In advance of Tuesday night’s meeting on the Garden Garage development project, West End residents picketed outside of City Hall on Monday afternoon in front of the Mayor’s Office. The group of protesters is calling out the Boston Redevelopment Authority for bringing back a high rise development with little change after previously rejecting it.
Equity Residential is seeking to replace the Garden Garage (commonly known as Basketball City) located at 35 Lomasney Way in Boston’s West End with a residential tower, currently proposed with 470 units and 447 feet. For its part, Equity is citing the benefit of putting the 5-story garage underground and noting the support of the neighboring board at West End Place, owners of Amy Lowell House and the Downtown North Association.
Monday’s protest follows a contentious IAG meeting last week where the majority of the committee walked out.
A public meeting is scheduled at 6:30 pm, on November 17th at the Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) auditorium, 243 Charles St on the 3rd floor.
This is why we aren’t building enough new housing in Boston… The Mayor is right to stand up to the NIMBY antics. We desperately need more housing, especially in our urban core. And this proposal will be directly across from another high-rise development currently under construction. Seems completely appropriate to me.
The city needs to grow and people need places to live. There is no proof that big developments projects are bad for neighborhoods. In addition, suburban sprawl is bad for the environment. Building up makes sense. Urban density is not a four letter word. People are not moving to Boston for the open space but rather for the benefits urban density creates.
If you want open space why would you live in a major city?
People live in the city for convenience. We, the city of Boston residents have never be subjected to
all this crap the City has been pulling off since the start of the Big Dig.
It is called “Greed”. Kudos to the West End Residents, they
fought for what they believe in. The No.End/Waterfront Residents & Beacon Hill Residents should
come together & fight for our rights as well. How dare the City give Resident spaces away to
Zip Car & Enterprise. Everyone is upset & commenting on the internet, but the way to go is to do
what the West End Residents did. Strength is in Numbers, not in internet comments. Anything
worth having is worth fighting for. God Bless those West End Residents.
Those ZipCar and Enterprise spaces will make it easier for residents to park. It’s been shown that each car share car available takes the place of 9 to 13 private automobiles. The more car share vehicles we have in Boston, the more people who only need a car occasionally will sell their car (or not buy one to begin with), leaving more parking available for those who do.
Those studies are not true at least in the North End where we have had multiple zip cars in multiple locations for over 10 years. And we have more cars then ever before. These are free parking spaces for people who live outside the neighborhood who want to come here to eat and go to Mike’s Pastry. Millennials and students moving into the North End in three bedroom apartments have 3 cars. North End residents with kids who get icense have multiple cars. So these zipcar and enterprise spaces are just taking resident spaces away.
Not wanting to be car dependent is exactly why people want to move to boston. Being green is ditching the car, living in high density places, which in turn improves revenues for the sickly transit system. Millenials, myself included want to build a better world. Undo the damage of suburbs and exurbs and cars.
Open your mind to change, those drawn to boston know what its appeal is and yes, Capitalise on that. But in a city of history and knowledge what they capitalize on is good for us all. I can tell you that a neighborhood that is scar tissue from a horrible urban renewal period is not what makes boston great. Like the city hall, it serves as a painful reminder of all of the history lost in those days. And yes, the neighborhood itself was lost.
The neighborhood is lost because people did not join together & fight for their rights. You talk about
keeping the neighborhood green. What about the corruption going on in the City & State?
Unless you are on the City or State Payroll, this is a slap in the face for all North End/Waterfront
Residents. I believe change is good sometimes, not all the time, this is not a good one. We the
residents should have the parking spaces & let all others pay or take the MBTA who want to
go to restaurants or go to Modern Pastry. We have made far too many sacrifices in the neighborhood.
Charity starts at home, let’s start thinking of the residents, the revenue was always there for the
restaurants & pastry stores. Going out to eat & buying pastry is a form of a luxury, it was never, ever
considered a necessity. There are people who have owned cars in this tiny neighborhood for years,
and now you think it is a good idea to tell these people because of over population, they should give
up their cars, not my idea of progress.
Between Charles River Place and that new project on the corner, that is almost the entire population of the West End now. It has become mainly non-residential anyway. These people seem to be protesting against what they already have. Just another Charles River Place. If they have one now, why shouldn’t they have two. Looks like the dam has already been breached.
Didn’t the Big Dig already answer any of the transparency that you are looking for from the city of Boston? Anything worth having is worth fighting for.
At the conclusion of the November 17 BRA meeting to replace the Garden “Bubble” Garage by Equity Residential, I believe most people just knew this 46-story building does not belong in the West End, directly sandwiched between Amy Lowell and West End Place.
With the exception of one person, the six people who spoke in favor of the building had frivolous reasons, whereas people who were not in favor had many valid ones. I urge all residents in the West End, especially those who live in Hawthorne, Whittier, and West End Place who would be most affected, read the following internet articles: “Behold the 46-Story Replacement for the Garden Garage,” and “Garden Garage Development.” Then you decide.
Letters for or against this proposed project should be sent to the BRA by December 7. This project consists of 470 units (studios $2,400, 3 bedrooms $7,500 month), 830 below-grade parking spaces, and retail space.
Maryann, You are so right. A 46 story building in my opinion, is a sky scraper. The City is so
greedy, it is frightening. Don’t give up without a fight. What happened to the height restrictions?
God only knows whose hands are being greased for this project. What a disgrace.
Corruption at its best. The problem with most people is that if their lives aren’t affected, they can’t
be bothered fighting for the cause. Where are all our neighborhood committees? Why are
we making this just a West End issue, it is a City of Boston Issue. The congestion in the city is going
to be overwhelming, and all for the almighty dollar. Where are our elected politicians?
I think we should have signatures from West End Residents, as well as Beacon Hill, North End,
Waterfront & Seaport, and Charlestown. The traffic will be horrendous and you can best believe none
of these investors will be affected by it.