He said Port Property has been a good landlord and is honoring their lease. The encampment is a sign that even with a new, larger shelter open, the needs of the neighborhood and the community at large are high, said Ben Strick, senior director of adult behavioral health for Spurwink Services, whose adult behavioral health offices are located in the project footprint at 60 and 62 Elm Street. Some residents said they have noticed less activity in the neighborhood since the shelter moved out, though the area is still home to a significant homeless population living in tents along the Bayside Trail. The Bayside neighborhood, where developers want to build 800 apartment units, has already seen change since the shelter closed last month. But for the next four months, it will be used by the city’s fire department to conduct trainings.Ī sign posted on fencing that surrounds the courtyard at the former Oxford Street Shelter declares the street an emphasis area. The building, a former apartment complex and auto garage, could be demolished and replaced with affordable housing one day, they said. The former Oxford Street Shelter, which is owned by a subsidiary of Tom Watson & Co., isn’t part of the new project, though Laliberte and Barton said the company is thinking about what to do with it now that the shelter has moved out. The Bayside plan is the largest one currently before the city, though if approved, each phase would also require subsequent site plan approvals. The new proposal – currently being considered in a master development plan before the planning board – calls for seven new buildings along Lancaster and Elm streets, to include 804 residential units, 201 of which will be affordable units, 29,000 square feet of commercial space and two open spaces – a “linear park” or woonerf and a 6,000-square-foot public green space.Ī master development plan is an optional planning tool that can be used to outline large, multi-phase projects prior to more-detailed site plan reviews. This parking lot at the corner of Elm and Lancaster streets is where Port Properties is proposing to build a 200-unit affordable-rate apartment building. It sits between Interstate 295 and downtown, making it a gateway to the city.ĭuring a recent walk-through of the neighborhood, Laliberte and co-developer Michael Barton said the proximity to downtown and transportation options, as well as the industrial and underutilized nature of the properties at the center of the neighborhood all made it attractive for new development. “That’s what I’ve always imagined and wanted, for there to be a balance of uses in the neighborhood.”īayside is roughly 100 acres bounded by Marginal Way, Franklin Street, Cumberland Avenue and Forest Avenue. “Hopefully it happens in a way that’s livable, in conjunction with and incorporating the existing social services that are here,” Michniewicz said. Sarah Michniewicz, president of the Bayside Neighborhood Association, says the neighborhood supports the idea of more housing on the peninsula but has concerns about green space and traffic and clustering all the affordable apartments in one building. But it has the potential to bring big changes to Bayside, a neighborhood that has traditionally been a social services hub and home to the city’s Oxford Street Shelter. The project is still largely conceptual and hasn’t received any city approval. “The goal is to add to the existing community and create a vibrant mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood,” said John Laliberte, a co-developer for Tom Watson & Co., which has proposed a major redevelopment spanning from Kennebec Street to Cumberland Avenue and from Preble Street to Chestnut Street. A nearby parking garage will be revitalized with the addition of ground-level retail.Īnd Lancaster Street, currently dotted with one- and two-story buildings and parking lots will be transformed into a walkable “woonerf” – a pedestrian-friendly “living street” that could be closed to traffic for festivals and farmers markets. An adjacent corner will be a 10-story 85-unit apartment building. A surface-level parking lot will become a 200-unit affordable housing building.
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