August 7, 2009 by Chinatown Blogger.

Boston Redevelopment Authority: China Gate Park meeting announcement (PDF)

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (“BRA”) is soliciting proposals from qualified individuals or companies (“Proponent”) to provide professional Design Services in connection with China Gate Park on Hudson Street in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. This proposal will develop park and play space improvements that address issues of site and landscape design including pavements and drainage, play elements, and signage for the proposal area. Requests for Proposals (“RFP”) are available to be picked up from the BRA, Room 910, City Hall, Boston, MA 02201-1007 for a non-refundable fee of $100.00 payable by check to the BRA.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority will host a pre-proposal meeting regarding China Gate Park:
Tuesday, August 18th 6PM at 90 Tyler Street, Chinatown

This meeting will include a presentation to the community by the BRA Staff regarding the scope of the RFP and represents an opportunity for prospective consultants to hear directly from the China Gate Park supporters and to ask questions and clarifications regarding the project scope.

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August 6, 2009 by Chinatown Blogger.

The latest copy of AsianBoston Magazine has an interview with Kairos Shen, the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Chief Planner. AsianBoston Magazine is available for free at local Chinatown shops and restaurants. If you can’t get a copy, the Chinatown Blogger has scanned in selected pages from the magazine. Download the interview here Asian Boston Magazine Kairos Shen. The magazine is founded by Leo Anthony, a South Boston-born entrepreneur. Visit their website at asianboston.com.

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August 4, 2009 by Chinatown Blogger.

August 7, 2009 update: edits and added some new info.

The Harrison-Albany Street Corridor Strategic Plan is an initiative led by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to study the growth and development of the “Harrison-Albany Street Corridor”. The study area is bounded by the Massachusetts Turnpike to the north, Albany Street/Southeast Expressway/Massachusetts Avenue Connector to the east; Massachusetts Avenue to the south; and Washington Street/Harrison Avenue to the west. (Download Harrison-Albany study-area-map).

A 27-member Advisory Group (AG) was formed and the first meeting was held on April 15, 2009 at City Hall. Later, the AG was expanded to 30-members. Of the 30 AG members, 5 represent Chinatown interests and a sixth is from Tufts Medical Center. The AG members were selected by the City of Boston and the BRA. The consultant team of Stull &  Lee were hired to lead the study.

The Harrison-Albany Street study area is separated into 4 areas distinguished by zoning, use, and history: “New York Streets”, “South of Washington” (SOWA), “Backstreets”, and “Institutional”. The Chinatown community is part of the AG because the “New York Streets” area overlaps with the South Cove/Chinatown Neighborhood Council boundaries. The “New York Streets” cover from Herald Street to East Berkeley Street north to south and Albany Street to Tremont Street east to west. This is an  area that the BRA refers to as a “transitional place” between Chinatown and the South End and also offers many opportunities for future development. The “New York Streets” currently includes these potential development opportunities: South Cove Manor Nursing Home, Holy Trinity Church, C-Mart (former Super 88 Supermarket), and the Boston Herald. The name for “New York Streets” came from the early 1900s when the street patterns were laid out in a grid similar to streets found in New York City. This grid pattern was demolished by Urban Renewal.

In late July 2009, the BRA led the members of the AG on a tour of the Harrison-Albany Street study area. Here are photos and comments from that tour. The tour was led by Randi Lathrop, BRA Deputy Director of Community Planning.

1. “New York Streets” - The tour began with Og Hunnewell of Nordic Properties, owner of the former Teradyne building at 1000 Washington Street, giving a tour of the building. The lobby has displays of the building and the area’s history as well as a map of the local amenities within a 10-minute walk. The group was invited to go up to the 10th floor to view the sights.

2. “New York Streets” - The next stop was in front of the South Cove Manor Nursing Home, Holy Trinity Church, and Castle Square. South Cove Manor Nursing home is a 100-bed facility, the Holy Trinity Church was known as the “German Church”, and Castle Square has about 500-units of housing with over 50% Chinese or Asian American residents. The South Cove Manor Nursing Home is seeking to expand an additional 40 beds and the Holy Trinity is currently up for sale.

3. “New York Streets” - During the tour, the BRA identified different property owners and City-owned lots that may be available for potential development. The parking lot across from Ming’s Market and bounded by Washington, Shawmut, and East Berkeley is an example. Other buildings and uses were identified in the block including Project Place.

4. East Berkeley Street was at one time known as Dover Street. Dover Street was infamous as a “rough” area and the street was later changed to East Berkeley Street. There was an elevated Orange Line station called Dover until the elevated tracks were torn down and the Orange Line was routed to New England Medical Center station. Today, the Silver Line buses is the replacement for the route the former Orange Line elevated tracks used. A group called the Old Dover Neighborhood Association was formed about 20 years ago. The ODNA has been gathering signatures for a petition to change parts of East Berkeley Street back to Dover Street.

5. “Backstreets” - Backstreets (no not the Backstreet Boys) is a term used to mark the areas zoned for industrial uses. Some of the businesses in the area include the Flower Exchange, Jacobson Flowers, Quinzani, and Ho Kong Bean Sprout. The Ho Kong Bean Sprout Company grows actually bean sprouts in the building. As was explained by Bill Moy of the South Cove/Chinatown Neighborhood Council, the company uses water 6 days a week to nurture and grow the bean sprouts from bud to sprout. On the 7th day, the water is turned off to allow the sprouts to recharge. The company serves many of the Asian restaurants in the region with their bean sprouts. (2nd photo) Sherry Clancy of National Development talks about the Boston Herald as future development. National Development recently purchased the Boston Herald site. (3rd photo) Tamara Roy of Normandy Partners talks about the parking lot site that they would like to build 2 hotels, an extended day hotel facing East Berkeley Street and a high-end hotel facing Traveler Street with a restaurant in the ground floor. Where the hotel is sited will allow for easy access to the South Boston Convention Center.

6. “SOWA” -SOWA stands for South of Washington has a vibrant community of artists, galleries, shops, restaurants, and residences. GTI Properties has been able to get some Newbury Street art galleries to move into SOWA. The big metal wheel at one time was on the rooftop of a building and steam power was used to spin the wheel. The wheel in turn spun other wheels to generate power for the garment factories. Laconia Lofts and Washington Gateway Terrace has created hundreds of new housing units in the area. (5th photo) The tour ended with owner Jeffrey Gates of the Gaslight! restaurant taking everyone out for free(!) drinks.

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/Planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=135

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