East Boston Infill and Small Developments

tangent said:
Really should be preserving those townhouses, architecture like that is what makes Boston Boston.
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I'm highly skeptical about petitions actually working, in this case the proposed project is just not good so I have my fingers crossed that something gets worke out. In addition to getting rid of those nice, full-of-character townhouses, building two stories of retail this close to Maverick Square is just so shortsighted. They should be doing a level of retail and 3 or 4 stories of residential. It's just so obvious.
 
not as good as flat-out rejected as a possibility, but good news, anyway.
 
^ Agreed. A worthy fight, being fought well.
 
Unauthorized pre-demolition activites, including the removal or windows, and the removal of flashing from the chimney, both of which could undermine the structural integrity of the building. Numerous reports including photographic evidence of an unsecured jobsite and asbestos removal activities without proper safety precautions (for workers, abutters, and passers-by) were also submitted at the BLC meeting.

It is plain to see that the developer is motivated to demolish these buildings while Sal LaMattina remains on the Boston City Council. Lydia Edwards, who will replace him, has supported the preservation and adaptive reuse of these townhouses.
 
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Beton Brut said:
Unauthorized pre-demolition activites, including the removal or windows, and the removal of flashing from the chimney, both of which could undermine the structural integrity of the building. Numerous reports including photographic evidence of an unsecured jobsite and asbestos removal activities without proper safety precautions (for workers, abutters, and passers-by) were also submitted at the BLC meeting.

It is plain to see that the developer is motivated to demolish these buildings while Sal LaMattina remains on the Boston City Council. Lydia Edwards, who will replace him, has supported the preservation and adaptive reuse of these townhouses.
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Really interesting. Thanks for the follow up.

Maybe we'll get a more appropriate project for that site now.
 
That would be nice, yes.

Developers and their legal counsel are slowly learning that the political climate in East Boston is evolving away from the "It's about jobs" and "nothing to see here" approach of the past 40 years. LaMattina is the last domino to fall. I won't miss him; a decent chap to talk with, but about as sharp as a bowling ball.

I'm something of an aberration, a third-generation East Bostonian with an open heart to new ideas, and a sharp stick to fend off bad ideas. Activist new-comers are often college-educated professionals; most people of my generation who got that far in life flew the coop to the North Shore over twenty years ago. I stuck around (mainly to look after my elderly parents, and because I prefer city life) and feel so much better for it.
 
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The commenters on UHub have gotten dramatically more NIMBY of late, too. Today, they're protesting the horrible crime of a single family house in Eastie with a 9 unit building. This is why we have a housing crisis.
 
Coyote137 said:
On a side note, Adam G. is apparently a NIMBY.
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curcuas said:
The commenters on UHub have gotten dramatically more NIMBY of late, too. Today, they're protesting the horrible crime of a single family house in Eastie with a 9 unit building. This is why we have a housing crisis.
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I think you'd both benefit from a closer study of the situation "one the ground" in East Boston. In short, it's a little more complicated than "the NIMBYs want to block nine new housing units."

I attend a lot of community meetings. The more thoughtful attendees who address concerns about scale and FAR do so because they realize that no project is happening in a vacuum. There are legitimate concerns about the capacity of water and sewer infrastructure to handle the spectrum of large- and small-scale projects in progress and on the boards. The traffic situation in Jefferies Point and the Gove Street neighborhood is already gridlock during the morning commute. And the Blue Line is approaching capacity during rush hour.

The truth is, there's been nothing approaching a comprehensive masterplan for East Boston in a quarter century. Whether this is by design, or the sad result of forty years of incompetent political leadership is up for debate. I've found that many people are excited to see new development, but their enthusiasm is tempered by caution for a spectrum of reasons, from gentrification and displacement to more common tropes like height, shadows, and parking counts.

My main concerns are with design ethos (i.e. the quality of design and materials), the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of older buildings, and more imaginative approaches to personal transportation and resiliency to climate change. I also have misgivings about "condoing out" multi-family dwellings, and the way this practice will effect the near- and long-term socioeconomics of East Boston, but there's no need to be pedantic at quarter til midnight...
 
The Globe has a little piece on East Boston neighbors who are opposing the proposed Maverick retail building for, well, one of the same reasons many of us are.

Boston Globe said:
The residents are pushing Burlington-based Linear Retail Properties LLC to come up with something more ambitious than the two-story, 26,000-square-foot retail complex it’s proposed for a site now occupied by a former funeral home and three vacant buildings. The development, steps from the MBTA’s Maverick Blue Line station, would include a restaurant, shops, and a fitness center.

“In a commercial location like this, a two-story single-use [development] is unacceptable,” said David Aiken, who has lived in the Jeffries Point section of East Boston for 4½ years. “This is a formidable development [site] that could be good for multiple generations. There’s not much office space and very little residential right on Maverick Square. Why should the East Boston waterfront be developed into luxury housing and Maverick Square left to this?”
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The article leans heavily on all the same old tired cliches, but it's good to see someone publicizing this view.
 
Agreed on the "old tired cliches," Buc...

Joel Kadis said:
Those calling for an upsized project, Kadis said, are mostly East Boston newcomers whose interests are at odds with those of the people who have called the neighborhood home for decades.
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This song isn't on the charts anymore; anyone who's followed the sea-change in East Boston's political landscape over the last few years knows that old-line families, thirty-something newcomers, and the diverse community from Latin America have joined together on a spectrum of positive initiatives in East Boston.

Joel Kadis said:
“They don’t want a monstrosity,” he said of longtime residents. “They want a building that looks like it belongs.”
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He's correct about a not wanting "a monstrosity;" his suggestion that their current proposal (that requires the demolition of a pair of brick townhouses, circa 1870) as "a building that looks like it belongs" is a steaming load of horseshit.

Joel Kadis said:
...hundreds of residents have signed a petition from Linear supporting the current development plans.
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I wonder if the signers have verified addresses in East Boston...

I've sat in hearings with Mr. Kadis and his legal representation. He's wedded to a concept for this prominent location that's a two-story version of the single-story "taxpayer" retail buildings of a century ago that we often deride here, with the added bonus of being entirely devoid of architectural merit. It's architecture worthy of a waste basket. Maverick Square is a unique public space, and it deserves place-making design. When the developers you're dealing with (emboldened by the support of an incompetent out-bound elected official) propose trash, East Bostonian's show up with brooms.
 
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