Jackson Square

[pharmerdave]

They are finally filling in the wastelands around Jackson Square. 429 units of housing by 2013.

link http://www.mass.gov/envir/mepa/pdffi...06em/13901.pdf

[Ron Newman]

All of the Roxbury Community College parking lots need to be built on or sold off to developers. Does this plan address them?

[vanshnookenraggen]

This all sounds good. Reading that release made me realize just how badly Boston needs to overhaul its approval process and tear down the insane bureaucracy that delays development. You want to know why housing costs so much? This is one really big reason.

[justin]

Ideally, one brings public transportation to where housing and activity are. But doing it the other way arounf is the next best thing, and I'm glad Boston's finally realizing it.

justin

[Roxxma]

Nice that they provided a detailed map of the site so that readers may see which parcel is where, etc. :roll:

[briv]

A scanned rendering from an ad in the current JP Gazette announcing a public meeting concerning the project on Nov. 30 @6pm at the Julia Martin House on 90 Bickford St. in JP:

[vanshnookenraggen]

/\ Wow /\ That looks really nice.

\/ Yeah that is bull shit. \/

[atlantaden]

It does look really nice but.........................429 units built by 2013? You've got to be kidding me!

[justin]

The T ever heard of air rights?

justin

[briv]

Originally Posted by justin

The T ever heard of air rights?

I've asked the same question myself, many times.

[Ron Newman]

I don't think air rights would work here since the Southwest Corridor is park land -- a promise made to surrounding neighborhoods way back in the 1970s.

Leave the parks alone. Build on the RCC parking lots instead.

[briv]

I dont understand how an impassable ditch containing heavy rail is any different than an impassable ditch containing a highway. At the end of the day, we're still looking at virtual wall dividing neighborhoods and creating dead zones. The vast majority of the Southwest Corridor "parks" are less than 20' wide and feel more like median strips or vacant lots. The Southwest Corridor ditch also turns a long stretch of Columbus Ave into a desolate freeway strip.

I say keep the parks that really work, keep the bike path, but then build over the ditch and reconnect/revitalize this part of the city. As a public space, I think the Southwest Corridor is, for the most part, pretty atrocious once it crosses Mass Ave.

[Ron Newman]

The ditch and the parking lots are both problems that deaden the street between Ruggles and Jackson Square. But the parking lots are much easier to build on, so let's address that problem first. Once that side of the street is built on, it may be more obvious what to do with the other side.

My concern about air rights development is that it could put the bike path into long stretches of tunnel, which would be both unattractive and unsafe.

Reducing the width of Columbus Avenue to that of, say, Lamartine Street would also greatly improve the neighborhood. The relationship between street, neighborhood, and park is much better south of Jackson Square.

[Scott]

Air rights? This isn't Porter Sq or the Back Bay (or even Ashmont). People aren't lining up to build here. It is being built by 3 non-profits with major help from donations and state TOD money. The underground parking has already been scrapped, and the number of affordable units reduced. Maybe in the future but today building over the tracks is not feasible.

Personally I think the most important benefit to the city is that they intend to build on both sides of Columbus Ave, effectively extending the Jackson Square commercial district to the base of Fort Hill.

[Smuttynose]

This ran about 2 weeks ago in the Globe.

A new look for Jackson Square
Developers shaping plan for residential, retail area
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | February 20, 2007

It is prime real estate in Boston and developers have long clamored to get their hands on it, but the 9.5 acres scattered near the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Centre Street in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain has remained a blank slate for almost 30 years.

Nearby is the Academy Homes housing development, which has battled crime. The Jackson Square T station, where some residents fear to tread after dark, is across the street. Then, there is the Bromley-Heath housing project , a red-brick behemoth that has struggled with gang activity. A 13-year-old boy was shot last month as he walked on Horan Way, a street within the development. The boy, who had left the Jackson Square T station moments earlier, ran back to the station but collapsed on a basketball court nearby.

City leaders, community activists, and business owners are working hard to change the image of Jackson Square. The city is fine-tuning a $250 million plan for 400 housing units, 60,000 square feet of retail space, and a youth and family center on the land. Groundbreaking is expected in the summer of 2008, said Tom Miller , the director of economic development for the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

"Jackson Square is a perfect example of an area that has seen better days," Miller said. "For some reason, the location never took off. But we think this is going to be incredible, and we're hoping it will lead to other construction projects in adjacent properties. We think this will serve as a catalyst for the area."

A busy strip mall containing a supermarket and a concentration of restaurants, music stores, and clothing boutiques dot the lower end of Centre Street, near Columbus Avenue. But closer to the intersection are the lots, land that was cleared about three decades ago to make way for a planned extension of Interstate 95. A Department of Public Works salt shed and a Department of Youth Services facility sit on a section of the property.

Two groups vied to develop the coveted land, but the city decided last November that both groups should work together on the project. The team now includes the Hyde Square Task Force, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., Urban Edge, Mitchell Properties, and Gravestar Inc.

Jesus Gerena, director of Community Development and Organizing for the Hyde Square Task Force, said the development would serve as a bridge between Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, separated by Columbus Avenue. "This is an area that has been targeted because the city understands the need for more youth facilities and positive opportunities."

Many residents and business owners have welcomed the project in community meetings. "More apartments in the area mean more people to come to my store," said Luis Gonzales , owner of Cristal Fruit , at the corner of Centre and Wise streets.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino referred to the undeveloped land as a dead spot in the community, and said, "If you do it properly, with the plans I've seen, it will be great for the area." He said the area has been stigmatized by "one or two high-profile crimes."

The Jan. 12 shooting of 13-year-old Luis Gerena, no relation to the task force official, sent shock waves through the neighborhood and reminded many longtime residents and business owners of a near-fatal attack that occurred almost three years ago at the T station -- the stabbing of a 14-year-old girl.

Jesus Gerena said the dozens of teenagers enrolled in the task force's various antiviolence programs were stunned by the homicide. "They were definitely taken aback by that murder. Any time you have violence in the area, it heightens the fear among the kids, because they have to walk through Jackson Square every day . There's a general sense that the violence is all around them."

Juan Carlos, 17, of Dorchester, who passes through the T station on weekdays on his way to school and work, said he heard about the fatal shooting. "It's kind of crazy, thinking that something like that happened near here. I know a lot of my friends are scared to walk around here at night because of that."

Last fall, Boston police and the FBI conducted a drug sweep through Bromley-Heath, charging 23 men with dealing cocaine in or near the complex, including an 18-year-old who was shot by police during the sweep. About half of those arrested were alleged associates of the Heath Street Gang, whose war with the rival H-Bloc gang had led to at least 20 shootings from January 2005 to October 2006, the FBI said.

But the T station has experienced a decline in crime, according to statistics from the MBTA Police. Last year, there were 11 reported incidents of violence at the station, the lowest amount since 2000. The number of incidents peaked in 2003 , with 28 .

Police Lieutenant Michael Shea , commander of the district including the Jackson Square station, said it is constantly manned by at least two officers. "We have a lot of visibility at the station, guys who know the people who come through here by first name." He attributed the decline in crime to a renewed focus by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority several years ago to conduct community-style policing rather than confine their efforts to the station alone. Shea said he often meets with administrators at Bromley-Heath, the Hyde Square Task Force, and other local groups.

Aralis Santana , 16, a student at Prospect Hill Academy in Cambridge , said recently that she goes through the station at least once a day. "Nothing has happened to me in three years, but I'm never by myself at night because anything can happen."

[Smuttynose]

[rikahlberg]

Originally Posted by pharmerdave

They are finally filling in the wastelands around Jackson Square. 429 units of housing by 2013.

link http://www.mass.gov/envir/mepa/pdffi...06em/13901.pdf

You can see the PNF the development team submitted to the BRA here:
http://www.jpndc.org/docs/PNF_Jackso...e_10-31-06.pdf

The reason this land was abandoned for so many years is because it was trapped in the government bureaucracy -- some owned by the MBTA, some by the BRA, some by the city. The effort to combine the parcels (led by Urban Edge) was gargantuan.

The number of housing units has shrunk as has the amount of retail while the surface parking has increased.

I always thought a small office building right on top of the station would work wonders for the area, but that idea was always laughed at in community meetings.

It will be nice to see a groundbreaking on something at Jackson in the near future.

[pharmerdave]

Development planned to be green and clean
By Andreae Downs, Globe Correspondent | July 8, 2007
It's not only the largest community- planned development in Boston, but it is now at the vanguard of environmentally friendly, "smart growth" neighborhood development.
The plans for 11 weed-choked acres near the Jackson Square MBTA Station on the Jamaica Plain-Roxbury line took another step forward last month with the filing of its draft project impact report with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
The filing means the Jackson Square project, which will include 14 buildings, as well as parks and street improvements, is on track to break ground in September 2008.
In addition, the US Green Building Council, last month told the nonprofit Jackson Square development team that it had qualified to be part of a pilot program for green neighborhood development, establishing a benchmark under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program.
The result will be a "national standard for green neighborhood design," said Jen Faigel, community development director of Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp. The corporation is on the development team along with Urban Edge and the Hyde Square Task Force.
Noah Maslan, real estate director of Urban Edge, agreed. "This means they recognize us nationally as a model project," he said.
The team has plans to install green roofs -- which are planted to reduce storm -water runoff, keep buildings cool, and improve air quality -- as well as energy-saving measures for the planned buildings, wind and solar power.
It is also an example of so-called smart growth, which aims to cluster development near existing buildings and public transportation. At Jackson Square, all buildings will be within a quarter-mile of the Jackson T stop, and the development will include bike paths and connections, wider sidewalks, street plantings, and traffic-calming measures.
"We need to solve pedestrian issues in Phase I, so people can cross Columbus safely and we create a destination that is safer," Faigel said.
The green measures will also ensure that the development's long-term operating costs are lower, a plus for a project in which 59 percent of the 372 housing units will be affordable for low- and moderate-income households, Maslan said.
The $250 million project, scheduled for completion in 2013, will be developed in phases to manage costs and funding cycles, Faigel explained.
Of that cost, an estimated $5 million is to clean up contamination.
The area was home to several gasoline stations and light industrial concerns, as well as housing, before it was razed to make way for an Interstate 95 extension in 1976. The highway was stopped, and the land has lain fallow since.
The area is next to Bromley-Heath public housing, has an average annual household income of less than $14,000, and has one of the highest rates of asthma in the state. Thus, the promise of 160 new jobs and efforts to improve air quality are especially welcome.
The subject of innumerable community planning meetings for more than a decade, the development is among the largest ever undertaken by a nonprofit community development corporation in the country, Maslan said.
Besides street improvements to enhance pedestrian safety, the $90 million first phase will include utility work and construction of four buildings: 225 Centre St., a six-story building with 103 rental units over ground-floor retail spaces; a 30,500-square-foot Youth and Family Center; a relocated Department of Youth Services facility near Marcella Park; and 1562 Columbus Ave., 39 condominiums for low- and moderate- income owners, over ground-floor retailers, Faigel said.
The pilot-program designation should help the developers raise more funds for its higher-profile green expenses, Maslan said.
The project has already attracted funds from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and the Green Building Production Network, among others.
The green roofs, Maslan said, will cover most of the buildings and attract lots of attention.
"People will see the green roofs" from higher buildings or from Columbus Avenue, and be able to access some of them as a kind of elevated park, he said. "It will be a symbol in Jackson Square."

[statler]

Originally Posted by Banker & Tradesman

Project in Jackson Square Waiting Until Next Season
July 30, 2007
By Aglaia Pikounis,
Reporter

Boston Redevelopment Authority Expected to Vote On Mixed-Use Development?s First Phase by Fall

The first phase of a plan to transform the neighborhood surrounding Boston?s Jackson Square MBTA station into a mixed-use project could be approved as early as this fall.

The development, which would include more than 400 new homes in addition to retail and office space, is just one urban project that will help community-based groups across Massachusetts reach a goal of building thousands of new affordable homes over the next four years.

The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations recently unveiled a four-year campaign to build or preserve 6,000 homes and 9,000 jobs, and attract $1 billion in private and public investment to revitalize Bay State communities.

MACDC President Joseph Kriesberg said the organization is relying heavily on several larger-scale projects in Boston, including the Jackson Square redevelopment, to reach its goals.

?Any serious delays in that project that could come up with either permitting or environmental [issues] ? that alone could probably affect our ability to achieve this goal,? he said.

Another challenge will be the availability of state and federal funding, as well as construction and land costs. Many of the projects driven by CDCs depend on the state?s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, federal and state tax credits, and a host of other state money.

MACDC fell short of its previous plan to build or preserve 5,700 units from 2003 to 2006. The organization preserved or built 5,186 units during those years. A spike in construction and land costs and a flattening in state funding for housing made it difficult for the organization to meet its original housing goal, according to Kriesberg.

?Housing subsidies didn?t go as far as they used to,? he said.

CDC leaders, however, are hopeful that more state and federal resources will flow over the next few years. Gov. Deval Patrick already has committed $40 million in new money for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and has indicated that he is interested in preserving existing units for low- and moderate-income households.

?One change that we all have seen is that the hopefully state and federal resources will at least keep up with housing costs, if not exceed them,? Kriesberg said.

The Jackson Square project is being developed by a team that includes two CDCs, Urban Edge and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp.

The latest design calls for a mix of 438 rental units and condominiums, 291 of which will be affordable; 60,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space; a youth and family center; and an ice rink and recreational facility. The project will encompass 11 acres in Jamaica Plain.

A vote on the first phase by the Boston Redevelopment Authority is expected by September or October, according to Mossik Hacobian, executive director of Urban Edge, which serves Jamaica Plain and Roxbury.

The first phase includes a 103-unit mixed-income rental development with ground-floor retail on a triangular piece of land next to the MBTA station, as well as a 40-unit condo complex on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Ritchie Street. A 30,000-square-foot youth and family center also is planned. Construction of the housing units is expected by mid-2008.

If all goes as planned, the first phase should be finished by 2009, according to Hacobian, and more than 210 units will be completed by 2010.

?A Lot of Effort?

Hacobian said he is optimistic that the project will move forward with permitting given that the development team has spent over a year going through a community review process and several city reviews.

?Both [Jackson Square] partners and investors and lenders and the city have put a lot of effort and resources in this,? he said. ?The schedule, I suppose, is always subject to change depending on market conditions and funding ? we try to lay out a schedule that takes that into consideration.?

Besides Jackson Square, another project that will help MACDC get to its goal is a plan to build a mix of over 320 condos and rental units in Chinatown, according to Kriesberg.

The Asian Community Development Corp. and New Boston Fund are behind the plan to convert the Chinatown property along Kneeland Street known as Parcel 24.

The plan calls for 70 units for low-income tenants. The goal is for half of the units to be affordable, according to Jeremy Liu, executive director of the Asian CDC.

Liu said the project will double the homeownership rate in Chinatown.

The project hasn?t begun the permitting process yet, but Liu said he anticipates construction to begin at the end of next year or beginning of 2009 with a 24- to 30-month construction period.

Parcel 24 could face a roadblock because of a Supreme Judicial Court decision earlier this year regarding development in filled tidelands and Chapter 91, a law designed to protect the public?s interest in waterways, which regulates activities in inland and coastal areas. In that decision, the court ruled that environmental regulators shouldn?t have exempted filled, landlocked tidelands from Chapter 91.

Some legal analysts argue that the ruling could jeopardize future development in coastal areas of the state, including projects proposed along or near Boston?s waterfront.

But Liu said that based on proposals coming from the Legislature and the Patrick administration to deal with the SJC decision, he doesn?t feel that the Chinatown project will be affected.

?We don?t think at this point it?s going to be an issue,? he said.

New Boston Fund is teaming with another CDC, Lena Park Community Development Corp., to redevelop the former Boston State Hospital site into a 42-acre village with townhouses and apartments. The project, known as Olmsted Green, broke ground last year. It will feature 287 townhouse-style condos, 153 rentals for low-income households and an 84-unit apartment building for low-income seniors.

Kriesberg said he anticipates more partnerships between nonprofit groups and for-profit developers to help CDCs develop larger-scale projects such as Olmsted Green.

And, he added, CDCs will continue the trend of producing mixed-income housing. ?There aren?t enough subsidies to do 100 percent affordable projects,? he said.

[Benson]

Another rendering off the Urban Edge site