Community Planning Report-Navigating Development Pressure
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Transcript of Community Planning Report-Navigating Development Pressure
Getting There
Together
2014
NAVIGATING DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE IN THE GUEST
STREET CORRIDOR THROUGH THE PLANNING PROCESS ARIAM FORD
MAY 1, 2014 │ UA 523 │Prepared for Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation
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Background
The planning area of concern for this study is defined as the Guest Street Corridor, a land
mass bound by the Massachusetts Turnpike, Cambridge St., and North Beacon St. in Allston,
Boston. The Guest Street Corridor Planning Study commissioned by the Boston Redevelopment
Authority proposes to bring (at full built out scale) 810,000-1,080,000 gross square feet of
commercial/office space, 1,020-1,530 gross square feet of residential/hotel units, 270,000-
340,000 gross square feet of retail space, 270,000-330,000 gross square feet of open/recreational
space to the currently underperforming area. (Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2012) The map
below shows the study area, while the blue dots represent ABCDC properties.
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The Client: The Allston-Brighton Community Development
Corporation
Given the grand scale of planned development slated for the Guest Street area, it is only
natural that the Allston-Brighton Community Corporation, as an advocate for and representative
of the Allston-Brighton community, should seek greater involvement in the long term
development proceedings surrounding the planning site. While the stated mission of the Allston
Brighton CDC is to build a stronger and more stable community by encouraging meaningful
engagement between local communities, individuals, and institutions, the organizatons
professional interest surrounding the Guest St. area goes well beyond the goals of capacity
building and facilitation. As an owner of almost 100 family housing units within the Allston-
Brighton neighborhood, ABCDC is particularly invested in ensuring that the conceptual
developments for the study area thoroughly consider and are adequately integrated with their
existing housing units; and that the potential impacts of development on ABCDC properties and
tenants are a top priority for all stakeholders involved.
The Issues
The client has expressed fear of a lack of comprehensive integration of new development
in Guest Street Corridor with existing development and community patterns. ABCD is concerned
that there is severe risk of piecemeal development lacking a substantive and comprehensive
community planning component. As the western gateway into the City of Boston, this
development project has both citywide and regional relevance. Areas of this relevance include
transportation (regional and local), job creation, and housing issues.
The problem of scale and intensity of the community planning process within the Guest
Street corridor will have an effect on all of the stakeholders. On one hand, because the
development of the area will be in the hands of multiple developers and property owners, a
specific comprehensive planning and community process for the entirety of the study area would
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be both difficult and arguably impractical to assemble. On the other hand, given the size of the
development area, without some kind of overarching inclusion of the community process, many
potential issues and concerns of the locals have the potential to be overlooked or even
completely bulldozed, placing all involved on a dangerous road to long term animosity and
conflict.
The Strategy: Goals & Objectives
This project will focus on building the capacity of ABCDC to engage in partnerships and
open relationships with fellow Guest Street property owners of potential development sites. The
objective and purpose of this project is to identify conceptual, ideological and logistical overlaps
and gaps between the client (ABCDC) and developers in order to pinpoint both major threats
and priority areas for cooperation in a community planning process. The major strategy to
accomplish these goals will be the construction of an ownership and development profile for the
study area. This analysis will allow the ABCDC to understand the local development climate, as
well as to assess their own position in relation to other developer in the study area.
The Research
There are 321 total land parcels within the Guest St. study area totaling 7,124,012 square feet.
Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation owns 11 parcels in the study area,
totaling 87,433 square feet. These 11 parcels have a total assessed value of $4,471,000. Multiple
governmental bodies own land in the Guest St. study area. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
owns 584,814 square feet (turnpike) with a total assessed value of $31,697,000, and The
Massachusetts Turnpike Authority owns 1,472,772 square feet of land with a total assessed value
of $7,399,400. The City of Boston owns 40, 7580 square feet of land in the study area adjacent to
where the majority of ABCDC housing exists. New Brighton Landing LLC is a commercial
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development arm of New Balance and the owner of much of the land that the BRA references in
its Guest Street Corridor Study. (City of Boston, n.d.)
The owners of the top 10 largest parcels in the study area are listed in descending order
below: The listed land use for their properties are in parentheses. (Suffolk County Registry of
Deeds, n.d.)
1. Commonwealth of Massachusetts (turnpike)
2. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (turnpike)
3. Robert F Tobin TS (Supermarket/Vacant Land)
4. New Brighton Landing LLC (Vacant Land/Condos/Commercial Lots)
5. Harvard Real Estate-Allston (Warehouse)
6. Hichborn Beacon LLC (Retail Trade-Automotive Sale and Service)
7. North Beacon 155 Association (Warehouse)
8. SS Brighton MA LLC (Warehouse)
9. Brighton Landing Condominiums (Condos)
10. Boston Edison Co. (Electricity Regulation Substation)
The top 7 largest parcels make up 2,849,849 sqft, meaning that 7 owners hold
approximately 40% of the total land in the study area. In total, including State and City of Boston
lands, government entities own approximately 29% of the land in the study area. (City of Boston,
n.d.)
7 Largest Parcels
40%
All Other Parcels
60%
% Land Ownership in Study Area
7 Largest Parcels All Other Parcels
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There are many owners in the study area who own more than one parcel. Below is a table
detailing owners of more than 4 parcels. This is interesting because it begins to uncover the
level of investment that certain owners have in the area, thus allowing us to gain insight into their
development desires. (City of Boston, n.d.)
The following maps detail parcel sizes in the study area, land use in the study area, and a
breakdown of land use in the eastern sector of the study area, given that this is where the client
owns most of their property. In all of the maps, the blue stars represent ABCDC property. The
purpose of these maps is to begin to understand the spatial arrangement of land types so that we
can begin to infer the direction that the development process might take. Also included is a map
of ongoing projects in the Guest Street Corridor. This map is useful to begin to understand how
owners and developers have begun to respond to development pressure. An interesting note is
that according to the BRA website, there are only 4 projects at various points in the development
pipeline. Their online list does not include Brighton Landing, the main focus of the Guest Street
Corridor planning study. (Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2014)
Owners of 4 or More Parcels in Study Area
Owner Land Use(s) # of Parcels Total # of Square Feet
New Brighton Landing LLC Commercial/ Commercial
Land
7 775,461
Robert Tobin TS Commercial/Commercial Land 4 471,176
Hano Homes LP Residential 11 87,433
Stuart Blank Commercial Land 9 75,580
Vineland Street Realty LLC Commercial Land/Residential 8 69,778
City of Boston Municipal 7 40,784
Bessie Pagounis Commercial 5 30,537
Hamilton Associates LLC Apartments 4 16,903
Stefano Nardelli Trsts Residential 5 12,802
First Commercial Rlty LLC Apartments/Residential Land 4 11,400
John A Juvalles Residential 5 7,173
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The Analysis
Ownership
From the data collected, it is clear that ownership of the largest parcels is concentrated in
corporate and institutional hands, including government entities. This presents considerable
development pressure, as there is the potential for increased consolidation efforts given that
corporations and institutions typically have the means to pursue such development practices. A
process of consolidation on the behalf of larger corporations would steadily decrease the
amount of development control that smaller parcel owners have in the area. It would be wise for
the ABCDC to seek out owners and developers who own multiple smaller parcels in order to
understand the level of development pressure they are facing from larger corporations as well
as the options they are considering.
Land Use
The land use map shows that commercial zoning is dominant in the study area. This is of
particular concern for a residentially based organization such as the ABCDC, as the
environmental needs and requirements for the two land uses differ considerably. While most of
the residential land is situated towards the western and eastern ends, it is often still surrounded
by commercial zoning, as seen in the eastern sector breakdown map. While there is a good base
of residential use ranging from single family to condos, these parcels still face considerable
development and consolidation pressure from surrounding commercial parcels. This pressure is
increased due to the fact that the majority of these residential parcels are owned by different
people. Without the existence of a communication network, parcel owners are on their own to
determine how to respond to development pressure, resulting in piecemeal and potentially
incongruent development.
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Ongoing Development
According to the BRA projects website, there are currently 4 projects in the development
pipeline within the study area. These sites are shown in the Ongoing Development Projects map
above. 37-42 North Beacon Street is a proposed development of 87 residential units, 5,000
square feet of retail, and 66 parking spaces. The property was purchased by Thirty 7-43 N
Beacon St. LLC in 2013 from a Mr. Toukhmanian Astkhik, and has a total assessed value of
$680,000. The developer of the property submitted a letter of intent in September of 2013. (City
of Boston, n.d.) (Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2013)
61-83 Braintree Street is a board approved development project bringing 80 residential
units, 6,000 square feet of commercial space and 68 parking spaces. The owner of this project is
SIXTY-ONE-83 Braintree St. and the expanded version of the letter of intent was submitted in
November of 2013. The parcels have a total assessed value of $1,559,000. (Boston
Redevelopment Authority, 2013) (City of Boston, n.d.)
20-26 Penniman St. is also a board approved development project. It will bring 32 condos
and 27 parking spaces to the area. The owner is Marc Resnick, and the property has a total
assessed value of $3,656,000. (Boston Development Authority, 2013) (City of Boston, n.d.)
Finally, 450 Cambridge St. is a 4 story building proposing 40 residential units and 40
parking spaces. The plan for the development was submitted March 17, 2014, and is still under
review. The owner is the Arcand Family, and the current total assessed value is $219,000. (Boston
Redevelopment Authority, 2014) (City of Boston, n.d.)
From the overview of current development activity in the study area, we can see that
there are both corporate and individual owners beginning to take steps towards developing in
the area. In my opinion, I believe that in the face of the development pressure, the Guest Street
area may begin to see many more situations similar to 37-42 North Beacon St. By this I mean
purchases of adjacent parcels from individual owners by corporate owners, and the submission
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of high investment and high density development proposals soon after. However, it is clear from
20-26 Penniman St. and 450 Cambridge St. that smaller developers want to invest in the area as
well. The major takeaways from this analysis are (1) there is still time to engage in a planning
process with property owners, as there has not yet been an uncontrollable flood of development
proposals and (2) there is an immense amount of high investment development potential in this
area.
Conclusions
Alternatives & Recommendation
In light of the information gathered in this analysis, I present 3 alternatives for the Allston-
Brighton Community Development Corporation in regards to responding to development
pressure in the Guest Street area. The first is to do nothing, and to allow individual developers to
work on their own. However this option will most likely lead to incongruent development
practices and more problems in the future. The second alternative is to lobby the Boston
Redevelopment Authority to conduct secondary studies in the area that focus on connecting
stakeholders and determining a more specific direction for the area. This is an attractive
process, however it would most likely be time consuming, and the effort would most likely be
met with some resistance. Finally, the third alternative I present is for ABCDC to initiate a
community planning effort in the Guest St. area focused on building a network of large and small
parcel owners in order to open lines of communication, build a sense of a residential and
commercial community, and define a development future for the area. Based on my research, I
am inclined to support the third alternative.
Stakeholders
In regards to stakeholders to include in this network, ABCDC should consider
government representatives from the MassDOT, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the
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City of Boston, representatives of large corporate owners such as New Balance, Owners of
smaller commercial parcels within the study area, owners of residential buildings and
condominium associations in the area, and representatives from commercial and residential
tenants in the area.
Planning Process
I propose that ABCDC organize a planning summit, where all of the different
stakeholders in the study area can come together to collectively review and critique the existing
plans for the Guest St. area; to share information about each other’s businesses and or
roles/history in the community; to complete a collective strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats analysis; to participate in brainstorming sessions regarding the desired
development future of the area; and to participate in breakout sessions focused on specific
issues such as affordability and transportation.
Potential Outcomes
Ultimately, I recommend that the desired outcome of the planning summit be the creation
of a grass roots development commission for the neighborhood. Such a commission would be
comprised of representatives from each of the stakeholder groups. The purpose of this
commission would be to continuously define local development goals through the maintenance
of a communication network between stakeholders, as well as serve the function of organizing
the combined resources of coalition members to achieve the development goals as defined by
the group.
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References
ABCDC. (n.d.). Retrieved from Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation:
http://allstonbrightoncdc.org/
Boston Development Authority. (2013, September 9). Penniman on the Park. Retrieved from
Boston Redevelopment Authority:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/projects/development-
projects/penniman-on-the-park
Boston Redevelopment Authority. (2012). Brighton Guest Street Area Planning Study. Boston.
Boston Redevelopment Authority. (2013, 09 09). 37-43 North Beacon Street. Retrieved from Boston
Redevelopment Authority:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/projects/development-projects/37-43-
north-beacon-street
Boston Redevelopment Authority. (2013, November 27). 61-83 Braintree Street. Retrieved from
Boston Redevelopment Authority:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/projects/development-projects/61-83-
braintree-street
Boston Redevelopment Authority. (2014, March 21). 450 Cambridge Street. Retrieved from Boston
Redevelopment Authority:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/projects/development-projects/450-
cambridge-street-development
Boston Redevelopment Authority. (2014). Development Projects. Retrieved from Boston
Redevelopment Authority:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/projects/development-
projects?mapview=1&type=dev
City of Boston. (n.d.). Assesing Online. Retrieved from CityOfBoston.gov:
Cityofboston.gov/assessing/search/
City of Boston. (n.d.). Boston Maps. Retrieved from GIS Data Hub:
http://hubmaps1.cityofboston.gov/datahub/
Suffolk County Registry of Deeds. (n.d.). Suffolk Recorded/Registered Land. Retrieved from
masslandrecords.com: http://www.masslandrecords.com/suffolk/