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Developer gives up, drops plans to turn old South Boston Catholic school into condos
By adamg on Fri, 06/10/2016 - 7:07pm
South Boston Today reports that faced with continued losses in court, the developer who wanted to turn the Gate of Heaven school on East 4 Street into 31 condos has given up and not renewed his purchase-and-sale agreement with the Archdiocese of Boston.
Neighbors who have fought the plan say the archdiocese should look at alternative educational uses, such as renting or selling the building to a charter school.
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Comments
So not only does Boston not get more housing
But the pedophile ring will continue to own that piece of property. Good work, Southie. What a complete trash neighborhood, save for the beaches.
You can't go down a street in
You can't go down a street in Southie without seeing new condos being built that don't have appropriate parking. The last thing we need is more of that and we'd like the school building to remain a school if possible.
We?
How many people did you poll on this?
You dislike Southie, why do
You dislike Southie, why do you even care? Did you attend any of the meetings with the residents saying they were against this? I'm all for more housing, but the MBTA won't add any more transportation to our town and for those who drive the parking situation is incredibly bad.
As one Southie resident to (?
As one Southie resident to (?)another: Come on man, read up on your public policy and transportation trends. Adding high-density housing encourages walking and public transit. Adding parking lots encourages car ownership. Stop being a NIMBYer.
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2015/11/02/south-boston-insane-p...
The city needs more housing, and developer improvements in our part of town are a good thing bringing in commerce, money, community improvements, and increased home value. Get with it man.
Also, you should check out the MBTA improvements being suggested by the BRA as part of the Dorchester Ave. corridor improvement project. The look good.
It's not enough transit
It's not enough transit improvement.
The growth needs to be manageable otherwise it's not worth pursuing. Bromides about more commerce and home value are mostly irrelevant in an area that's already improved a lot
Why does the city need more
Why does the city need more housing ?
Because...
... The demand for housing is greater than the supply of housing. Simple as that. When you have a supply deficit, you see increasing prices. The answer is either build more supply or somehow reduce demand. The latter is pretty difficult to do, although Boston seems to be trying to make us all hate it here some days.
The two are rarely in balance. The other type of imbalance is the kind seen in Detroit currently, and in Boston between 1950 and 1985. That's an oversupply of housing, which leads to declining property values, lowered revenues, and generally lousy economic conditions.
All things considered, most of us would rather live in a place that is attractive to people. The downside is that the people we're attracting have to go somewhere, which means we have to share. And that's why we need more housing in every single neighborhood,including yours.
You can reduce demand by
You can reduce demand by requiring residency.
Existing neighborhoods do not need to expand just because others who do not own property there think they that they don't have enough density.
New arrivals do not get to
New arrivals do not get to force people to overdevelop preexisting neighborhoods because they consist of property owners.
So what would that poll look like?
Poll: Do you think Southie should have adequate parking?
Yes, It's nice to have parking when I have to park a car. 0%
No, I like not having any places to park and circling for 45 minutes when I have places to be. 100%
How can you possibly take a counter opinion to wanting a city to have parking spaces?
You Forgot An Answer.
No I don't own a car because I live somewhere where one is utterly unnecessary and a frivolous expense.
Learner's permit
Get your learner's permit. You may find you like driving instead of relying on others to get you around. Stop nagging on the self reliant commuters of the city.
"self reliant" commuters that
"self reliant" commuters that need to demand parking spaces are added? So self reliant.
By "Self Reliant"....they must mean
that they drive their SELF around in a Plymouth RELIANT
Self reliant drivers
Too very funny! Hillarious even!
When are you going to self-reliantly start paying for your subsidized parking? How about self-reliantly kicking in that 40% of the cost of your driving that isn't covered by fees and taxes on gas?
Let's get one thing straight: a car is a giant powered wheel chair. Useful for hauling loads or transporting people who cannot walk or bike on their own or who are covering large distances, but it is NOT self-reliant transportation in any sense of the word.
Want to know self-reliant transportation is? Go here and start reading: http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/gov/departments/dph/programs/community-health/...
That's what they said
The vast majority of fatalities during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans didn't own vehicles. Maybe they thought they could outrun the storm on their bicycles.
So, you're saying that...
we should all have cars...in case the levees break?
Honestly that is the dumbest attempt at justifying car ownership I've ever heard.
Need More Flies
Yes, I live in Brighton so I'm actually on a really big hill. However, a plague of frogs could be an issue.
Ahh yes cars save lives. As
Ahh yes cars save lives. As long as you ignore the 33000 Americans car drivers kill every year. Or the people who die of cancer from toxic auto emissions. And the fact that Katrina was so bad because of rising sea levels and warmer water caused by car emissions.
You know what?
People were able to beat traffic on bikes. I know someone who did.
The people not owning cars really wasn't relevant - the problem was that they did not take advantage of the other opportunities to leave town.
Our family plan, in the event of an evacuation, is to use bikes to get out of town. We can cover twenty five miles in two hours under load that way. You will not be able to do that in a car in this area if the Boston area is evacuated.
I would strap the bikes to the car.....
Probably a better plan. In emergency evacuations, you can drive on sidewalks and do all sorts of traffic beating maneuvers.
Yes we.
We who live in Southie. Not somebody who doesn't live in the City of Boston or some carpetbagging immigrant who just moved here.
I sugget a new bumper sticker for you folks:
"Vacant Buildings Not Condos."
This is not a victory for the neighborhood. There will not be a school. There will continue to be a vacant building until some other developer comes in wih a plan including enough parking to satisfy you people.
Just kidding! You'll never be satisfied.
Newsflash: it's not a developer's responsibility to create one+ parking space for each new unit of development, it just isn't. It's the city's responsibilty to create enough public transit to satisfy demand and allow more residents of the neighborhood to forego owning a vehicle.
Just kidding! You'll fight new public transportation too because it would impede your ability to double park on broadway or some other absurd reason.(Kids Not Trains? How does that sound?).
So negative.
So negative.
Went to the MBTA meeting at the Tynan school with residents requesting more frequent bus departures. T said it's not possible.
Parking is Overrated
Since 2008, Boston has added over 50k residents while losing 50k+ cars. People who move to Southie don't generally own cars. The developer would build more spaces if they were demanded. Newsflash: they're not. In fact, most of these garages sit half empty, because they're demanded by archaic laws and set in their ways neighbors.
Dear Southie, stop demanding more parking for long time residents under the guise of satisfying the demand of newcomers. You have frequent busses and you can walk to downtown or the T.
Enjoy your vacant building and your rising rents from blocking development.
townies and parking...
they are stuck in their ways and can't change.
and they feel that they are entitled to this government hand me out and shouldn't be charged market rate.
stop looking for free government stuff and pay your fair share.
- The Original SoBo Yuppie
Last time dickhead
Townies are from Charlestown. Ask the Ctown Yuppie.
And once again, moron
When it is a lower case "t", it is a generic term to describe those who are born and bred. Read a dictionary for once.
Geez, who would have thought a townie from Charlestown would get me to defend the annoying South Boston yuppie.
Nope
Colloquial speech is about context. In Boston, townies are people born in Charlestown no matter the size of the t. But you can keep bullying people into talking like the voices in your head.
You sure about that
What about the townie vs barnie battle further up the neck in Somerville and Cambridge?
As for the bullying accusation (what's really got me), check the comment I was responding to and seriously ask who is bullying around here.
Vacant building vs
Vacant building vs development is a straw man. Reasonable growth is what's being asked for.
There is a parking shortage. The developer has no financial incentive to add more parking because that doesn't increase the profit margin.
More development makes the problem worse. More people living in an area means more potential visitors who also require parking, even if your dubious suggestion that the numbers has stayed the same is factual.
There will continue to be a parking shortage.
You don't need a car to live in southie. If you want a car then, you need to deal with the challenges it creates.
If neighborhood groups keep blocking housing development, they will force the city to change the zoning laws so that local opinion is irrelevant. If you want Southie to become full of high rises, keep saying no.
Zoning is different than that
Zoning is different than that.
It's about the variances
You can ask the city for a permit to build anything within the zoning codes for that address, then no input from the neighborhood is needed. However, if a construction project requires a variance, or some kind of deviation from the zoning for that address community input is required. You need to notify all the abutting property owners.
That is why very large
That is why very large projects have not and mostly do not get built in areas where they are not zoned. Neighborhoods advocate for what they think is best for their area.
No, that's not how the area
No, that's not how the area gets developed. Projects have been scaled down. Neighborhoods will continue to give their input.
Wrong info
Huge incentive to add parking. Adding space for one care increases the value of the property by $70K at least, lots of people wouldnt touch a place without parking.
If this statement is true,
If this statement is true, why are developers only willing to build the absolute minimum amount of it that the city will let them build?
Here's a hint: An underground parking space adds about $120k to the construction price but the market rate for parking in the area is AT MOST about $300/month. That's quite a big loss for any developer, and that doesn't even count the lost opportunity cost of any additional housing units they could have built.
They want to add less than
They want to add less than what the neighborhood wants.
Silver line
Yeah, but i bet you campaigned against getting the silver line to run down Broadway too
Ok let's do that
Although I think it's a hard sell to say that South Boston has enough school-age children who need more schools. But we really need is a treatment center for people with substance abuse and shelter beds. They would have room for job training as well.
It wouldn't be a charity either government grants pay top dollar to lease facilities to do this.
Massachusetts and Boston is also incredibly short on foster homes and residential care for children. A few beds that are available are all out in the countryside making it difficult for their parents to do counseling with the children
Of course the chance of southie residents approving anything like that is pretty low.
You mean
like the existing treatment center, the Gavin House, located on 4th St?
You can't go down a street in
This was 26 condos, 40 spaces. What is the appropriate ratio?
Trash neighborhood?
Maybe 15 years ago but it has been cleaned up. SoBo is a wonderful place to live now.
i do agree with your comment about the pedophile ring. a tax exempt pedophile ring at that.
Not a neighborhood
South Boston isn't a neighborhood anymore. The politicians saw to that. When it was a so-called trash neighborhood, just like other city neighborhood's, it was better. There were longtime families who knew each other. There were good blue-collar jobs. There were programs and sports leagues for kids. This transient population of yuppies only cares about living in Southie because there are "cool bars" that they can walk to. The reason they started moving to the "trash neighborhood" is because it's trashy people are the ones who made it safe. I'd gladly turn back the clock 20 years or so and take the neighborhoods that my parents and grandparents grew up in.
And....
it coddled a generation of opioid addicts.
Southie, the O you place with heroin addicts
Is Southie the only place that has an abundance of heroin junkies? Read a Patriot Ledger once in a while. In fact, take a seat in a courtroom in Southie someday. You'd be surprised to find how many junkie crimes are committed by suburban junkies. I'm sure they have none where you blew in from.
You mean the courthouse
where Kostka was convicted of killing his elderly neighbor for drug money? Same Kostka whose family tried to literally allow him to get away with murder by claiming his brother might be his twin, and then refusing to give DNA samples? Great family values there.
"Cool bars"
You are extremely delusional. People move here, myself included, because I work downtown and don't want to commute 2+ hours a day from outside the city. If people want to move solely to be closer to the "cool bars" they don't come to last call 1am southie in nanny state massachusetts.
More housing?
Southie doesn't get more housing? Is that a bad thing? The housing that Southie has been getting isn't for Southie people anyway.
Spoiler alert
If you live in southie you are a southie person, it doesn't matter where you are born. You'll inevitably complain even louder when the building deteriorates beyond repair and gets torn down, so at least we get to look forward to that. That is assuming there are even any townies left in a few years.
No, they really aren't
No, they really aren't Southie people, especially when you consider they only stay for a few years anyway.
They are transplants, and they leave as fast as they come. This is before they move back to the suburbs, or South Carolina while whining about how expensive it is while personally realizing it's much better.
You say townie like it's a bad thing. There's no reason to leave one of the best areas in the country. The transplants from outside of the region and state have a different situation since they came from a place that isn't desirable.
No, this is not coming from a resident of the neighborhood. You sound resentful of people who got to grow up there and have owned property for a long time.
Laughable
Why even bother comment on Southie if you admittedly arent a resident? Who wants to hear the opinion of someone who doesnt have knowledge on the subject???
Most people posting in these
Most people posting in these comments don't live there or in other topics about neighborhoods and construction projects. Just because you moved to an area and live there for a few years that doesn't mean you've become a part of the neighborhood.
Does the charter school idea make sense?
I don't know, but I do know that the Boston Archdiocese owes some major debt to children.
Getting less money on a real estate deal would be only a small part of the organization's penance.
Too bad
that's not how the real world works.
Money grabbing developers
More housing? The only thing developers care about is the almighty dollar. They don't care about the neighborhood or the resulting problems from turning any vacant lot, three-decker or church into the cookie-cutter condo.
Good job South Boston for fighting the good fight.
Don't Blame Developers
Although I agree that these unscrupulous, money-grubbing developers are a problem, what happened to our neighborhood's is not their fault. The blame lies squarely with the politicians who have allowed them to build what they want, where they want, as high as they want, and without regard to the families and elderly being displaced. The politicians are the ones getting their pockets lined with developer chump change. The next time you see a developer in your neighborhood, with plans in hand to build some ridiculous monstrosity that doesn't fit in with the other houses on the street, and you're wondering how he got it approved by the city, go to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance and see how much the developer donated to the politicians. There's your answer. And that's just the money that's reported, not the greenbacks that arrive in a brown paper bag. The fault lies with money-grubbing politicians.
I live two blocks away
It is total BS. The neighbors just want it as is because they can park in the school lots. Their motto "Kids before Condos" Is absolutely cynical. It should be "Our cars before your cars". The school is very old. Zero Chance that a charter school will want to move in there, aside from the fact that there is high school about 4 blocks away in the old Southie High that draws about 5% max students from the local area.
They should turn it into a mosque
n/t
Sorry, people, but a school is not on the table
The Archdiocese learned belatedly that turning over closed schools to charters just leads to more pupils leaving the Catholic schools. I mean, why pay money to escape the public schools when you can go to a charter school for free.
For someone that grew up here
For someone that grew up here in southie more condos is pretty ridiculous in the neighborhood. Not only is the removal of a landmark in the neighborhood an issue but the parking is as well. Yes the city needs more units for people to live in, Dorchester, Hyde Park, East Boston, and Roxbury are fantastic fits for that. South boston is a very condensed neighborhood and sticking an additional 30 units with 60 people in which equals approximately an additional 30 cars by the Tynan school is ridiculous, let alone if they have people visiting. Unless each single unit built has a minimum of 2 parking spots and all new units CANNOT get resident street parking I think the construction of condos in areas similar to Gate of Heaven should not be allowed and I completely agree with the courts and disagree with the people that think they know what they are talking about as bloggers on universalhub.com.
Get your facts correct
There was never discussion to remove the landmark. They were converting it to condos, and preserving the landmark, just like the gym across the street.
"Yes the city needs more
"Yes the city needs more units for people to live in, Dorchester, Hyde Park, East Boston, and Roxbury are fantastic fits for that."
That's funny because I just went to a neighborhood meeting in Roxbury about a condo project where I was told by an abutter that we should be building more housing in Southie instead. You can imagine that if politicians actually listened to both of your concerns we'd end up with some kind of housing crisis.
Oh, wait.
Except the housing problem is
Except the housing problem is largely due to outside demand rather than a single amount that you can actually build for. The growth is limited, and that's a good thing because it's more sustainable.
Also, East Boston is already
Also, East Boston is already much denser than Southie, and the South End is denser than both of them, so the idea that Southie cannot grow to accommodate more residents sounds like BS to me. The only reason Southie has for not growing is that its existing residents are too stubborn to allow it. The true test of our mayor's commitment to solving the housing crisis will be whether he continues to put these residents' concerns ahead of all the renters and newcomers that will inevitably be forced out as a result of it.
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/6d0e3066-e00f-...
Priorities
Are you saying that mayor should put the concerns of transient renters and newcomers ahead of those of the long-time residents who made this neighborhood so attractive to you in the first place?
1) Condos not rentals
1) Condos not rentals
2) Everyone was a newcomer at some point. We built infill housing before, and we can do it again.
3) Renting does not mean transient
4) Even if it did, "transients" still need housing just like the rest of us, and they're going to pay to live here whether we like it or not. If we don't build housing for them, they're just going to bid up the price of yours.
"We built infill housing
"We built infill housing before, and we can do it again."
Not as easily as before.
"and they're going to pay to live here whether we like it or not. If we don't build housing for them, they're just going to bid up the price of yours."
Not all of them, some just won't move here, and the region has plenty of demand at the current level.
"Not as easily as before."
"Not as easily as before."
Why not? What's so special about the development we have now that it can't be changed again?
"Not all of them, some just won't move here, and the region has plenty of demand at the current level."
Err, what? This doesn't make any sense. Obviously it's only the ones that ARE going to move here that we'll be bidding against, but there appear to be plenty of them.
Constructions costs are
Constructions costs are higher, there is less land, and the infrastructure isn't easy to expand.
There is not enough room to easily accommodate all demand and the region doesn't need to because other regions can grow as well.
Come On
There's 9 20 something-year olds in the three decker next to me and every one of them owns their own car. I understand there's a lot of people moving into Southie that commute to work on the T, but for every person that takes bus, train, bike, or whatever to work, there's probably twice as many people that drive. Nevermind the ones who own cars that are only moved once a week for street cleaning.
And spare me with the "if you live in Southie there's no reason to have a car" bullshit. Yeah, because I'm going to take a zipcar to work everyday outside of the city.. that seems like a viable option. As much as people hate it, there's still blue collar families that live here who need their cars to get to and from work. That's probably not going to change for awhile until Southie becomes God knows what it's doomed for. And when I say that, no I don't mean SoBo you ingrates.
A 20-something who chooses to live
in South Boston but still owns a car (and literally--one per person?) is a half-wit. Half the point of living in a city is so you DON'T need a car and you can get easily to points A, B, and C without sitting in traffic or yes--circling the block looking for legal parking (though hey--at least the tow lots are near by). If you work in Lexington but live in South Boston, you probably need to rethink your plans.
Thanks Sally
Then we have Sally, another out-of-towner with all the answers, telling lifelong residents where and how they should live. Poster child for those who hate yuppies.
Your obsession with
being a lifetime resident of Southie, is boring. No one cares anymore.
Yep,
If anything...being a lifelong resident kinda makes your opinion invalid. Chances are you've never traveled west of 128 and probably haven't experienced the rest of america, let alone the world.
I like to hear from people that have lived in other neighborhoods, states and countries. They usually have a better opinion.
- The Original SoBo Yuppie
There's little reason to move
There's little reason to move long term from an area that's already desirable. That's why a lot of people stay here. By traveling they would learn how much more where they originally lived offers.
The reason so many transplants move here is because this region offers more than most others. It's those that move here who had more of a reason to leave. This region offers those that started here a lot more in many benchmarks.
How is that relevant?
Never said anything about being a life long Southie resident being "cool". But at the end of the day, you read my mind, I'm glad I'm from here opposed to Sudbury.
you do realie
You got 2000 signatures against this in neighborhood of like 35,000. Hate us all you want but you're in the minority now, and that building will never be a school again.
Long live SoBo
You won't be here long
The upside is a blow-in like you won't be here long. You'll meet your future ex-husband on Tinder, hang around Stats for a few years and you'll be on your way.
No
I'll wait until you can no longer afford the taxes on the house you inherited and then buy that.
Nope, because they can just
Nope, because they can just rent out the upper level or lower level for very high rents.
No, you'll just rent for a
No, you'll just rent for a few years then move back to the area you came from, and you will buy only if you can outbid others and hand over a huge pile of money for the chance to live in the neighborhood you have some resentment of.
You won't be here long...
....that post is so 2005. its 2016. there are plenty of yuppies laying down roots here.
just take a stroll on east broadway on a weekend morning.
The SoBo Revolution is almost complete.
No yuppies ever lay down roots in South Boston.
99% of them sell their 800K condo/townhouse bought in 2005 for 1.6 million now, and buy a 2.2 million dollar house in Weston or Duxbury.
The other 1% get cut off by their parents and have to stay in Southie because they don't have a choice (they want to move out).
Most of them are just renters
Most of them are just renters.
Hmmm
Really. Please ID the condos going for $800K in 2005. Or the ones going for $1.6 MM. YOu are confusing southie with the South End.
Not condos so much, but multi families?
Yes. Those price ranges are pretty accurate.
Yuppies don't usually live in the smaller 1750 sq.ft or less condos in Southfield, they bought the larger 2 families.
Fake wanna bee yuppies like the one who posts on this site live in smaller condos, only because they couldn't afford the larger ones (hence the wanna be tag). Price is never an issue for real yuppies.
Most of them just rent before
Most of them just rent before leaving.
99%??
Can you show us the poll you took??
In my condo building and on my street there are dozens of yuppie families and they own their places and they send their kids to schools around the area.
2005 is over.
Fake yuppies so-bo
You don't even know what a yuppie is. And no, they don't go to the Boston public schools.
What kind of car do you drive so-bo. South Boston yuppies always had 2 parking spaces, but not always had 2 cars.
Yes. They go to public schools.
We know several families well. My European GF has even babysat for them a few times.
They do go to Boston Public Schools....honestly, wake up. It's 2016. not 1995 or 2005.
Forget about south Boston.
Yuppies in Brookline, Newton and (insert wealthy town here) send their kids to the Park school, Dexter-Southfield, or Dedham Counrty day or Windsor.
Your friends who go to public schools aren't yuppies, that was part of my point.
oh trust me....
...they are yuppies in every sense of the word.
Ah yes
The 1% trust funders....they're definitely flocking to southie over back bay, beacon hill, etc. Just limo after limo cruising down Broadway. News flash, one does not need a trust fund to purchase a condo and a decent car if they save, work hard, and make some solid investments.
Most do not end up owning
Most do not end up owning before they leave.
So sheltered...
1%? LOL. people with trust funds aren't even thinking about Boston, let alone South Boston. they live in world class cities like LA, London, Singapore, Zurich, NYC..etc. but boston is slowly getting there...hopefully in the next 10-15 years.
I guess when you are so sheltered anyone that dresses half way decent and sounds half way intelligent is considered a 1%er.
Minority or not
I'm not going anywhere. And for you to think you're a "Southie person" is literally laugh out loud funny. You'll be living in Saugus before you know it. Troll the Southie UHub page harder for me, you can't.
Is it still trolling if it's true?
I've lived here for a while now and like it or not my voice counts just as much as yours. No one really cares where you were born. Actually now that I think about it, I'd be ashamed to tell people I was born in southie 30 years ago, they'd probably assume I was born with fetal alcohol syndrome.
?
For whatever reason you seem to think that all people who grew up here want to have supreme rule over the town. I wouldn't say thats the case for most people. I just think people who moved in here 5 years ago saying take the train to work are ignorant, entitled pricks. But i digress..
You forgot
That we also said you could buy a house with a driveway or garage. Funny you should talk about entitled when you are in favor or keeping the housing supply low so that you can park your car for free on the street.
You're partially right
Does it make me entitled to think I should be able to park on the street? Maybe. Would I be willing to pay for street parking even though I don't necessarily agree with it? Absolutely.
Would you be willing to pay
Would you be willing to pay the approximate market rate of ~$1500/year for the privilege?
It's pretty unfortunate that's what it has come to
But yeah I would rather than move elsewhere.
Douche comments
Your douche comments make it more difficult for us nembies who moved here and want to be part of this community. I like my long time Southie neighbor's. I don't try to be a tough guy by wearing a scaly cap and think I can change the neighborhood I moved to.
A voice that is well
A voice that is well integrated into a community has more influence than one that is more recent.
Nice
Sally you're delusional. So according to your logic somebody raising their family working in the trades should consider living elsewhere because they don't work downtown or somewhere T accessible everyday. Some people have to go to where the work is lady, and they have every right to stay put without the parking fiasco becoming any worse.
"Some people have to go to
"Some people have to go to where the work is lady, and they have every right to stay put without the parking fiasco becoming any worse."
So their "right" to free and easy parking is more important than my "right" to cheap and transit-accessible housing?
Parking
Buy a house with a garage or assigned spot if parking is such a critical part of your life. Pretty simple. Or we could consider a pay to park system. $1000 per year for a resident sticker would probably clear out a few underused vehicles.
The one who's delusional
is the person who sits in traffic complaining about...traffic. Or who thinks that we can just continue on the path we're on--keep designing out city and our lives as if everyone can magically drive everywhere from everywhere with no consequences--hey! Free parking for everyone! No traffic, ever! Honestly--how do you think this is going to work exactly?
Oh waaaahhhh.
My grandfather was born and raised in South Boston and did the swim to Boston Light from the L St. bathhouse in his youth. Not that I'm not profoundly grateful he chose to move out instead of raise his family there. Sorry not sorry. But really--I don't care what you do. Keep selling properties to yuppies, then complain about said yuppies. Keep getting in your big-ass car to drive three blocks to get cigarettes and then complain about traffic and parking.
You're a biker aren't you
Please continue with your over embellished satire. Bash the older generation who grew up here that actually have a little pride where they came from (ready for the "yeah, I would of loved to grow up a drunk, racist, bigot too" comments). You've lived here for a decade tops get over yourself. I've accepted the fact I can't move my car after 6pm unless I don't mind parking down the beach and I'm fine with that. There's just no reason to make matters worse by adding 31 unit condos with terrible parking plans.
"There's just no reason to
"There's just no reason to make matters worse by adding 31 unit condos with terrible parking plans."
What about the housing shortage? Is that not reason enough?
There isn't going to be
There isn't going to be enough housing for everyone that wants to live in one of the most desirable regions of the country at an affordable level, because the region can't accommodate large scale growth and non localized demand easily.
Move to Dot
Rents aren't completely out of control yet in some parts and it's obviously far bigger than Southie.
And don't forget ....
....to double park when getting your cigarettes and dunkin donuts coffee!
On the flip side, if you work
On the flip side, if you work in the seaport or Fort Point, and you don't want to drive to work because parking is expensive and scarce, and traffic is horrendous, Southie is a very attractive place to live. Given the huge amounts of commercial real estate coming online in the seaport over the next few years, wouldn't it make sense to build the kind of housing that would mainly accommodate the people who are going to work there rather than the ones who are going to drive on the already congested streets?
South Boston
It's good to see the South Boston haters out there. Let the bashing continue!
Uhub haters
Post here and don't know what they are talking about. There's a very long history behind this story, which I'm not going to get into. The Archdioces lying, the developer not being honest, a lawsuit the neighborhood association was going to win etc. So keep bashing Southie you bigots.
Level the lot, put up a fence
Level the lot, put up a fence, leave it like that forever. No condos, no parking, no vacant buildings, no problems!
And for God's sake...
..PAVE that sunuvabitch...we don't want any greenspace !
oh southie
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families (of the 31 potential condo buyers who will now have to look elsewhere). ;)
they won't be looking elsshwere
they will be looking right here in SoBo....which means higher demand for the small supply of housing...which means my condo's price is going up!
We need solutions, not more complaining.
I know this article is about condos, but like everything in Southie it always boils down to parking.
I am relatively new to Southie. Parking can be difficult, everyone knows this. What I don't understand is the refusal to change the status quo with respect to resident parking permits. We (the residents of Southie and the City) keep the same parking system in place and then complain that things aren't improving. Unless we try something new, the parking crisis will not improve. As the cliche goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result.
One possible way to improve parking is to discourage people from getting a parking permit. The City could try limiting the number of permits per address, or the City could charge increasing amounts for additional permits (or some combination of the two). Regardless, complaining isn't going to make things better. The only way to make things better is to try doing things a little differently. If the changes don't work, try something new.