Tuesday, March 26, 2013
The long-distressed property at 7-11 Independence Ave. is being developed by Tom Fitzgerald but faces many hurdles.
When Scott Palmer was in middle and high school, he worked at his father's warehouse on Independence Avenue, sweeping floors and doing other odd jobs. In the 1970s and early 1980s, Robert Palmer built a successful truck moving company there, A&T Movers, featuring a fleet of red, white and blue trucks. In 1985, as the business grew larger, he re-located to a state-of-the-art warehouse in Quincy, eventually winning a contract with UPS. "The place was absolutely beautiful," Palmer said in a recent interview, reflecting on the history of his father's property at 7-11 Independence Ave. that with developer Tom Fitzgerald he is hoping to revitalize. "At one point it was a very industrious, productive venture," Palmer said. "If there is anyone who…
Friday, March 15, 2013
The long-distressed property at 7-11 Independence Ave. is being developed by Tom Fitzgerald but faces many challenges.
A five-story, 36-unit apartment building proposed for the long-blighted property at 7-11 Independence Ave. ran into strong opposition at the Planning Board earlier this week. Board members noted the "substantial differences" between the developer's plans and Braintree's zoning regulations and questioned whether such a large building fit into the neighborhood. The number of units amounts to eight times the density allowed under local law based on the size of the plot. "You can call it uniqueness," Darryl Mikami said, "but it is a massive structure that you are proposing that is out of bounds quite frankly." Attorney Jack Garland presented the proposal to the board Tuesday night. He acknowledged that it would require significant relief from …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
The Braintree Town Council approved a re-zoning of the site at Church and Washington Streets last fall.
The developer of a new CVS in North Braintree expects construction to start late spring and the project to be complete by January 2014 following the Planning Board's approval of the 12,900-square-foot pharmacy's site plan Tuesday night. CVS will lease the land at the intersection of Church and Washington streets from owners Greg and Michael Shea, whose family has operated automobile-related businesses there for decades, including South Shore Chrysler for many years, and then South Shore Auto Lines when Chrysler pulled out following the economic collapse in 2008. G.B. New England, CVS's preferred developer, will demolish the structures currently on the site and build the pharmacy with an eye on integrating it with the abutting residential …
Friday, December 14, 2012
The property at 107 Hancock St. has historically been used for business, the owner argues, and the corridor itself is mixed use.
A proposal to re-zone a portion of the lot at 107 Hancock St. from Residence B to General Business hit a snag earlier this week when town officials, responding to concerns from nearby residents, urged the owner to return next month with a revised plan. The property – formerly a fruit market and other businesses and now sitting unused across from Braintree Lumber – is split between the two zoning types and needs the change to host a viable business in the future, attorney Carl Johnson said. "This is an opportunity to create some jobs," he said. His client, Hancock Realty Trust, which benefits the Patavina family, has no immediate plans for development of the site, Johnson said. Residents of nearby Frederick Road, however, shared their …
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Planning Board on Tuesday night also approved with conditions a development where Ultimate Pizza is now.
Dave & Buster's officials spoke of dress codes, charitable giving, IDs and wristbands, even stroller regulations on Tuesday night. They did not, however, provide the kind of measurable data on police incidents, guest counts and other topics that the Planning Board expected to consider upon its rescheduled nine-month review, and which members said were a key condition of its special permit. "We can only react to information we receive and don't receive," Darryl Mikami said. "We have policies, but what are the results of those policies?" Mikami and other members had previously requested a "report card" about how Dave & Buster's has operated since it opened in December 2011. They requested details such as how long lines would be dealt with …
Monday, October 15, 2012
The FX Messina property at the corner of Pond Street and Washington Street was originally a 128-bed nursing home.
Representatives for FX Messina and town officials are working out the kinks in a proposal to convert a decades-old nursing home on Pond Street into an apartment building aimed at business professionals. The property at 20 Pond St. has been added to over the years and last served as a 128-bed nursing home. Renovations include reducing the building's footprint to add parking space, replacing much of the roof and completely overhauling the inside. Among the aspects the developer is still finalizing are parking and cut-throughs, in discussion with abutter South Congregational Church, along with the design of the outside of the building. Representatives will meet again with the Planning Board in December. "This building can be warmed up in some…
42.19998
-71.00839
20 Pond St, Braintree, MA
/articles/nursing-home-conversion-to-add-27-apartments-to-pond-street
/locations/8006956
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Dave & Buster's is an entertainment venue at the South Shore Plaza in Braintree that features arcade and video games, a restaurant and bar.
A scheduled review of Dave & Buster's operations went off track Tuesday night when town officials refused to engage with representatives from the restaurant and arcade. Planning Board members told the company's lawyer and local management that they would hold off on a discussion slated to happen nine months after the establishment's opening because Dave & Buster's had not submitted a required written update of its operations prior to the board meeting. "It is very unfair to us and to the town if we cannot look at the information beforehand," member Darryl Mikami said. The company was required to submit documentation two weeks prior to a nine-month review, as built into its special permit conditions, Mikami said. Other board members, …
42.20575
-71.004959
Braintree Town Hall
1 John F Kennedy Memorial Dr, Braintree, MA
/articles/dave-buster-s-check-in-with-braintree-officials-goes-awry
810052
/locations/7985872
42.220499
-71.028064
Dave & Buster's
250 Granite St, Braintree, MA
/articles/dave-buster-s-check-in-with-braintree-officials-goes-awry
2066361
/locations/7985873
Friday, September 14, 2012
The Braintree Town Council will make a final decision on whether to re-zone a portion of land off Church Street to make way for a CVS.
A proposed CVS at Church and Washington Streets in Braintree moved one step closer to reality this week when Planning Board members recommended that the Town Council approve re-zoning at the site. The board voted unanimously on Tuesday in favor of re-zoning a portion of 90 Church street from Residence C to General Business. Representatives for the developer, New England 2 LLC, said that use in the area is consistent with business zoning and that the new development would be more attractive for neighbors than the current South Shore Auto Lines. "We recognize that this is an important site in Braintree," attorney Frank Marinelli said. A CVS will be a "higher and better commercial use," he added, and "more compatible" with the surrounding …
42.20575
-71.004959
Braintree Town Hall
1 John F Kennedy Memorial Dr, Braintree, MA
/articles/new-cvs-moves-forward-with-zoning-ok-from-planning-board
810052
/locations/7817407
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The Braintree Planning Board continued Citgo's request for construction of a 270,000-gallon tank until its November meeting.
Under a proposal before the Planning Board, Citgo would build a new steel tank at its Quincy Avenue terminal in Braintree to hold biodiesel fuel. Citgo would use the tank to store the animal- and vegetable-based fuel before mixing it directly into trucks along with diesel and heating oil, rather than its current practice of mixing biodiesel within existing, larger tanks and then moving the mixture to the trucks. Planning Board members voted to continue the request until Nov. 13 while they examine the proposed site plan and confirm with fire officials that Citgo has adequate safeguards on site. The need to mix biodiesel with other fuels stems from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirement enacted in 2007, project engineer David …
42.234798
-70.978111
Citgo Petroleum Corporation
385 Quincy Ave, Braintree, MA
/articles/citgo-proposes-biodiesel-tank-construction
809062
/locations/7786831
42.20575
-71.004959
Braintree Town Hall
1 John F Kennedy Memorial Dr, Braintree, MA
/articles/citgo-proposes-biodiesel-tank-construction
810052
/locations/7786832
Monday, July 16, 2012
The Braintree Planning Board heard from Citgo officials last week on a dock construction project.
Citgo is requesting the go-ahead from Braintree officials on a maintenance project that would involve replacing a decades-old portion of a dock and also the expansion of existing pier structures. The construction plan drew protest from a member of the East Braintree Civic Association who has been an outspoken critic of the design selected by the Massachusetts Department of Transporation for the new Fore River Bridge. Michael Lang alleged in a letter to the Planning Board that Citgo plans to use the vertical lift bridge in concert with a potential further expansion of its Quincy Avenue docking facility to accomodate a new, larger class of tanker ships, and that the company is not being forthright with town officials. "Since Citgo has made …
42.234798
-70.978111
Citgo Petroleum Corporation
385 Quincy Ave, Braintree, MA
/articles/citgo-proposes-maintenance-work-denies-connection-to-fore-river-bridge-design
809062
/locations/7786684
Kathleen DeWitt
8:58 am on Thursday, February 14, 2013
I think you're right....Kathleen DeWitt more ›