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Kind of odd when coupled with how expensive real estate is in Boston even in the not so nice parts. Has there been a lot of development of plots like these?
Markets for real estate can’t be super local. Nobody would buy a $650,000 home in JP is a house was $275,000 in Roxbury.
The nimby's in Roxbury are the worst in the City.
Not hyperbole.
City wants to put up (2) 12 story, & (1) 22 story apts,
site ends up approving (2) 5 story L-scrapers and 10 story "tower,"
and it's hard to get all the financing in place because there's not enough net units, to overcome all the empty retail re; "deal sweeteners" / community rec/ etc, built at ground level (graft), when the area already is saturated with retail as it is. Add in the chilling effect the Pandemic had on everything..... That liquor licenses are the worst in the country, etc, etc...........
Go up the block to Tremont Crossing: $2B fiasco: 10 years planning: same story, except it's the downsizing of 28 + 34 + 20 story towers, dozens more floors slashed, dozens of market rate & affordable units cut, wayy more graft, no wiggle room--and in the end, no banks willing to jump in...
The City was ready and able to see the project over the finish line, including $$$ w/ the banks, state help, etc, but only if the project could get to XXL scale.
Nimby's wouldn't accept that.
Result: 10 years down the drain. Starting over w/ a new RFP that no one in their right mind should touch, and in the surrounding environs: endless 4-5 story infill near transit (where you can go very tall), and little else ....and City officials talking about how great everything is.
But, now the Longwood Medical Area is exploding to Simmon's University and beyond *(part of the reason a huge expansion from Tremont to Dudley Sq was being planned in the first place: to expand affordability for Roxbury's residents)....
So, the outside world is now at your doorstep buying up everything--and you wonder..........
It's self defeating.
Last edited by odurandina; 01-28-2022 at 01:56 PM..
People who can afford to pay for housing in Roxbury to Dorchester can live in 95% of the US. Why would they choose to live there? You could move to more energetic me amenity rich areas of Boston or NYC. It just wouldn’t make sense to most people. There’s no “bargains” to be had.
Markets for real estate can’t be super local. Nobody would buy a $650,000 home in JP is a house was $275,000 in Roxbury.
Exactly. Because there’s no discount to be had in Boston why would anyone willingly move to some cranny of dorchester? People with that much money can live in NYC or London and very likely have the job skills to secure employment there. Or they could move to DC and getter newer cheaper Housing at a lower price point, with higher average salaries… and if you look at the stats. People do exactly that!
For that reason the lionshate of development in those areas is still of city owned lots, non profit community developers, homeless/halfway homes, private-public partnerships or small scale 2/3/4 family condos. Not that Boston has many families in general. So not that in demand.
Wu has a huge advantage that Walsh didn't have with people of color. With the huge mandate, and being a person and a woman of color, she can push the JP/Rox plan, and expand it to Mattapan/Dorchester/Hyde Park & Rozzie in ways Mayor Walsh could barely have dreamed w/ a streamlining of the process, and density increased virtually by decree.
Partnerships can be formed to increase the breadth of open lots: out with a whole street's triples, push the state to approve of '6 over 1,' or '5 over 2' construction, and heavy timber .....then telling nimby's to pound sand on their anti-highrise agenda.
There's a good amount of transit corridor left through these neighborhoods.
Wu has a huge advantage that Walsh didn't have with people of color. With the huge mandate, and being a person and a woman of color, she can push the JP/Rox plan, and expand it to Mattapan/Dorchester/Hyde Park & Rozzie in ways Mayor Walsh could rarely have dreamed w/ a streamlining of the process, and density increased virtually by decree.
There's a good amount of transit corridor left through these neighborhoods.
I don’t think so. Marty Walsh was from Dorchester and lived in a racially mixed block and was popular amongst blacks and Latinos. Ppl know Wu isn’t from here and complain. About it but she was way more palatable than Annissa. Yes Tito Jackson won many votes but Marty wasn’t unpopular.
She also just doesn’t want to do that. Not nearly as much as Marty did.
I don’t think so. Marty Walsh was from Dorchester and lived in a racially mixed block and was popular amongst blacks and Latinos. Ppl know Wu isn’t from here and complain. About it but she was way more palatable than Annissa. Yes Tito Jackson won many votes but Marty wasn’t unpopular.
She also just doesn’t want to do that. Not nearly as much as Marty did.
IIRC Connelly-Walsh map looked not unlike AEG-Wu but the latter was more of a blow out.
IIRC Connelly-Walsh map looked not unlike AEG-Wu but the latter was more of a blow out.
Walsh Connolly map was actually very different actually. Connolly lost in the black areas Wu won but won the progressive areas Wu won, and west Roxbury where Wu lost.
Well,
i don't think we'd see Simmon's University pushing 2M sq ft (345' + 289') lab towers on the JP/Rox side of Brookline Ave without a lot of balls to the water attitude and long term strategizing--that began in (1) Mayor's office, and carried through to the (New) Mayor's office. The only thing wrong with it, is it should include much taller towers for students, researchers, & medical staff.
Longwood/Fenway appears the City's current new boomtown---with Dorchester/ Dot Ave coming soon.....
Wu is attempting a city wide coalition, with reduced transit fares for select bus routes as the ice-breaker.
those areas you mentioned are very desirable (Northern Dot Ave corridor, Fenway). They been seeing development for a while now. And are highly sought after by young professionals as is.
And the demographics are way way different than the neighborhoods I posted here. Those are already yuppie ish areas.
Wu is attempting citywide collaboration but she’s been more concerned with investing $100m+ in renovating affordable housing/housing projects and preserving affordable housing units as opposed to pushing development or housing ngl goals.
Development was never a part of her platform. It was increasing affordable housing requirements/linkage fees/transfer tax and freeing the T. Her hope is streamlining the development process and/or eliminating the BPDA will make it easier and cheaper to build. But she isn’t pushing “growth”
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 01-28-2022 at 03:30 PM..
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