The Residences at Forest Hills

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jeb guu
Parking?

<div>"Additionally, we believe there is a benefit to the residents of eliminating the environmental impact of 300 cars. "<br /><br />I'm confused. Is your plan is to remove 300+ public parking spaces and... Read more...

7 supporters

Thank you for your comment Jeb-

 

Elimination of the existing parking lot has been contemplated for many years. In 2008, the Forest Hills Improvement Initiative documented the community... Read more...

3 supporters
Vee Liu

Cdp, the community vision in 2008 may not be the same now... The neighborhood has already changed quite a bit. Saying that commuters might just move or park where it's more expensive to commute is not... Read more...

M Mendez

Hello, this is a point of information --there was no elimination of commuter parking for Forest Hills. It is true that the development of the lot was contemplated, but the parking for commuters was preserved... Read more...

Eric Herot

It's not the job of developers in JP to worry about where commuters FROM outside the neighborhood going TO somewhere outside the neighborhood are going to store their cars in the process. They can use... Read more...

1 supporter
Susan Bollinger

Since the developers are the ones displacing the commuters, I do think they share in the responsibility of finding or creating an alternative. Wherever you have a transit station, particularly at the end... Read more...

1 supporter
Marc Ebuña

No, Susan. The point of a transit station isn't only to get people to drive there — that's what buses, local shuttles, bikes, and taxis are for. The alternative is to move those people driving to Forest... Read more...

2 supporters
Clay Harper
Casey Arborway and community

After years of planning and construction, the removal of the Overpass here promises a vital greenspace enhancement and reconnection. Your proposal should be more sensitive to that context, adding more... Read more...

6 supporters
Mark Tedrow
Transit Oriented

<div>Please tell us more about the transit oriented benefits that will be provided and how this development will help to make Forest Hills less car dependent. <br />This area is poised to become a nexus... Read more...

6 supporters

We appreciate your interest in the transit-oriented benefits of the project. 

 

Bicycle parking for tenants will be provided in one or more secure bike storage rooms in the... Read more...

2 supporters
Mark Tedrow

<p>I believe that you (Criterion Development Partners) are underestimating the need for car share both in the community and at your proposed development.&nbsp; Currently there appear to be 10 carshare... Read more...

2 supporters

@Mark- These are great observations and we will certainly look into opportunities to increase the number of onsite car share spaces.  Thank you!

1 supporter
Marc Ebuña

I want to underscore Mark's comments about car sharing access on this site. It is **critical** that car sharing companies have access to the same number of spaces currently available today, especially... Read more...

Mark, we are happy to report that with the change in our site design we are able to maintain the 7 existing Zip Car spaces and may even be able to increase this supply.

1 supporter
Margaret Butler
Parking?

You have way more units than parking spaces and you are removing parking spaces. This area already struggles with parking and you are placing a large burden on the surrounding community.

6 supporters

Hi Margaret. We appreciate your concerns regarding the number of parking spaces at the project. Our experience at our other transit-oriented communities shows that many tenants do not own cars,... Read more...

Margaret Butler

Speaking as someone who lives in this "transit oriented community", we already have a problem. What about all the people who park there on a daily basis now? 300+ spots are now gone and people will look... Read more...

4 supporters
Alyssa Soares

<p>I would like to further support&nbsp;Margaret's comment as she was not referencing parking for tenants but those who currently use the parking lot for commuting purposes. The reasoning you provided... Read more...

2 supporters

@Alyssa- We appreciate your concerns about commuter parking demand. We will continue to evaluate this aspect of the project. With regard to affordable housing, we are committed to providing units... Read more...

Margaret - 

We understand your concerns about the loss of commuter parking and will continue to evaluate this aspect of the project.

Eric Herot

Requiring developers to build parking inevitably forces them to reduce the number of units of housing that can be built. We may have a parking "shortage" (debatable since most of the parking in JP is still... Read more...

3 supporters

Additional parking would not necessarily lead to fewer units. The project should explore increasing parking by adding more underground spaces, which would not reduce dwelling units.

Eric Herot

Underground parking is hugely expensive (costing between $90-120k per space) and is not worth anywhere close to that amount on the open market (in JP a space goes for about $30k, or $125-150/month). To... Read more...

2 supporters
Marc Ebuña

Reducing commuter parking will not suddenly force all of those people to drive. If parking is more difficult for them at Forest Hills, so be it. That changes the calculus of their commuting decisions and... Read more...

1 supporter
Eric Herot

1. The supply of commuters looking for cheap parking is nearly infinite. What difference is building another few parking spaces here really going to make?<br>2. The community already struggles from a lack... Read more...

2 supporters
Sonja Vitow
No but really, the parking

The parking situation is already so bad around there. And new condos are going up around the corner — the community is not prepared to accommodate this increase in population.

5 supporters

Sonja- We appreciate that the benefits of change are sometimes difficult to envision. With new housing and an increase in population comes opportunity - more people caring about and involved in the... Read more...

Eric Herot

The parking situation in this neighborhood is only bad during the day when commuters come here to park for less than what it costs to park in an MBTA lot. The number of people that choose to park here... Read more...

1 supporter
Susan Bollinger

Eric Herot, I have to disagree. I don't know where you live in JP, but in most of Forest Hills the resident parking is only in effect from 8am to 6pm. This prevents commuters from parking on our streets... Read more...

Eric Herot

Susan, the problem with the approach you're suggesting here is that it essentially amounts to "I got mine." Unfortunately this attitude makes it almost impossible for us to add enough housing to this neighborhood... Read more...

1 supporter
Susan Bollinger

Eric, I agree that more cars should be discouraged, and that can be achieved somewhat through the disincentives you propose. I worry about the effect of such a policy on the elderly, the disabled, and... Read more...

Eric Herot

And what of the elderly and disabled people that are no longer able to drive a car? For those people apartments like these (near the T) are really the only option. Some number of them are going to be displaced... Read more...

3 supporters
Clay Harper
Arborway setback, retail on parkway

I'm disappointed to see in your detailed proposal from the BRA website that there appears to be no setback whatsoever for Building B along the hard-won Arborway pedestrian and bike paths and the greenspace... Read more...

4 supporters
Clay Harper

After reviewing in depth the narrative elements of the propsal, I understand now that the proposed 'Bike Shop" (though color-coded pink like the actual retail) is intended to be a residents-only bike workshop.... Read more...

Clay - CDP does appreciate that importance of the Arborway as a public amenity and we have met with DCR and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy to review our proposal. Our research shows that the project... Read more...

1 supporter
Lisa Goddard
Artist Housing

<div> I was glad to hear you plan to exceed the requirements for BRA affordable housing - would you also consider BRA Artist Certified housing? There are so many artists in JP and not much artist housing,... Read more...

4 supporters

Lisa, based on your suggestion we have committed to including Artist Certified live/work space at the project. Thank you for helping us to improve our proposal!

Sarah Freeman
Emerald Necklace, TOD & affordable housing

This location is on the corner of the Arborway, a part of the historic Emerald Necklace Park system, and across from Forest Hills T Station. A context-sensitive design would have lots of trees & support... Read more...

4 supporters

Thank you for your comments Sarah. The project supports multi-modal transportation in a number of ways: it provides easy access to public transportation as well as a Hubway facility to... Read more...

1 supporter
Timothy Reardon
Commuter parking in context

Many people have commented on the loss of commuter parking spaces. The 300 commuters using the LAZ lot represent less than 2% of the 15,150 daily boardings at Forest Hills (http://www.mbta.com/uploadedfiles/documents/2014%20BLUEBOOK%2014th%20Edition(1).pdf,... Read more...

3 supporters
Doug Rand

This information is good to know. The loss of these 300 commuter (who knows if all 300 are used for commuting either) spots are not an issue that should look to be solved within this project. The parking... Read more...

2 supporters
Richard Heath
The Residences at Forest Hills

<div> To Criterion Development:<br />It is fair to justify TR@FH as fitting the recommendations of the 2008 Forest Hills Planning Initiative.<br />Yet that plan is 8 years old and was 2 years in the creation.... Read more...

3 supporters
Simone Pilon
Pros and Concerns

<div>We are generally supportive of this development primarily as it will replace the LAZy lot, which is an eyesore and poorly maintained. We are also in need of retail amenities (grocery store, pharmacy,... Read more...

3 supporters
Eric Herot

Please do not reduce the height. JP (and Boston) are in a housing crisis. Shortening buildings, when doing so requires the removal of bedrooms, will only make the situation worse. Additionally, more units... Read more...

3 supporters
Scott Roche
Looks great

I think this plan looks great. I really like that you're prioritizing density and affordability over things like parking. It will be good have the retail space this building will provide and I think it... Read more...

2 supporters
Jennifer Uhrhane
PLEASE: GROCERY STORE!!!!!

With the massive surge in residential units on Washington Street, the retail needs for all these future residents will not be met unless a grocery store and other basic retail amenities are provided on... Read more...

2 supporters
Eric Herot

As a general rule I think all of the buildings on Washington St should have first floor retail. And I think the neighborhood could certainly benefit from a lower cost grocer.

1 supporter

Jennifer & Eric, we agree that a grocery store would be a valuable amenity for the neighborhood and have reached out to supermarket representatives to discuss space requirements for an urban location such... Read more...

1 supporter
Mark Tedrow
Trees for the Emerald Necklace

<div>I urge you to provide a setback along the Casey Arborway side of your project and plant a row or clusters of large shade trees not unlike what was shown on the 2008 plan. The setback should be large... Read more...

2 supporters

Hi Mark-

We agree and do support the Emerald Necklace vision. A significant amount of new trees will be planted along the Arborway as part of the ongoing improvements. To the extent... Read more...

Richard Heath
General

To Criterion Development I think you are running a well organized project in the throes of the Casey Arborway. I'm not a resident of Orchardhill so my opinion is based on only occasional observance each... Read more...

1 supporter

Thank you, Richard. There have been challenges working adjacent to an ongoing roadway construction project but we are excited to see the transformation of this portion of the Arborway. We know our neighbors... Read more...

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