Roslindale Infill and Small Developments

So I left Jamaica Plain and moved to Roslindale. It’s a helluva lot more quiet but also (relatively) less outrageously priced. We moved right behind the square and the arboretum. So far, so good. It will be interesting, if we stay, to watch what I imagine will be the eventual upzoning of Washington Street and expected changes in the neighborhood as the city spreads slowly outward.

Anyway, a couple projects that haven’t gotten mentioned at all here:

100 Weld St - 17 condos at the intersection of Weld and Centre, a little nexus of commerce. Denser than the surrounding area, but unfortunately not having commercial / retail on the first floor which I think is a mistake.
http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/100-weld-st

Taft Park - 19 condos, right behind the square. Has been moving very slowly but looks almost finished. http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/20-taft-hill-park
 
Hope you enjoy the new neighborhood. I've always been curious, why does the OL to Rozzie get so relatively little attention relative to what I would think is its incredibly high transit ROI? Is it because the neighborhood itself is lukewarm to the idea?
 
The new Regional Rail proposal talks a little bit about OL to Roslindale, so maybe that'll get people talking. It's a no-brainer.
 
Riding the Purple line through Rozzie and West Roxbury (bring dozers), man does it get suddenly not-urban. 'Moment you reach Forest Hills, look behind, and it's urban. Look forward, and it's like West Newton. Transit-oriented development of significant scale along the Needham Line stations would be great... if it stood even a chance of occurring in the next 175 years.
 
Shepard said:
Hope you enjoy the new neighborhood. I've always been curious, why does the OL to Rozzie get so relatively little attention relative to what I would think is its incredibly high transit ROI? Is it because the neighborhood itself is lukewarm to the idea?
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There's a fair amount of advocacy for it, but realistically, it's a pretty expensive thing to do when there is already a rail line passing through. As for Odurania's point, it may look that way but that's because the first mile past Forest Hills the train is passing through the Arboretum. Roslindale actually has a slightly higher population density than the city as a whole, despite large acreage taken by park land.
 
What it's going to come down to is what people out there hate more, one train full of people or 10 buses on the streets. The problem is it's an all or nothing proposition. You either replace the Needham Line with both Green and Orange Line extensions or you don't do anything. At the moment, and probably for the foreseeable future nothing will win out.
 
Shepard said:
Hope you enjoy the new neighborhood. I've always been curious, why does the OL to Rozzie get so relatively little attention relative to what I would think is its incredibly high transit ROI? Is it because the neighborhood itself is lukewarm to the idea?
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I’m too lazy and it’s too much of a pain in the ass on a phone to find links to the threads (computer has been busted), but this has been extensively discussed on other threads on here. If you believe F-line knows what he’s talking about (which I do) the needham line will eventually have to get axed due to increased Amtrak and commuter rail traffic on the SWC and some line will have to be nixed... and logically it will be the Needham since it’s short and could feasibly be replaced by a combination of Orange line (to West Roxbury) and green line (to Needham Junction). Hershey would be eliminated. The question is whether an OL extension to Ros would make sense in the interim.

As for right now, I live literally a 2 min walk from the train station and have take the rail to work a few times but 1) it’s insulting that a ticket costs 6.25 when forest hills (and worse, the entire fucking Boston part of the Fairmount) costs 2.25. City needs to advocate for its people here, Roslindale is not that far out. Worse, all times I’ve taken the train in the morning it’s jam packed and the conductors don’t collect fares (would be impossible) - tons of lost revenue since a lot of people get on in Roslindale.

I have no idea what the local attitude is toward the train yet, but I’m looking forward in general to being involved in community meetings. There certainly is an older contingent that probably enjoys a relatively suburban atmosphere and might not want the train making it busier, but I doubt that line of thinking would make an extension face any serious community opposition and without any hard data I am sure that’s not the main reason it hasn’t happened yet.
 
FK4 said:
As for right now, I live literally a 2 min walk from the train station and have take the rail to work a few times but 1) it’s insulting that a ticket costs 6.25 when forest hills (and worse, the entire fucking Boston part of the Fairmount) costs 2.25. City needs to advocate for its people here, Roslindale is not that far out. Worse, all times I’ve taken the train in the morning it’s jam packed and the conductors don’t collect fares (would be impossible) - tons of lost revenue since a lot of people get on in Roslindale.
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Michelle Wu and other city councilors are on your side and look like they’re flexing more muscle this term (vs the typical mayor-council power dynamic).
 
HenryAlan said:
There's a fair amount of advocacy for it, but realistically, it's a pretty expensive thing to do when there is already a rail line passing through. As for Odurania's point, it may look that way but that's because the first mile past Forest Hills the train is passing through the Arboretum. Roslindale actually has a slightly higher population density than the city as a whole, despite large acreage taken by park land.
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It won't happen until schedules on the NEC make the Needham Line a prohibitive cost for schedules on the line. If schedules for Needham are throttled to make way for more NEC traffic there can be a "transit loss" suit that makes way for the Green/Orange pincer.
 
34f34f said:
Michelle Wu and other city councilors are on your side and look like they’re flexing more muscle this term (vs the typical mayor-council power dynamic).
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I know! It was an issue of which I was totally unaware until moving here but I did see that there’s some political advocacy. I like Michelle Wu and think she will ultimately be a real player in local politics. I don’t know much yet about my new councilor, Tim McCarthy... Roslindale is split between the JP-West Rox and the Hyde Park districts.
 
There’s a “preliminary design” render in Tony’s Market for a three story building on the current site...
 
FK4 said:
There’s a “preliminary design” render in Tony’s Market for a three story building on the current site...
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That was approved, so it's definitely happening. I like Tony a lot, and have been a loyal customer for a long time. And I of course am generally inclined to support the construction of residential units above retail. But it's kind of ironic, because the reason Tony is in that location is that he didn't want to deal with the construction of apartments above his old location between Romano's and Redd's. I guess he no longer minds, now that it's his building rather than Vinny Marino's.
 
HenryAlan said:
That was approved, so it's definitely happening. I like Tony a lot, and have been a loyal customer for a long time. And I of course am generally inclined to support the construction of residential units above retail. But it's kind of ironic, because the reason Tony is in that location is that he didn't want to deal with the construction of apartments above his old location between Romano's and Redd's. I guess he no longer minds, now that it's his building rather than Vinny Marino's.
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Thanks for the info. My biggest concern is a selfish one: I fear Tony's might have to close temporarily during construction, which would be terrible (for me). I never went to his old place but he is an impressive guy and I love the store.
 
They are setting up the temporary closure of Birch St today and it looks great. I talked to the guys from the cheese cellar (who were setting up installation materials), and they’re hopeful it could be permanent by Fall and said it has the city’s backing.
 
FK4 said:
They are setting up the temporary closure of Birch St today and it looks great. I talked to the guys from the cheese cellar (who were setting up installation materials), and they’re hopeful it could be permanent by Fall and said it has the city’s backing.
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This will be great, but what I really want to see is the MBTA parking lot on the other side of Belgrade sold and turned into a 3-4 story residential building with ground-floor retail. There's more than enough parking on the other side of the tracks, and this plot can be developed with ample room left over for eventual double-tracking.
 
BronsonShore said:
This will be great, but what I really want to see is the MBTA parking lot on the other side of Belgrade sold and turned into a 3-4 story residential building with ground-floor retail. There's more than enough parking on the other side of the tracks, and this plot can be developed with ample room left over for eventual double-tracking.
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I'd pass on that and anything that might affect an Orange Line +1 to Rozzie Square (along with the CR still running to Needham), along with a more dedicated/sane bus area for transfers.
 
BronsonShore said:
This will be great, but what I really want to see is the MBTA parking lot on the other side of Belgrade sold and turned into a 3-4 story residential building with ground-floor retail. There's more than enough parking on the other side of the tracks, and this plot can be developed with ample room left over for eventual double-tracking.
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There's ample development opportunity around the Square that isn't state-owned land, so I wouldn't hold your breath.

If the T ever sells any land, I'd actually rather see the Belgrade (Square) side regraded and developed into 2-3 story retail and office space... to have a streetwall along the far side of Belgrade. In any case, the T isn't going to sell anytime soon and given the limited transit options in that area, I'm fine with a parking lot to get locals to park and ride.
 
Proposal for a 16 unit building on Taft Hill Terrace, behind the Medical Center:

https://universalhub.com/2019/developer-seeks-replace-multi-family-building

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I like the density, not sure what I think about the design. It will predictably take a lot of heat in the community meeting phase over parking. The proposal has 14 spots for 16 units. Yes, it's a 1 minute walk to a train station, but a lot of Rozzie folks, especially the old guard, are convinced that there is no parking in the square (they're wrong) and that more parking will reduce congestion (wrong again).
 
Theres also more than enough buses to have consistent access to forest hills, and a bus lane.
 
HenryAlan said:
I like the density, not sure what I think about the design. It will predictably take a lot of heat in the community meeting phase over parking. The proposal has 14 spots for 16 units. Yes, it's a 1 minute walk to a train station, but a lot of Rozzie folks, especially the old guard, are convinced that there is no parking in the square (they're wrong) and that more parking will reduce congestion (wrong again).
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As a Rozzie resident myself, I'm not sure it will take a lot of heat, actually. Roslindale in general and the Square in particular are now filled with people who want a dense, walkable, and lively neighborhood. If you want proof: Turtle Swamp recently held an abutters meeting, as it's attempting to turn what is now a temporary beer garden in the substation into a permanent operation. Not a single person spoke up in opposition. Not one.
 
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