Jackson Square Infill and Small Developments

[czsz]

Very nice. The mix of architectural styles is especially welcome. I'd like to see more redevelopment/densification of this sort throughout Boston's "outer boroughs" (Roxbury on down).

 

[Mike]

Jackson Square project approved
Boston Business Journal
Friday, November 16, 2007


The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved a transit-orientated development on 11 acres of land in the Jackson Square neighborhood.

The first phase of the $250 million project, approved Thursday, will be built in four phases starting early next year. The project will redevelop 11 acres of public and private land next to the MBTA Jackson Square station. Once completed in 2013 will transform the area into a vibrant center with mixed-income housing, retail shops, community facilities and open space to reconnect Jamaica Plain and Roxbury.

The first phase of the project represents approximately 40 percent of the $250 million project and includes the construction of four new buildings.

The development team, known as Jackson Square Partners LLC is made up of three community-based non-profit organizations. Jackson Square Partners will serve as the master developer of the project and will have ultimate responsibility to the community, funders, and public agencies for ensuring its delivery.

The entire project, when all four phases are complete, will consist of 436 units of housing, including 289 units (66 percent) targeted for low or moderate income households; 61,200 square feet of ground floor retail/commercial space; 13,500 square feet of office space; and 66,500 square feet of community facilities, including the Youth and Family Center and an Indoor Active Recreation Facility; the new facility for the Department of Youth Services; and reconfiguration of the existing City of Boston Public Works Department facility.



Link

 

[JimboJones]

Not sure if there's anything new in this article, from Banker & Tradesman (BREAKING NEWS):

A 103-unit, mixed-income apartment building that?s part of a multimillion-dollar project to revitalize Boston?s Jackson Square has the go-ahead from the city?s Zoning Board of Appeal.

Mitchell Properties received a variance Tuesday to build the 6-story building, which will include about 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The building, located at 225 Centre St., will sit on a triangular piece of land adjacent to the MBTA?s Orange Line. It will include 35 units with below-market-rate rents.

The $50 million project is part of the first phase of the redevelopment of Jackson Square in Jamaica Plain into more than 400 apartments and condominiums, as well as retail and office space. The project?s first phase was approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in November. It entails five buildings, including construction of a 30,000-square-foot youth and family center and a new 2-story Department of Youth and Services facility at 1542 Columbus Ave.

The Jackson Square redevelopment team consists of Mitchell Properties; Gravestar; Urban Edge and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., two nonprofit community-based development groups; and the Hyde Square Task Force, a nonprofit group.

The 103-unit building needed a variance because it exceeds the 60-foot height limit in the area by 9 feet. Residents and representatives from several city councilors? offices were at the Zoning Board hearing Tuesday to express their support.

Bart Mitchell, president of Mitchell Properties, said his firm has applied for state funding for the project and may know as early as this spring if the money will be available. The city already has committed $1.75 million in affordable housing money for the project.

Construction of the building could start as early as this fall or next spring, depending on when the funding is awarded.

One complicating factor for the overall project is that the development team has to create new infrastructure, explained Richard Thal, executive director of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., or JPNDC. Roads and sidewalks in the neighborhood were torn out 40 years ago to make way for a highway that would have run through parts of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge and Somerville.

The developers have applied for state funding to help pay for some of the infrastructure improvements, said Thal.

Thal added that the developers are hoping to launch a capital campaign late this year to collect fund to for the $13 million youth and family center. The center is being developed by the JPNDC and Hyde Square Task Force.

?The Jackson Square development is a very exciting initiative,? Mitchell said.

Source: Jackson Square Project Gets Green Light - By Aglaia Pikounis, Banker & Tradesman

 

[rikahlberg]

225 Centre Street

Here's a rendering of the building that was just approved for 225 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. This is the current grassy park area at the corner of Columbus and Centre right next to the Jackson Square T station...

I don't know if this is close to the final design, since there was a lot of discussion at the Civic Design Commission's design review hearings about making this building and the proposed building across Columbus more in keeping with each other.

And closer to the T station (to the left of the image above):

These images are from a "coming soon" brochure by the JPNDC.

More details from the brochure:

225 Centre Street
Developer: Mitchell Properties
Architect: ADD Inc.
103 New Mixed-Income Rental Apartments with Ground Floor Retail
? 225 Centre Street is located at the corner of Centre Street and Columbus Avenue
immediately adjacent to the MBTA station.
? The 6-story building will include 103 new 1, 2, & 3 bedroom rental apartments,
including 35 affordable to families earning less than 60% of the area median
income- or approximately $49,000 per year for a family of four.
? The building includes @ 16,000 square feet of retail space- plus 95 off-street
parking spaces.

 

[rikahlberg]

1531 Columbus Ave

Here is a rendering of the proposed Youth & Family Center at 1531 Columbus Ave in Jamaica Plain, right next to the new building at 225 Centre Street.

From the JPNDC's brochure:

Developer: Hyde Square Task Force & JPNDC
Architect: Leers Weinzapfel Assoc.

The Jackson Square Youth and Family Center will provide educational, cultural, civic engagement, & recreational programs for youth and families from Jamaica Plain and Roxbury.

Programs and services will include
o Academic support and tutoring for elementary, middle and high school students including a
literacy program and writing center, mentoring programs, and computer classes;
o Visual and performing arts programs including dance, music, art, and theater programs;
o Youth leadership development and community service projects;
o Youth workforce development and entrepreneurial projects;
o Cooking, health, and nutrition programs;
o English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes;
o Adult GED and computer classes;
o Adult job training and career counseling programs; and
o A variety of recreational and cultural programs and activities in the full-sized gymnasium.

 

[rikahlberg]

1562 Columbus Ave

The third building on Columbus Ave to be built as part of Phase I of the Jackson Square redevelopment in Jamaica Plain...

And another...

And some detail from the JPNDC brochure...

Developer: Urban Edge
Architect: Utile Inc.

39 New Affordable and Moderate-Income Homeownership Opportunities With Ground Floor Retail

? 1562 Columbus Avenue is a 5-story building located on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Ritchie Street, that will provide 39 new 1,2 and 3 bedroom affordable homeownership units for low and moderate-income families.
? The building will integrate many green and sustainable design features including high efficiency building systems and green roofs.
? New driveways will be added on Ritchie Street and Columbus Avenue to provide
access to parking located behind and adjacent to the building.

Phase 1 incorporates development on both the Roxbury and Jamaica Plain sides of Columbus Avenue to provide enough development and street life to transform Jackson Square into a vibrant, active, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood center at the end of the first phase.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Damn, those are nice!

 

[Lrfox]

Man, I'm a real sucker for that finished wood and glass look (Youth and Family Center rendering). I love it at Fan Pier (the offices that are there now), and it looks great on the new Census Bureau building in Maryland (I also think there's a retail project in the works in S. Boston that has this type of wood in the renderings, but i forget which project it is??).

Most of the examples I've seen are either renderings or brand new projects, so I don't know how the look holds up over time (does anyone have older examples of this style?), but it sure looks great now. What's this style called anyway? I'm just going with, "sexy finished wood and glass" for now.

*Edit* the S. Boston project I was referring to was Waterside Place. I like the look of that (from the renderings anyway) but i fear the finished product may be a bit on the cheap side.

 

[kz1000ps]

Re: 1531 Columbus Ave

Crap. Almost every design cliche of the moment is included here.

Do these architects not think for themselves? Do they just open up the latest copy of Architectural Digest and imitate whatever they see in there? Full disclosure, I don't like this overall style, but still... it never ceases to amaze me how lock step architects can be in pushing the flavor-of-the-year.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

This isn't precast concrete so I'm happy. This is also the last place in Boston I would expect to see this kind of architecture.

 

[rikahlberg]

1542 R Columbus Ave - DYS

This is the fourth building proposed as part of Phase I construction at Jackson Square on the Jamaica Plain/Roxbury line...

Department of Youth Services Facility
In order to construct the new building at 1562 Columbus Avenue, the existing Department of Youth Services facility currently located in a 1-story brick section of the Webb Building at 1542 Columbus Avenue will need to be relocated elsewhere on site.

? The new 2-story 13,400 square foot building will be a state of the art facility to replace existing program space in Jackson Square for adolescent males under the temporary custody of the Dept. of Youth Services.
? The new facility will provide housing and services to 20 to 25 adolescent men in a secure facility with adjacent outdoor recreational space.
? This new facility will offer the only program of its kind in the City of Boston.

 

[rikahlberg]

Jackson Square Plan

Some of the most interesting aspects of this project are the "knitting together" of a rather inhospitable boundary between Hyde/Jackson in Jamaica Plain and Fort Hill/Highland Park in Roxbury.

Important changes that I hope actually get built:
* Reconnecting Amory Street to Centre Street
* Creating a legal drop off zone at the Jackson Square T station
* Fronting the MBTA maintenance building with retail
* Returning street parking to Columbus Ave.

This image shows the scope of the entire project pretty clearly -- all of the tan buildings (with the exception of the T station and "D - Office") are new construction.

The amount of surface parking is disturbing give the adjacent MBTA station, but the BRA is requiring it.

 

[Lrfox]

I never like surface parking lots, but from the looks of the diagram they seem to be hidden well enough. Considering what's there now (not much) this seems to be a big improvement. As long as the parking lots don't break the continuation of wall to wall buildings, it'll be fine for pedestrians.

 

[BarbaricManchurian]

That's a lot of infill! The neighborhoods are filling in nicely, and this will fill in a huge dead zone in the heart of JP and Roxbury.

 

[rikahlberg]

I never like surface parking lots, but from the looks of the diagram they seem to be hidden well enough. Considering what's there now (not much) this seems to be a big improvement. As long as the parking lots don't break the continuation of wall to wall buildings, it'll be fine for pedestrians.

The design I saw at the Boston Civic Design Commission hearings also made the parking lot less asphalt and more courtyard in appearance, so hopefully fine grained details like that will make it to the final product.

The streetwall gap on this map where it says SITE III is a surface lot that the MBTA uses for its maintenance building. Hopefully that will go away some day, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

 

[rikahlberg]

270 Centre Street

And there's more -- this infill project is expected to break ground this spring. The developer is demolishing an existing 1870s 3-story building to replace it with this:

270 Centre Street
Architect: Gail Sullivan Associates
Developer: JPNDC

* 30 afforable rental housing units
* First-floor retail and office space
* Surface parking behind

This site is diagonally across from the Jackson Square T station.
Google map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...d=100229337920221996791.0000011334ad450644290

Additional images:

 

[Lrfox]

I'm not impressed. That's a super plain rendering that's only redeeming feature is probably the fact that 1st floor will work well with the street. I guess you couldn't really hope for too much more considering that accross Centre St. you have a large brick apartment complex complete with lawns and chain link fence, and across another street you have tracks.

to summarize: mediocre.

*Edit* just noticed this, but what the hell is up with the crown on the corner (presumably of Lamartine and Centre)? Is that Ivy? That is one tacky addition and it looks terrible in the rendering (which looks like it was done for free in google sketchup). Yuck.

 

[tobyjug]

Ivy: an architect's best friend.

 

[rikahlberg]

*Edit* just noticed this, but what the hell is up with the crown on the corner (presumably of Lamartine and Centre)? Is that Ivy? That is one tacky addition and it looks terrible in the rendering (which looks like it was done for free in google sketchup). Yuck.

Oh, it's a green building! There's a blurb about it at the architect's web site but you have to dig to find it in all the Flash animation.

This 40,000 sf mixed-use project for the Jamaica Plain NDC is being developed as a sustainable, Transit-Oriented Development adjacent to the Jackson Square T Station and the Southwest Corridor Park. The facade has a rhythm of multi-story corrugated metal bay that break the building massing, and relate to nearby houses. Facing Jackson Square, the corner bay is curved, with a prow above of vegetated screen. The brick exterior at the street gives way to fiber-cement clapboard at the rear. With a high-performance envelope and energy efficient systems, it meets Energy Star and LEED standards. The design includes passive solar strategies: the long elevations face north and south, and natural light and ventilation are maximized with large operable windows. The roof is planned to incorporate a photovoltaic array providing electricity to the building, and drought-resistant vegetation to reduce the heat island effect.

Source: http://www.gailsullivanassociates.com/

The first version of this building had an awful tilde-shaped turret at the top; the ivy is less objectionable.

 

[tobyjug]

Let's hope it spreads fast.