lofts building was picked up by him from the FDIC in the 1990-1994 time period.
 
bdurden said:
Ashmont is really coming alive.
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I grew up 600 feet from Ashmont Station. It has always been "Alive". Do you mean its changing from what you percieve as not fitting to your taste to something that is fitting your taste?

I lived in that neighborhood up through college and at some points after. I never remember zombies or other undead humanoids in the area.

The retail storefronts for the most part were occupied and at at no time were there as percentage of vacancies like ones sees on Newbury Street or your local mall now.

Houses were occupied. A mostly white neighbohrood transitionned into a multi-racial, multi-economic base area from 1975 to 2000. The 1980's saw just as much residential development in the neighborhood as the 2000's did. (The Englewood and 197 Ashmont St. vs. The Carruth)

People lived, wnet to school, went to work, went to church, lived their lives and so on and so on.

What is this "alive" thing that you speak about? Is it because the Ashmont Grill went from a neighborhood steak place to a neighborhood steak frites place? You had a much better chance at getting a drink at 4:00 AM in 1978 in that area than you do now.

There is an intense snobbery on these discussion boards against everyday working people and where they live. Somehow things only get "better" in an area when you can get a Mojito.

What is wrong with just living your life as an Edison worker, a Gillette worker, a bookkeeper, or an MBTA worker and just coming home to your neighborhood? Or is that the "Grit" that everyone seems to get so excited about like they saw something exotic at Seaworld?
 
John - as a fellow Dorchester resident (Uphams' Corner/Savin Hill area) I agree with much of your assessment.

I responded to ablarc's post about Boston being free from "grit" with a similar reaction. Dorchester is a wonderful place, I really love it. I love living in an old 7-BR Victorian built in the 1800s, that was bought and fully renovated for under the cost of a South End 1 Bed. I love my little street with elderly Irish, new Vietnamese, a lesbian couple, two gay couples, a family from Jamaica and a family fresh from Poland. I love the location on the edge of the city, just three T stops to South Station and just a 5 minute walk to the beach and waterfront.

That being said, Dorchester Avenue is in need of major work. There are far more empty storefronts than Newbury Street, not to mention trash-strewn lots, and garage door grates blocking too many windows. Dorchester Avenue has been abused for decades and I think it's hard to argue that.

In other words, I think your assessment is a little too far in one direction, and other assessments I've seen on this board are a little too far in the other direction.
 
You are right about Dorchester Ave's vacancies as a whole. I was keeping it in the Ashmont orbit.

I am out of Dot, have been for over 10 years. My mom still holds court there though. Hate to sound like an old timer. I just hate when everything is good once someone moves in and everything was bad before that.
 
JohnCostello said:
I grew up 600 feet from Ashmont Station. It has always been "Alive". Do you mean its changing from what you percieve as not fitting to your taste to something that is fitting your taste?

I lived in that neighborhood up through college and at some points after. I never remember zombies or other undead humanoids in the area.

The retail storefronts for the most part were occupied and at at no time were there as percentage of vacancies like ones sees on Newbury Street or your local mall now.

Houses were occupied. A mostly white neighbohrood transitionned into a multi-racial, multi-economic base area from 1975 to 2000. The 1980's saw just as much residential development in the neighborhood as the 2000's did. (The Englewood and 197 Ashmont St. vs. The Carruth)

People lived, wnet to school, went to work, went to church, lived their lives and so on and so on.

What is this "alive" thing that you speak about? Is it because the Ashmont Grill went from a neighborhood steak place to a neighborhood steak frites place? You had a much better chance at getting a drink at 4:00 AM in 1978 in that area than you do now.

There is an intense snobbery on these discussion boards against everyday working people and where they live. Somehow things only get "better" in an area when you can get a Mojito.

What is wrong with just living your life as an Edison worker, a Gillette worker, a bookkeeper, or an MBTA worker and just coming home to your neighborhood? Or is that the "Grit" that everyone seems to get so excited about like they saw something exotic at Seaworld?
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John relax -- I think you are taking this a little too far out of context. I'll rephrase: "Dorchester is really coming out of the ghetto, trash dumpster it's been sitting in for 30 years. With a little political will, perhaps it'll be a shell of what it was at the turn of the mid 20th century."

Is that better?
 
bdurden said:
John relax -- I think you are taking this a little too far out of context. I'll rephrase: "Dorchester is really coming out of the ghetto, trash dumpster it's been sitting in for 30 years. With a little political will, perhaps it'll be a shell of what it was at the turn of the mid 20th century."

Is that better?
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I didn't grow up in a ghetto. I grew up in a working class neighborhood that got looked down upon by others, and then socially engineered by the "smart" people. I had a Ralph Adams Cram designed church across the street from me. I had doctors living and working on my street. I had immigrant and long time area families raise children and send them onto college. I had quick access to Boston. I utilized neighbohrood institutions. I went to one of the best high schools in the country, populated by children from families just like mine, from neighborhoods just like mine. Watch how you throw the ghetto / dumpster terms about, ok?
 
JohnCostello said:
I didn't grow up in a ghetto. I grew up in a working class neighborhood that got looked down upon by others, and then socially engineered by the "smart" people. I had a Ralph Adams Cram designed church across the street from me. I had doctors living and working on my street. I had immigrant and long time area families raise children and send them onto college. I had quick access to Boston. I utilized neighbohrood institutions. I went to one of the best high schools in the country, populated by children from families just like mine, from neighborhoods just like mine.
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I'm familiar with this Dorchester, and said nothing to the contrary. Your original post was an emotional attack, and rather baseless.

JohnCostello said:
Watch how you throw the ghetto / dumpster terms about, ok?
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It's called hyperbole, ok?
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
Why did you move out?
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I wanted a big back yard for my kids and an ability to be near the ocean with waves, not the Harbor protected Tenean Beach.

30 years of urban life was good. I tried something else. I'll probably be back in my house on Ashmont Street in 15 years griping about all the expensive cars taking up the parking spaces.

Also, I'm not saying that life in Dorchester in that time period was perfect. It was far from it and it still is very far from it. I just really hate it when people cover Dorchester with one blanket statement or somehow that because there is a gay / yuppie migration going away from the South End and other parts of the city to Dorchester that things got "better". Things just changed.
 
bdurden said:
I'm familiar with this Dorchester, and said nothing to the contrary. Your original post was an emotional attack, and rather baseless.


It's called hyperbole, ok?
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I think you're "alive" comment was kind of thoughtless. You make is sound like you are Balboa reporting back to Spain about some strange land you went too. That is why I responded.
 
If investment in assets are any indication, I would say much of Dorchester has been in a state of general decay for the past half century. I think a decent metric of neighborhood health is: do people care how their home looks? Is it painted? is the lawn mowed? Is the porch caving in? In many parts of Dorchester the status quo has been deterioration. That's not a value judgment on the residents of the neighborhood, but it is a reality that's hard to ignore.
 
sidewalks said:
If investment in assets are any indication, I would say much of Dorchester has been in a state of general decay for the past half century. I think a decent metric of neighborhood health is: do people care how their home looks? Is it painted? is the lawn mowed? Is the porch caving in? In many parts of Dorchester the status quo has been deterioration. That's not a value judgment on the residents of the neighborhood, but it is a reality that's hard to ignore.
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I appreciate it that you say "many parts". Many is not all. Parts of Cambridge, Allston, South Boston, the South End look fairly crappy to me. Carruth Street is not the same as Hamilton Street just as Wareham Street is not the same as Appleton Street.

Parts of Dorchester are great, always have been kept up and are stable. People there have Pride of Place. Parts of Dorchester are hell holes. I agree, much can be done. However, it is not all Escape From New York.
 
One of Dorchester's problems is that the geographic diversity is too large for one catch-all name.
 
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