South Boston Infill and Small Developments

Scott

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Went last week to check out the developments around Broadway Station. Crappy weather equals crappy pictures.


Parked my car:
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Looking up A Street across Broadway:
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This new townhouse at the corner of A and Athens was featured in one of the papers real estate section.
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http://www.theloftsat36a.com/
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More later...
 
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148 Dorchester Street(?) 48 units under construction
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Some Southie infill for y'all:
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Any idea who the developer building the row houses in the last picture is? It's surprising to see real brick, copper, and slate, and especially the half flight of stairs in the entry way.
 
chumbolly said:
Any idea who the developer building the row houses in the last picture is? It's surprising to see real brick, copper, and slate, and especially the half flight of stairs in the entry way.

I can certainly find out.
 
I've also seen that in the parking lot next to Spaulding Rehab Hospital.
 
Wow. That part of Southie is really popping. I used to cut through there by way of Morrissey Blvd and Dot Ave to avoid the X-way in the old days (before anyone 'knew' about the alternate routes) on my way to park at Fan Pier. (Yes, I was one of those drivers for a bit--had to be.)

I am working adjacent to one of those lift parking lots in SF. I sometimes just watch them move the cars up and down and around. (I'm such a mindless dweeb.)
 
The Macallen is almost finished. I have a feeling this building is going to get a lot of attention when it's done.

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It's condos...too bad they're coming at a time when the condo market is cooling off.
 
Wow, I really like this building. Looks a lot better than its renderings. The condo market has certainly cooled, but I doubt they'll have any problem selling these. People will pay for good, green design.

I just had to double-check--no fake brick, no pre-cast panels. Big thumbs-up from me.
 
Jury's out ...

Jury's still out whether buyers will embrace this building, in my opinion.

Not only had the market cooled, but the sales prices were in the $650+ per square foot basis - Back Bay prices for a South Boston building.

I'm not a fan of the Pappas', so maybe I'm biased, but I don't think it will be an easy sell. I think they were 40% sold, last I heard.

They originally said December 2006 for closings, quickly changed that to March 2007 - and I think they'll be done by April.

Rep. Brian Wallace calls the building, "The Titanic".
 
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Wow...MacAllen is looking f*cking sweet!

I believe it was designed by Office dA, which is one of the most creative firms in Boston right now.

I hope it sells.
 
I've always dug this project...Reminds me pleasantly of some of the stuff I saw last year in Japan...Also reminds me of Aalto's Baker House at MIT...I'd like to see them build a half dozen McAllen's in the brown-fields near Orient Heights...
 
The Globe said:
First green building rates gold

Luxury condos hailed for sustainable design
By Peggy Hoffman, Globe Correspondent | March 4, 2007

South Boston probably isn't the first neighborhood that would have come to mind for such a building 20 years ago, but the scheduled opening this month of the Macallen Building condominiums in Southie will be the city's first condos built as "luxury green."

Towering over the corner of Dorchester Avenue and West 4th Street, the 143-unit building is expected to be the first new construction, mixed-use building to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating in New England.

This Leadership in Energy rating system helps translate "sustainable design" ideas into a checklist of building features. Developers earn points by building sites near mass transit, reducing water and energy consumption, optimizing indoor air quality, choosing materials with recycled or recyclable content, and purchasing these construction materials from within a 500-mile radius.

So far, residential developers have lagged behind commercial developers in their efforts to snag Leadership in Energy ratings, in part because of the perception that green buildings are more expensive to design and build.

The Macallen appears to be catering to a diverse demographic -- empty nesters, single professionals, well-to-do retirees, and young couples looking for urban starter homes -- who want luxury in a convenient, up-and-coming neighborhood. Green is a bonus.

"I had looked in the South End and Back Bay and Beacon Hill," said new owner Ryan Campbell, a designer with the architectural firm Anshen + Allen + Rothman in Boston. "It seemed like the best place to be as far as an investment. And I love the idea of a green building."

The condos range from $550,000 to $2.5 million. Tim Pappas, CEO of Pappas Enterprises Inc., the developer, said more than 50 percent of the units have been sold.

Pappas says luxury wasn't the initial purpose of the Macallen building. But luxury is what owners are getting. In Macallen, "green" luxury means double-glazed insulated windows, bamboo floors, and natural fiber carpet. Filtered fresh air is ducted into every unit. Bosch appliances, Dornbracht fixtures, and Lutron dimming switches provide energy efficiency.

But what's invisible to residents may be the most environmentally friendly.

Instead of installing separate heating and cooling systems in each unit, a central plant will heat and cool more efficiently by economizing the system for the entire building. A byproduct of that heat comingles with city steam to heat the outdoor swimming pool.

The cooling tower uses an ultrasonic-based technique to control bacteria, avoiding the standard practice of adding toxic chemicals.

Ninety-eight percent of the structural steel is recycled. Eighty-five percent of the exterior aluminum is recycled.

The flooring, walls, countertops and insulation use products made from natural materials such as linoleum, bamboo, cork, cotton, and recycled quartz.

There is no use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gas es, considered an ozone-depleting agent, commonly used in HVAC systems.

Use of copper plumbing avoids the controversial use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a potential carcinogen according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

And by choosing nontoxic paints, coatings, adhesives and sealants, volatile organic compounds are eliminated or minimized. Environmental Protection Agency health reports link VOCs to a variety of health concerns.

Then there is the green roof, a sloped, miniature habitat of plants that cool the building in summer and insulate it in winter, reducing the urban heat island effect.

North End resident Jeff Lindholm, who commutes to Westborough every day, said the building's being green was not the deciding factor for him to buy, but, "I'm happy that it is. I feel good about it."

"Hopefully, I'm participating in making things better," he said.

Pappas wants tenants to understand what 30 percent energy efficiency means, what 30 percent water usage efficiency means, and what having a reduced need for potable water for irrigation means to the actual operating expenses to the building.

"A lot of it doesn't mean much to you from a living standpoint if we've done our jobs right. . . . But when your monthly electric bill comes, that's when you should notice it."

? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
 

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