The JP drag has had its fair share of development controversy over the last 18 months. And it looks like, thanks to a recent decision, it's about to have more.
The board in charge of the Goddard House at 201 South Huntington Avenue voted recently to put what was once the state's oldest nursing home up for sale (the board shut the property in September 2012). No asking price or sales timetable for the 2-acre site has been set, but the board has expressed the desire that the building be preserved in some fashion (not an uncommon sentiment in the Hub). A flyer for the site described it as "an exceptional redevelopment opportunity in the heart of one of Boston's most vibrant neighborhoods."
Now, there's no certainty that the sale and possible redevelopment of the Goddard House building is going to prove controversial. But there's certainly an indication. The proof? The controversy that surrounded the sale and redevelopment of the old Home for Little Wanderers property at 161 South Huntington.
There, residents not only protested but took legal action against the 3.5-acre site's redevelopment into a four- and five-story building called Olmsted Place, with nearly 200 apartments and 156 parking spaces. Residents fretted about losing a piece of the community to largely market-rate apartments, though others speculated that the opposition was driven precisely by that: the desire to keep newer market-rate apartments out of Jamaica Plain. (The neighborhood does appear to be a desert amid the lush apartment-building environment covering much of the rest of Boston.)
The city gave Olmsted Place its final O.K. in November. We've got a ways to go with 201 South Huntington.
· Goddard House Puts Jamaica Plain Property On Market [Boston.com]
· Goddard House Is for Sale [Gazette]
· Southie Developers Damned If They Do, Damned If They Don't [Curbed Boston]
· Our Updated Residential Heatmap: 66 Projects and Counting [Curbed Boston]