Real Estate

The Jamaica Plain News Guide to Washington Street

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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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Real Estate

Decision on Key Egleston Development Delayed — Again

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What began exactly a year ago on July 23, 2014 when the Egleston Square Neighborhood Association got a premier showing of the plans for the Economy Plumbing site is no closer to approval. For the second time, the developers of 3200 Washington St. asked the Zoning Board of Appeals for deferment at its scheduled hearing on Tuesday. Speaking on behalf of local developers Justin Iantosca and Dan Mangiacotti, Attorney Joe Hanley requested the deferral because "we are still finalizing the Article 80 Large Project Review application" for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The development team is now scheduled for the Zoning Board hearing on Tuesday, Sept 15.

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Photo of the Day

Steve Lurkel

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Steve Lurkel. As seen on Washington Street in JP, June 10, 2015. Credit: Chris Helms

"Steve Lurkel," who might be the shy first cousin of Steve Urkel, is easy to miss as you walk down Washington Street. Each weekday we post a “Photo of the Day” from around the neighborhood. If you have a photo that screams (or even whispers) "Jamaica Plain," here are four ways to nominate it:

Email me at chris@jamaicaplainnews

Tag a picture on Twitter with @02130News

Put your photo in the Jamaica Plain News photo pool on Flickr

Tag a picture on Instagram with #02130News

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Real Estate

Some Oppose Restaurant for ‘Barlett Square 2’ Development

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After a false start in March, Maple Hurst Builders came back to the community again on Wednesday evening with a fresh proposal for the vacant lot opposite Green Street from their 2012 development, Bartlett Square 1. Called Bartlett Square 2, it would be a four-story building with 15 apartments over ground floor office and commercial spaces, including a restaurant to be called "Havana Pete's." JP developer Chris DeSisto presented his plans at an Article 80 Small Project Review, a requirement for the five zoning variances he requires before construction can begin. DeSisto said that Bartlett Square 2 would be all rental so that Maple Hurst "could have a revenue stream for other projects." Maple Hurst, through its subsidiary 2 Bartlett Square LLC, would own and manage the new building and the businesses.

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Real Estate

City Mulls Choice Between Affordable Condos or Rentals to Replace Eyesore

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Egleston Square residents were given a choice on Wednesday for an empty city-owned six family house at 52 Montebello Road: Affordable home ownership for six first-time homebuyers by a team "who really knows ownership"; or a $1.3 million "gift" as part of the development of 3200 Washington Street for six permanently affordable rental units by another team who will "take no profit." John Feuerbach, senior development officer for the Department of Neighborhood Development, opened the meeting by saying "we are looking at 52 Montebello Road separately" from the 3200 Washington St. project.  There were three main criteria he said were heard at the first community meeting last December:

100 percent affordability
Long-term affordability
Thoughtful landscaping of the adjacent wooded slope

Feuerbach said there were two eligible applicants who would "present for 15 minutes each tonight." He said that there would be a two-week comment period closing on July 15 after which the Department of Neighborhood Development would make its choice in one or two months. First Pitch: Affordable Homeownership Units

Kevin Maguire of Oxbow Partners, 75 Arlington St.

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Politics

City to End Half-Century Wait for a Master Plan

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Mayor Marty Walsh has launched the first city-wide planning effort since 1965. As anyone involved with the politics of development knows, these days projects pretty much get considered one-by-one. The effort will ramp up over the next few years, leading to a blueprint for what the city should be like in 2030. The city has a fancy new Web site devoted to the effort. If you Tweet, the city wants folks to use #ImagineBos.

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Development

3200 Washington St.: The Future of Egleston Square in the Balance

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A Boston Redevelopment Authority-sponsored public meeting about the planned development of  the former Economy Plumbing evolved into a protest on the very future of Egleston Square. The day after the contentious Wednesday meeting, Mayor Martin Walsh addressed the Urban Land Institute — a group of which toured Egleston Square this week — on the need for a Washington Street planning process that combines "development and consensus." BRA Assistant Project manager Ed McGuire cautioned a packed house at the Egleston Square YMCA that "this has not been approved. [The BRA] is still reviewing this proposal." The 3- day comment period had been extended to April 15.  "[Your] comment letters are a very important part of this process."

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Sheila Dillon, housing chief for the city of Boston, gestures during a tour of Washington Street with Rose Center Fellows. March 2015.
Development

D.C. Nonprofit to Recommend New Vision for Washington Street

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As the city continues to promise a long-delayed planning study of the Washington Street corridor, an outside nonprofit is stepping in with a close look at the stretch. Fellows from the Rose Center for Public Leadership have been in the neighborhood this week and plan to share their findings in a public forum on Thursday. This year's Daniel Rose Fellows began visiting Boston Monday. The city was chosen along with Pittsburgh, Seattle and Omaha as a focus of study, according to a press release from the Mayor's Office. The group will make a public presentation of their findings on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Boston Redevelopment Authority board room on the 9th floor of City Hall.

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JP developer Chris DeSisto points to a feature on a rendering of "Bartlett Square 2" at a JP Neighborhood Council committee meeting at the police station on Tuesday, March 3, 2015.
Business

Neighborhood Board Deadlocks on Booze License for Havana Pete’s

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A well-known Jamaica Plain builder who hopes to open a casual seafood restaurant next to Green Street T failed to get support from a bellwether neighborhood committee for the liquor license he'll need. Chris DeSisto of Maple Hurst Builders will have to decide whether to take his request to the city's Licensing Board without a green light from the Public Service Committee of the JP Neighborhood Council. The board stalemated 4-4 Tuesday during a packed community meeting at the JP Police Station. DeSisto aims to anchor a new multi-use building at the corner of Green and Amory with a restaurant. "Bartlett Square 2" would mirror many aspects of his existing Bartlett Square building across the street.

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Business

‘Havana Pete’s’ Could Bring Beer & Seafood Next to Green Street T

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Neighborhood builder Chris DeSisto has proposed a new building right across Amory from Green Street Station that would have 15 apartments and a second-floor restaurant. DeSisto spoke to Jamaica Plain News Friday in advance of a Tuesday neighborhood meeting where he'll pitch the need for a liquor license. The restaurant would tentatively be called "Havana Pete's." An earlier name — "Redneck Pete's" — didn't get rave reviews, DeSisto said. The new mixed-use building at 450 Amory St.

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