Proposed Fort Point building draws locals’ criticism

Welcome back to Critical Mass., in which Curbed Boston covers all the major development news in the region every week. This go-round includes a controversy in Fort Point, a boomlet in Allston, and an affordable housing plan for all of Boston.

First, to Allston, where the Boston neighborhood best-known for its student-heavy population is experiencing a construction boomlet. Projects—including the four-building Allston Yards and Harvard’s 14-acre Enterprise Research Campus—are due to add thousands of housing units and hundreds of thousands of square feet of office and lab space.

New development is driving change in other neighborhoods as well as heading into 2020. These include the South End (big surprise), East Boston, East Cambridge, and Roxbury. What’s going up and where? And can the neighborhoods handle it? Find out.

Now to a couple of major offerings that maybe could lead to redevelopment or at least renovations. The owners of Center Plaza across from Boston City Hall have put the 740,000-square-foot office building up for sale. And the city itself wants to sell the Lafayette Garage downtown to help pay for an ambitious affordable-housing plan.

Speaking of city halls and potential redevelopment, Mayor Thomas Koch proposed replacing half of Quincy City Hall with a performing arts center and a 15-story building for city offices and Quincy College. It’s either that or spend a small fortune upgrading the 50-year-old portion, Koch said.

Meanwhile, back in Boston, the design and scope for a building at the Fort Point site of what was supposed to be General Electric’s headquarters has drawn the opposition of some residents. They are concerned the futuristic-looking stack (rendered at top) would be out of context for the neighborhood and too big.

Finally, woof decks. They’re a thing now in a Boston awash with new luxury residential developments keen on drawing buyers and renters with posh—or at least unusual—amenities.