Hey, there! Log in / Register
29-unit affordable apartment building approved on Dorchester Avenue in Fields Corner
By adamg on Tue, 01/12/2021 - 2:22pm
Rendering by Placetailor.
The Zoning Board of Appeal today approved developer Travis Lee's plans for a 29-unit apartment building at 1463-1469 Dorchester Avenue, next to the Fields Corner T stop, in which all the units will be rented as affordable and ownership of which local residents will be able to buy into.
Lee's proposal calls for 21 studios of 400 square feet and 8 one-bedroom apartments of about 450 square feet - under a city pilot program that allows smaller units than normally allowed in an effort to increase the supply of affordable housing. Lee told the board that 25 of the units will be rented to people making no more than 90% of the Boston-area median income and that 4 will be rented to people making no more than 70% of that.
The building will have no parking.
Lee added he is working on a plan in which he would sell off part of the overall ownership of the building, in increments as low as $1,000, to Dorchester residents - which would let local folks buy into the real-estate market without having to buy an entire building. He said he could not tell the board more because of SEC requirements.
In addition to this proposal, Lee has been active in Dorchester proposing and building other affordable-housing units.
BPDA documents and presentations on 1463-1469 Dorchester Ave..
Neighborhoods:
Topics:
Free tagging:
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Better Use Of The Site
This is one of the final too low slung to be so close to a T station sites. Viet-Aid and other developers have done a great job filling in sites that were burned by the non-Whitey Irish Mob in the 70's around Fields Corner.
This site was never torched but this use is better than the small insurance office that was there.
Irish Mob?
I didn’t know Russell T. was Irish. Always thought he was Italian.
Irish mob?
As far as I know, neither Tardanico nor Sherman are/were Irish.
You can read more in this 1983 report from JAMES BRADY, Director, City of Boston Arson Strike Force
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.926.2325&rep=r...
Glad To See There Are No Fires Tonight
The Anon Flame Brigade Is Out
Mickey who owned Mickey's Place on the opposite corner from this site was know to spark up a building or two including the lot where Viet Aid built across from here in 2004.
My source for this is dead sorry I can't consult him further.
When was Mickey allegedly setting his fires?
"Anon Flame Brigade" Ha!!
The report covers the 70s and 80s and contains numerous specific details on addresses and owner's names, but no reference to Mickey, Mickey's Place or Michael, other than Michael Moore a member of the task force. Do you have any more information, such as Mickey's last name?
BTW, not only did RT pay others to set fires. But he allegedly paid kids in the 60s and 70s to allegedly break car windows so he would get more business at his glass replacement shop. Someone I know who grew up on Tonawanda was one of the alleged perps. Allegedly
Anon from Dirty Dot
Fields Corner
For those who don't know, Fields Corner was a really bad place back in the day. I wouldn't say it has upgraded to a good place, but it has improved a lot. Members of the Vietnamese community opened businesses and constructed new buildings in several abandoned and burned out buildings and lots.
Now we have a Target store in Fields Corner, and a huge mixed use development just north of Fields Corner called DotBlock. They just started construction a couple of weeks ago.
This new building next to the station is a great addition to the community.
All these places look the same.
No character at all
Thanks Maaty
Another Marty box this will be
his legacy bland and boring.
I know that a lot of people
I know that a lot of people back in the day thought triple deckers were ugly .
Seems history has proven developers don’t really care if people find their buildings aesthetically pleasing
Agreed!
They all look the same because these blocky, mid-rise apartment buildings have been going up all over the country for over a decade. They cost less because they're built with wood, not steel or concrete. It's sad, though -- they're so generic there's no way to know if they're in Boston or Oregon or Texas.
Here's a great article on the subject:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-02-13/why-america-s-new-apa...
According to the BPDA rules,
According to the BPDA rules, most of the apartments will be compact studios rented at 90% AMI or no more than $1318 a month - $1543 for a 1-bedroom. That still requires a $40k+ yearly income to make it work. A bit pricey for many folks in the area, but certainly better than just about any other unsubsidized project. Kudos to this developer with a conscience.
The new building will be a nice addition to that tired stretch of Dot Ave.
Normally these "pilot compact
Normally these "pilot compact units", which aren't any smaller than plenty of older apartments, come with a permanent prohibition on getting a resident parking permit. This is to make sure that public resources are reserved for existing residents rather than newcomers, even if the existing residents have driveways. And if the compact resident's situation changes, and they need to go to work or take care of an elderly relative out in the suburbs, they'd best pick up and move out of their home.
However, this particular neighborhood isn't infested with resident permit parking.
existing and newcomers are both people
I am against treating the people that move into these new building like 2nd class citizens. We can't bring boston back to normal density without change. Either everybody gets residential parking or nobody does. Without equal pressure on the whole population, car use will never reduce.