Roslindale Infill and Small Developments

FK4 said:
Not sure if anyone has heard anything but I think this scaffolding is new and the two zone sign shows there was some activity here.View attachment 66658
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Scaffolding has been there since last winter and the tow zone sign was for streetlight replacement throughout the Square this past Saturday.
 
Plans just dropped for a B’nai B’rith Housing for an affordable senior housing development between Chilacates and the Can and Bottle return along Washington St: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/12ionxl9s9wr1w2u89mw2u52akprjgt3

Looks pretty good to me!

Noteworthy that this fronts Washington St where the parking lot for the B of A building is. It doesn't touch the B of A building itself at all. But I wonder if the "intended retail tenant" is the thrift shop in the old B of A building, which would then allow the existing building to also be developed without displacing anyone.
 
Did a quick scan, I think it looks very good. I am surprised, though, at how much of the property is being left untouched. Ideally, this is phase 1, and another project will replace the BofA building and remaining parking lot. Definitely a great start, and something that will dramatically change the section of Washington outbound from the Square. I can already hear the many NIMBY complaints regarding shadows, height, inappropriate to the look and feel of Roslindale, parking, etc. But nobody will be able to complain that it lacks affordable units. And with the new zoning overlay, it appears they will not require any variances, so this stands a good shot of happening.

Build it, then build next to it!
 
stick n move said:
1200 centre st pnf:














bpda.app.box.com

2025-06-25_Project Notification Form (PNF)_1200 Centre Street.pdf | Powered by Box

bpda.app.box.com bpda.app.box.com
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Half of an old bank parking lot in Roslindale Square could be replaced with six-story apartment building for seniors​

Rendering of proposed apartment building from across Washington Street


“B'nai B'rith Housing yesterday filed plans for a six-story, 41-unit apartment building on what is now the old Bank of America parking lot at 4259-4267 Washington St. in Roslindale Square, between Roslindale Can & Bottle and Chilacates.

The plans, filed with the Boston Planning Department, show no work on the former bank building, also home to the New England Home for Little Wanders' Boston Thrift Shop. B'nai B'rith Housing bought the parking lot and the building from Bank of America for $3 million in December. It's currently using the old bank space for weekly community meetings on its proposal.

All of the units in the apartment building would be rented to senior citizens making no more than 60% of the Boston area median income, with 11 units for people making no more than 30% of that level and 5 for people set aside for people coming off homelessness, according to the non-profit's filing with the Boston Planning Department…..”

 
JumboBuc said:
Plans just dropped for a B’nai B’rith Housing for an affordable senior housing development between Chilacates and the Can and Bottle return along Washington St: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/12ionxl9s9wr1w2u89mw2u52akprjgt3

Looks pretty good to me!

Noteworthy that this fronts Washington St where the parking lot for the B of A building is. It doesn't touch the B of A building itself at all. But I wonder if the "intended retail tenant" is the thrift shop in the old B of A building, which would then allow the existing building to also be developed without displacing anyone.
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Looks good, I wish it had a couple more floors. I worry that the commercial space is too big and feel like we have a long tradition with Boston micromanaged development where the commercial space in new buildings like this is too large, too pricy, and fails to find a permanent tenant. It’s on Washington and pretty exposed to a busy street, unlike the protected zones of south, corinth, poplar… but I hope they could get something good here. I like that they’re leaving a bit of the unpaved space between the parking lot and chilacates (it would be a stretch to call this a “garden“ but it’s nice to have a little strip of green here and there, especially if well designed. The space itself could end up being what the commercial space needs to help it along. What would be ideal is if they could keep this, and the back entry to chilacates (which has been locked for several months now) all in communication and then link those spaces with another liminal space behind whatever replaces B of A… thereby replicating a bit of the pedestrian only pathways that cross cross the northern end of the square and interconnect many of the shops and restaurants.
 
FK4 said:
Looks good, I wish it had a couple more floors. I worry that the commercial space is too big and feel like we have a long tradition with Boston micromanaged development where the commercial space in new buildings like this is too large, too pricy, and fails to find a permanent tenant. It’s on Washington and pretty exposed to a busy street, unlike the protected zones of south, corinth, poplar… but I hope they could get something good here. I like that they’re leaving a bit of the unpaved space between the parking lot and chilacates (it would be a stretch to call this a “garden“ but it’s nice to have a little strip of green here and there, especially if well designed. The space itself could end up being what the commercial space needs to help it along. What would be ideal is if they could keep this, and the back entry to chilacates (which has been locked for several months now) all in communication and then link those spaces with another liminal space behind whatever replaces B of A… thereby replicating a bit of the pedestrian only pathways that cross cross the northern end of the square and interconnect many of the shops and restaurants.
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Word is that the thrift shop has already signed an LOI to move into the new building and the space is being designed with them in mind. Given that this an affordable housing developer, it doesn't surprise me that they're planning affordable retail space here for an existing tenant of theirs that sells affordable goods. This will free up the existing B of A building for the next stage of development.

I agree 100% that a intra-block pedestrian network here similar to that around Birch St would be a huge win here.

EDIT: This site is really big enough for three buildings (plus a pedestrian way connecting them all) if the surface lots are totally done away with.
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JumboBuc said:
Word is that the thrift shop has already signed an LOI to move into the new building and the space is being designed with them in mind. Given that this an affordable housing developer, it doesn't surprise me that they're planning affordable retail space here for an existing tenant of theirs that sells affordable goods. This will free up the existing B of A building for the next stage of development.

I agree 100% that a intra-block pedestrian network here similar to that around Birch St would be a huge win here.

EDIT: This site is really big enough for three buildings (plus a pedestrian way connecting them all) if the surface lots are totally done away with.
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Im gonna need to try to attend all the meetings for these. I think it is possible with concerted efforts to preserve some sort of inner pedestrian passages.

For location I actually think a thrift store is one of the few that probably is just as fine on Wash as it is on Corinth. Thrift stores often exist on busy highways or marginal zones. So maybe a good thing it can make room for something that needs Corinth specifically.
 
Article in B&T about this recently:

bankerandtradesman.com

Roslindale Upzoning Unlocks B’Nai B’rith Development

A mid-rise affordable housing development would replace a Roslindale parking lot using changes made as part of Boston’s Squares + Streets program.
bankerandtradesman.com bankerandtradesman.com

30% is something. The city should aim to reduce it further, and achieve reductions across the board, since I'm not sure how many projects this quoted stat actually applies to, or what percent of all proposed projects they represent.

Units would be reserved for households earning 60 percent or less of area median income. The project qualifies for Boston’s new fast-track permitting process for all-affordable housing projects. Permitting timelines for such projects have been reduced by 30 percent since 2024, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said during an appearance at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s government affairs forum Monday.
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Potentially huge residential development on Washington, right at JP line:

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I've long thought the section of Washington between Ukraine Way and Arboretum Road was chronically under developed. The current light industrial usage no longer suits the needs of the city, and the proximity to a major transit hub at Forest Hills demands high density housing. If this project happens, I think it will jump start that neighborhood.
 
obvious_bicycle said:
What ever happened to 18 Arboretum Road? Was it killed by locals?

18-22 Arboretum Road | Bostonplans.org

Development Projects and Planned Development Areas (PDAs) that the Development Review division is coordinating.
www.bostonplans.org www.bostonplans.org
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One thing that grinded my gears about this proposal was that they were trying to take credit for the improved pedestrian connection from Arboretum Road to the Arboretum, underneath the Needham Line tracks. The connection was a totally separate City project that is now complete, but the developers highlighted it as a benefit of their project.
 
HenryAlan said:
Potentially huge residential development on Washington, right at JP line:

View attachment 67392


I've long thought the section of Washington between Ukraine Way and Arboretum Road was chronically under developed. The current light industrial usage no longer suits the needs of the city, and the proximity to a major transit hub at Forest Hills demands high density housing. If this project happens, I think it will jump start that neighborhood.
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Yes definitely would be nice to see more of this stretch fill out.

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Seven-Story Mixed-Use Redevelopment Proposed Near Forest Hills

Seven-Story Mixed-Use Redevelopment Proposed Near Forest Hills
www.bldup.com www.bldup.com
 
JumboBuc said:
One thing that grinded my gears about this proposal was that they were trying to take credit for the improved pedestrian connection from Arboretum Road to the Arboretum, underneath the Needham Line tracks. The connection was a totally separate City project that is now complete, but the developers highlighted it as a benefit of their project.
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I believe there was substantial enhancement to this connection that this building was going to pay for. Unfortunately, NIMBYs killed it.
 
curcuas said:
I believe there was substantial enhancement to this connection that this building was going to pay for. Unfortunately, NIMBYs killed it.
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No, this is exactly what the developers were implying but it was never true and was always deceptive. You having this understanding is exactly what the developers wanted people to believe, and solidifies how dodgy their tactics were.

The developers used a pre-improvement photo for their before and a post-improvement rendering for their proposed, implying that their project would play a part in this improvement.

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But this is what the Arboretum Road entrance has looked like since springtime.

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All of the improvements have already been completed, and they had nothing to do with the proposed development.
 
HenryAlan said:
Potentially huge residential development on Washington, right at JP line:

View attachment 67392


I've long thought the section of Washington between Ukraine Way and Arboretum Road was chronically under developed. The current light industrial usage no longer suits the needs of the city, and the proximity to a major transit hub at Forest Hills demands high density housing. If this project happens, I think it will jump start that neighborhood.
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Interesting, I thought the gravestone store would outlast a lot of the other lots that are ripe for redevelopment around here. And there are a quite a few. The city should just rezone the whole area from Ukraine to Arboretum. It’s next to a transit hub and it’s really not next to existing housing in any meaningful way.
 
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