New Projects Dotting Neighborhood Help Revamp Image
July 23, 2007
By Kay Metcalfe,
Editorial Assistant
Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood is in the midst of another ferocious summer. Last week, two teenagers were shot in a gang-related dispute, pushing the number of assaults to 632 for the first half of the year, about the same as a year ago, according to the Boston Police Department.
While developers and community leaders do not deny that Dorchester is one of the city’s most violent neighborhoods with 13 murders so far this year, they insist a string of new projects could help transform its image.
Several initiatives are under way along Dorchester Avenue as part of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s effort to improve the area, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
The Carruth, a $50 million mixed-use housing development is under construction in the Ashmont/Peabody Square section in conjunction with the redevelopment of the Ashmont MBTA station. Upon completion next year, it could change people’s stereotypes about Dorchester, according to members of local neighborhood groups.
“It will add a lot of new life to the area and bring in new people,” said Patricia O’Neill, president of the Ashmont Adams Neighborhood Association. “People will find out what the jewel of Dorchester really is – the Ashmont/Peabody Square area.”
The parcel is located on a former parking lot in an area described as a “no-mans-land” and a “wasteland” by Vincent A. Droser, vice president of development at Boston-based Trinity Financial, the project’s developer.
“No one took ownership of the parcel because it was stuck between two different neighborhoods and the old station took up a lot of the site,” he said. “When the T station became run-down, the crime rate rose. It was not taken care of and people would get off the train and run home as fast as they could.”
The transit-oriented development was conceived and developed as the $64 million MBTA station was being designed. The two projects are closely linked, sharing construction timing, foundations and access ways. The MBTA “hub” station is home to 15 bus lines, the Red Line train and the Mattapan trolley, and has 17,080 people pass through the station a day, according to Joseph Pesaturo, MBTA spokesman.
The Carruth will feature 116 condominiums and apartments. The first floor will be home to 10,000 square feet of retail space and feature a Wainwright Bank, a Flat Black coffee shop and Tavalo, an Italian restaurant owned by celebrity chef Chris Douglass.
‘Bigger Picture’
There are several other major projects under way in Dorchester. River’s Edge in the Lower Mills neighborhood is a historical renovation combined with new construction that will result in 62 residential units along the river. Baker Square Lofts, situated within a series of old red-brick historic mill buildings that are undergoing rehabilitation into 80 condominiums units, is under construction.
In Field’s Corner, north of Peabody Square, a project at 1460 Dorchester Ave. is under way by nonprofit developer Viet-Aid. The project will produce 43 affordable units. Savin Hill is awaiting the arrival of Crescent Court at 944 Dorchester Ave, which will be a combination development of a rehabilitated brick loft and new construction resulting in 58 residential units.
In addition, $5 million has been allocated for capital improvements along Dorchester Avenue by the city, approximately $137 million has been invested in renovating the Dorchester MBTA stops along the Red Line and $3.5 million is expected to be used on the reconstruction of Peabody Square, according to James Fitzgerald, a BRA planner.
Commercial activity along Dorchester Avenue is on the rise, according to Jeremy Rosenberger, also a planner with the BRA. With all the development going on, it makes sense to enhance the business activity in the area, he said.
Field’s Corner Mall is undergoing a complete renovation and upgrade, and Freeport is seeing many old industrial buildings and empty parcels inciting interest from possible developers, he added.
Vicki Kayser Rugo, a member of the Ashmont Hill Association, has high hopes for the redevelopment of Peabody Square as a whole.
“The Carruth is really part of the bigger picture in Peabody Square,” she said. “If it all pulls together, it will connect all the different neighborhoods around the square. There was not a whole lot of communication going on between neighborhoods but with redevelopment and the Carruth/transit center will really bring people together.”
July 23, 2007
By Kay Metcalfe,
Editorial Assistant
Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood is in the midst of another ferocious summer. Last week, two teenagers were shot in a gang-related dispute, pushing the number of assaults to 632 for the first half of the year, about the same as a year ago, according to the Boston Police Department.
While developers and community leaders do not deny that Dorchester is one of the city’s most violent neighborhoods with 13 murders so far this year, they insist a string of new projects could help transform its image.
Several initiatives are under way along Dorchester Avenue as part of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s effort to improve the area, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
The Carruth, a $50 million mixed-use housing development is under construction in the Ashmont/Peabody Square section in conjunction with the redevelopment of the Ashmont MBTA station. Upon completion next year, it could change people’s stereotypes about Dorchester, according to members of local neighborhood groups.
“It will add a lot of new life to the area and bring in new people,” said Patricia O’Neill, president of the Ashmont Adams Neighborhood Association. “People will find out what the jewel of Dorchester really is – the Ashmont/Peabody Square area.”
The parcel is located on a former parking lot in an area described as a “no-mans-land” and a “wasteland” by Vincent A. Droser, vice president of development at Boston-based Trinity Financial, the project’s developer.
“No one took ownership of the parcel because it was stuck between two different neighborhoods and the old station took up a lot of the site,” he said. “When the T station became run-down, the crime rate rose. It was not taken care of and people would get off the train and run home as fast as they could.”
The transit-oriented development was conceived and developed as the $64 million MBTA station was being designed. The two projects are closely linked, sharing construction timing, foundations and access ways. The MBTA “hub” station is home to 15 bus lines, the Red Line train and the Mattapan trolley, and has 17,080 people pass through the station a day, according to Joseph Pesaturo, MBTA spokesman.
The Carruth will feature 116 condominiums and apartments. The first floor will be home to 10,000 square feet of retail space and feature a Wainwright Bank, a Flat Black coffee shop and Tavalo, an Italian restaurant owned by celebrity chef Chris Douglass.
‘Bigger Picture’
There are several other major projects under way in Dorchester. River’s Edge in the Lower Mills neighborhood is a historical renovation combined with new construction that will result in 62 residential units along the river. Baker Square Lofts, situated within a series of old red-brick historic mill buildings that are undergoing rehabilitation into 80 condominiums units, is under construction.
In Field’s Corner, north of Peabody Square, a project at 1460 Dorchester Ave. is under way by nonprofit developer Viet-Aid. The project will produce 43 affordable units. Savin Hill is awaiting the arrival of Crescent Court at 944 Dorchester Ave, which will be a combination development of a rehabilitated brick loft and new construction resulting in 58 residential units.
In addition, $5 million has been allocated for capital improvements along Dorchester Avenue by the city, approximately $137 million has been invested in renovating the Dorchester MBTA stops along the Red Line and $3.5 million is expected to be used on the reconstruction of Peabody Square, according to James Fitzgerald, a BRA planner.
Commercial activity along Dorchester Avenue is on the rise, according to Jeremy Rosenberger, also a planner with the BRA. With all the development going on, it makes sense to enhance the business activity in the area, he said.
Field’s Corner Mall is undergoing a complete renovation and upgrade, and Freeport is seeing many old industrial buildings and empty parcels inciting interest from possible developers, he added.
Vicki Kayser Rugo, a member of the Ashmont Hill Association, has high hopes for the redevelopment of Peabody Square as a whole.
“The Carruth is really part of the bigger picture in Peabody Square,” she said. “If it all pulls together, it will connect all the different neighborhoods around the square. There was not a whole lot of communication going on between neighborhoods but with redevelopment and the Carruth/transit center will really bring people together.”
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