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

[gooseberry]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

"4-stories of underground parking for 850 vehicles, 650 of which will replace the existing garage spaces."

!!!

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

That picture at the top of the page from 2012 looks very Detroit. It will be nice to see that garage go.

So, we already take a drink for every seaport stadium reference.

Take a shot of smack for every Detroit reference? Apropos, no?

 

[Hutchison]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

"Equity goes back to the drawing board on West End housing development"

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2014/01/equity-goes-back-to-the-drawing-board.html

After failing to win approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority for a $300 million, twin tower apartment project in Boston’s West End, the developer is rethinking the plan.

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), the Chicago-based REIT with 17 apartment communities in Greater Boston, said its proposal for 500 units in two buildings near North Station was unable to win consensus in the neighborhood.

In 2009, Equity filed plans with the BRA to replace the four-story Garden Garage at 35 Lomasney Way, across from the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Federal Building, with 31- and 24-story tower thats would contain 310 and 190 units, respectively. A new garage would be built underground to allow parking for 850 vehicles and 30,000 square feet of new open space would be created.

But some members of the Garden Garage Impact Advisory Group, the 10-member neighborhood panel formed to advise City Hall on the project, opposed the project's height and density. They argued that the development should be no taller than the neighboring buildings at 150 feet, or 15 or so stories.

At the time, then-Mayor Thomas M. Menino told Equity to convert the opponents into proponents. But the clock ran out, and a revised plan never made it to the BRA board.

“We are evaluating the deal now and hopefully we will go back to the city soon to discuss our options,” said Andrew Copelotti, vice president of development and construction management at Equity’s Boston office. “The cost of putting the parking below grade is expensive, and we feel like we need that unit count to make the project work. That’s not to say that we can’t find some compromise that would be amenable to all.”

 

[Deetroyt]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

I'd like to see this project get done in shape or form (of course without being a terrible addition to the neighborhood). I was hoping that with the NSR and NST going up, as well as Lovejoy, Victor and Merano, the neighborhood would really start to blossom and accept this proposal. The last thing I want to see is for Equity to give up and just refurbish the garage.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

I'd like to see this project get done in shape or form (of course without being a terrible addition to the neighborhood). I was hoping that with the NSR and NST going up, as well as Lovejoy, Victor and Merano, the neighborhood would really start to blossom and accept this proposal. The last thing I want to see is for Equity to give up and just refurbish the garage.

Expect to see them sell the site and move on

This one is not happening!

 

[kingofsheeba]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

NIMBYS NIMBYS NIMBYS...

 

[tocoto]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

It will be interesting to see how this and many other projects fare now that we have a new mayor who says he is open minded and willing to look at the big picture with an eye toward mutual success through negotiation and compromise to reach what's best for the city.

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

"4-stories of underground parking for 850 vehicles, 650 of which will replace the existing garage spaces."

!!!

I know? Isn't it ridiculous? For an area adjacent some of the most walkable and transit-accessible places in America. Are we still living the dream of the 1950s when we have to lure people into cities with parking? MAPC's 2014 Parking Conference starring Donald Shoup came in just in time...maybe the BRA will take a hint?

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

The type of people attracted to these properties do not typically live their entire lives within the confines of the MBTA and Amtrak system.

Then perhaps we need to re-envision these properties? Also, we live in a world where car sharing is now a viable option, even for the most well-off people. This fills a very wide, understated, and long-standing gap between not owning a car and having one. Yeah, you won't get all of them to get rid of their cars, but more reasonably you can expect a service like Zipcar to satisfy a reasonable amount of trips beyond the T. What research has been done shows that car sharing has a potential to reduce car ownership by 80%, which is incredibly optimistic, but not unimaginable for such a dense area.

Also, there's already plenty of parking in the area and car registrations are decreasing despite the number of new developments and growing population in the last 10 years. If the developers want to entice a certain bracket of the market and have some sort of firm evidence that at least 50% of them will want to keep their car, even with the promise of dedicating a certain number of cars from any particular car sharing service, then let them borrow excess parking 'credits' from an adjacent development or at least reduce the available parking to 50% of constructed units.

I keep hearing this argument that rich people who can afford $3k/mo rents or $1mil+ condos absolutely want cars and will refuse to own property in a building with no parking, but no evidence to support such a claim. Suffice it to say, I don't want to completely eliminate the parking, I'd just rather not see so much. After all, it's the parking that begets traffic.

 

[cozzyd]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Then perhaps we need to re-envision these properties?

Agreed. Car centered developments can be built almost anywhere. Developers should take advantage of sites with high transit access to build developments for people who prefer not to have cars.

 

[BosDevelop]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Agreed. Car centered developments can be built almost anywhere. Developers should take advantage of sites with high transit access to build developments for people who prefer not to have cars.

That's sounds all well and good in theory but practically it is not really a reality for most of the larger development sites downtown. Primarily due to economics. Land and development costs in Boston are obviously among the highest in the country. Developers need to sell their housing units at a premium to recoup their costs and make money. For whatever reason, the people who purchase these high end units demand parking. It's nice to say in theory that developers should just ditch the parking but they all know that if they do that, they are severely limiting their potential buyer base. Until the people who can afford to pay $600,000 for a one bedroom and close to $1,000,000 for a two bedroom (plus all the carrying costs of course including condo fees in the thousands) start realizing that they don't need cars downtown, I wouldn't hold my breath for large developments without parking absent the occasional one.

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

What about 50%/1:.5 unit to space ratio?

This conversation everywhere - here, Curbed, sometimes even StreetsBlog and The Atlantic, and almost always IRL - turns into a black-and-white situation, 1:1 or greater ratio or no parking at all. Even the 44-unit development in Allston was called 'car free' despite the fact that it still did have parking spaces, but those were going to be dedicated spaces for car sharing, so not really literally 'car free'.

Ditch half and you'd probably still be able to lure the upper echelons of the market for that high margin, ~5-year turnaround on investment that seems so sexy today with the high end real estate market today. But don't only ditch half, leverage a portion of the spaces there as dedicated car sharing spaces that could be rented at nominal cost.

Of course, maybe Shoup-style parking reform is the game changer that will make 'parking-lite' tower development accessible. Or maybe it'll be the resultant traffic that'll be the tipping point for parking demand, even in the upper echelons of the market (which will likely consist of mostly absentee, multi-home residents), as is happening in Toronto.

I'm still waiting on that data that shows the demand for parking with condos is statistically significant, but for now, I'll continue beating my drum for less (not none), especially if any part of this gets reborn as rentals.

 

[underground]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Not to sound like a prick but you can beat that drum all you want, nobody capable of developing this kind of project shares your viewpoint.

Lovejoy Wharf is car free and right around the corner. Car free "luxury" units has come up multiple times in the past six months.

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Not to sound like a prick but you can beat that drum all you want, nobody capable of developing this kind of project shares your viewpoint.

Sok, you did anyway. Truthfully, I understand the reality that my opinion doesn't matter since I don't have the capital (at the moment) to make it matter, but that doesn't stop this forum from engaging in discourse on the merits and pitfalls of any of the developments we have threads on.

To take your fatalist attitude, if they don't share my viewpoint and developers don't care to listen, then why is it even worth trying to stop or change any development you don't like? Surely that's not how the NIMBYs feel...

Also, yes. Lovejoy Wharf.

 

[KentXie]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Lovejoy Wharf is car free and right around the corner. Car free "luxury" units has come up multiple times in the past six months.

Well there you go. Wealthy people now have the option to choose whether to live car-free or not. Lovejoy Wharf is for the former, and this development is for the latter.

I'm going to have to go out and agree with kmp. Not everyone shares the viewpoint that because there are car rental or public transit, then that means you shouldn't own a car. That's like, why buy a house when there are rentals or public housing options instead.

- Some people prefer being able to own things, not rent them.
- Some people see it as more convenient as you don't have to check to see if a car is available for renting when owning one means that it's always available to them.
- Some people need it because they don't feel safe on public transit or enjoys being in a car over being crowded like sardines in a train or bus.
- Some people see it as a status. Why do people buy expensive paintings or luxury item? Status.
- Some people need to drive their family to different areas: kids to school, spouse to work, parents to home, etc. and you can't do that in a single trip on public transit.
- Some people enjoy taking road trips, or going hiking outside the city, places that aren't accessible to public transit. Wealthier people tend to do more of these activities then those that aren't.
- To impress the ladies.

When you're wealthy, you're given more of these options. For the rest of us, we tend to have no choice but to take public transit or use car rentals because we are limited by our financial flexibility. The wealthy aren't.

 

[underground]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

I don't personally care if a development has parking or not. I mean, who am I to stop an idiot from wasting his/her money? I'm pointing out the absurdity of saying no one will do car free in this location seeing as there's a car free development within spitting distance. The issue I care about more is forcing developers to include parking.

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

...Not everyone shares the viewpoint that because there are car rental or public transit, then that means you shouldn't own a car. That's like, why buy a house when there are rentals or public housing options instead...When you're wealthy, you're given more of these options. For the rest of us, we tend to have no choice but to take public transit or use car rentals because we are limited by our financial flexibility. The wealthy aren't.

I fully understand this, but again, you're continuing to argue the point as if the situation is black-and-white: no parking or parking. As if car sharing programs don't bridge the gulf, in any way to any magnitude, between car and no car. As if finding a nice, luxury rental - mind you Zipcar has a number of very nice Mercedes and Audis downtown and dedicating parking to car sharing could increase this number for the people who want to 'impress the ladies' and/or gentlemen - is as difficult and cumbersome as getting your car back after it's been towed.

I also fully understand where you're coming from - I'm not trying to say that mommy and daddy should be forced to take Jimmy to school, Molly to daycare, and grandpa Joe to the hospital all together on the T as one unbroken family unit - which is how that's being argued.

I don't argue because I want everyone to live as ideally as I would live as an urban family that can walk to most of its destinations and is comfortable with car sharing and taking transit so we can spend our money and time on more quality things for our family. I bother to argue about this because data and trends show a downward trend, not continuation or justification of the need for parking at these volumes...and the multitude of other reasons for reducing parking ratios or entirely eliminating parking ratio mandates.

I don't personally care if a development has parking or not. I mean, who am I to stop an idiot from wasting his/her money? I'm pointing out the absurdity of saying no one will do car free in this location seeing as there's a car free development within spitting distance. The issue I care about more is forcing developers to include parking.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[shmessy]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Get ready for another Merano or Victor.

Nimby's LOVE landscrapers.

 

[Czervik.Construction]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Oy, too bad about this project. The neighborhood groups want height limited to 15 stories? That is a bit of a difference from 31 stories. Hopefully with the volume of projects in the area, something is built. NIMBYs can't block everything forever!

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Re: Garden Garage Towers (Basketball City) | 35 Lomasney Way | West End

Oy, too bad about this project. The neighborhood groups want height limited to 15 stories? That is a bit of a difference from 31 stories. Hopefully with the volume of projects in the area, something is built. NIMBYs can't block everything forever!

Maybe if the project gets stalled long enough to see through to partial construction of the towers across the street, maybe they'll lose ground to the precedence of taller towers adjacent?...or maybe grow more vociferous about 'imposing towers'...

Does anyone know what version of their argument they've been using against height at this location? Is it that they would be 'imposing' (ideally could be fixed with different massing, more creative design, etc of the towers) or are they somehow using the shadows argument?...even though the tower is on the northern portion of the West End and would cast barely any shadows on their own neighbourhood...