South Bay Center Expansion | Dorchester

1,094 new parking spots

Is this above and beyond what is there already? Or, is this not taking into account spaces lost for new buildings?
 
SeamusMcFly said:
1,094 new parking spots

Is this above and beyond what is there already? Or, is this not taking into account spaces lost for new buildings?
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Remember this is 540 units plus a 130 unit hotel plus 130,000 sf of retail. And this is Dot not downtown so 1 parking spot per unit makes sense. At one parking spot per unit and the rest goes to the retail and other uses the 1000 new parking spots does make sense. Other developments near transit like Assembly row or stations landing have lots of parking and this does too.
 
tysmith95 said:
Remember this is 540 units plus a 130 unit hotel plus 130,000 sf of retail. And this is Dot not downtown so 1 parking spot per unit makes sense. At one parking spot per unit and the rest goes to the retail and other uses the 1000 new parking spots does make sense. Other developments near transit like Assembly row or stations landing have lots of parking and this does too.
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Where did you get 540 units? The Curbed article mentions 475, which includes 62 affordable units. You may have added that on top of the 475 mentioned?

Either way, as a poster previously mentioned back in May, I would have figured there would be have been a push for more affordable units in this area.. would have made sense to. 62/475 is only 13%.
 
jl326 said:
Where did you get 540 units? The Curbed article mentions 475, which includes 62 affordable units. You may have added that on top of the 475 mentioned?
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I added 62 units to the 475 number (which is 537) and the I rounded it to 540. My bad I must have read it wrong.

Personally I'm happy that this has a low % of affordable housing. New construction in neighborhoods like Dorchester will actually be affordable to many middle class people even at market rates. Affordable rate apartments just make it unaffordable for people who make just above the thresholds to be able to receive affordable apartments. Developers hold the burden of paying for affordable housing which is indirectly transferred to others.
 
Re: South Bay Center Expansion

Suffolk 83 said:
I like urban, walkable neighborhoods but not everything needs to be like that. South bay is far from a great spot, but I really like its convenience. Like this during this week its nice not to worry about parking, space savers and snow emergencies.


Living there would probably suck though and the movie theatre would no doubt be sketchy
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I agree, dorchester is a very dense urban walkable neighborhood. That being said sometimes its nice to have areas like these as long as its very few. I had to buy an air conditioner the other day and I was so happy to be able to park right in front of Home Depot and buy one without the absolute pain in the balls it would have been almost anywhere else in Boston. I thought about buying one in Cambridge...but then I would have to literally pay for it to be more inconvenient, walk further, and top it off with a high probability of a parking ticket. Im all about density but as long as its few and far between spots like this can be a godsend.

Bonus- the view here is great. Being up a few floors in one of the residentials will be a really cool perspective.




 
Home Depot has two locations very close to each other with one being in Somerville and one being in Everett. That seems like a waste of urban space to me. The closest one south of the city besides this is miles away in Quincy so having one here makes sense.
 
There's also one in Chelsea. Which for me, was much easier to get to since I was a resident in East Boston.
 
Re: South Bay Center Expansion

stick n move said:
I agree, dorchester is a very dense urban walkable neighborhood. That being said sometimes its nice to have areas like these as long as its very few.
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No such thing as free parking. You could have driven to the galleria and parked in the garage for less (on the weekend) than it cost you to drive to dorchester and back.

I agree that having some big box stores with parking in the city is really really useful. But the parking doesnt have to be a sea of asphalt like at south bay.
 
CSTH said:
No such thing as free parking. You could have driven to the galleria and parked in the garage for less (on the weekend) than it cost you to drive to dorchester and back.

I agree that having some big box stores with parking in the city is really really useful. But the parking doesnt have to be a sea of asphalt like at south bay.
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^ I work in Cambridge and live in Dorchester.

To each his own, I like south bay center for the convenience. It does have a lot of trash and sometimes it gets sketchy at night, but Ill take that for a 5 second drive/bike ride with ample parking and space to do whatever you need. That area of the city it such a huge tangled mess of train tracks, high ways, and parking lots that it really works fine. If this were Davis square it would be a different story. This project will give some density because that site is just an empty lot right now, but this area is always going to kind of be the middle ground no mans land between Dorchester and Southie.
 
I think that this development is a great improvement to area. Along with the complete rebuild of the Boston Flower Exchange, and the 1000 year plan to redev Widett Circle, this area actually might become something. Talk to me in 2050 about it, but this is the easy start, and it looks fairly promising. Newmarket is a perfect place for small tech start-ups, by the way. Low rent, open floor plans, access to transportation, and that down and dirty look that always appeals to those just trying to make something happen with what they can cobble up.
 
You really dont want new market/widett cir/flower exchange to be redeveloped. The city needs these distribution centers desperately and redeveloping them will hurt Boston area consumers. Ive heard flower prices have already gone up because a lot of those companies have already shut or moved. Same thing would happen with some food prices if those distributors move or shut
 
You really dont want new market/widett cir/flower exchange to be redeveloped. The city needs these distribution centers desperately and redeveloping them will hurt Boston area consumers. Ive heard flower prices have already gone up because a lot of those companies have already shut or moved. Same thing would happen with some food prices if those distributors move or shut
 
Suffolk 83 said:
You really dont want new market/widett cir/flower exchange to be redeveloped. The city needs these distribution centers desperately and redeveloping them will hurt Boston area consumers. Ive heard flower prices have already gone up because a lot of those companies have already shut or moved. Same thing would happen with some food prices if those distributors move or shut
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Suffolk -- its true that such a facility needs to be somewhere relatively convenient -- but think of the the New England Produce Center in Chelsea

NEPC-Map-2012-10-25.jpg


[note those "sticks" in the image are over the road tractor-trailer rigs]

https://binged.it/2ckbkFJ

Flowers could easily go there and make available a core area of Boston for development
 
Keith Hauge, representing the company EDENS, gave an update on the ongoing South Bay Center project. He outlined construction plans for the upcoming months as part of what he termed “an aggressive schedule heavily dependent on the winter weather.” The plan is to begin foundation work in November and steel work in the spring, with the hope of opening a new luxury cinema complex by the end of 2017.
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http://www.dotnews.com/2016/development-churn-keeps-mccormack-civic-members-busy
 
whighlander said:
Suffolk -- its true that such a facility needs to be somewhere relatively convenient -- but think of the the New England Produce Center in Chelsea

NEPC-Map-2012-10-25.jpg


[note those "sticks" in the image are over the road tractor-trailer rigs]

https://binged.it/2ckbkFJ

Flowers could easily go there and make available a core area of Boston for development
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This may be a stupid question, but what exactly is the purpose of the produce center?
 
^ It's a distribution center. Produce comes in to the center by rail and trucks from the producers, and goes out on the trucks that stock your grocery stores and restaurants. The exchange has to be made somewhere.
 
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