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Herb Chambers shows off proposed new Honda building in Dorchester to replace Allston dealership it's turning into a Jaguar joint
By adamg on Fri, 11/22/2019 - 11:27am
The Dorchester Reporter reports on a presentation about the proposed four-story dealership at 710 Morrissey Blvd, which would replace the dealership Chambers wants to replace in Allston with a Jaguar and Land Rover dealership.
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Comments
Luxury errythang
Losing a JD Byrider to a luxury car dealership shows the new types of residents of Dorchester.
Huh!
First time I've ever heard "Honda" and "luxury" in the same sentence. I mean, they're not bad cars, and, yes, new cars cost more on average than used cars, but still.
not sticking up
Not sticking up for the anon
But Honda dealer usually also means Acura also, which is their high end line.
I think you're misreading
I think you're misreading which location is which.
Byrider is no more (in Dorchester)
I don't get over there too much, but I ran by the location in September and saw the Herb Chambers sign.
If I recall correctly, Byrider doesn't have the best reputation. I do believe there will be other places for people to buy used cars in the area, in any event.
Herb Chambers took over JD a
Herb Chambers took over JD a while ago
One little thing, Adam
You linked to the wrong story with your link to the Reporter. That said, you got me to visit the Reporter's webpage, which I don't do as often as I should.
Fixed
One of these days I will learn to absolutely pound the Control and V buttons when I want to copy a link to avoid mistakes like that.
Morrissey Blvd is such a mess
Morrissey Blvd is such a mess of horrible suburban sprawl buildings. It's embarrassing.
Comments can be submitted to the BPDA
here: http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/herb-chambers-h...
I recommend selecting "oppose". If we want to be environmentally conscious in anyway, this project shouldn't happen.
It would be lovely without
It would be lovely without them, nice little parkway.
Sorry you don't personally like suburbanism
Some people do. By choice
This isn't the suburbs
This is Dorchester
While Dorchester is in Boston
It is one of the first "streetcar suburbs."
Morrissey Blvd never had a streetcar running on it. It was built for the uses on it now. It's a "suburban" as West Roxbury is, and definitely more suburban than the area where Herb Chambers Honda used to be.
Jaguars and Land Rovers?
I'm trying to think of two other cars that would be less appropriate for driving around Allston but it's tough...
Yes, I know that people from outside Allston can buy cars there, but it just seems ironic.
Literally no irony in it at
Literally no irony in it at all, chief
That's okay -- he doesn't
That's okay -- he doesn't know what "ironic" means and you don't know what "literally" means, so you're even.
rich kids
My impression was that these car dealerships are catering to spoiled-rotten children of foreign elites who are attending BU. Is this off-base?
I've often wondered who buys there
I don't think the rich foreign parents buy the car once they get here. Seems like they arrive via NYC with the Porsche. And why would the Newton/Wellesley types want to venture into Rock City when there must certainly be a nicer shop closer to home.
Yes
Jaguars are not rich-kid cars, they are middle-aged rich guy cars. When I get my next Jaguar, which will unfortunately be my first Jaguar (I had the middle-aged part down quite a while ago, but the rich part continues to evade me), I will get it in Allston. I can't imagine a better place for it.
Some Jags go to kids
My high school aged son has a friend who was gifted a new Jag when he got his license. Must be nice. (My son drives a 12 year old beater.)
If it makes you feel a little more congruous,
The Boston/Brookline line is literally at the back of the lot.
How can this be?
All the doomsayers here would have you believe that nobody drives anymore, there's no need for cars or car dealerships in the city and why would we have to have 2 new dealership buildings going up? Please tell me these 2 new buildings won't need parking also.
Car industry interests have
Car industry interests have been so effective in their anti-transit smear campaigns that people are stuck driving cars whether they want to or not. It's not that nobody drives, it's that nobody wants to be stuck driving every single time they step out their front door. If promised improvements are delivered and transit becomes a more reliable and faster option for people in the metro, you bet they will happily ditch car payments and insurance for a once-a-month Zipcar and a T pass. Or just be happy they can skip out on the second/third car and save the money for Xmas gifts and school supplies
I remember when Westminster
I remember when Westminster Dodge opened in the location.
Some of the quotes from the meeting:
"Although Morrissey has transformed recently into a regional transportation artery, it traditionally was a parkway, and there is a major project being considered by DCR and MassDot to bring it back to the parkway. I don’t think a building with that mass and amount of glass, obviously intended to function more like a billboard than a window, is appropriate. It’s not what we want here."
"The people in Dorchester have been separated from their waterfront and by putting in these big buildings we’re just going backwards. I just plead with you. The height is an absolute problem, you’re blocking sea breezes, cutting off views"
Um, cutting off the view of the Southeast Expressway from Morrissey? Cutting off the view of a strip mall from the Expressway?
DCR isn't going to be able to change the existing uses along Morrissey, which are basically strip malls and car dealerships. Yeah, I think they want a tall building that's visible from the Expressway, but then that's more attractive (IMHO, of course) than a billboard. And something that looks more like an office building and less like a used car lot or a strip mall is a big improvement.
Herb knows his onions, dont
Herb knows his onions, dont you worry !
Full circle
Herb is just returning to the mother land...
Born: November 15, 1940 (age 79 years), Dorchester, Boston, MA
Flooding issues?
That isn't exactly a place where anything of value should sit.
I guess they could move the cars out and hose out the dealership, but it better have all the utilities coming in well above ground in that location. And a plan for containment of toxics.
Morrisey Boulevard has never flooded here
More over the bridge towards Umass and the yacht clubs.
Will Herb add a helicopter pad in Dorchester?
I believe Herb Chambers commutes daily by helicopter to and from his waterfront mansion in Old Lyme, CT to the Somerville Mercedes dealership. As he approaches the twilight of his life (just two years older than Biden) I wonder if he will add a rooftop helipad so that he has a south of downtown option as he winds down? This might be a backdoor way of getting the helipad some so desperately want in the city. Most of the actual cars for sale are stored in cheaper, off-site suburban lots these days, so there should be plenty of room for a few helicopters at the Dorchester site. Neither Herb nor President Obama are stupid, so their recent big budget waterfront purchases really do raise questions as to whether they know more about the truthfulness of the doomsday climate scenarios being tossed around.