East Boston Infill and Small Developments

^ 100% agree. Coppersmith is the only project of underway in that part of East Boston that meets the existing and future needs of the community. The scale, urban form, and price point are appropriate.

(Though a couple of good friends were quoted in the Globe's piece, the overall impact of the story was sloppy.)
 
Beton Brut said:
^ 100% agree. Coppersmith is the only project of underway in that part of East Boston that meets the existing and future needs of the community. The scale, urban form, and price point are appropriate.

(Though a couple of good friends were quoted in the Globe's piece, the overall impact of the story was sloppy.)
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To your point, I honestly could not believe how much the newer spots along the East Boston waterfront are going for. Just for morbid curiosity, I look a look at the rental rates for the newer Portside (phase 2?) apartments.. ~$4k - $6.5k per month for a 2 bedroom, not including parking and a couple other fees!?!?

That just sounds insane. I also took a look at a couple of rental buildings in the Seaport. It's within the same range! I'm shocked. Must be something about that water view to Downtown I suppose.
 
The design suggests that the developers actually hired an architect.

It will be difficult to convince many of my neighbors that this level of density is appropriate for this location.
 
I haven't studied this proposal in detail, so I can't comment in much detail. I can say that the neighborhood associations in Jeffries Point and Gove Street are concerned, both with scale, and the impact on mobility and transit infrastructure.
 
Beton Brut said:
I haven't studied this proposal in detail, so I can't comment in much detail. I can say that the neighborhood associations in Jeffries Point and Gove Street are concerned, both with scale, and the impact on mobility and transit infrastructure.
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How? The proposal looks to be perfectly in scale with the buildings on either side.
 
Equilibria said:
How?
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I believe the 5 and 6 story buildings have met with objections. In comparison to the modest single and (up to) three family homes in this enclave, some residents find these buildings oversized.

And again, I haven't studied the proposal in depth or attended any neighborhood meetings. I haven't seen the details of the proposed design; I'm just framing the concerns that I've heard from people who live in that corner of East Boston.

Speaking only for myself, the most concerning aspect of this proposal is the impact on traffic management in these narrow streets, when aggregated with the other (larger) developments on the Waterfront.
 
Traffic, Shadows, Manhattanization, Gentrification, Open Space, BINGO!
 
To those of you who dismiss the concerns about traffic in the neighborhood and capacity on the Blue Line, please regale us with your experiences of a morning commute from East Boston...
 
Doesnt the Blue line have the lowest ridership of any subway line we have?
 
That may indeed be true, but numbers don't tell the entire story. The Blue Line is also the shortest line on the system by a pretty wide margin, and I'd expect this is a contributing factor to those low numbers. This is a line that serves a dense, established residential neighborhood with key bus connections to surrounding municipalities (Chelsea, Winthrop), a large parking structure at its northern terminus, and an international airport. So the numbers lose their meaning if you're trying to board a train at 8:15 AM in Maverick Square.
 
^ Beton you sound a bit like politician (or a NIMBY) sorry to say. You can't ignore numbers.... Maverick is the blue line's busiest stop outside the core and still behind forrest hills, alewife, davis square, malden, sullivan square-- the argument doesnt really hold water for me.

All areas of the city are congested, that doesnt mean we can't add housing. When prices are at 600k for 1 bed in the city we need people to not block housing. You seem like an established individual, sit back and watch your property values go up. I understand you don't to be Southie 2.0 but honestly nothing is going to stop that. 6 story buildings are fit for anywhere in the city limits realistically, its not asking a lot.
 
I spent part of my lunch looking over the documents that CSTH posted above. What I had time to review is still a bit nebulous, but speaking only for myself, I'm not troubled by the proposal. I do understand why others might be.

I'm no politician. As an engaged homeowner in my community, there are proposals I'll support, and others I'll speak out against. I usually get shot at by both sides at community meetings. I'd describe myself as nominally pro-development, in that I think it needs to be easier to get a project from the drawing board (and the bank) to market. Conversely, we all should expect better designs and materials from the developers, and more innovative planning from the city and region, from roads, to public transportation, to utilities.

I agree, housing costs across the region are inflated beyond the point of sustainability, and this needs to be addressed. I'm just not convinced that market forces (like the rising value of my family's home) are sending us in the right direction. So many of these problems boil down to a population that, regardless of education or economic level, is largely incapable of having a nuanced discussion on these topics.
 
Peeeeerfectly appropriate scale/material filler. More please! The way the side hits the street like an old brownstone is wonderful, then is that retail I see on the other?

BeeLine said:
31 Orleans

https://flic.kr/p/KSw5w8

https://flic.kr/p/MqzCWJ

https://flic.kr/p/KSw63P
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Uh oh lol......oh boy this is bad. Yet another one of the many times I ask why? Why go out of your way to design something that takes time and extra effort to basically try even harder to make it horrible. Someone or some people signed off on this too.... I question their architectural integrity. Its almost disrespectful to build this in a wonderful old build neighborhood like this.

BeeLine said:
https://flic.kr/p/LMjcSN
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