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Oh, come on: Developer proposes calling new building on W. 5 Street SOBO Place
By adamg on Tue, 05/10/2016 - 4:18pm
A developer whose office is in the heart of FiDi has filed plans with the BRA for a four-story, 36-unit residential building at 55 W. 5 St. at the corner of B Street that he will market under the name SOBO Place.
Developer Joe Hassell's $10-million proposal calls for 36 parking spaces in an underground garage, along with first-floor retail space on a lot now used for auto repair. Five of the units will be marketed as affordable. Most of the units will have two bedrooms; nine will have one bedroom each and six will be studios.
Our project will clean up and utilize an outdated commercial property, which is currently an eyesore for the community. Our stylish design will complement and improve the overall look of the area. High quality, environmentally friendly, and maintenance-free materials will be used where feasible. The be-low ground parking will not distract from the overall appeal of the property and allows for more parking.
55 W. 5 St. small-project review proposal (6.7M PDF).
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Comments
Nice cornices on that giant
Nice cornices on that giant cinder block.
Probably just trying to avoid
Probably just trying to avoid "neighborhood" opposition by making it as plain and boring as possible.
But... But... It's So "Stylish"!
( that doesn't necessarily mean an attractive "style" )
.
It's the new Brutalism.
Look at the cinder block on
Look at the cinder block on bottom, this building has the cheapest of the cheap building materials, cinder block must cost $3 bucks a block at Home Depot, Windows look like it was passed on from another building, The rest looks like cardboard.
jesus that looks terrible.
jesus that looks terrible.
Nope. Looks fine to me but
Nope. Looks fine to me but thanks for asking.
And you call yourself a carpenter?
C'mon Chuy, it looks like crap and you know it.
Hey! Don't you know luxury when you see it?
It will have stainless Appliances and granite countertops in that 50 sq foot kitchen afterall.
Stainless and Granite?
Sooooo 2005!
I'll demand nothing less than graphite finish appliances and engineered quartz countertops!
woof man... just woof. It's
woof man... just woof. It's a rendering, i get it - but is this what we've come to - aim low so as not to offend?
Depends on the store they put in there
As long as they put a "Tenant" in there, I'm all for it.
Developers have different realities
"Stylish design"? It looks like a large cinder block.
(No subject)
Honestly..what is the problem with SoBo?
What is more American then a group of people moving to a place and renaming it.
I mean, if that is so offensive then you should be calling this land we live on Shawmut and not Boston.
At least the renaming of this neighborhood was done through free market capitalism and not trough rape, murder and genocide like when it was renamed to Boston.
- The Original SoBo Yuppie.
Why do you want to rename the neighborhood?
hint: If it has anything to do with anti catholic, anti-irish bias, that's not a good reason. :)
Reason
anti-irish? - how many people that live in South Boston were actually born in Ireland? 0.0001% maybe?
anti-catholic? - i don't know anything about religion.
It is more around anti-racist and anti-bigotry. thats why i the neighborhood is being renamed.
Would this be considered
Broadway Village? Or does that end at the Bypass Road?
That's still Broadway Village
It's really too bad about that Starbucks in City Po....uhh... I mean L-Bo Square (L St and Broadway).
Time to pen a letter
I'm going to express my lack of support just because of the name alone.
That sure is
a reasonable, adult response to the situation.
Better name
The Residences at Shoebox Place
I'm voting for Cementy McJailville.
That place needs a cheerful moniker to offset the Siberian prison vibe.
They should do the same in
They should do the same in Eastie, knock down old ugly homes I'm talkin city blocks of them and build big large condo buildings just like this one in Southie..
This wasn't a home, it was an
This wasn't a home, it was an auto repair shop, and they are building lots of luxury condos in East Boston, so you should be happy!
Tear downs and rebuilds are
Tear downs and rebuilds are the rage in Eastie. Rarely would you see this happening years ago in Eastie, There seems to be more construction equipment than cars roaming the streets of Eastie, is Eastie becoming the new Southie.
Yeah totally
Because these 21st century flamboyant looking condos look so much better than the classic brick buildings Boston's known for...
Huh?
The auto repair shop was brick? Well, in that case, SAVE THE AUTO REPAIR SHOP!
In homage
to the auto repair shop, they should put a giant inflatable muffler on the roof, and some Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Men out front. To stay with the character of the property and all.
Knock down all those ugly homes and build new buildings?
You mean like what they did in Boston's old West End? What was done to Boston's old West End was a real atrocity, plain and simple. Why the hell couldn't they have just simply re-developed that area instead of razing it totally out of existence, building huge, not-so-attractive high-rise buildings and displace all the original inhabitants in the process?
That would've been a better way to do it. We had some family friends who resided in Boston's old West End, and were pushed out, thanks to the destruction of that neighborhood.
Spelling error?
They spelled "bozo" wrong.
This building is so sobo yuppie it hurts.
surely there's a way to bring back D street projects in lieu of this nouveau horror.
Not to worry. The projects
Not to worry. The projects are right across the street.
its not 1980
projects, smojects....i walk through them everyday and the people there couldn't be nicer.
its not 1980 and this is boston. now if we were in LA or Chicago (REAL tough cities) then i'd be a bit worried.
You are one tough hombre.
Dragging all those poodles and trophy dogs through the mean streets of gentrified SOBO West.
No. I am not tough.
That is the point. Obviously you missed it.
NONO
(which can be a future name for luxury condos in Mattapan, NOrth of NOrfolk Street)
Hey Mistah' Developah'......
SONO.....
Ugly is a selling point
If you lived here, you wouldn't have to look at it.
instead you can look across
instead you can look across the street at the D st projects
Just when you think
developers couldn't be any more out of touch with how actual Boston residents think...
Or any more out of touch
with the associations that name has for those of us who are not oblivious to the current devastating epidemic of opioid addiction....
What does the name "SoBo" have to do with opiates?
Please explain, as I have no idea.
Suboxone
nickname for narcotic treatment (which itself is addictive)
Huh?
That's quite a stretch
Holy ... ^&*(
Even I can't find a positive spin on this one.
I give up.
So, no more auto shop?
And are they happy about that? Does this developer already own that land or do they have to buy out the auto shop?
Who's they?
It looks like the parcel is owned by the owner of E&S Auto. I would think he is very happy about this.
Just curious if the auto shop is on board
It was super nice having that mechanic steps from where I used to live, for simple things like inspections to minor body work.
While you could consider it an eyesore, like the proposal does many times, it still provided a service.
I'd assume so since it seems
I'd assume so since it seems that the mechanic is selling to the developer. Probably just cashing out while the market is hot.
Yeah, I don't know if I'd consider it an eyesore either...it's an auto shop.
Next in line
The belt factory and "condos" where I used to live on W 5th between B and A/Dorchester Ave.
Surely whomever thinks an auto shop is an eyesore must have fits over an actual industrial building.
Actually they probably wouldn't be a fan of Doughboy either...
Who needs an auto shop?
This is SoBo! Nobody uses cars in a gentrified community. Didn't you know that?
Who "needs"?
Why does this have anything to do with what the neighborhood "needs"? The mechanic that operates on that site owns the property (or his family does). They want to sell. Another party wants to buy and put up condos rather than run an auto repair facility. The mechanic at that site says he'll open another shop at a location TBD. What's your problem? That the building is ugly?
Eyesore? Maybe.
Maybe not.
Auto shops are, however, one of the worst point sources of fairly nasty pollution in the Commonwealth.
Small, but nasty.
"Stylish Design?"
"Stylish design?"
"Stylish design?"
That is the UGLIEST "stylish" building I've ever seen. Looks almost exactly like the old-school projects of the 1970's. All it needs is to be painted brick red and you can eliminate "almost" as an adjective.
I"m also gonna question "maintenance free" materials. Everything is going to need maintenance sooner or later. Walls will need to be painted or cleaned (depending on whether they are indoor or outdoor) outdoor windows will need to be washed by professionals, storm drains and/or gutters will need to be cleaned, and even water/sewer pipes and electrical wiring will need to be repaired or upgraded eventually.
Plop that one right outside D St
The Southie Bulletin Board is going to be on fire when this building becomes occupied. I think the newcomers are gona love their new OFS neighbors.
I'm going to say it because no one else is
One parking space per unit shouldn't even be a thing in buildings that are 1000 feet from a subway station.
this must be overlooking the
this must be overlooking the d street projects. it seems like it doesn't really impact the value much from other units i've seen sold nearby. maybe they'll fix up those projects some day.
BORING
Bland, boring, uninspired & cheap. Oh and a really stupid name! All this crap will be falling down in less than fifty years, but these developers don't care, they got their money and they'll be long gone. Shame on the BRA and the ZBA for allowing this crap-insensitive urban renewal re-imagined.