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Allston Civic Association Honan Allston Library 300 North Harvard St. 5/27/2015 Meeting convened at 6pm D-14 Update ● Things have been quiet recently ● They caught the man who had been assaulting women in the area ● Warmer weather is here, ACs in windows make it easy to break into houses- try to secure the system to the window frame 35 Allston St. - Curb cut for driveway ● Family residence ● Two sisters will be taking over the house from their parents and will be moving back in September ● Want to be able to have a parking space in the front for aging parents ● Family has owned the house since 1992 ● There will be a hearing on June 17th ● Community members would like to see more landscaping and greenery in the front of this house, the yard has been paved over ● Family is definitely willing to put in some landscaping ● Resident: I would rather see a tree than parking ● The family is willing to be creative and find a happy medium ● Only looking for enough space for one car ● Voted against 15 Brainard Rd- Current parking lot, developed into residential building ● Owners have owned the land since 1980 as a parking lot ● Now looking to develop into a residential building with 32 rental units ● There will be 41 parking spaces recessed in the building at grade ● Everything here is very preliminary and hasn’t been filed yet, wanted community comment first ● Height of building will be consistent with abutters ● On Brainard Rd. side, building will be 46ft (buildings on either side are 40ft), Comm. Ave side a little bit taller ● Ground floor is lobby and then all parking ● Parking will be accessed by passageways on either side of the building with the entrance in the middle of the building ● There will be 2 separate parking lots
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The building will be stepped down in the middle with balconies and outdoor space for residents 5 stories at the tallest point (Comm. Ave side) and only 2 stories in the middle Breakdown of units:7 studios, 19 one-bedrooms, 6 two-bedrooms Studios about 475-570sqft, one BR’s about 700-775sqft, two BR’s about 875-1100sqft
Questions/comments: ● Will there be bike storage? ○ Yes, about one per unit or more ● There isn’t any landscaping or streetscape? ○ There will be some shrubbery in the front ○ Not really enough space for trees ○ The passageways aren’t real streets they have to be open passageways ● What about a green roof? ○ That’s definitely possible, thought about putting in open space on the roof but worried about liabilities and disruption, a rooftop garden could be a nice addition though ○ Rooftop garden could allow for usable open space without the issues caused by roof decks ○ Would be open space but not recreational space ● Passageways like that can get loud for neighbors (cars driving through etc.) how can this noise be managed ○ Haven’t thought about this yet- will definitely consider it ○ These buildings will have better sound insulation than the older buildings ● Resident: the current site is an eyesore, I support this ● How many affordable units? ○ 4 units and a contribution to the city’s fund ○ Will be 70% AMI ○ probably 3 one bedrooms, 1 two bedroom ● What about the people currently parking in the lot? ○ The lot is currently run by an outside company ○ About 60-70% utilized ○ $175 for a space ○ Don’t have the data on who is currently parking there ● How big are the streets on either side? ○ Not real streets or throughways, just passageways for residents- 12ft wide ● Will extra parking spaces be rented out? ○ Parking is intended for residents but there is an opportunity to accommodate others if there is space ● What about making the building look more inviting? ○ We want to integrate something into the building to acknowledge the historic artistic and cultural elements of the area ○ Maybe some plaques on the building ○ Want to incorporate Washington Allston
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○ Open to suggestions ○ There should be elements of art in every new building You could do something artistic with the screen that covers the parking Materials? ○ Mostly brick, glass, and cement exterior When are you looking to get started? ○ Would like to file in June What about homeownership? ○ Conversion is always an option but right now it is hard to finance ○ The owners want to hold the property Will there be security cameras? ○ Yes