Ashmont T Station

Station Repairs

The MBTA deserves credit for working to get all the turnstiles up and running in time for Tuesday morning's commute.  Regular riders were probably aware that at least one of the suckers was out of order every day last week.  let's keep our fingers crossed that the machines survive the "running of the high school students" next week.

I do not like to use this venue to bash the T for a number of reasons, especially since there are plenty of better read venues for T-based invective.  I would like to get more feedback from readers about getting the morning train to pull into the station, rather than idle just south of the station.  A number of readers have recalled that this problem was discussed during the design review and we were assured that the train would pull into the station to allow passengers to get out of the cold.....
I hope that the extra fare would at least merit that level of service....I'm just saying that it is cold out there. If you feel the same way or recall the same promise, write a comment here or let the MBTA know.  ( I would direct you to a link but honestly the MBTA comment policy seems to be in flux these days)

Website Updates

You may notice the right column of the website has some new features.  The ability of the web to do almost all our organization is fairly amazing. 

About a year ago I wanted some kind of web-based calender that did not cost $8000 and was easily updated by the public...voila, Google hands it our over their website.  The Google Calender option is a very easy tool to add your important neighborhood events. 

The other feature is a social networking map..centered in this case on Peabody Square, the emerging hotbed of the ...well...next BIG thing.  Again you are invited to add your own sites to the map.
I hope it helps.

Construction Update

The latest news from the MBTA is that the trolley viaduct construction is significantly delayed.  In all likelihood this means that the viaduct will not be ready for passenger service until the Fall of 2007.  What does this mean?

Firstly,  it means that the current shuttle bus service will continue until the fall.  The exact date of the return of trolley service is not known but I would not expect it before the end of October.
Secondly, the MBTA assures us ( community activists and elected officials) that the overall construction schedule of the station is not delayed. I think that this is probably correct.  The MBTA deserves credit for getting this information out to the public  as early as possible.  The station is a complex construction process with lots of variables including passengers, train cars and construction equipment.

From my point of view, the station construction seems to be going relatively rapidly.  Footings and columns have been placed and part of the viaduct looks like it is nearly ready for the installation of the concrete track bed. (I promise pictures of that).   It is very heartening to see the number of workers on site. I hope that the workforce will remain well staffed.   

The station still requires funding for a new roof and finishes.  The MBTA hopefully is working on a plan to deliver these final pieces without a stoppage in the construction process.  A new entry has been constructed at the top of Peabody Square, providing the neighborhood of a chance to see how the square will work when all the construction is finished.  The Charlie Card system, I love the tap and go aspect, has some reliability issues, as at least one turnstile (what ever they are called) is broken every day for the last week.

....numerous people have mentioned to me that it is cold on the platform...how hard would it be to pull a train into the station while waiting for the proper headway?

In other parts of the station, Trinity Financial's new building The Carruth, seems to grow overnight. From my house I can count 5 floors of steel erected, complete with a port-a-potty on the 4th floor.  Already from Peabody Square the building serves as a backdrop to our newly defined public space.  Trinity has announced that Wainwright Bank will be opening a branch in the building and that the branch will include a coffee stand in their lobby.  Pretty original. 

Peabody Square re-design continues to show progress, mainly in the traffic configuration.  The essential elements remain in tact, with minor tweaking by the Transportation Department.  A public meeting will be announced shortly that will attempt to finalize the design and begin to look at the finishes and other amenities in the spaces around the square.

One of the best amenities is the Joe Wheelwright sculpture for Peabody Square.  The competition winning entry needs some additional committee work and funding.  The public is encouraged to attend the next meeting at the Codman Square Library on Feb 24th at 10:00 am.  The art project is jointly sponsored by the Dorchester Arts Collaborative and St. Mark's Main Street.

Brave New World at Peabody Square

The machines that knocked Ashmont Station this weekend were the heralds of a great transformation for Peabody Square.  In the coming months, amid the churned concrete and clots of dirt a new station will slowly (very slowly) be built. The south part of the station will come first with a new terminal for the Mattapan trolley (let’s drop the high-speed nonsense from the name). The trolley and south headhouse and Radford Lane (more on that part later) will be complete in 12-18 months.   At the same time a new affordable housing project will be built in front of the station.

For commuters and residents the next 41 months of station construction will be marked by chaos, frustration, delays and new perspectives, excitement and hope that with the changes comes an improved and safer neighborhood.

The old station is just a pile of crumpled steel beams, concrete chunks and wood kindling today.  Barletta will keep on working for the next two weekends to complete the demolition and I wll try to keep photographing the work in progress.  See the photo album for latest images.

Ashmont Station Name Change

In a letter to the editor of the Dorchester Reporter, a group of local citizens raised the idea of renaming the the MBTA stop: Ashmont/Peabody Square. 
The new station will have one of its principal entrances on Peabody Square.  An historic space , the square deserves recognition as a place that identifies the area as a meeting point in the city. 
New York has Times Square, Tokyo has Hachiko, London has Piccadilly Circus, Rome has the Spanish Steps and Dorchester has Peabody Square. (mostly tongue in cheek, but remember Boston is a world-class city).  Realistically the new station and newly redesigned square should complement each other lending space and recognition to the other.  The MBTA has already helped the community by providing $25,000 towards the design study for the square. 

The idea put forward by these neighbors is a great one and worth pursuing.  Hopefully the MBTA will give it the consideration it deserves. Please signal your support by emailing the community organizers peabodysq@empathetic.com. 

At Ashmont, a less pricey plan

The article below appeared in Sunday's Globe. While the article covers much of the same ground as previous posts and public meetings (for those of us still keeping track) the article serves as a reminder to the Globe's readership that we are still in the running for a new station and development at Ashmont. 

Still no news on the issue of tax-credit awards....but I believe that we have reason to be optimistic, if for no other reason than it would be a colossal waste of time to think otherwise.  Stay tuned as soon as the folks at the Department of Housing and Community Development make their announcement about Trinity Financial's proposal, we will post the news here.

At Ashmont, a less pricey plan
Developer bids for state backing
By Jill S. Gross, Globe Correspondent  |  January 15, 2006

Developers have revamped their plans for new shops and more than 100 condominiums adjacent to the Ashmont MBTA station, and say they now hope for approval from the state. Neighbors and supporters see the proposed six-story retail and residential building and the T station's upcoming renovation as key components of efforts to rejuvenate Peabody Square, where Dorchester Avenue and Ashmont Street intersect. Developers envision the building, which would sit between Dorchester Avenue and the station's bus lanes, not only as housing but also a place for some of Ashmont's 17,000 daily commuters to get a cup of coffee or a relaxing meal or do their banking. State officials have promoted this type of project, called a transit-oriented development, because it offers a mix of commercial and residential space centered around public transportation, reducing dependence on the automobile. The project hit a major snag in June when the state rejected developer Trinity Financial Inc.'s application for $3.2 million in tax credits that it was counting on to pay for the building, saying it was too costly. Trinity Financial, a Boston firm, has since made some major changes to the building's interior and increased the number of market-rate units, allowing it to reapply to the state Department of Housing and Community Development for $2.2 million in tax credits. According to the department, the project is among many competing for the tax credits, with a final decision to be made in the next few weeks. Trinity is also waiting to hear on its application for $1.5 million to $2 million in state money for transit-oriented developments. Because of the changes to the project, it must also go before Boston's Zoning Board of Appeal next month. ''At this point, there's no turning back. We've got to make this thing happen," said Jim Keefe, principal for Trinity Financial and a longtime neighborhood resident. The new plan increases the number of residences from 105 to 116 and changes 42 of what were to be apartments into market-rate condominiums. The remaining 74 rental units have affordable income restrictions. The exterior design of the building, with large display widows, a brick facade, and an outdoor seating area, has remained largely unchanged from the original plans. The ground-floor retail space has been halved, eliminating plans for a chain drugstore. Drugstores weren't interested because of limited parking and lack of room for a drive-through window, Keefe said. Trinity hopes to attract three to five neighborhood businesses, such as a restaurant, coffee shop, or bank branch. Such businesses will help draw people into the square and create a sense of community, said Dan Larner, executive director of St. Mark's Area Main Streets, a nonprofit organization that works to revitalize business along Dorchester Avenue. Having homeowners as well as renters in the building will also increase the number of people with a vested interest in what happens to the neighborhood, he said. ''Right now, it is just a big, blank wasteland in front of the station," Larner said. ''We want to build up the square more as a place people want to spend time in." The dark, dreary MBTA station is slated to be replaced by a building with a dramatic sloping roof, brick walkways, and lots of natural light, designed to work together with the residential and retail project in spurring economic growth, supporters and officials said. The first phase of the $44 million station renovation, which includes new entrances, platforms, elevators, and security cameras, is underway and expected to be complete in 2008. Following asbestos abatement work, demolition could begin next month, depending on the weather, said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. Redesign of the trolley tracks is scheduled to begin in late spring or early summer and the MBTA will begin busing between Ashmont and Mattapan during that time, he said. Officials have worked to coordinate the construction schedules for the two projects to minimize the disturbance to the neighborhood. Keefe said if funding for the Trinity project is approved, construction could begin in March and be complete in just under two years. The station work will continue even if the neighboring building doesn't get the funding it needs, Pesaturo said. City Councilor Maureen Feeney said the support and need for the transit-oriented development is so strong that it will go forward. ''This will fill the missing tooth of the avenue while creating more vibrancy and activity and making it a more viable and exciting place to be," she said.

Ashmont TOD -Globe Editorial

GLOBE EDITORIAL

Ashmont opportunity

December 2, 2005

THE MODERNIZATION of the Ashmont MBTA Station in Dorchester offers an outstanding opportunity for the kind of transit-oriented development touted by the Romney administration. But a promising proposal by a local developer to build affordable apartments and commercial space between the T station and an adjacent stretch of Dorchester Avenue has fallen close to the third rail.

Last June, many Dorchester residents were disappointed to learn that the state had rejected an application for $3.2 million in state tax credits from Trinity Financial, which sought to build 105 units of mostly affordable rental housing simultaneously with the reconstruction of the station. The developer had argued in numerous neighborhood meetings that the six-story apartment complex would not only provide needed housing but reconnect the T station to Peabody Square, filling in an area that Dorchester City Councilor Maureen Feeney describes as a ''missing tooth" infected with crime and blight.

The T has been largely supportive of the initiative, seeing that an upgrade in the adjacent area would protect its roughly $35 million investment in the reconstruction of Ashmont Station, a connector serving 17,000 daily commuters. But the state's Office of Commonwealth Development balked at providing transit-oriented grants or significant tax credits for a development it deemed too costly at $48 million.

The Ashmont setback points to a potential weakness in the state's ''smart growth" policy of encouraging denser development along transportation routes. It is more costly to build in Boston than in the suburbs, a function of land values, oddly configured sites, union labor demands, permit requirements, underground parking, and other urban costs. Any sensible state policy should take such matters into account during the competition for smart growth grants. And Boston's willingness to site affordable housing over many decades without the kinds of incentives demanded by elected officials in the suburbs should also count for something.

The Trinity developers are responding to cost concerns. They propose raising the number of units to 116, which would include 42 condominiums, reducing some of the need for subsidies while still leaving 74 affordable rental units for families earning up to 60 percent of Boston's median income. But tax credits will still be needed for the developer to generate the equity to build the project.

The Romney administration is focused on exciting efforts to promote affordable housing through zoning reform in the suburbs. It's a great goal, but not one that should squeeze out a signature smart growth development along Dorchester Avenue.

Development Parcel Meeting Notes

After a rather long hiatus, this website now has the latest information from the developer on the issues facing the development parcel.  The meeting was held as usual in the Englewood Apartments Community Room on Wednesday November 2.

The meeting was marked by a largely positive response fro the community over the proposed development.  The main features of the proposal included the addition of for sale units on the top two floors.  Additionally the retail space on the first floor has been scaled back and seven aprtments now have courtyard access at the first floor.

I hope to have some of the photo-realistic images from Trinity Financial at some later date.  I certainly hope that the information in the file attached below will allow for more discussion from the community. Finally the station and development parcel are, many believe, harbingers of a major revitalization in Peabody Square for residents and businesses.

Download boards_11.2.05 Community Meeting.pdf

Dorchester Loses While Suburbs Sprawl

-from Boston Metro June 21, 2005 edition

As summer starts residents, neighbors and commuters are waiting to see if the MBTA and Dept. of Housing and Community Development are going to fulfill their promise to make a world-class example of transit oriented development in Boston.

Some History of Neighborhood Goals

Here is a link to some of our archival material.  Note the date on the letter and the clearly identified community goals.  The community has stayed on message since 2001! The Office of Commonwealth Development seems to believe that the project materialized last year.

Download 010604keefe.pdf