Dive Brief:
- Boston developer Long Bay Management has proposed a 25-story, $144 million residential and commercial tower for Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, according to the Boston Business Journal.
- The 286-foot-tall, 285,000-square-foot Kenneth Guscott Tower will feature two stories of commercial space, as well as 165 for-rent apartments and 46 for-sale condominiums. When complete, the building will be the tallest in the neighborhood and will offer access to a rail station across the street.
- Formal reviews for the project were delayed after developer Kenneth Guscott died, but his daughter, Lisa Guscott, is now shepherding the project through the approval process.
Dive Insight:
The transit-oriented development (TOD) trend is spreading across the country, along with the popularity of mixed-use "live-work-play" neighborhoods.
Another Boston developer is underway with plans for a project that will see 12 acres of parking space replaced with 14 million square feet of mixed-use development in the city's Seaport District. WS Development said that by 2022, the project will feature residential units, innovation space, a retail and dining promenade called Harbor Way and a public "piazza" called Harbor Square. The development will increase density in the area by 21%.
Groups in cities like Los Angeles have battled against high-density projects amid claims of congestion, stress on local resources and gentrification. Some cities have planned high-density TODs so that residents don't feel pushed out, leaving the developments to grow business activity around these new hubs.
In March, Albert Santana, director of high capacity transit for the City of Phoenix, told Construction Dive that TODs have generated $9 billion in economic benefit for the city, which customizes each TOD depending on the neighborhood.
Dallas is another city that has welcomed the TOD concept. In March, construction crews started work on The Epic, which is anchored by a Dallas Area Rapid Transit station. The project, designed by Perkins+Will and built by Balfour Beatty, will also feature a 14-story office building with ground-floor retail, a 20-story residential tower and a hotel.