Tai Tung Village Expansion | 288 Harrison Avenue | Chinatown

theSil said:
Wholly agree. Which is why it really frustrates me that the Globe celebrates Wu freezing out Boston's business leaders. Much better outcomes can happen when you have the city engaging both private developers and nonprofits like CCBA.
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In this case CCBA is part of the problem. Their mindset is stuck in the old days of 100% affordable developments (back when that was heavily Federally subsidized). They honestly would not want to partner with a commercial developer. They see anything that is not 100% affordable as a failure.
 
king_vibe said:
I wouldn't even walk my dog here.
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Well, if you did, you'd be in good company. Lots of young people looking for affordable housing close to downtown live in that area. If you wanted to socialize your pup within a 5 min walk of this site, off the top of my head I'd suggest the fenced dog parks north of Eliot Norton Park, south of the Whole Foods parking structure, and beneath I-93 across from 7INK, along with the unfenced park on Hudson Street south of One Greenway. You won't go long without seeing dozens of other walkers.
 
MjolnirMan said:
Well, if you did, you'd be in good company. Lots of young people looking for affordable housing close to downtown live in that area. If you wanted to socialize your pup within a 5 min walk of this site, off the top of my head I'd suggest the fenced dog parks north of Eliot Norton Park, south of the Whole Foods parking structure, and beneath I-93 across from 7INK, along with the unfenced park on Hudson Street south of One Greenway. You won't go long without seeing dozens of other walkers.
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How to feel like a pack-a-day smoker without any of the pleasing effects of nicotine.
 
king_vibe said:
How to feel like a pack-a-day smoker without any of the pleasing effects of nicotine.
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Chinatown does indeed have the worst air quality in the state and many things should be done urgently to address this, but I've got some bad news about many other places in the city:

An exploratory analysis of sociodemographic characteristics with ultrafine particle concentrations in Boston, MA
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Beacon Communities, CCBA Break Ground on Chinatown Apartments
BOS-Pok-Oi-Residences-groundbreaking-Boston-July-2023.jpg


“Beacon Communities and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England, Inc. (CCBA) celebrated the groundbreaking of Pok Oi Residences, a new affordable housing development in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. The ceremony featured speakers including Beacon Communities’ Josh Cohen and CCBA president Felix Lui as well as city and state officials. Construction began earlier this year and is expected to be completed in late 2024.

CCBA recognized the development potential of the former surface parking lot property and selected Beacon as its development partner in early 2019, after a competitive selection process. Designed to meet Passive House sustainability standards, Pok Oi Residences will include a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments….”

https://www.connectcre.com/stories/beacon-communities-ccba-break-ground-on-chinatown-apartments/
 
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It definitely would have been nice if they went taller here but 85 affordable income units is still a good addition. Going taller would have meant a steel or concrete structure which is magnitude orders more expensive than the 5 over 1 wood frame structure theyre building. 5 over 1s are the absolute cheapest 6 story structure that you can build, so its obvious why they went that way for an affordable income building.
 
stick n move said:
It definitely would have been nice if they went taller here but 85 affordable income units is still a good addition. Going taller would have meant a steel or concrete structure which is magnitude orders more expensive than the 5 over 1 wood frame structure theyre building. 5 over 1s are the absolute cheapest 6 story structure that you can build, so its obvious why they went that way for an affordable income building.
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Agreed.... but wonder how many market rate units it would take in the same project could have supported 85? I think this parcel could have gone to 300' +

would triple the height (18 floors) been sufficient? Would neighborhood opposition be too great?
 
cburns said:
Agreed.... but wonder how many market rate units it would take in the same project could have supported 85? I think this parcel could have gone to 300' +

would triple the height (18 floors) been sufficient? Would neighborhood opposition be too great?
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You would not get neighborhood opposition in Chinatown. They usually ask for projects to be upscaled to get more units, not the other way around. Height is generally not an issue.

I believe the philanthropic organization behind this project, CCBA, is locked into 100% affordable development, so there was no opportunity to partner for market rate units.
 
Are the other Tai Tung buildings all concrete? I guess they're too tall to be plywood on a metal platform.
 
Blackbird said:
Are the other Tai Tung buildings all concrete? I guess they're too tall to be plywood on a metal platform.
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Fairly certain all of the other buildings, including the low rise on Harrison, are concrete.
 
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99 Kneeland/66 Hudson are also pretty solid masonry. This has caused problems when affordable renters in 66 Hudson have had their lottery number pulled for affordable condo purchases in 88 Hudson (a 5-over-1 by the same contractor) and have been dismayed at 88's cardboard walls letting all the I-93 noise in at all hours. Hopefully this building doesn't have the same issue sitting at the intersection of the Pike and 93, but... well...
 
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