Dot Block | Dot Ave, Greenmount St, Hancock St | Dorchester

That'll be too bad if they can't work it out. Great project in overall concept, this property being backed out of it would make a pretty big dent. As the article notes, this seller's stance de facto lops off the gas station property at the corner, even though the buyers have that seller wrapped up.

It could be the seller is just seeing an opportunity to extract more $ via the expiration of the relocation deadline. If they don't get too grabby, the entire thing might all fall back in place. But to not get creamed, the developers can't just cave, and this could easily end up at a permanent impasse. I wonder if there has been any discussion of relocating those three businesses into some of the new retail space via phasing? That would obviously depend on their credit-worthiness, ability to pay rent on new space as opposed to old space, etc. On street view, they all three have very presentable curb appearances; none seem to be marginal, hanging by a thread type establishments. Looks can be deceiving, I know.

On the design, I add my vote to liking it in general, but I would like it a lot more if they put some detailing up at the cornice line, and also if the got more colorful. If neither of those things happened, I'd still vote in favor of it (if I had a vote, which I don't).
 
I'm reminded of what Ellen Corby responded when she was asked why she continued on The Waltons after having her stroke. "More money."
 
Great project & solution- hope the vehicle parking on the street issue inherent to the area won't damage it
 
Here's the amended proposal without the three properties bordering Dot Ave. It also omits the gas station on the corner. So, it's basically missing the most transformative bits of the whole plan. At least the giant parking garage is still included though. :confused: New renders included.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxXGXfTjkbEnRU1uZ19HWUI1dWs/view

The DOT BLOCK proposed project program has been decreased to approximately 385,000 gross square feet (excluding the parking garage) on a reduced 172,023 square foot site. It now includes approximately 378 residential units (reduced from 384 units)with up to 450 parking spaces in an on-site above-level garage in addition to approximately 40,000 GSF of retail space (reduced from 60,000GSF).
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Savin Hill said:
Here's the amended proposal without the three properties bordering Dot Ave. It also omits the gas station on the corner. So, it's basically missing the most transformative bits of the whole plan. At least the giant parking garage is still included though. :confused: New renders included.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxXGXfTjkbEnRU1uZ19HWUI1dWs/view
Click to expand...

Eh, it's not too bad of a change. I'm sure eventually they'll work out that corner. Glad to see they are moving forward and working within the constraints they have been given instead of just giving up. This sets the wheels of progress in motion. Once the neighborhood sees this development completed, they will want that corner to match & enjoy the amenities it will have to offer.
 
"Current plans on file with the Boston Redevelopment Authority call for the Dot Block to include eight four-story residential buildings with eight units apiece; a five-story, 50-unit residential building; and "several" five- to six-story buildings with residences and retail. There would also be an additional parking garage of some 450 spaces, with 22 more spots on a covered lot nearby. All totaled, we're talking about around 450 apartments (and presumably condos) as well as 72,000 square feet of retail.

With the design commission's O.K., final city approvals could come in the spring. Developer Atlas Investment Group is looking to start construction in the summer. Things have been up and down with this massive project, so stay tuned."

http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2016/02/dot-block-dorchester.php#more

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stick n move said:
"Current plans on file with the Boston Redevelopment Authority call for the Dot Block to include eight four-story residential buildings with eight units apiece; a five-story, 50-unit residential building; and "several" five- to six-story buildings with residences and retail. There would also be an additional parking garage of some 450 spaces, with 22 more spots on a covered lot nearby. All totaled, we're talking about around 450 apartments (and presumably condos) as well as 72,000 square feet of retail.

With the design commission's O.K., final city approvals could come in the spring. Developer Atlas Investment Group is looking to start construction in the summer. Things have been up and down with this massive project, so stay tuned."

http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2016/02/dot-block-dorchester.php#more

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Well, there won't be any risk of bacteria THERE, 'cause that is S-T-E-R-I-L-E.
 
Sterile is fine. I'd take thousands of units of this.
 
i know it's complicated - which it ought not to be - but the city could fix a truly massive traffic headache at this intersection by doing some sort of land swap or eminent domain on the far side of dot ave to line up freeport st with hancock... so much freeport traffic makes the quick right and left, backing up freeport and causing congestion by a needless left turn cycle on dot...

the next development across the street here should have the city seriously consider doing this, especially as all this vacant land is going to put a lot more drivers here, like it or not.
 
I'm a little worried - the internal courtyards/plazas/walkways could very easily turn into sketchy places. Streets are (or at least can be) safe places when there are "eyes on the street." These internal spaces won't have a lot of eyes on them.

Some of these renderings remind me of older-style public housing with too many courtyards or the "village green" style outdoor shopping malls that didn't last long because they were a hunting ground for muggers.

Maybe I'm overreacting because I mostly know Dorchester by reputation, but I just get a bad vibe from so much space away from the streets. Believe it or not one of the most dangerous places in Cambridge for violent crime is Harvard Yard...
 
fattony said:
I'm a little worried - the internal courtyards/plazas/walkways could very easily turn into sketchy places. Streets are (or at least can be) safe places when there are "eyes on the street." These internal spaces won't have a lot of eyes on them.

Some of these renderings remind me of older-style public housing with too many courtyards or the "village green" style outdoor shopping malls that didn't last long because they were a hunting ground for muggers.

Maybe I'm overreacting because I mostly know Dorchester by reputation, but I just get a bad vibe from so much space away from the streets. Believe it or not one of the most dangerous places in Cambridge for violent crime is Harvard Yard...
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First thing I thought when I saw this rendering was "it looks like the projects in Southie". Partially due to color scheme. But, minus out the walking folks, flowers, cyclist. It's not far off.

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So no, you're not entirely alone. I'd wait to pass judgment without seeing an overall layout plan to put all the pictures together.
 
SeamusMcFly said:
First thing I thought when I saw this rendering was "it looks like the projects in Southie". Partially due to color scheme. But, minus out the walking folks, flowers, cyclist. It's not far off.

So no, you're not entirely alone. I'd wait to pass judgment without seeing an overall layout plan to put all the pictures together.
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Revised plans:

(Parking garage is now partially wrapped by a residential building on the plaza side & upper right parcel no longer part of the project)

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Thanks for the update/reminder Data.
I feel better about safety looking at that. The pedestrian "street" is a pretty straight thru shot with lots of inward facing retail keeping "eyes on the street". The "outdoor amenity area is not a completely blind alley either. A place like this fully occupied with leased out retail should feel plenty safe.

If built like this, hopefully the lots across the street could be redeveloped similarly. This looks like a pretty weak stretch of Dot Ave. Some pretty solid residential neighborhoods north and south, but this whole area is relatively barren.
 
362-unit Dot Block project could break ground by summer

Looks like Dot Block is back on track.

A little-known investment group paid $19.1 million for the site located along Dorchester Avenue in Glover’s Corner, according to Suffolk County property records.

A spokeswoman for Dot Block said its previous developers, led by local retail veteran Sean Gildea, will continue to lead design and construction of what will be the neighborhood’s largest such project in decades. They won key city approvals for the 362-unit apartment complex earlier this year, then marketed the project to investors to finance the $150 million needed to move forward.

“Once we cleared (the Zoning Board of Appeals), we went out to look for a financial partner,” said Catherine O’Neill, a spokeswoman for the project. “We were delighted we got so many suitors.”

O’Neill wouldn’t identify the winning investor, which Suffolk County records indicate is a recently-created company called Wintergold LLC. An attorney at the law firm Mintz Levin who filed incorporation documents for Wintergold did not return messages seeking comment Thursday, nor did Gildea or a broker who reportedly worked on the deal. Wintergold also spent $1.9 million to buy a small lot adjacent to the nearly four-acre Dot Block parcel, according to property records.

Gildea and the new backers of Dot Block are continuing to talk with the owners of a few small neighboring parcels, O’Neill said. They hope to acquire the properties to expand the project’s site at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Hancock Street. O’Neill described the discussions as “fluid,” but said the developers hope to start construction by June.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...nSofIPkSAhD7D4njcyXM/story.html?event=event25
 
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