The first truckloads of debris leave the old Royal Friend Chicken site in mid-November 2015.

Royal Fried Chicken Razed as Work Starts on 21 Housing Units Plus Retail

The wrecking ball swung down on the old Royal Fried Chicken shop last Monday to begin work on 21 units of new housing and ground-floor retail. The development by Boston Properties, was approved after community meetings by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in January.  Attorney Joe Hanley — who represented 3200 Washington St LLC -  was responsible for project overview and permitting. The apartment house is being designed by Studio 47 Architects. For more on this project, please check our archive of coverage.

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Last Major Piece of Jackson Square Would Bring MIT-Style Architecture to JP

The transformation of Jackson Square would continue with development of the last major piece of the puzzle bringing some MIT-style architecture to this side of the Charles. "Great work is happening in the past year," said Richard Thal, executive director of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, Tuesday night at a public meeting to describe the final plan for Jackson Square Phase III.  This is two buildings set around a courtyard at Amory and Centre streets. They will be developed by JPNDC and The Community Builders. "Eleven years ago the BRA [Boston Redevelopment Authority] designated us to put together a viable plan for new a neighborhood that had been torn apart [by I-95]," Thal said. The scattered site totals 11 acres.

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Joint Venture Including JPNDC Tapped to Renovate, Build More Than 500 Housing Units

The Boston Housing Authority has designated Amory Partners, a joint venture of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp., Urban Edge and The Community Builders, to redevelop 125 Amory St., a 215-unit public housing for elderly and disabled near Jackson Square. In a press release, the Housing Authority said, "Some of the key features and determining factors of the selection include preservation of existing public housing units and generation of up to $3 million in cross subsidy from new mixed income units. The second component is the new connection to the surrounding neighborhood to create a more integrated development. The final design will include a total of 509 units of which 185 will be market rate and 324 workforce/affordable." Amory Partners will add 214 new apartments in satellite  buildings on the vacant land of the site around the main building of Amory Apartments.

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Giant Elderly and Disabled Housing at 125 Amory St. Eyed for Renovation

Obtaining funding for public housing projects is frequently a challenge. "I'm convinced that the funding for public housing as we know it is gone and it's not coming back," Boston Housing Authority director Bill McGonagle told the Bay State Banner in January, noting that the Department of Housing and Urban Development was pushing housing authorities in the direction of public-private partnerships. This is being done at Amory Street Apartments, 125 Amory St., under the HUD Rental Assistance Demonstration program authorized by Congress in 2012. Amory Street Apartments has 215 units of mostly studio and one-bedrooms; it opened in April 1973. In 2013, the BHA was one of 68 housing authorities nationwide selected by HUD to participate in RAD. RAD allows housing authorities to form partnerships with private or non-profit developers to leverage public and private debt and equity in order to reinvest in public housing stock according to the HUD announcement.

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Papercuts JP Draws Crowds at Boston Book Festival Saturday

Opened a year ago at 5 Green St., Papercuts JP was prominently displayed Saturday at the seventh annual Boston Book Festival held at Copley Square and adjacent venues. Working in collaboration with Harvard Book Store, Papercuts JP was one of seven metropolitan-area independent booksellers at the Book Festival. Boston proper has only two independent book sellers focusing on new books: Trident on Newbury Street and Papercuts JP. Papercuts JP had a table overflowing with new books at the Boston Common Hotel on the second floor conference room. This summer, Jamaica Plain News spoke to proprietor Kate Layte about her first seven months in business.

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Next JP/Rox Planning Workshop is Wednesday, Nov. 4

The city's once-in-a-generation effort to plan the future of the Washington Street and Columbus Avenue corridors continues on Wednesday, Nov. 4. If you'd like more background, please check our archive of stories about Plan JP/Rox. Below is a flyer with information on the upcoming workshop:

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MassDOT Says Flat-Roofed Forest Hills Busway Will Handle Snow

The schematic drawings of the new Washington Street upper busway canopy and platform published last week caught many readers by surprise; it was the first time even the most active observers had seen the replacement shed. Some questioned the practicality of a flat roof. The Jamaica Plain News asked the Department of Transportation for more clarification and Michael Verseckes, a MassDOT spokesman, sent the News the birds-eye plan. He said in his message that the elevations and plan were all that MassDOT had to show the community; "The finalized design of the canopy will be done in accordance with Mass Building Code and snow, wind and seismic loadings." First and foremost the most significant part of this plan is that it moves buses away from South Street and Asticou Road; the biggest flaw of the 1982 station plan.

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BAA Half Marathon on Sunday Will Mean Brief Road Closures and Detours

The annual Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Jimmy Fund Half Marathon is Sunday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. It begins and ends at White Stadium in Franklin Park. The road closures and detours for the course route and abutting roads in Forest Hills are shown on the map. In addition, segments of Pond Avenue, Perkins Street and Francis Parkman Drive will also be affected. It's a good idea not to drive in the area at all until the event is over. Here's a link to the Boston Athletic Association's website, which has much more information on the even and its traffic impacts.

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