Re: [HUAB] 185 Corey Rd. Brighton

[Paul Creighton]

Eva:

This is where the "old saw" a picture is worth a thousand words resounds.

There may be a  down low course offered in an urban planning school. called    How to disguise pictorially 

the aesthetically obnoxious impacts of a proposed overbuilt structure.

You should be the principal guest instructor.

Keep swinging.

Paul

On Mon, Jul 20, 2026 at 2:31 PM 'Eva Webster' via Homeowners Union of Allston-Brighton <homeowners-union-o...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Hi Zoe –

 

The 185 Corey Rd. project page on the City’s website has the following image, which is very confusing. The project is on Corey Rd. in Brighton (that’s the main elevation), but the image shows the proposed building from Westbourne Terrace in Brookline – not from Corey Rd.

 

 

In fact, the shorter building on the left is proposed to be built in Brookline, at 132 Westbourne Terrace, and it is not subject of review by Boston Planning.

 

It seems it would be more appropriate to include the rendering of the Corey Rd. elevation (see below) on the project page. It is included in slide #26 in the developer’s application for review that is posted on the project page – but one needs to search that long document to find this image, which most people don’t have time to do.

 

This image below is much better at showing the impact of the proposed building on Corey Rd. – though it fails (well, doesn’t even try) to show the smaller 2-family houses on Corey Rd. to the left of the proposed 6-story building.

 

 

This is the neighborhood directly to the left of the proposed project:

 

 

 

It is astonishing that a building of this size and height, to be located in an outer neighborhood of Boston (not downtown), next to free-standing 1 and 2 family houses, can be categorized as a “small project”, and be subject to the Small Project Review process.

 

Additionally, by looking at the plans, many important issues are not addressed:

 

• open space, incl. trees, which we desperately need to prevent heat islands (Corey Rd. sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate survival of shade trees);
• ensuring room for deliveries to the proposed commercial space that would not be blocking traffic;
• residential and commercial trash storage and disposal (to prevent worsening of the thoroughly depressing rat problem).

 

Hopefully, those matters can be discussed in detail in the Virtual Meeting on July 28.

 

Sincerely,

 

Eva Webster

Brighton

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Tom Kates]

This certainly looks to be oversized for the neighborhood and particularly troubling squeezed into such a tight space.  I am curious about the building on the left that you describe as "proposed to be built in Brookline at 132 Westbourne Terrace."  When I look at the town of Brookline site I only see an application for a two family house to be built.  That drawing seems to indicate something far bigger than a two family home.  Is there something that we in Brookline are not aware of?

Tom Kates

Brookline

On Mon, Jul 20, 2026, at 2:30 PM, 'Eva Webster' via Cleveland Circle Community wrote:

Hi Zoe –

 

The 185 Corey Rd. project page on the City’s website has the following image, which is very confusing. The project is on Corey Rd. in Brighton (that’s the main elevation), but the image shows the proposed building from Westbourne Terrace in Brookline – not from Corey Rd.

 

 

In fact, the shorter building on the left is proposed to be built in Brookline, at 132 Westbourne Terrace, and it is not subject of review by Boston Planning.

 

It seems it would be more appropriate to include the rendering of the Corey Rd. elevation (see below) on the project page. It is included in slide #26 in the developer’s application for review that is posted on the project page – but one needs to search that long document to find this image, which most people don’t have time to do.

 

This image below is much better at showing the impact of the proposed building on Corey Rd. – though it fails (well, doesn’t even try) to show the smaller 2-family houses on Corey Rd. to the left of the proposed 6-story building.

 

 

This is the neighborhood directly to the left of the proposed project:

 

 

 

It is astonishing that a building of this size and height, to be located in an outer neighborhood of Boston (not downtown), next to free-standing 1 and 2 family houses, can be categorized as a “small project”, and be subject to the Small Project Review process.

 

Additionally, by looking at the plans, many important issues are not addressed:

 

• open space, incl. trees, which we desperately need to prevent heat islands (Corey Rd. sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate survival of shade trees);
• ensuring room for deliveries to the proposed commercial space that would not be blocking traffic;
• residential and commercial trash storage and disposal (to prevent worsening of the thoroughly depressing rat problem).

 

Hopefully, those matters can be discussed in detail in the Virtual Meeting on July 28.

 

Sincerely,

 

Eva Webster

Brighton

 

 

 

 

 

 

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