Roslindale Infill and Small Developments

Revitalist said:
Very cool concept for the substation:

http://www.historicbostonblog.org/2011/08/roslindale-substation-possibilities.html
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While I like the year round farmers' market idea:

Roslindale+Int+Winter++Farmers%2527+Market.jpg


I still maintain this spot is tailor made for a beer hall.
 
Ron Newman said:
As fast-food chains go, Subway is fairly innocuous and low-key. We have a few scattered around Somerville, but they haven't put any of the local places out of business.
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You may be right, Ron, but it would be the first (non-local) chain in the square. We have a Dunkin Donuts and a Staples, but this seems different. I mean, what neighborhood in Boston doesn't have a Dunks?
 
During the Roslindale rezoning & strategic plan process we suggested how great it would be to extend the Orange Line. The Red Line extends north through Somerville and south to Braintree, The Blue Line to Revere, The Orange north to Malden, etc. The green line supposedly is on track to being extended through Cambridge & Somerville. Regarding the Orange Line south, the rail right-of-way through Roslindale & Hyde Park to Readville would be a better prospect as it is wider. Also Readville has acres of abandoned railyards, much better as an end of the line hub than Forest Hills which has limited parking. Having a rail terminus in Readville would also serve people from outlying areas better, and these people would not be clogging up Washington & Centre Streets at rush hour. There used to be several more train stations along this section of rail in Roslindale and HydePark.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority told us that the right-of-ways were not owned by the correct people anymore, although obviously if this idea had support they could make it work out. Also, the people of Rozzie tend to be big-time NIMBYists (especially the vicious LANA group) and among those in the strategic planning group there was little interest in TOD or sustainable planning of any kind, so most folks were against an Orange Line extension.

An extension would be a big boon for the depressed Hyde Park area which seems to have potential (great infrastructure) but has always been a bit disconnected from the rest of the city.

It would take some real leadership to see this idea through, leadership which the area just does not have; witness the crumbling substation which they've been trying to do something with for 30+ years.
 
This article indicates the entire development will be chains. Does anyone have any idea what else is coming other than Subway? I looked at recent ISD permits for that building but didn't find any clues.

As for extending the Orange Line south, I'm a Rozzie resident who is all for it. We've seen the NIMBY contingent, but my view is the IMBY population has grown significantly over the past decade. We are part of a significant Roslindale demographic that lived in JP before buying in Roslindale, and many (perhaps most) of us would go to bat for TOD. If we could organize the community, is this even remotely politically feasible?
 
From the article:

Donna Cabral, owner of Jimmies Ice Cream Café and former president of the Roslindale Board of Trade from 1990-2000, agrees. “Any time we see any kind of business development, we’re excited because it will only contribute to growth, it’ll stabilize the community,” Cabral said. “The retail businesses will anchor us mom-and-pop stores. We won’t float away.”
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This is an interesting perspective, and I was glad to see that she and a few other business owners do not feel threatened by this. I can see the point that a healthy retail zone might consist of a mix of local and national stores. The key is that Rozzie Square is a very dense commercial zone and will be more that way as this building opens up. I know there was once a concern that newer "yuppie" businesses would drive out the long-term businesses that gave the square so much character. That didn't happen, and I can easily see the same symbiotic mix going forward of old/new/chains.

Also interesting, the article indicates that 42% of visitors to the square arrive either on foot or bicycle, with 17%using public transit. Imagine how much more transit use would be if the Orange Line made it as far as Roslindale.

ajkessel said:
As for extending the Orange Line south, I'm a Rozzie resident who is all for it. We've seen the NIMBY contingent, but my view is the IMBY population has grown significantly over the past decade. We are part of a significant Roslindale demographic that lived in JP before buying in Roslindale, and many (perhaps most) of us would go to bat for TOD. If we could organize the community, is this even remotely politically feasible?
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It starts with you and me getting a group of like minded folks together to push for it. An Orange Line extension along the Needham Line ROW makes a lot of sense, but if nobody knows there is a constituency for it, the assumption will be that this is still the same Roslindale of the 70s that along with West Roxbury and Needham rejected rapid transit.
 
It starts with you and me getting a group of like minded folks together to push for it. An Orange Line extension along the Needham Line ROW makes a lot of sense, but if nobody knows there is a constituency for it, the assumption will be that this is still the same Roslindale of the 70s that along with West Roxbury and Needham rejected rapid transit.
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Wouldn't it make more sense to extend Orange Line down Hyde Park Ave, along the Franklin/Providence/Stoughton lines, rather than along the Needham line? A stop at the corner of Cummins and Hyde Park Ave would still be convenient to Rozzie Village, and would also give better transit options to a lot of people who don't have them now.
 
Ideally there would be a split at the Hills with one branch covering the entire Needham Line and the other going to Readville and 128. The first step, however, should certainly be Rozzy Sq, IMO. That square needs it (Cleary should already be covered by Fairmount improvements, hopefully) and all of the buses would no longer need to go all the way to Forest Hills. It sets the stage for a Needham Line takeover. There are more bunched stops ripe for rapid transit than with the SW Corridor, and more population, too.
 
Seems like the Readville ROW is wider, at least looking from Google Maps. Also might be less community resistance?
 
The Readville ROW is wider, but I think the population density is higher in the Needham ROW, at least as far as the West Roxbury stop (LaGrange St.). But I agree with BostonUrbEx. It makes sense to eventually do two branches, but Needham is closer to being ready right now. It has the population, the station infrastructure, and the advantage of significantly decreasing bus congestion.
 
Then again, that could just be my YIMBYism speaking. I'd like an Orange Line station a few blocks from my house. Cumins Hwy/Hyde Park Ave. Is nearly as far away from Rozzie Square as is Forest Hills.
 
palindrome said:
from the article...




I like this guy.
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" The problem of parking

The possibility of more visitors to Roslindale Village brings to light another issue that plagues the area: Parking. According to a Tufts University study completed in the spring of 2010, 41% of visitors to the village arrive by car, while only 12% use the commuter rail and a mere 5% use the bus. In addition, “nearly all surveyed business owners responded that they drive into the Village.”

Business owners, in order to avoid parking tickets because of the two-hour limit in the village, often move their cars throughout the day or face hundreds of dollars in parking tickets, according to Cabral. Many also avoid using the adjacent Roslindale Village commuter rail parking lot because of the daily $4 fee.

Many visitors do view the parking situation as a problem – 65% of all the people who drive according to the report. The same Tufts University study, however, found that the parking problem was a problem of perception, not a problem of parking space availability. According to the study, parking space occupancy is on average below the 85% determined by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council as problematic, even though there are some areas that can reach the 85% limit during certain parts of the day.

Read more: New retail stores on the way in Roslindale Village - West Roxbury, MA - Wicked Local West Roxbury http://www.wickedlocal.com/west-rox...n-the-way-in-Roslindale-Village#ixzz1agrw4JyR "


Sounds like parking for the owners and workers in the stores is a real issue -- since the lots are not full -- why don't the idiots who control the parking lots let the stores rent some spaces in the lot (they could use some for their staff and some for their customers)
 
You can park all day in the MBTA lot for $4, which is a pretty good deal. The other lots are either already private and dedicated to adjoining structures (such as the lot behind the Big Spin) or belong to the city which has an active interest in keeping the cars moving in and out.

The other option for people who work there is to park on a side street and walk a block or two. The only streets that are resident permit are the ones closest to the train station. Once you are a block from the train station, you can park all day on a side street. And of course, the best solution is to encourage more non car-based trips.
 
I wanted to follow up on my original question -- the linked article suggests all the tenants of the new building will be chain stores, but all we know about so far is Subway. Anyone know the inside scoop on the other stores?
 
The Roslindale power structure, including Main Streets and LANA, are consistently NIMBIES. Among other things they opposed allowing mixed-use user types in their square and they blocked all proposed tenants for the empty Ashmont Lumber building for 5+ years, although that may have been about a personal dispute between Vinnie Marino and the Rudnicks. Until we YIMBIES get organized, great ideas like mixed use and an Orange line extension will never get implemented. Main Streets and its long term members basically have a death grip on their area and very little gets done that they don't want.
 
Regarding the current Roslindale Substation ideas, no one has explained where the $800,000 for building repairs will come from before the building can be occupied. Main Streets said they will pay for a portion, but they can afford only a tiny fraction of this. This problem has killed all the Substation proposals that have been offered in recent decades. There is no shortage of cool ideas for reuse, but until someone comes up with the big bucks, the building cannot be used!
 
I think there are a lot of competing interests within the Main Street framework, but I don't know that I would describe it as exclusively NIMBY. I agree, though, that we aren't getting any satisfactory information about the sub-station financing. If I had the money, I'd turn it into a brewery/beer garden with live music.
 
Unfortunately, many restaurants do not flourish in Roslindale, and its hard to imagine that a Beer Garden would survive, especially when the neighbor's won't allow live music and they are always insisting that places close at 10pm. Robyn's is now closed, and we hear the Bangkok Cafe will be closing at the end of November. The Jazz Cafe (formerly Gusto) had no luck getting a permit for live music. I'm glad that the Birch Street courtyard area seems to be flourishing, including Delfinos, Birch Street Bistro, Sophia's Grotto and Village Sushi, but they seem to be the only dinner restaurants that don't have continual turn around.

Main Streets has been perpetual NIMBYists, opposing many more things than they support. Unfortunately, Roslindale is not vibrant enough to be as picky as Main Streets likes to be.

The best prospect for the Substation would be to tear it down to make room for some much needed parking.
 
Oh no, please no more parking! The last thing we need, in my view, is to induce more people to drive into the square.

There is actually plenty of parking if you are willing to walk five minutes or less. I live adjacent to the Taft Hill municipal lot and there are usually spaces. For the farmers market, the T parking lot provides adequate overflow. If the business owners/employees in the square didn't take up the prime parking right in front of their own businesses, more customers could park there as well for shopping.

I think the problem with Robyn's and Gusto/Jazz Cafe is not lack of demand, but they just didn't measure up. We went to each restaurant once and that was enough. I suspect other restaurants outside of the courtyard are doing well: Redd's in Rozzie is great, as is Seven Star Street Bistro. I think Rialto's is also fine, although I don't have any inside knowledge.

We just don't need any more pizza/bistro places.
 
Generally, my take on the restaurants agrees with ajkessel. The good restaurants make it, the bad restaurants don't (nor should they). The only thing surprising about the Robyn's closure is that it took so long. The menu was extremely limited and the dishes were not well prepared. Jazz Cafe had good food, but you could tell they knew nothing about how to run a restaurant. Service and operations were decidedly underwhelming.

As for this next part, I strongly disagree:

Eiselic said:
The best prospect for the Substation would be to tear it down to make room for some much needed parking.
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I realize the beer garden is a pipe dream/fantasy, although I think it might work. At any rate, we won't know, because I'm not going to open one, and I don't see any room for that in the current sub-station process. But the last thing that should happen is tearing it down (unless found to be structurally unsound). And if it were torn down, a new building would be the only appropriate use. There is enough parking in Roslindale already. Even if we needed more, the intersection of Cummins and Washington would be the last place to position it. Part of the appeal of Roslindale Square is that it has a decent and varied building stock, all fronting the pedestrian street scape.

I mean, why not just pave Adams Park if you think a parking lot is so important at that location?
 
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