Iron Works | 323-365 Dorchester Ave | South Boston

whighlander said:
Henry -- the problem with that kind of blanket statement is that there are existing neighborhoods which become victims of a "one size fits all" mentality

For example -- Build all you want between Broadway and Andrew on the [W] side of Dorchester Ave. East of Dorchester Ave there are existing residential developments which need to be treated with care. The same goes for the "Polish Triangle" between Boston St. and Dorchester Ave.

The planners are letting massive buildings encroach on a stable residential neighborhood.
The best approach is to go somewhat slow starting at the Broadway end redeveloping the old industrial / warehouse district parcel by parcel over the next decade.
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East of Dot Ave and west of Old Colony is not a neighborhood. It's no man's land.

The polish triangle doesn't really exist anymore, per a Globe article in 2013 (top response when googled). And per an acquaintance who has live in the Mary Ellen McCormick projects for 25 years.

Slow down? The Macallen Building (Dot and W. 4th) is 15 years old!
 
Cortes said:
East of Dot Ave and west of Old Colony is not a neighborhood. It's no man's land.

The polish triangle doesn't really exist anymore, per a Globe article in 2013 (top response when googled). And per an acquaintance who has live in the Mary Ellen McCormick projects for 25 years.

Slow down? The Macallen Building (Dot and W. 4th) is 15 years old!
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Cortes -- The Triangle Exists well enough to support [some number of the below with which I have personal experience]:
Baltic Deli
Cafe Polonia
Our Lady of Czestochowa Church
Polish American Citizens Club
DJ's European Market and Deli
Polish Language School
Syrena Travel Agency
Ziggy's Tours
Alliance Business Solutions LLC Translates Polish Language Documents
Szyjka & D'Eramo, Law firm anchored by a Polish speaking attorney
Stitch House -- teaches knitting and sells upscale yarns and fabrics
Euromart

That might not be what was there when Polish Seamen were jumping ship in Boston circa 1980 -- but it is still more than alive
 
LOI submitted by National Development per UHub article. We also seem to have a new official name for the complex.

Box

bpda.app.box.com bpda.app.box.com
 
I jog by this area almost daily and it's fun to watch people (especially the kids from the Boston Children's Chorus) interact with all the public artwork. It's like ghosts of Southie's past are haunting the place.

"Iron Works"... it has that "Ink Block" attitude that National Development is becoming known for. I think this one will be a game-changer.
 
Mike02125 said:
I jog by this area almost daily and it's fun to watch people (especially the kids from the Boston Children's Chorus) interact with all the public artwork. It's like ghosts of Southie's past are haunting the place.

"Iron Works"... it has that "Ink Block" attitude that National Development is becoming known for. I think this one will be a game-changer.
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The ghosts are kinda weird and for a while there were up on random buildings everywhere without any explanation. It makes more sense now at least
 
Time for a thread renaming to “Iron Works”?
 
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www.bostonglobe.com

More changes coming to Dorchester Ave. in South Boston - The Boston Globe

A relocated college. A life sciences lab. And a 1 million square foot development. Take a look at the seven major proposals that got the go-ahead from the Boston Planning & Development Agency Thursday night.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
 
The red residential in the back was supposed to be the tallest building in the complex. What the heck happened? Why does the city keep allowing these housing reductions? Why is 290' considered too tall for the future of Boston?

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DZH22 said:
The red residential in the back was supposed to be the tallest building in the complex. What the heck happened? Why does the city keep allowing these housing reductions? Why is 290' considered too tall for the future of Boston?
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Are you insane? Do you have any idea what the shadow impact would be on the nearby industrial lots and multi-lane highways?


[When this was proposed, I commented: "At 254 feet, the building would be several stories shorter than the 300 feet allowed under the Dorchester Avenue overlay zoning," and asked why a company would leave that square footage off the table. Well, yesterday's Boston Globe article references the pushback against even that height (254 feet), so they made an additional chop in order to get approval. I don't have the option of moving back to Chicago, but I sure do miss it every time I see an extensive height cut -- especially on a residential building in an industrial wasteland].
 
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rjacobs said:
Are you insane? Do you have any idea what the shadow impact would be on the nearby industrial lots and multi-lane highways?

[
[When this was proposed, I commented: "At 254 feet, the building would be several stories shorter than the 300 feet allowed under the Dorchester Avenue overlay zoning," and asked why a company would leave that square footage off the table. Well, yesterday's Boston Globe article references the pushback against even that height (254 feet), so they made an additional chop in order to get approval. I don't have the option of moving back to Chicago, but I sure do miss it every time I see an extensive height cut -- especially on a residential building in an industrial wasteland).
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I love tall buildings also, but I prefer being in a city I can enjoy and actually live in rather , than one I can only enjoy from telephoto pics.

Crime Comparison Between Boston, MA, United States And Chicago, IL, United States. Safety Comparison.

www.numbeo.com www.numbeo.com

Crime Comparison Between Boston, MA and Chicago, IL
Index InfoBoston, MAChicago, IL
Crime Index: 36.32 65.68
Safety Scale: 63.68 34.32

Safety comparisons Chicago, IL vs Boston, MA
Chicago, ILBoston, MA
Improve DataImprove Data
Safety walking alone during daylightModerate 55.97Very High 83.81
Safety walking alone during nightLow 25.47Moderate 59.43
 
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shmessy said:
I love tall buildings also, but I prefer being in a city I can enjoy and actually live in rather , than one I can only enjoy from telephoto pics.

Crime Comparison Between Boston, MA, United States And Chicago, IL, United States. Safety Comparison.

www.numbeo.com www.numbeo.com

Crime Comparison Between Boston, MA and Chicago, IL
Index InfoBoston, MAChicago, IL
Crime Index: 36.32 65.68
Safety Scale: 63.68 34.32

Safety comparisons Chicago, IL vs Boston, MA
Chicago, ILBoston, MA
Improve DataImprove Data
Safety walking alone during daylightModerate 55.97Very High 83.81
Safety walking alone during nightLow 25.47Moderate 59.43
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I think the resounding point here is more so that, we are in the throes of a major housing crisis, and we shouldn't be sacrificing the ability to build dense, tall, housing because neighbors are uncomfortable. I'm a 1,000ft abutter, would have loved to see this go to the zoning height.

Also, I think you know this but complete non-sequitur on crime versus height of buildings? I think if you were to look at Downtown Chicago versus Andrew Square, you would find a higher crime incidence rate in Andrew Square.
 
CancelEuclid said:
I think the resounding point here is more so that, we are in the throes of a major housing crisis, and we shouldn't be sacrificing the ability to build dense, tall, housing because neighbors are uncomfortable. I'm a 1,000ft abutter, would have loved to see this go to the zoning height.

Also, I think you know this but complete non-sequitur on crime versus height of buildings? I think if you were to look at Downtown Chicago versus Andrew Square, you would find a higher crime incidence rate in Andrew Square.
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I fully agree and am a full proponent of building high and building more housing. Absolutely. Boston needs to do better on both.

That being said, on the list of priorities of actually living in a city - versus enjoying one from the pages of a coffee table book - livability is far more important - - and it is also far more important in attracting the businesses of the future and the bigger spending foreign tourists. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd venture to guess, Boston's economy (as a percentage) is growing far faster than Chicago's.
 
CancelEuclid said:
I think the resounding point here is more so that, we are in the throes of a major housing crisis, and we shouldn't be sacrificing the ability to build dense, tall, housing because neighbors are uncomfortable. I'm a 1,000ft abutter, would have loved to see this go to the zoning height.

Also, I think you know this but complete non-sequitur on crime versus height of buildings? I think if you were to look at Downtown Chicago versus Andrew Square, you would find a higher crime incidence rate in Andrew Square.
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I mostly agree. I just found the mention of Chicago - - which has a host of urban problems not seen in Boston - to be a bit notable.

Boston DOES need to not be so afraid of height and DOES need to accelerate housing units. However, anyone who has been around the country the past 5-6 years can only be struck by how much of an incredible OUTLIER Boston is being a cleaner, safer, more progressive city than almost any other in the US. Even Chicago, which had never been a Cleveland or Detroit, is beginning to slip there.
 
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Blackbird said:
You would?
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Yeah, I thought even that apples to oranges comparison still favored Andrews Square. That says alot about Chicago in 2021.

I admit Mass and Cass would indeed be a favorable comparison for downtown Chicago.
 
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shmessy said:
However, anyone who has been around the country the past 5-6 years can only be struck by how much of an incredible OUTLIER Boston is being a cleaner, safer, more progressive city than almost any other in the US.
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Anyone have any idea why that is? My brother, who recently retired from the police, says a small part of it is that the BPD has fairly good relations with minority communities, at least compared to other cities, but that's certainly not the whole explanation. What do people here think are factors at work (or not at work) that make Boston such an outlier?
 
I just had a thought. Maybe Boston just attracts dull boring people who aren't much into hellraising and rabblerousing. There may be a silver lining in things like liquor licenses that are hard to get and early closing times for bars and clubs. Things like that make the town too boring for the kind of energetic people who like to smash windows and set things on fire, so they move to cities that better fit their personality and lifestyle. I wonder if any sociologist has ever studied this.
 
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