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They want to pave J. Pace and put up a parking lot

NorthEndWaterfront.com reports the former J. Pace on Cross Street could be torn down and turned into a 12-space parking lot, at least until some developer is willing to do something with the land that would fit in with the neighborhood.

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Comments

Reuse it for temporary pop-up shops, on short-term leases, until it's time to tear it down for new development. Don't demolish buildings until you know something can replace them! (See also: Filene's Hole)

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Great idea to have a parking lot there.

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in re: where the Star used to be on Broadway, Winter Hill, not to mention where the Brunello Bistro used to be, a couple blocks down, for more "popup store" locations, before advising Boston what they should be doing.

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... to tear them down and replace them with parking lots. The mayor is trying to get some movement from the property owner on the Star Market site. I don't know anything about the other parcel, where Brunello was.

Unlike Cross Street in the North End, this area isn't exactly a tourist destination. The city has been working hard to make East Somerville an attractive place for restaurants, but that effort unfortunately hasn't continued across McGrath up to Winter Hill.

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You gotta be so xenophobic?

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A high end boutique hotel with roof top /deck & swimming pool ,would be a perfect fit at that location, across from the park and the view.

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Oh please don't make Maria's Pastry disappear next!!

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It looks like it is all one building, with differing roof heights.

I take it back, the map indicates it's a party wall between the two. That area was redone 9 or 10 years ago, too. Quick need for change!

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Another great store turned into luxury parking for the wealthy. Boston is becoming just islands of former neighborhoods in between streets, highways and parking lots.

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It was an average deli with overpriced canned/packaged goods. Nowhere near a "great" store anymore.

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Nothing "fits in with" a neighborhood that predates cars by centuries like a parking lot full of SUVs from the suburbs.

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As Joyce Stephens asks on the referred website, is this subject to the Commercial Parking Restrictions put in place in the 70s?

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I think that might have been the last time those were enforced.

If the city knew/cared what they were doing, they would tax parking within the freeze area far more than they do now (which is less than most other cities) which would add money to city coffers (perhaps it could be put towards fixing the T) and also make it less likely that people would want to tear down buildings for parking lots in the future.

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or a swinging hot spot.

We already have pink hotels.

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Some have suggested (not my idea) that cities can prevent vacant, underused land by taxing them for not serving a greater good. 'You can have a parking lot, but the taxes will be cheaper if you build something to serve the community (housing, mom and pop commercial etc) - not just a handful of bridge-and-tunnel people.

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Japan does that. Heavily taxes undeveloped land in desirable areas to encourage development and stop speculative squatting.

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...pathetic. But I think they already (not sure when -- but probably before winter) tore down a long-disused building to the left of the former J. Pace's and turned IT into parking.

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Seems that they have been pulling out of the city piece by piece for a while now. They closed their Devonshire Street location a few years back, now this location ... and yet their suburban location was very busy last time I rode by there.

Was there a change in ownership or generation that led to this? Anyone know?

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Basically across from Liberty Wharf. At least they did as of a year ago....anybody know if that one is still there?

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It is and coincidentally I can never find parking to go there.

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I could be wrong, but I think it was legitimately a matter of them losing the lease in both incidences. I'm pretty sure they did not want to close the Cross Street store. It did a good business both with the traditional locals and the tourists, a rare combination. I was in there the day the closing was announced and the manager, whom I think is a Pace family member, seemed legitimately saddened.

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At least click on the link Adam provided before responding to the story. They owned the building, how exactly would they lose a lease? They did not do good business in the North End store, at least not enough to justify keeping it open vs. redeveloping it.

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