Everyone knows that Boston is in the mist of an historic building boom. From Brighton down to West Roxbury and over to Eastie and Charlestown, hotels, condos, offices and (especially) apartments are going up in quantities not seen in a generation. And yet. Only a few neighborhoods are really seeing much construction at all. Some are barely seeing any.
The Globe's Tim Logan broke down recent numbers from the Boston Redevelopment Authority that show 83 major projects going up in 19 of the city's 25 neighborhoods for a total cost construction-wise of around $7 billion. "Yet they're concentrated in a relative handful of places. About $4 billion worth of the construction — it includes everything from housing to hotels to new storefronts — is taking place in just three neighborhoods: the Seaport, downtown, and the Back Bay. Count the number of projects, and nearly a fourth are in two neighborhoods: South Boston and the Fenway."
This doesn't really floor us. We'd expect higher-end projects such as the massive Seaport Square, the ultra-pricey Millennium Tower condos and the Class A office tower that is the planned 380 Stuart Street to run up the construction-cost totals. The concentration of the projects, however, is rather jarring. Certain neighborhoods, such as Mission Hill and Mattapan, are barely seeing any (ditto West Roxbury, Hyde Park and Chinatown). More than that, though, is that the apartments and condos in particular rising in more expensive neighborhoods are understandably coming with more expensive price and rent tags.
You see what we're saying? At a time when Boston overall desperately needs less-expensive/workforce/whatever-you-want-to-call-it housing, the housing is going up in places, and for costs, that virtually ensure it's unattainable for the vast majority of would-be tenants and buyers. And on and on it goes. Your thoughts?
· Only a Few Neighborhoods Seeing Development Boom in Boston [Globe]
· The Biggest Greater Boston Apartment Openings in 2015 [Curbed Boston]
· Boston's Many New Hotels Will Find a Warm Reception [Curbed Boston]
· Behold the Step-Like Stagger of Proposed Seaport Square Trio [Curbed Boston]
· The Tower That Hopes to Remake Downtown Crossing [Curbed Boston]
· Is This Boston's Most Ambitious Design For a New Building? [Curbed Boston]
· Is It Even Worth It Anymore to Buy a Home in the Boston Area? [Curbed Boston]
· Our What Housing Crisis? archive [Curbed Boston]
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