Burned Out, Uninhabitable House Sells for $580K, $80K Over Asking Price

Jamaica Plain real estate prices continue to rise. Take for example the recent sale of a uninhabitable Union Avenue house that was destroyed in a fire in December of last year. It was priced at $500,000, and sold for $580,000. The house at 24 Union Avenue caught fire on Dec. 26, 2020, and one person died in the fire. The fire caused an estimated $350,000, and was investigated by BFD's Fire Investigation Unit.

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One Person Dies From Union Avenue Fire

One person died from an early morning two alarm fire on Union Avenue on Dec. 26. Boston Firefighters responded to a fire at 24 Union Avenue in Jamaica Plain around 4 am. A fire was visible upon their arrival tweeted the Boston Fire Department. One person was brought to the hospital with life threatening injuries and was pronounced deceased several hours later at the hospital.

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Rendering of ground floor for 3353 Washington St.

JP Neighborhood Council’s Letter Opposing Variances for 211 Green St.

City Hall went against the recommendation of the JP Neighborhood Council, an elected advisory group, to approve variances for a controversial development at the corner of Washington and Green. Here is the text of the May 4 letter from the JPNC to the ZBA:
Christine Araujo, Chair

Board of Appeal 1010 Massachusetts Ave.,

4th Floor Boston, Massachusetts 02118

Re: 211 Green Street, Ward 11, BOA675434

Dear Ms. Araujo:

At the April 2017 meeting of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council, held Tuesday, April 25, the Council members voted 9-3-0 to request the Board of Appeal to DENY ALL EIGHT VARIANCES SOUGHT FOR THIS PROJECT because:

1. The appeal for this project does not satisfy the requirements of Article 7, §7.3 of the Boston Zoning Code for the granting of variances;

2. This project was approved by the BPDA before the final draft of Plan JP/Rox was prepared by the agency and approved by the BPDA board.. The developer seeks variances for a site where under current zoning, residential housing is forbidden and the height is excessive; while at the same time requesting the increased height granted in the final draft of Plan JP /Rox without achieving the affordability required by it.

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Rendering of 3353 Washington St.

Six-Story, 45-Unit Building Divides Residents, Neighborhood Board

 

[Editor's note: Since the original posting, we've added context around a quote from the chairman of the JPNC Zoning Committee.]

A plan by the neighborhood's best-known landlord for a six-story development at Washington and Green failed to win approval — or suffer disapproval - from a narrowly divided neighborhood advisory group. Last month marked two years since Mordechai Levin started talks with the city to raze four existing buildings and erect a residential development with retail at 3353 Washington St. Current plans call for a 68-foot tall building with five stories plus rooftop mezzanines. In zoning terms, it's a six-story building. However, Architect Deb Katz and her team have set back the rooftop elevations to reduce the "perception of massing."

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BPDA Approves 45-Unit Building at 3353 Washington St.

The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) approved a 45-unit development proposed for the corner of Green and Washington streets at its December meeting. The proposed development was met with robust dissent from many neighbors when it was introduced to the community earlier this year. According to the BPDA press release announcing its approval of the $18 million project, 3353 Washington St. will be an approximately 45,286-square-foot residential building with about 2,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The five-story building will include approximately 45 rental units.

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JP Local First Logo

Breakfast Meeting Set for Biz Owners at Risk of Eviction

Several local community and business groups will hold a meeting Wednesday morning to encourage the city to "even the playing field" for small business owners. The meeting was called by leaders from JP Local First, Egleston Square Main Street, City Life/Vida Urbana and the JP Neighborhood Development Corp. It will be at 10 a.m. at the Egleston Square YMCA, 3134 Washington St. Business owners are encouraged to attend. The meeting will be with Karilyn Crockett of the city's Main Streets program and Lydia Edwards of the Office of Housing Stability.

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JP Neighborhood Council Housing Committee Says No to 3353 Washington St.

The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) Housing and Community Development Committee unanimously rejected the proposed 44-unit 3353 Washington St. rental development at its meeting last week. The opposition point of view was summed up succinctly by committee member Pam Bender: "You are doing the bare minimum" for affordable housing and community benefits, she told developer Boston Community Ventures. The May 10 meeting followed a contentious Small Project Review public meeting April 28 sponsored by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) at which neighbors expressed little love for the project, which would be located at the corner of Washington and Green streets across from the E-13 district police station. The JPNC may register its own vote on the project at its meeting Tuesday, May 24.

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Residents Unhappy with Proposed Washington and Green Street Development

Numerous residents let their ire be known about a proposed 6-story, 44-unit rental apartment building on the corner of Washington and Green streets during a community meeting on April 28. The meeting was hosted by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) as an Article 80 Small Project Review, and Boston Community Ventures' (BCV) proposal at 3353-3357 Washington St. did not sit well with residents. BRA Senior Project Manager Lance Campbell said the recent JP/Rox Plan wasn't meant to create a moratorium on development, contrary to some residents wanting proposals to be stalled until the JP/Rox Plan was finished. The BRA's website describes the JP/Rox Plan as an ongoing planning study to be "actively engaging with the community to create a new vision and plan for the area between Forest Hills, Egleston Square and Jackson Square."

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Six-Story Apartment Building Proposed for Green and Washington Streets

A developer who is familiar to Jamaica Plain has proposed to build a six-story apartment building at Green and Washington streets. The approximately 46,690 square foot residential building is being proposed by Mordechai Levin, who among other projects, is known for building the Stop & Shop plaza on Centre Street in Jackson Square. Levin says the project would cost $18 million and take 12 months to build, according to a development proposal submitted to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The proposed start date of the project is during the first quarter of 2017. Zoning relief would be required by the Zoning Board of Appeals because among other reasons, the building would exceed the 35-foot height limit.

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The Jamaica Plain News Guide to Washington Street

As the Boston Redevelopment Authority's "Plan JP/ROX: Preserve. Enhance. Grow" kicks off at an open house on Tuesday at Brookside Community Health Center, here's a primer on Washington Street. Whatever the  name "Plan JP/ROX" means  to the BRA public relations office, in reality this is the long advocated and awaited planning process for the Washington Street corridor from Forest Hills to Egleston Square. Privately built as a 35-mile toll road from Dudley Square to Providence in 1806, Washington Street became a free public way in 1857. The focus of the planning process is a 6,724 foot segment of this thoroughfare from the Casey Arborway to Egleston Square.

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