West Napoli apartments project at 1946 Centre Street
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Boston Police, E-5
Sunday, Jan. 8 2006
12. a.m. Centre Street, West Roxbury - Vandalism.
Front glass door of West Napoli Café's was damaged.
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West Roxbury & Roslindale Transcript > Local News
A recipe for conflict
Some neighbors call pizza shop apartment plan 'half baked'
By Lindsay Crudele/ Staff Writer
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Some neighbors expressed their disapproval of a pizza shop owner's proposal
to build two stories onto his shop, calling his plans "half baked."
West Napoli Cafe owner Sokol Bardhi wants to build six new apartments
on top of his store at 2222 Centre St. There are neighbors who are happy
with the plans, but building owners next door are loathe to welcome the
building that may block some of their windows and ventilation.
"One really great thing about this project is that the owner of a
pizza restaurant wants to live right there," said West Roxbury resident
Keith Davison. "Perfect, I'd love to see more of that kind of thing. But
one really terrible thing about this proposal is that the building is too big."
The two-floor addition would place three modern apartments on each
level. According to plans unveiled by architect Ana Impellizeri, a
tower-like structure would headline the structure, which would include
improvements to the building's facade at large.
Bardhi has said that he wants to live near his place of work with his
family, who would live with him in two of the units. He said he would give
preference to local workers so that they could live nearby, and that the
addition would be part of a move to beautify the entire unit of buildings.
Parking spaces are located about a third of a mile away, contracted
from other lots. Bardhi is required to provide 1 1/2 spots per unit,
according to zoning code, and is offering 13.
"You may as well be in the basement," said Suzuki Institute of Boston
owner Donald Becker of the building that also includes Kids R Kids and some
residential units. Bardhi's design would build up two levels almost flush
with the building next door, blocking some windows.
"It's going to ruin the use of the building next door," he said,
noting potential difficulty of cross-ventilation without the windows free.
A Bellevue Avenue resident, Keith Barry said he lives next door to
Bardhi's cafe.
"I want to see owner-occupied businesses," he said.
A resident who asked that his name not be used said that he supported
Bardhi's proposal.
"The problem is abandoned businesses," he said. "The last thing we
need to have is for Sokol to say, 'I can't make it here.' We're too hard on
some of these businesses."
Davison also added that the built-up nature of the corner design
conflicted with the idea of quaint, less built-up West Roxbury.
"That's not the future I want for my community," he said.
Describing Bardhi as a "wonderful man," Delane Anderson called Bardhi
"just the kind of person I want to stay here," he said.
"We're working very hard to promote as mixed use as much as we
possibly can," said Rep. Mike Rush. But, he said any project must go
through proper process, during which kinks may be worked out.
Bardhi and his lawyer, Mark Sokol, said they have proposed a meeting
with building owners next door to negotiate further.
Lindsay Crudele can be reached at lcrudele-at-cnc.com.