Westwood Station Developments

kingofsheeba;189256. said:
Does that whole Route 1/95 Belt need anymore mass consumerism?

Have you been to Legacy Place on a weekend? Those stores and restaurants are doing brisk business not to mention the Whole Foods and movie theater.
 
Not to mention this place will be directly across from one of the busiest commuter rail stations in the state.
 
Have you been to Legacy Place on a weekend? Those stores and restaurants are doing brisk business not to mention the Whole Foods and movie theater.
Sighs* Well, I suppose it will make a good argument for amalgamation South of Boston.
 
highlander, certain street names have a connotation. One expects a university to be near University Ave, a railway near Railroad Ave., an aqueduct near Aqueduct St., an aerodrome near Airport Drive, a body of water near Bayview Lane, etc.

Stel -- you've got to remember that this is Boston ... over 400 years of change things change -- so that School Street did once house the first and at the time only School -- later it should have been renamed:

City Hall St. -- ole Boston City Hall
Fire Alarm Telegraph St -- site of the world's first Fire Alarm Telegraph HQ -- there is a plaque on a post signifying such
more recently
French Restaurant Street for it long time home of the Maison Robert -- later perhaps Steakhouse Row

Exeter Place -- now history -- should have been renamed Telephone Lab Way -- for the lab where Mr. Watson was called for by Professor Bell

Court Street -- once included a court -- but it lost that distinction and could have been renamed Telegraph Manufactury Lane for the Charles Williams Co. and later it could have been renamed Telephone Manufactury Blvd. -- or perhaps Millionaire's Row -- for the same Charles Williams who as the maker of phone equipment for the American Bell Telephone Co. became the worlds first Telecommunications Millionaire and retired to Bermuda

King Street once the road to the seat of Colonial Power -- got renamed State Street when we converted the building into the old State House and dispensed with the symbols of the British Monarchy -- since restored for Tourist Value

Here are a few quandaries for the Forum members
1) what makes Federal Street Federal
2) what is a Battery March
3) Why does there appear to be neither a point or a Fort associated with Fort Point
 
Federal Street named in 1788, in honor of the new republic.

Fort Point is related to Fort Hill, which in the Puritan era, stood near the corner of Oliver and High St. A part of Fort Hill jutted into the Atlantic, hence the point.

The Battery March was the path that led to the 17th Century South Battery.
 
Federal Street named in 1788, in honor of the new republic.

Fort Point is related to Fort Hill, which in the Puritan era, stood near the corner of Oliver and High St. A part of Fort Hill jutted into the Atlantic, hence the point.

The Battery March was the path that led to the 17th Century South Battery.

Stel -- you are 2.75 for 3

The reason Federal St. got named for the newly minted US Federal Republic is that just down where the ole Bank of Boston Belly Building was the site of the ratification of the Us Constitution & Bill of Rights
FROM THE WIKI
"It was the Federal St. Church where the Massachusetts convention congregated, when debating and deciding on the confederating constitution of the United States in 1788; and from that time, the name of the street was changed from Long Lane to Federal Street."[4][5]
1814_FederalSt_Boston_map_Hales.png
 
I drive by the project nearly every day and they are going full steam ahead. It does resemble a strip mall - with a touch of "nice architecture" but still just a strip mall, definitely not a lifestyle center like Legacy Place/Derby Street or Marketplace in Lynnfield.

Also, I got my hands on the lease plan and the stores that they are planning are not exactly high-end, in fact they are pretty dull and not exciting. The publicly announced stores/restaurants are: Target, Wegmans, Nordstrom Rack (ok this one is good) PetSmart, Blue Hills Savings Bank (local bank)...Bonefish Grill and Not Your Average Joes

All of the other stores/restaurants have not been announced yet, but think of your typical big-box stores. I remember years ago when Westwood Station was competing with Legacy Place, that battle is over, at least in terms of the types of retailers Westwood is now getting. The retail mix is clearly "nicer" and more "high-end" at Legacy. For a preview, take a look at the Northborough Crossing project, it was also done by the same Developer so that will give you a good sense for what to expect.
 
So big parking lots next to big stores and a big train station. What a waste. Is there any significant housing component left?
 
Yes, there will be 2 luxury apartment buildings at the site, they are being developed by Hanover. Those are going to be catered towards empty nesters and couples, as per mitigation with the town so that the project doesn't adversely impact the school system. There is also going to be an assisted living facility for elderly patients with alzheimers.

Other phases would include additional housing and office space and more retail as well as a long park/open space greenery with a water fountain and trellis type feature, sort of like the open grassy area by Copley place.

There are definitely a few "nice" stores and some that are new to the area, but the overall mix or feel of the retail is definitely not as high-end as Legacy, etc. Nonetheless, I think something is better than nothing.
 
Did anyone really expect a slice of urbanity here? Once the hype over that unbuildable narnia went down and they had to stare down cold reality that it's an offramp with a gigantic parking garage and industrial park disconnected from civilization, there weren't a whole lot of directions it could go other than cookie-cutter suburban faux-density served up in some sort of contrasting quality to South Shore Mall and Dedham Mall 3 exits away in either direction.
 
Bleh, what a gigantic waste. In area alone it's comparable in size to whole neighborhoods in Boston's core. I'm actually not always against these non-family housing style apartments, because it takes people away from the housing market and frees up housing for families, although it still can frustrate me to see yet another project geared towards young professionals. All one and two-bedroom apartments, "high-end" and "luxury" of course, all $2500-$4400. The residences are that typical neo-suburban-new-england pre-fab crap. Instead of urbanism the project opts for the strip-mall, campus-style planning. At least put in bars and a club here and there. It's removed from the residential neighborhoods enough.
 
As someone who lives one exit up from this development, I honestly couldn't be more excited. People seem to forget that Westwood is a small town -- it's not looking for the density factor -- and in all honesty, they don't want it. There was a huge discussion on the impact to schools and existing infrastructure -- hence the push for more of a suburban concept and the push to market the housing element toward young professionals and the retired populations.

This is going to be a good mix for the area. The stores at Legacy Place have gone very high end catering more towards people from Newton and Needham -- and unlike Legacy Place, the stores at Westwood Station are actually going to be useful.
 
As someone who lives one exit up from this development, I honestly couldn't be more excited. People seem to forget that Westwood is a small town -- it's not looking for the density factor -- and in all honesty, they don't want it. There was a huge discussion on the impact to schools and existing infrastructure -- hence the push for more of a suburban concept and the push to market the housing element toward young professionals and the retired populations.

This is going to be a good mix for the area. The stores at Legacy Place have gone very high end catering more towards people from Newton and Needham -- and unlike Legacy Place, the stores at Westwood Station are actually going to be useful.

As someone who spent the first 24 years of my life in Westwood, I want to thank you for well-thought-out response to most posters here. Not every development can be all about density and residential above retail with clubs and nightlife galore. Westwood has a top-notch school system that it wants to protect and they are not going to jeopardize that for tax revenue that the town does not desperately need.

I am a little disappointed in the big-box aspect but regardless, this is turning what has been a desolate wasteland for two decades into a development that benefits the Town of Westwood and surrounding communities. Legacy Place is the flashy development, but parking is a nightmare there at night and on weekends. Both developments will cater to customers looking for different things
 
Fair points on the differences between University/Westwood Station and Legacy...I'm just not excited about the "Discount shoe retailer" and "national hair cutting" and "mall jewelery store" retailers that are coming in. But I completely agree, this is 100% better than what was there before.

I will try and take some pictures of the construction this weekend and post here for all to see.
 
I have several pictures from this weekend that I emailed to myself from my iphone. What's the best way to post them here?
 
http://westwood14.imgur.com/

try this...these pics are not the best quality, from my iphone as I drove down university ave, so sorry about that...the interior construction area is blocked off by fences so I couldn't really get any up close photos...as of this morning, a lot more steel for the Wegmans building was being put up and they are moving at a very fast pace...
 

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