East Boston Infill and Small Developments

BostonDrew said:
Retail proposal for Maverick Square
FormPlace_24eastboston01_biz-.jpg
[/URL]
Click to expand...

Will be replacing this vvv.

https://flic.kr/p/S8T7gf
 
Especially with the landlords selling the buildings and displacing tenants! I've seen too much of that, which is why I will never trust another private landlord again. :mad:
 
I've grown weary of seeing new construction that looks like a scaled-up version of a model railroad - plastic, inauthentic, and hollow.
 
Really? This is the building we're beating up on? Need I remind everyone what East Boston is like?


https://www.google.com/maps/@42.380...4!1spRxJhvqeM28Qfu-YExjuFw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.378...4!1sX2tktF-pRUYLRV6zsbpoug!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.388...16.980341&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@42.384...4!1sXhxltMWASTuMCIEb7o_Bgw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Puh-leez.

Let me know when the old Italians with no style and moved out of East Boston years ago but continue to hold their slumlord properties which haven't been updated since the 1960's actually decide to do something as decent as this new place you're all circling with pitchforks.
 
Jahvon09 said:
Especially with the landlords selling the buildings and displacing tenants! I've seen too much of that, which is why I will never trust another private landlord again. :mad:
Click to expand...

I don't think displacement happens as much now as it did a generation or two ago. With the pace and density of new developments coming to East Boston (among other neighborhoods), there is greater opportunity for folks to live in East Boston than ever before.

Frankly any net gain in housing inventory is a win. If a neglected, dilapidated 2-family or 3-family is converted into a new construction, 16- to 20-unit multifamily building, then that's good for everyone in our region.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
Let me know when the old Italians with no style and moved out of East Boston years ago but continue to hold their slumlord properties which haven't been updated since the 1960's actually decide to do something as decent as this new place you're all circling with pitchforks.
Click to expand...
I have no love for vinyl-sided armpits (though almost nothing you showcased is what I would consider slummy) but that's a different discussion.

The bigger point is that so much new residential construction here amounts to vernacular mockery and this being New England that vernacular is of course 'Traditional'. These kinds of designs do not pay homage, they caricature: exaggerated, clumsy proportions, cheap materials, a complete lack of originality or personality (can we please get a moratorium on bay windows). I would need epic amounts of anti-depressants to live in one of these 'charming colonials'.
 
BostonUrbEx said:
Really? This is the building we're beating up on? Need I remind everyone what East Boston is like?

Puh-leez.

Let me know when the old Italians with no style and moved out of East Boston years ago but continue to hold their slumlord properties which haven't been updated since the 1960's actually decide to do something as decent as this new place you're all circling with pitchforks.
Click to expand...

Broad-brush much? I'm one of those old Italians. What's historically gone wrong aesthetically in East Boston (and other similar communities across urban New England) is a matter of socioeconomics, not taste or national origin. Crack a book and read about the neighborhood.

Brad Plaid said:
The bigger point is that so much new residential construction here amounts to vernacular mockery and this being New England that vernacular is of course 'Traditional'. These kinds of designs do not pay homage, they caricature: exaggerated, clumsy proportions, cheap materials, a complete lack of originality or personality...
Click to expand...

Quite so, Brad -- thanks for getting it.

New construction in East Boston (or any "transitional neighborhood") should elevate the existing built environment, with high-quality materials, intelligent planning, and innovative design that shows deference for "the rules of the street." This sort of thoughtfulness is visible in numerous residential and mixed-use projects in the South End, Brookline, Cambridge, Charlestown, and the North End. Why shouldn't we expect the same thing in East Boston?
 
Last edited:
Beton Brut said:
Broad-brush much? I'm one of those old Italians.
Click to expand...

I know you are, and I was actually being incredibly specific in who I'm squaring the blame on.

EDIT: that doesn't sound right. Sounds like I'm targeting you, which I am *not.*

Beton Brut said:
Why shouldn't we expect the same thing in East Boston?
Click to expand...

Probably because rents are so much lower in Eastie, and it is still perceived as having a rougher vibe.
 
Last edited:
The crappy new stuff going up in a lot of Eastie is just as crappy as a lot of the crappy stuff going up in southie. I think percent owner-occupied has a lot to do iwith t - there's a lot more turnover in Eastie (myself included) than in back bay or the south end (guessing) and so less well-organized neighborhood negotiating power. Fwiw the Jeffries point neighborhood association might be the exception that proves the rule.

The same might be true in orient heights - beton brut can speak to that.


There is some good stuff going up too btw. The long vernacular brick building on Chelsea st for example is very well executed. And the 'lobster trap' on marginal st next to KO Pies is clearly a building that the builders cared about, even if it's not everyone's cup of tea.
 
UrbEx -- I'm not looking for a dust up with you (or anyone) but I know you to be a lot smarter than your comments here.

In the 70s, with the unchecked growth of Logan Airport and Judge Garity's ruling that lead to forced busing, a lot of folks of my parents' generation ran away from (East) Boston. Some kept "Pa's house" and took advantage of Section 8 vouchers that the government was handing out like Halloween candy in the 90s. But that ship has sailed - it's simply not the reality in East Boston circa 2017.

Today, the capital behind new development in East Boston is for the most part from outside of the neighborhood. If anything, investors look to partner with politically connected locals as minority partners. To be clear, I'm all too happy to see new investment, and to meet new neighbors. And I'm willing to look at any development proposal based on its merits. But the carnival of Hardie Plank needs to end.

CSTH said:
FWIW the Jeffries point neighborhood association might be the exception that proves the rule.

The same might be true in orient heights - beton brut can speak to that.

The long vernacular brick building on Chelsea st for example is very well executed. And the 'lobster trap' on marginal st next to KO Pies is clearly a building that the builders cared about, even if it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Click to expand...

"The Point" has evolved more than any other part of East Boston. Thirty five years ago, it's where you'd go to buy weed. Today, it's where you go to learn guitar, meet with your lawyer, or grab a craft beer.

The Heights is largely unchanged (demographically and ideologically), since I was potty-trained. I've tried and I'm trying, but I'm one guy with a life that takes priority over a noisy, ill-governed neighborhood council...
 
dshoost88 said:
I don't think displacement happens as much now as it did a generation or two ago. With the pace and density of new developments coming to East Boston (among other neighborhoods), there is greater opportunity for folks to live in East Boston than ever before.

Frankly any net gain in housing inventory is a win. If a neglected, dilapidated 2-family or 3-family is converted into a new construction, 16- to 20-unit multifamily building, then that's good for everyone in our region.
Click to expand...



Also, I was a victim of that crap!

The landlord became a total jerk, bully & a coward! Which is why I said that I will NEVER trust another private landlord again.

As a result of that, I became so stressed out that I was diagnosed with PTSD.
Which had me so stressed out that I was contemplating suicide, was crying to no end & was just plain MISERABLE!

He made me suffer so badly, then lied on me to the BHA.
 
Brad Plaid said:
I have no love for vinyl-sided armpits (though almost nothing you showcased is what I would consider slummy) but that's a different discussion.

The bigger point is that so much new residential construction here amounts to vernacular mockery and this being New England that vernacular is of course 'Traditional'. These kinds of designs do not pay homage, they caricature: exaggerated, clumsy proportions, cheap materials, a complete lack of originality or personality (can we please get a moratorium on bay windows). I would need epic amounts of anti-depressants to live in one of these 'charming colonials'.
Click to expand...

Seconded on the "exaggerated, clumsy proportions, cheap materials" and maybe "personality" But to hell with "originality". I'd much rather see good use of traditional styles with high quality long lasting materials than yet another caricature of originality.

Like the Monty Python scene where the crowd says in unison "we are all individuals".

Nothing wrong with emulating good architecture and letting originality come about as the exception.
 
tangent said:
traditional styles with high quality long lasting materials
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, this costs a lot of money to build.

The only people who will make that kind of investment are building a bespoke building for themselves.
 
"I'd much rather see good use of traditional styles with high quality long lasting materials"
Click to expand...

Trying to square contemporary performance requirement (code induced), and traditional forms is very very expensive. This is the basis for why we might think about redefining what is honest ... and what is nostalgia.

cca
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top