my allston village

allston village revitalization planmit department of urban studies and planning

midterm presentation �- 4 April 2013

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MY ALLSTON VILLAGE | MIDTERM PRESENTATION | 4 APRIL 2013 - 2 - MIT DEPARTMENT OF URBAN STUDIES AND PLANNING

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MY ALLSTON VILLAGE | MIDTERM PRESENTATION | 4 APRIL 2013 40;�+,7(9;4,5;�6-�<9)(5�:;<+0,:�(5+�73(5505.- 4 -

PROJECT TIMELINE

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE POST-PROJECT

INITIAL SITE

INVESTIGATIONS

MIDTERM

PRESENTATION

INITIAL

PRESENTATION

STAKEHOLDERINTERVIEWSCONTINUE

PHYSICALCONDITIONS

OBSERVATIONS

ANALYSIS &PROPOSAL

DEVELOPMENT


agenda

1. Methods2. Context3. what makes allston village special?4. what's holding allston village back?5. summary6. proposalS


METHODS


URBAN DESIGN

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ANALYSIS METHODS


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

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ANALYSIS METHODS


trade area profile


WHAT MAKESALLSTON VILLAGE

SPECIAL?


diversity

“A!"on i# the melting pot... You can get whateve$ you want t% eat here.”


primary trade area profile

21,182 $51,37949%Total Households Households with Children Median Household Income

PRIMARY TRADE AREA AT A GLANCE:V\YJL!��*LUZ\Z


primary trade area profile

$57.2 $43.9

$28.0 $22.0Clothing

Food at Home

ESTIMATED CONSUMER SPENDING (IN MILLIONS):V\YJL!�(*:�� ,\YVTVUP[VY

Home Furnishing

Food Away From Home


diverse business mix


diverse business mix: RestaurantsRestaurants & Bars


diverse business mix: RetailGeneral RetailFood & Beverage


diverse business mix: ServicesAutomotiveFinancial/R.E./ProfessionalPersonalHealth & SocialEntertainment & Rec


Diverse business mix: post-midnight


competitor districts

TOTAL NUMBER OF BUSINESSES IN COMPETING DISTRICTS

ALLSTONVILLAGE

HARVARDSQUARE

COOLIDGECORNER

BRIGHTONCENTER

CENTRALSQUARE

INMANSQUARE

COMMONWEALTHAVENUE

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

258

338

201

129 122106

86


BUSINESS MIX

20,000

40,000

0

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

SQUARE FOOTAGE BY BUSINESS TYPE# OF BUSINESSES INSCRIBED IN EACH SQUARE

Personal

Health &Social

Entertainment &Recreation

SERVICERESTAURANTS

Restaurants & Bars

Automotive

Financial / Real Estate / Professional

7016 38

3513 7

VACANT

Vacant

11

RETAIL

General Retail

Food & Beverage

29

39


business mix

20,000

40,000

0

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

180,000

SQUARE FOOTAGE BY BUSINESS TYPE# OF BUSINESSES INSCRIBED IN EACH SQUARE

Personal

Health &Social


SERVICERESTAURANTS

Restaurants & Bars

Automotive


7016 38

3513 7

VACANT

Vacant

11

RETAIL

General Retail

Food & Beverage

29

39

�� High number of restaurants

�� Diversity in business types

�� Low in entertainment and recreation

�� Low retail for a district of this size


inventory comparison: coolidge corner

10

20

0

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

10

20

0

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

ALLSTONVILLAGE

COOLIDGECORNER

SERVICERESTAURANTSACCOMODATIONS VACANT RETAIL


Personal

Health &Social


Restaurants & Bars

Hotels

Automotive


Vacant

General RetailFood &

Beverage

Personal

Health &Social


Restaurants & Bars

Hotels Automotive


Vacant

General Retail

Food & Beverage

ALLSTON VILLAGE MAY BE TAKINGSOME RESTAURANT BUSINESS

ALTHOUGH RETAIL IS HEADINGTO COOLIDGE CORNER




inventory comparison: harvard square

10

20

0

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

10

20

0

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

ALLSTONVILLAGE

HARVARDSQUARE

Personal

Health &Social


Restaurants & Bars

Hotels

Automotive


Vacant

General RetailFood &

Beverage

PersonalHealth &Social


Restaurants & Bars

Hotels

Automotive


Vacant

General Retail

Food & Beverage



ALLSTON VILLAGE COMPETES BY PROVIDINGA BALANCE OF RESIDENTIAL AMENITIES


retail inventory comparison

NUMBER OF RETAILERS IN COMPETING DISTRICTS

ALLSTONVILLAGE

HARVARDSQUARE

COOLIDGECORNER

BRIGHTONCENTER

CENTRALSQUARE

INMANSQUARE

COMMONWEALTHAVENUE

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

39

71

63

27

1916 14

�� Allston has relatively few retailers for a district of its size


sales gap analysisPRIMARY TRADE AREA SUPPLY & DEMAND

IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER YEAR

E$ Ä IMAÄ ED"DEMAND

!ST IM#T !$ SU "#

$10,000,000

$0

$20,000,000

$30,000,000

$40,000,000

$50,000,000

$60,000,000

Demand Exceeds Supply Supply Exceeds Demand

Restaurants& Carry Out

GasStations

Independent Food

Clothing Stores

Furniture& Hardware

Convenience Stores

Drugstore/Pharmacy

Beauty &Personal

Electronic& Applicance

Liquor &Wine Stores

AutoShops

PetStores


ACCESSIBILITY & PROXIMITY

"It'# very easy t% get there on public transportation."


public transportation and gatewaysBuses and the green line provide access to Downtown Boston, Brighton, Brookline and Cambridge

0KLU[PÄJH[PVU�VM�HJJLZZ�WVPU[Z�I`�^OPJO�people enter and exit the district


accessibility: traffic analysisVEHICLE AND PEDESTRIAN FLOW(PER TEN MINUTE AVERAGE)


parking lots and spacesTotal Private Spaces = 839Total Public Spaces = 56Total On-Street Spaces = 387 (32 have meters)


regional context: Institutions and development

Allston Village Main Streets is close to educational institutions, neighboring cities of Brookline and Cambridge, and large-scale development sites


builT ENVIRONMENT


historic and architecturally significantCluster of historic buildings near corner of Harvard Ave and Cambridge St


building conditions

Mix of building conditions throughout district with concentration of "Fair" and "Poor" conditions along Harvard Ave


building maintenance

POORLY-MAINTAINED BUILDINGS

WELL-MAINTAINED BUILDINGS


vacancy + UseHigh Occupancy / Low Vacancy rate supports economic vitality and strength of the district

Cluster of underutilized buildings at the corner of Cambridge St and Harvard Ave


street EXPERIENCE

HARVARD AVENUELOOKING NORTH

BRIGHTON AVENUELOOKING WEST

Varied pedestrian experience includingdifferent sidewalk and street widths, public art, and varied facades addto district's interest


what's holdingallston village back?


lack of accountability

"Trash i# a huge i&ue... a huge sca$."

Loose businessorganization andperception of transient population leads to an appearance of disinvestment


garbage and trash barrels

Few trash barrels are located on Harvard Ave, leading to a high concentration of litter


examples of LITTER


NEGATIVE pedestrian EXPERIENCE

"I# there anothe$ image we can use? Alana put in thi# Je'ey ba(ie$"

"Today I wa# almo" hit by a ca$... it ha)en# a! the time."-A!"on Resident


negative PEDESTRIAN EXPERIENCELongcrossingdistances

Competitionwith turningvehicles

Lights nottimed forpedestrians

Auto-dominatedexperience


poor sidewalk conditionsHARVARD AVE:��3HYNL�U\TILY�VM�ZPKL^HSR�JYHJRZ��5HYYV^�ZPKL^HSR��-L^LY�[YLLZ��0UZ\MÄJPLU[�SPNO[PUN��+PMÄJ\S[�[V�TV]L�HJYVZZ�Z[YLL[


open space and jaywalking

Legend

N

frequent jaywalking

formal open space

informal open space(gathering space)

CAMBRIDGE ST

BRIGHTON AVE

HARVARD

AVE

COMMONWEALTH AVE


perceptions of safety

"In the la" six t% month# it s*m# like crime i# becoming an i&ue."


PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETYPOOR SIDEWALKCONDITIONS

STREET LIGHTS OUT

GRATES

GRAFFITI


violent crime: 9/20/2012 - 2/20/2013��More crime on the weekend��Many crimes seem nightlife-

related


IMAGE MISMATCH

"A!"on i# a diamond in the rough"


summary


DISTRICT STRENGTHS

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district weaknesses��3HJR�VM�JP]PJ�HJJV\U[HIPSP[`�HUK�THPU[LUHUJL

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disCUSSION OF FINDINGS

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DISTRICT STRENGTHS DISTRICT WEAKNESSES


sixproposals


SIX PROPOSALS

INTERSECTION REDESIGN

SHARE-A-LOT

BUSINESS RECRUITMENT

HYPER-LOCAL TASK FORCES

BRANDING CAMPAIGN

HARVARD AVESTREETSCAPE


ONE: REDESIGN A KEY INTERSECTION

ADDRESSES: �� Poor pedestrian experience

�� Perceptions of safety

�� Underutilized storefronts

�� Image mismatch, unmarked "Gateways"


ONE: REDESIGN a key intersection

Harvard Avenue and Cambridge Str!t

Exi!ing


TWO: RETHINK HARVARD AVENUE

ADDRESSES:

�� Image mismatch

�� Negative pedestrian experience


�� Lack of gathering space


tWO: RETHINK HARVARD AVENUE

Sidewalk Widening

Str!tscape Improvement"

Exi!ing

Ca!-Fr" Harvard Ave


THREE: SHARE-A-LOT

Addresses: �� 0ULMÄJPLU[�HSSVJH[PVU�VM�WHYRPUN�PU�[OL�KPZ[YPJ[

�� Perception of inaccessibility due to lack of parking

�� Lack of gathering space


THREE: SHARE-A-LOT

IMAGE COMING SOON!

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HJ[P]H[PVU�VM�\UKLY\[PSPaLK�SV[Z

Private Parking Lot!

Underutilized Lot

Shared Lot at Peak Hou!

Lot Programming:Craft Market


FOUR: RECRUIT NEW BUSINESSES FOR A BETTER ALLSTON

ADDRESSES:

�� Business sale gap

�� Vacant and underutilized buildings


FOUR: RECRUIT NEW BUSINESSES FOR A BETTER ALLSTON

Vacant o! Underutilized

Yoga andFitne!

Healthcare

NicheClothingStore!


FIVE: CREATE HYPERLOCAL TASK FORCES

ADDRESSES: �� Lack of Accountability

�� Negative Pedestrian Experience

�� Perceptions of Safety

�� Image Mismatch


FIVE: CREATE HYPERLOCAL TASK FORCEs

Trashh the mel

Maintenanceh the mel

Public Realmh the mel


SIX: REBRAND ALLSTON

ADDRESSES:

�� Image mismatch


�� Business sales gap


SIX: REBRAND ALLSTON

My MyGREEN

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SIX PROPOSALS

INTERSECTION REDESIGN HARVARD AVE STREETSCAPE SHARE-A-LOT

BUSINESS RECRUITMENT HYPER-LOCAL TASK FORCES BRANDING CAMPAIGN


NEXT STEPS

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE POST-PROJECT

INITIAL SITE

INVESTIGATIONS

FINAL

PRESENTATION

MIDTERM

PRESENTATION

INITIAL

PRESENTATION

STAKEHOLDERINTERVIEWSCONTINUE

PHYSICALCONDITIONS

OBSERVATIONS

ANALYSIS &PROPOSAL

DEVELOPMENT

FORMULATIONOF DETAILED

PLAN

AVMSREVIEW OF

DRAFT PLAN

IMPLEMENTATIONADVISING

AS NEEDED

FINALPLAN

DELIVERED

my allston village

Documents

allston village special

planningmidterm presentation

projectthe process6ul

vtwlpun pzypj

planningurban designpskpun

melting pot