The Revitalist

Speaking of making the most of street parking... Today the NY Times ran an op-ed advocating for higher prices for parking meters. Recent traffic studies have revealed that up to 30% of traffic congestion in central business districts can be attributed to people cruising for on-street parking. Donald Shoup of UCLA argues that this is the result of meters being under priced in relation to other parking options and can be remedied by more competitive pricing. He gives Redwood City, CA as an example. They have priced their meters to reach an average 85% occupancy and invested the additional $1M in revenue in streetscape and maintenance improvements in the district. The result is easier parking (usually an open space), less traffic, less pollution, improved public services and happier merchants. Obviously, a system like this only works with programmable meters that take bills and cards.

Since I'm generally a big fan of using economic incentives to drive behavior, it would be interesting to see how a system like this would play out in a bigger city. It looks like Redwood City has garages priced at the same rate as meters. How high would the prices in Boston have to go? The Boston Common garage charges $5/hour, the Post Office Square garage is $5/half hour, and the PI Alley garage is $7/half hour. Now people will park close to their destination regardless of paying a higher rate for the convenience, and there aren't enough meters to put downward price pressure on the garages. The goal is merely to price meters competitively so that some of the meter vultures will just go park in the garage instead of circling the block three times. What you do if the parking meters downtown cost $10-15/hour? Would you just leave your car at home? Even better.

In the eternal search for a parking space, two online services are connecting people and spaces.

Cambridge-based SpotScout has gotten a lot of coverage over the past year for their web/mobile service that allows people to reserve garage spaces, advertise their available personal spaces, and post when they will be leaving a street space. It's the available street parking element that is a really cool feature. They aren't live yet (seems to be some delay), but they are taking names for residents in Boston, New York and San Francisco. Like many of these web2.0 services, it's going to live or die on critical mass. The more people using the service, the better the options for users, and therefore more people will sign up, etc.

Peasy.com is a similar site based in London (via Springwise). It's an online booking service connecting space owners (personal and garage spaces) with people needing parking.

 

American Brewery LoftsThe Globe had a nice article this weekend on several breweries in Jamaica Plain being converted into loft housing. The three sites are all located near the Heath Street stop on the T's Green Line. The American Brewery Lofts is leading the charge, opening next month. The units are for sale, so it appears that they didn't use historic tax credits, but they did keep several of the building's historic features. They also added a new construction building in a modern, glass block style that looks great in the photos. The prices are quite reasonable, so it's worth checking out. The other two mentioned in the article, Terrace Street Lofts and the Alley Brewery site, don't have websites up yet.

Update on a previous post on the fate of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building downtown: the NY Times reports that Renzo Piano has withdrawn from the Trans National project. Apparently Piano was being pressured by the developer Steve Belkin to add width to the designed tower, and the two couldn't work out their differences. Belkin has hired CBT Architects to execute Piano's design (and presumably make the changes that Belkin wants). The Landmarks Commission issued a 90-day demolition delay on March 13th; but since they have no power to stop the demolition, it is expected to go through.

Orange County Government Center,
Goshen NYIn a related article, the Times has an appreciation of the work of Paul Rudolph (architect of the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building). The reporter toured Rudolph's buildings in the northeast, noting that several have already been demolished or are endangered and that pretty much all of their flat roofs leak. Not surprisingly, there isn't much praise lavished on Boston's "fortress-like" Government Center, designed by Rudolph and team, though the author does note that "it represents Rudolph's efforts to express government authority without resorting to historical motifs." While Rudolph's work was certainly unique and on the cutting edge, the novelty seems to have worn off a lot these buildings and their inhabitants are ready to settle for something more conventional and user-friendly.

Detroit is definitely not America's Next Hot Neighborhood. Reuters reports that houses are now cheaper than cars in the Motor City with foreclosed houses (blame the sub-prime mortgages) flooding the market. Detroit's unemployment rate is at 14% with one third of residents living below the poverty line. Michigan was the only state in the nation where the average home price actually fell in 2006. One realtor interviewed, who just sold a house for less than one quarter of it's listing price, said, "Once we've seen the last person leave Michigan, then I think we'll be able to say we've seen the bottom." Now that's depressing.

BusinessWeek.com has released another one of their surveys: America's Next Hot Neighborhoods (via CoolTown Studios). BusinessWeek.com and Zillow.com put together the survey of the most affordable gentrifying neighborhoods in the country's 11 largest cities. These are neighborhoods with a median home price well below that of the overall metro area and with steady appreciation over the last five years. Access to transportation options, a commercial infrastructure and dropping crime rates, combined with housing affordability, are generally what make these areas attractive. But BusinessWeek.com cautions that these neighborhoods aren't for everyone. You should make sure that you're comfortable with the level of safety and to be sure that there is already some development: "You don't want to be the first guy there. You're better off being the second or third one in."

Zillow's heat map for BostonBoston's Next Hot Neighborhood: Dorchester, with 60% appreciation over the last five years and a median home price of $331,896. Honorable mentions were given to two Dorchester neighborhoods, Mount Bowdoin and Grove Hall.

Be sure to check out the comments on the article – pretty entertaining stuff. There's a lot of "you've got to be kidding—have you ever been there?" and "hey, it's not as bad as it used to be..." 

Planetizen has an op-ed by Charles Siegel that advocates for removing our mid-20th century urban freeways and letting their blighted neighborhoods revive. He argues that restoration of surface streets and parks will do more for the city's economic health and the wellbeing of its residents than any highway replacement scheme. It's a timely proposal as two major cities are considering a Boston-style submerged highway: Philadelphia and Seattle (a referendum last week voted down the tunnel proposal). Of course, everyone thinks of Boston's Big Dig when you talk about elevated highways, but Siegel doesn't mention it as an example in his article. I assume that he doesn't consider the Big Dig a $14B exemplar for other cities.

 Of course without the Big Dig, there would be no Big Dig House.
Big Dig House in Lincoln, MA, designed by SINGLE speed DESIGN.

Our press release on the acquisition of 165 and 26 Jackson Street for the Hamilton Canal Lofts project has been picked up by the Boston Business Journal.

Lest you think we had forgotten Washington Mill Lofts, we most certainly haven't. Construction is just zipping along, and we are on target for a July opening! Our two model units will be opening in a few weeks (look for an update), and you are all invited to come see them.

In the meantime, here are a few of our favorite construction photos.

Taping drywall in one of the light-filled units.

Kitchen cabinets and counter top are set off by the accent color painted on core walls.

This one is my favorite.

This photo shows the dramatic double-height entry way in progress.

Aside from working with two beautiful buildings and the really great people in Lowell, the Hamilton Canal Lofts project is really exciting because of two investments the City is making right next to us.

The buildings are situated in Lowell's Jackson/Appleton/Middlesex (JAM) Urban Renewal Area, and to help spur the revitalization of this neighborhood on the edge of Lowell's hip downtown, the City is building a $22 million parking garage with 900 spaces. It just so happens that this garage is located right across the street from 165 Jackson, and our residents will have leased spaces in the garage. How's that for a happy coincidence?

Also, adjacent to the west of our site is the 15-acre Hamilton Canal District master developer site. The City issued an RFP for master developers and is currently considering its short list. The redevelopment of this big chunk of land (some rehab, some new construction) will really get this neighborhood moving and make a connection between the downtown and the train station. We are excited about the possibilities!