Charlesview can be better

Last night’s meeting was packed!  It was great to see how many came out to be involved in their neighborhood’s future.  I was especially glad to see lots of Charlesview residents in attendance.

I thought Chris Hill of CBT Architects did a great job with what he was given to work with.  He really listened a year ago and integrated our key demands.  Most of the buildings near Holton St blend well with the surrounding neighborhood.  A small park was added.  A “greenway” to the river was added.  Retail space along Western Ave was added.

Here’s the problem:  The new park is quite small.  Although it was placed alongside the “path” to the river its not big enough to really be significant.  The buildings along Western Ave a still a little on the tall side and don’t offer enough retail space.

This isn’t Chris’ or Community Builder’s fault.  This is Harvard’s fault.  They’ve constrained the new Charlesview inside a small, fixed plot of land.  Some of the possible solutions seem obvious when looking at the site plan.

Harvard should give the property at 90 Antwerp St (1) to the Charlesview development effort

The inclusion of more land could be used to reduce density further and allow for more Western Ave retail space.  Frankly what else would Harvard do with this site since it will be surrounded on all sides by residential properties under the current plan?  Building on a comment made by Kevin McCrea this property should be rezoned residential once Brookline Machine moves out.

Furthermore this is an opportunity for Harvard to develop some of the Holton St corridor.

A large park could be introduced at 108 Holton.

This site would be central to the neighborhood for use by Charlesview and Allston-Brihgton residents to the North, East and West and future Harvard workers to the South.  I doubt that Charlesview has the means to develop such a park on their own, so this is an oppurtunity for Harvard to step up and make up for their failure at the Science Complex in a more significant way than Library Park.  And to state the obvious having a stable, green community to the North of their properties on Holton St and Lincoln St is in their best interests as well as ours.

Other comments:

• Chris also accommodated our demands for more parking and a more porous neighborhood.
• The economic integration in the new plan was questionable.  Home ownership units seemed to only be at perimeter while the rentals units were centrally grouped.  I’d like to see some more mixing in future plan updates.
• More home ownership units were added, but with more land more could be added.
• Kevin McCrea, candidate for Mayor, showed up and I found his comments empowering although I’m not ready to endorse anyone yet.
• Mark S. Ciommo, District 9 Councilor, showed up and made comments to try to bridge the schysin between A-B and Charlesview residents
• Alex Selvig, District 9 Councilor candidate, was on hand and demanded that Charlesview fix the current buildings
• Mayor Menino was not there, but is on the BRA website (2)
• Its unfortunate that this was the first real opportunity for Charlesview and A-B residents to discuss the issues at hand.  In general the Charlesview residents seemed to feel that A-B residents were acting as spoilers in their attempt to get better housing.  I think we have to listen to their concerns.  Although we are working in our and their best interests we have to prevent a stalemate with Harvard.  This serves no one except Harvard.  I support Jake’s efforts to have a meeting allowing Charlesview and A-B residents to meet without the BRA and the other players present.

(1) Although not listed as owned by Harvard on CityOfBoston.gov it is widely reported to be owned by Harvard http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/01/10/harvard_adds_to_its_land_holdings/

(2) Who is he welcoming?