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

datadyne007

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PNF here: http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/2815c807-7e70-4eb2-9e61-b310585378d8

This project has been increased in size since the PNF filing:
http://www.dotnews.com/2015/dot-block-plans-grow-new-dot-ave-parcel-acquired

384 apartments (increased to 420)
60,000 square feet of retail space (increased to 68,000)
450-car garage, 22-space retail parking lot

The Proposed Development will proceed as a single project. However, components of the development will need to be sequenced for logistical reasons, and to satisfy lender requirements and allow for market absorption. Initial construction is expected to include the eastern and southern portions of the development along Dorchester Avenue and Hancock Street. These buildings will include several 5-6 story, mixed-use buildings with approximately 60,000 square feet of ground floor retail space and a total of 270 upper level residential units, approximately 7,200 square feet of ground level support and service space, and a 25,000 square foot landscaped roof deck. The buildings will be served by a five level, 450 space central parking garage and by a separate 22 space covered lot dedicated to retail parking.

There is expected to be an interim condition to screen the completed garage from the adjoining residential areas across Pleasant and Greenmount Streets, as requested by the BRA, until the completion of the full build-out (as described in the paragraph below).

Following completion or substantial completion of the construction described in the prior paragraph, a northern portion of the approximately 206,849 square foot site will be developed for residential and open space uses, including 64 for-sale or rental two-bedroom units in eight separate four-story structures along Pleasant and Greenmount Streets providing 88,760 gsf of floor area. In addition, there will be a single, five-story structure housing 50 for-sale or rental units providing 53,844 gsf of floor area.

Project Locus:
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Figure-ground/site plan:

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Renders:

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Elevations:
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Plans:

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Yup. That is how you do it folks. Dense, human, urban, mixed use.

cca
 
Yup. That is how you do it folks. Dense, human, urban, mixed use.

cca

Completely agreed.

1.17 space/unit parking ratio is ridiculous for a 10 minute walk to/from Savin Hill, but I'm glad the parking garage is totally hidden within the interior courtyard, at least.

Otherwise, it looks like a fantastic project. The massing is all excellent and fits within the context beautifully.

Just great dense & urban figure-ground massing.
 
Full disclosure, I know a bunch of people at RODE, and they really get it. I hope the best success for them. Good people who really know how to design.

cca
 
This is just the thing and hopefully will be a catalyst for more. Cries of gentrification will begin in 1, 2...
 
Good layout, good scale, not so good cold sterile renderings.

Overall excellent project, that will probably look better when complete.
Now hopefully it gets complete....
 
Grey on grey on white seems like sort of a bland choice. RODE oughtta call up the folks at ADD to get a color infusion
 

At least there are a few people offsetting those cries about gentrification.

I enjoyed this one:

We Must Stop This Project
By John Costello on Thu, 06/04/2015 - 10:17am
This project will destroy an abandoned warehouse, a gas station, a few auto repair garages and some really, really overgrown lots. Glover's Corner was considered by many to be seedy in the 80's, the 1880's.
Let's keep it that way cause that will show those yuppies who is boss. Rock on WFT021. Let's keep the revolution at bay and go drinking in the Marsh or at Peggy O'Neil's when we have a chance. We can kill a few Buds and talk about how great our existence is
 
John is a regular or semi-regular on this board isn't he? Or, maybe I'm confused.
 
Amazing project. As others have said, this should be repeated wherever possible. I would love to see this kind of development in post-industrial, vacant, overgrown lots (wherever they may still exist).

Parking:

With the addition of more units, it appears there are now 1.12 spaces/unit counting the retail lot, and only 1.07 spaces/unit not counting the retail lot. This is too high for the area, but not terrible. It really should be more like 0.7 spaces/unit. Public transit access is good. By T, you can be in:

South Station in 20-30 minutes.
DTX in 25-30 minutes.
Harvard Square in 35-45 minutes.

Basically, the kind of location that should accommodate SOME parking, much more-so than a lot immediately adjacent to JFK/UMass Station, for example. Not as much parking as they've proposed, though.

John is a regular or semi-regular on this board isn't he? Or, maybe I'm confused.

His post was a sarcastic knock on the NIMBYs. Re-read it again with that in mind.
 
His post was a sarcastic knock on the NIMBYs. Re-read it again with that in mind.

Oh no. I got the message.
Just was pretty sure I recognized the name.

I major in sarcasm, although I have checked it at the door a bit more lately.
 
So I've read through the PNF and discovered that 120 spaces in the garage are for retail, so the parking ratio is a lot lower.

450-120 = 330/420 = 0.78 parking ratio

3.1.2
A five story parking structure of up to 450 spaces will provide for the vehicular support of the entire development. An additional 22 parking spaces can be accommodated in a covered area of Hancock Street at ground level, for dedicated retail use. The parking garage will provide adequate support for the needs of both the retail and residential, with the anticipation that approximately 120 spaces will be reserved for the retail tenants. Control with a traditional validating system will facilitate easy and direct access and exiting for the retail patrons. Internal controls will provide a clear separation between the residential parking areas on the upper floors and the retail patrons on the ground floor.
 
So I've read through the PNF and discovered that 120 spaces in the garage are for retail, so the parking ratio is a lot lower.

450-120 = 330/420 = 0.78 parking ratio

Perfect! That's about what it should be.
 
Too bad the parking couldn't be underground, with a pocket park on top.
 
DOT Block project hits property snag; we’re moving ahead, developers assert
By Jennifer Smith, Dorchester Reporter

Plans for the DOT Block development are being adjusted after the owner of three properties at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Hancock Street backed away from an agreement to sell them to the project’s developers.

The new wrinkle was revealed on Monday at the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association monthly meeting where developers updated some 35 residents on the overall project.

The three properties on that corner – currently a bakery, a senior care service facility, and a bar – were under an agreement to sell by the owner on the condition that all current residents be relocated by the DOT Block group, said Catherine O’Neill, who is representing the developers in the community.

The developers were working on relocating tenants and asked for a 90-day extension to complete the effort, which they “didn’t think was beyond the pale,” O’Neill said. But the extension was not considered acceptable by the owner, she said, and the selling agreement was rescinded.
 

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