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Roslindale Square getting its upper floors back: Owner of another single-story building seeks to add three more floors, apartments

The Zoning Board of Appeal tomorrow considers a request from the owner of 25-29 Poplar St., currently a single-story building that is home to a barber shop, beauty salon and a boutique, to add three floors with nine residential units.

If approved, it would be the third such floor increasing in Roslindale Square in recent years, coming decades after landlords lopped off floors either because of fires or to reduce taxes in what was then, but which is no longer, a declining area. A few doors down, Wallpaper City is currently adding two floors and eight apartments. A few years ago, the owner of the Washington Street building where Chilacates is now, added back two floors with apartments.

Owner Todd Martin needs zoning variances to add the extra floors because it would make his building taller and denser than allowed under his lot's zoning.

The hearing is the 13th scheduled for a session that begins at 1 p.m.

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Comments

Exactly what should be happening in Roslindale Square. Great.

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But what about parking?

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I know this seems crazy but hear me out: If people want guaranteed access to parking, perhaps they should pay to rent or build it themselves.

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Same deal - the renter/buyer of these apartments will have to make the same calculations we all did when we live(d) in places like the inner neighborhoods. If they really want parking, then they can live in the units behind the bank or up on Belgrade - all of which have parking.

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Props for pointing out that, far from being "out of character for the neighborhood," these projects are mostly just returning Roslindale Square to its former state.

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It’s fascinating how so many of these buildings have just under 10 units. What a weird coincidence...

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If legislators wanted the affordable housing requirements to apply to 9-unit buildings, they could have written the law that way.

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I mean, it gets exponentially more complicated, risky, and expensive to permit a building over 9 units in this city. Is it any coincidence that most people don't bother, especially when it's right on the boundary of what the zoning would allow anyway?

Maybe if we rewarded developers for trying to dense projects with actual affordable units instead of punishing them with more process and much higher costs, we'd see people doing it more....

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It's empty and has a doorway for the stairs to the non-existent floors already!

Also the RMV should move into that ground level space.

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