Roxbury Infill and Small Developments

Nubia has its own problems with the history of slavery... is this really as superficial as "let's just name it something African sounding"?
 
stick n move said:
“Dudley Square or Nubian Square? The question moves to the voters”

“Residents will be able to vote on whether Dudley Square should become Nubian Square in the latest move to change a Boston landmark’s name because of its racial history.”

“The city council unanimously OK’d the petition for a ballot question, which is backed by Mayor Martin Walsh.”

-Boston Herald
Link
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Don't want to start a derailment, but were all these people racist???

IMG_4230 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
 
BeeLine said:
Don't want to start a derailment, but were all these people racist???

IMG_4230 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
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I think I heard something about them being slave owners. I get to vote on this and honestly I'm going to just stay out of it. I feel like it's whoever's neighborhood that is to decide that fate, not quite sure why the whole city is deciding.
 
Suffolk 83 said:
I think I heard something about them being slave owners. I get to vote on this and honestly I'm going to just stay out of it. I feel like it's whoever's neighborhood that is to decide that fate, not quite sure why the whole city is deciding.
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Suffolk -- 1st I seriously doubt that any present or former residents have had or have any connection to Nubia
2nd -- Whosoever Neighborhood -- is a sample in a continuum -- going back to people such as the Dudley's and including a whole lot of people from other European places such as Ireland
e.g. John L. Sullivan (1858–1918), boxing heavyweight champion, born in Roxbury, St. Joseph's Catholic Church was the first Catholic Church with a predominantly Irish congregation, built in 1846 in Roxbury
Germany [founders of many of the once- many breweries in Boston]
and later Russia [many of whom were Jewish and who established a significant community [some of whom are probably still alive] example:
Guide to the Records of the Jewish Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Center (Roxbury, Mass.), undated, 1915-1999, with gaps
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Historical Note
JMHRC image

Jewish Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Center on the corner of Townsend Street and Washington Street in Roxbury.
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In 1913, the Roxbury Ladies' Bikur Cholim Association began collecting donations to provide a haven for the chronically ill. These charitable ladies recognized that the new Jewish immigrants, crowded into Boston's West End and North End neighborhoods, lacked basic medical care. Many of these Jewish newcomers found upon their arrival that few Jewish doctors practiced in the Boston area. Furthermore, communication between doctor and patient was difficult since many Jews spoke no English, and very few doctors spoke Yiddish. Moreover, many local doctors did not understand the particular social problems, religious traditions, and behavior patterns of the new immigrants. Finally, many Orthodox Jews refused to stay in hospitals where they could not eat kosher food and observe the Sabbath. Hence, the ladies of the Bikur Cholim, many of them immigrants, began a grassroots movement to build a medical institution for Jews who were suffering from illness and disease and who had no place to go.

Charted as an official organization in 1915, the Roxbury Ladies' Bikur Cholim Association carried on the Jewish tradition of benevolence by visiting the sick, poor, and elderly. They provided medicine, money, prayer, and support to those who lacked medical care. The ladies met regularly at the YMCA on the corner of Seaver Street and Humboldt Avenue, across from Franklin Park. Here they developed their plans for a medical institution to serve the needs of the Jewish community. On April 16, 1928, the Association voted to establish and maintain a home for incurables. Later that same year, in October, the Association realized its goal of a Jewish hospital by purchasing the former Beth Israel Hospital at 59 Townsend Street for $25,000, with a $10,000 down payment and a $15,000 mortgage. Payments were to be $900 per year at a 6% interest rate. Also in 1928, the Association joined the Federated Jewish Charities.

In 1929 the Greater Boston Bikur Cholim Hospital, with 42 beds, was officially dedicated. A medical staff consisting of volunteer physicians was organized, and a hospital-based auxiliary was formed to supply linens. At this time, the hospital was primarily a custodial institution, accepting patients other hospitals were no longer able to keep. In the early 1930s, the physiotherapy, radiology, and laboratory departments were opened. It should be noted that during the 1930s, eighty-five percent of the patients admitted received free care, and a majority of the financial support for the new hospital came from the Jewish community. A new three-story wing was dedicated in 1936, doubling the size of the hospital to 87 beds. This new wing included a complete operating room, dental department, and a kosher kitchen to ensure strict adherence to Jewish dietary laws. Finally, to reflect the changing focus of the institution the name of the hospital was changed to the Jewish Memorial Hospital in 1937.
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Collection: Jewish Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Center (Boston, Mass.) Records | Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center

digifindingaids.cjh.org digifindingaids.cjh.org

I'd be willing to bet that some of the little old Jewish Ladies who are still alive with connections to Jewish Roxbury -- might have a different perspective -- than a Nubian Square

Who knows -- given current demographic trends Asian and Hispanics may soon dominate the population in Roxbury
 
^You can see MPDC's reno of their Haynes House property. Didn't realize the facade was transforming so drastically. Might look really cool/or really meh, but either way it'll be more uplifting than the lifeless brick it was before. I just don't know if white was the best choice but...

Just noticed it on my walk to work today and took this:
49098198186_e1888ef951_c.jpg
 
Anyone know how many units (about) were added in Roxbury since the Great Recession?
 
odurandina said:
Anyone know how many units (about) were added in Roxbury since the Great Recession?
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I dont, but I am very interested to see the 2020 census data once it becomes available. It will be interesting to see how this growth cycle has played out in numbers.
 
odurandina said:
Anyone know how many units (about) were added in Roxbury since the Great Recession?
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Ok so this is purely 2010 to projects currently under construction that are gonna finish next year, and some of the data from earlier in the decade may be more likely missing than the past 5 years but its pretty comprehensive. This definition of Roxbury is roughly bordered by Mass Ave, Columbus, Seaver, Blue Hill Ave, and W/E Cottage. That said:

Overall units: 2257
"Affordable" units: 1579
Aff % of new units: 70%

Looking at the ACS 2010 data for 02119 (not a perfect match for this definition of Roxbury but thats another issue)
Total units in 2010 for 02119: 11,048, this is probably closer to 20k for the entire definition of Roxbury.
This means since 2010, Rox housing stock prob grew by ~10%, and 70% of which is subsidized at some level.
 
A transformation comes to Dudley
Hundreds of new housing units, new storefronts planned for commercial district

Dudley-1024x768.jpg


“The Boston Planning and Development Agency is seeking bids for the redevelopment of three of the last remaining major open parcels of land in Dudley Square. Along with four projects that have already been greenlighted by city officials, the parcels promise to radically transform the Roxbury shopping district, bringing in hundreds of new housing units and more than 100,000 square feet of commercial and cultural space.....”
Link
 
10 Taber is now under construction (45 units, 10 parking, 1800sf retail). Will fill in an important gap in Nubian Square, along with the 2147 development that should be following it shortly.

10 taber:
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DAVE said:
10 taber:
View attachment 4137
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Great to see the developer anticipating the eventual addition of floors to 1 Warren. Frankly it amazes me how many times this is screwed up. Both ways, too; examples abound where the placement of windows had slowed the development of neighboring addresses.

In the larger context, the 4 city lots being developed are to contain 100,000 sq ft of commercial space? This to me is the real kicker for the area. We lost a big number of potential jobs with that mess across from the police station (don't know number). But I have a real gut feeling that these places will do a far more effective job in the "community building" category. I for one thought that the idea of a BJs was ridiculous, but even if you liked it, you have to admit that the quality of the jobs provided would be comparatively low.

I live within walking distance of Dudley (sorry it will always be the John Hancock building). I would love to have a reason to go there beyond the Tropical Food grocery store. Which, by the way, is great from a food perspective, if not an architectural one.
 
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