The BPDA Public Meeting for 46 Hichborn St. is today, Thursday, at 6:30 pm at Jackson Mann.
Here is a link to more info about the project (and the meeting notice is pasted at the end of this message):
This site does not have immediate residential abutters who are planning to stay there — so it’s important that those of us who care about cumulative impacts of dense construction on our neighborhood appear in this meeting (or at least later send their comments). We need to advocate for a well planned development — which the current proposal does not deliver.
It’s one of those projects that is conceived for the sole purpose of maximizing square footage at the expense of the public sphere (specifically, the pedestrian environment and traffic), and future residents’ quality of life. The proposed project calls for condos — but when the quality of life is diminished, those units will be rented out, and will not increase A-B’s disturbingly low owner-occupancy rate.
If you look at the picture below (in the meeting notice), the building seems inoffensive — but the devil is in the details. The project is on a very narrow one-way street, with a narrow 7-foot wide sidewalk, and the proposed structure comes almost all the way to that sidewalk. Additionally, there is no pick-up and drop-off zone for moving trucks, Uber/Lyft vehicles, and service, utility, and delivery vans/trucks (incl. furniture and appliance deliveries) — not to mention the complete absence of visitor parking.
All those vehicles will be blocking traffic on this one-way street, which will be jeopardizing public safety — unless the building’s footprint is reduced to accommodate visiting/servicing vehicles on site.
Also, since the project lacks proper setbacks (given its 5-story height), there is no open space — which will rob future residents of green views and sunlight that proper setbacks ensure — thus decreasing the quality of life, and contributing to transiency.
The density of this project is the main issue. The project site is only 15,253 SF — while the proposed building is 49,679 SF (46 units), which amounts to FAR 3.2 (very high).
So what is the justification for 46 Hichborn St. being so much denser than 24-26 Hichborn? The development parcel of 46 Hichborn is only 43% larger, but the developer proposes more than twice the number of units (26 more, to be precise) than 24-26 Hichborn St.
It bothers me that all those projects that developers submit to the BPDA these days (with BPDA’s prior approval — since no proposal gets filed without the BPDA first agreeing to receive it) completely ignore Allston-Brighton’s zoning on all accounts. In other words, nothing that our Zoning Code was designed to protect is sacred.
I can understand going higher than 3 stories (the max. height under current zoning) — but not if at the same time the building’s footprint occupies effectively the entire parcel, and there are no proper setbacks to ensure adequate buffer from the street and the adjoining parcels that will be developed later (46 Hichborn will eventually have a building next door, on the right side). Don’t we want people living in those apartments, in both buildings, to have some sunlight?
For all those reasons, Councillor Ciommo should be opposing the current proposal, and asking the developer to scale the project down — to match the overall density of 24-26 Hichborn St.
The future residents of Hichborn St. cannot speak out and defend their quality of life — we have to do it for them — and by doing so, ensure that Hichborn is transformed into a nice street — not an unpleasant, dark and congested canyon.
Whether you can or cannot attend BPDA Public Meeting tonight, please consider submitting a comment to the BPDA (the link is in the meeting notice below), and copy your comment to Councilor Ciommo who has the ability to influence how things turn out.
The proposed project contains forty-six (46) condominium units including six (6) IDP Units.
The development will have at-grade and below-grade garage parking for up to fifty (50) spaces.
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Public Meeting hosted by the BPDA
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46 Hichborn StreetPublic MeetingDescription: Hichborn Partners, LLC proposes to construct a five-story, residential development totaling approximately 49,697 square feet. The proposed project contains forty-six (46) condominium units including six (6) IDP Units. In addition, the development will have at-grade and below-grade garage parking for up to fifty (50) spaces.
[more]
Time: 10/19/2017 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: Jackson Mann Community Center,
500 Cambridge Street, Allston, MA 02134
John Campbell
John.C...@Boston.gov
617.918.4282
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