The Alcott (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Wow this thing was approved last night around 8pm and the final comment on the board is from 1030 last night??? What's going on with ab? This is excellent news! A better streetwall on lomasney and money for traffic improvements which might actually result in the civilization of Nashua and lomasney... Well I know I'm pumped... But I like some other commenters expect there to be some very staunch opposition...
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

FK4 said:
Wow this thing was approved last night around 8pm and the final comment on the board is from 1030 last night??? What's going on with ab? This is excellent news! A better streetwall on lomasney and money for traffic improvements which might actually result in the civilization of Nashua and lomasney... Well I know I'm pumped... But I like some other commenters expect there to be some very staunch opposition...
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Well, this is post #487 on a project that is only now starting to get approvals. We've been discussing this thing for so long that there's just not much new to add at this point...
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

So there is no West End resident parking anywhere near here, so wouldn't they want to advocate for less parking so there'd be less traffic? In other neighborhoods there is a fear that buildings with little parking will increase demand for limited on street parking, but that doesn't exist here. No parking, no traffic. I don't get it the opposition.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

bayvillagebrahmin said:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/02/11/west-end-tower-proposal-back-before-bra/8ZKmpF3hiZLTgcfEsAoh1M/story.html


Apparently the tower is slightly skinnier? Anyone know the official height? Are we going to touch 500' with mechanicals?
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According to the NPC filed in October (which was the iteration with the height reduction), its 447' to TOP of highest occupiable floor, 467' to top of mechanicals, and 485' to top of crown.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

sm89 said:
So there is no West End resident parking anywhere near here, so wouldn't they want to advocate for less parking so there'd be less traffic? In other neighborhoods there is a fear that buildings with little parking will increase demand for limited on street parking, but that doesn't exist here. No parking, no traffic. I don't get it the opposition.
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This is reading between the lines of the complaint letters, so understand it's completely my perception and my biases. Grains (read: a Chelsea Pile's worth) of salt.

The various West End Resident Assocs. did advocate for less parking, but why is a murkier question. If you're generous, you could say it's because the RAs understand that "if you build it, they will come" - no better to guarantee traffic increase. Therefore, cutting out parking gives Martha a fighting chance congestion-wise (not really, but thought that counts). If you're cynical, you could see the move against parking as a way of wrecking the project economy and fucking up the profit margins is the best way to kill off or assert control over a project's scope. Same deal with the calls for more on-site affordable housing. You know how it goes, I'm sure.

I'm leaning cynical...the real-deal, brass-knuckle RAs that I'm around back up their assertions with studies which are, in fairness, usually pretty solid methodologically, but the conclusions are obviously tortured to produce the desired outcome of the RA. I haven't seen any of that with this slog, so I'm leaning towards the idea that West End RAs are just pulling out the all the stops that they think can make the project unfeasible economically. In what other circumstances do constant references to a 59-year old zoning plan that's only been slightly amended over the years (with the only major difference being the Lowell affordable housing development which only came through after a long struggle in court with Rappaport) make sense sans actual data?
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Each of the major complexes in Charles River Park (Emerson, Longfellow, Hawthorne, etc.) have parking in structured garages, so there is West End resident parking near there.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Isn't parking generally something that developers would rather build less of, though? Usually, it's developers asking to build less parking and the community asking for more.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Parking here is a goldmine. These won't be just for residents----$45 spot for events at the garden, plus MGH next door, from which I have heard from multiple people, has a 10 year waiting list for parking.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

^re mgh, that's definitely not true for professional staff but not sure about other employees... MGH offers parking at Charles river complex, as well as Nashua st surface lot. I think the main place that is offered to employees, though, is the Charlestown garage with a bus shuttle. Sounds miserable and underscores need for better transportation connection from the north (red blue cnnxn). I don't think MGH has control over any other west end parking other than the ones I mentioned above, though.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

The Nashua St surface lot is going to be a tough one someday soon. Ripe for development, but unless MGH gets a greater than or equal to number of parking spaces on site (or closer to the campus) out of a hypothetical land deal, it won't get developed for a long, long time.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

What boggles me is the NIMBY opposition to this building, considering where it is going to be located. there is almost nothing around there. I think they should build a few more buildings back there so these guys have some neighbors.

When reading the Boston.com article, I saw reference to a "Mission Hill Tower". What happened to that proposal? Of course, there was tons of opposition to it, even though there are tall buildings on St Alphonsus Street and it is across from the busy Longwood Medical area. Anyone have any detail about this project?

Not a bad looking tower:

363c14aefe0d8d7535a6aac79ef2e99c
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Shirls has a comment:

skressel FEBRUARY 19, 2016 — 12:56 PM
Planning is the issue. Planning, real zoning based on the planning, and enforcement of that zoning.
And we don't have planning in Boston because the BRA stole the power of the Planning Board in 1960 precisely so that planning would never get in the way of any developer's proposals.

Let's get rid of the BRA -- the "Department of Dirty Tricks" -- and restore a genuine, publicly accountable city planning department.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Czervik.Construction said:
What boggles me is the NIMBY opposition to this building, considering where it is going to be located. there is almost nothing around there. I think they should build a few more buildings back there so these guys have some neighbors.

When reading the Boston.com article, I saw reference to a "Mission Hill Tower". What happened to that proposal? Of course, there was tons of opposition to it, even though there are tall buildings on St Alphonsus Street and it is across from the busy Longwood Medical area. Anyone have any detail about this project?

Not a bad looking tower:

363c14aefe0d8d7535a6aac79ef2e99c
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It was going to be called 45 worthington. There is a thread but it has not been touched in a year. I am wondering the same thing as you. http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=4941.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Too bad that neighborhood has so many projects around it...it would be such a nice place to live if there more streets like wigglesworth/worthington.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

The neighborhood's concern is (i) the traffic on Worthington St. where the garage would be located and (ii) the massing of the building is close to Worthington St. and not towards the towers on the other side of the lot.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Ugh, let's not rehash 45 Worthington in this thread please.

The context of Longfellow Place & 45 Worthington are totally different. They cannot be compared whatsoever.
 
Re: Longfellow Place (née Garden Garage Towers) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

type001 said:
No, you are NIMBYs.

http://www.boston.com/real-estate/community/2016/02/19/still-upset-over-tower-approval-west-end-residents-warn-mission-hill-could-next/goPJFjwofRAXAwXrrqSQdI/story.html?p1=feature_sec_hp
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Just went after Shirley on the message board. She's the absolute worst. See my response to "skressel". I did miss one word.... "We all know that's ***what*** your real agenda is." Pisses me off, but there's no way to edit it.
 
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