From Dave Brigham:
Some buildings are historically significant because of their connection to past events, famous residents or tenants, or well-known architects; due to their placement in a neighborhood of importance; or simply because they are attractive examples of craftsmanship. I'm not sure the Durgin Garage (above) in Brookline, Mass., fits into any of those categories. Still, I'll be sad when it gets demolished. And believe me, it will come down.
Built in 1927 in the thriving Coolidge Corner retail/restaurant district, which also features a grand old movie theater, the Durgin Garage has been in flux for many years. In October 2012, education and advocacy group Preservation Massachusetts named Durgin Garage one of the most endangered historic properties in the Bay State. Earlier that year the Brookline Board of Selectmen formed the Waldo Area Study Committee to look at development possibilities for the underutilized Durgin Garage and the adjacent Waldo Street garage, according to this Wicked Local article. Residents "in the area have been steadfast in their desire to see something new at the site, which has seven storefronts," the article continues.
The Waldo Street garage, above, which is sited across a private, dead-end street from the Durgin Garage, has no retail component and is tucked away enough that most people don't notice it. I haven't been able to find out when the garage was built, but I assume it's not as old as the Durgin Garage. Over the years developers have submitted various proposals for residential or hotel uses at the combined garage sites, but to date nothing has moved forward.
(A close-up of the Waldo Street garage.)
I like the Durgin Garage because of the architectural detail and the variety of stores it once hosted (the Jerusalem Pita restaurant being the latest victim of coming redevelopment). I also like the patina on the place.
In addition to the recently shuttered restaurant, the Durgin building was once home to Brookline Grown, a food store that sold locally sourced produce.
I believe there was also some sort of art space here.
As of this writing, the Brookline Superette is still open.
What is a superette? A super market specializing in cigarettes? No, says Wikipedia. "A Superette is an alternative name for a compact food market 'convenience shop' or 'mini-mart' used in some places, particularly in New Hampshire, Hawaii, New York City, Boston, Minnesota, Newfoundland and Labrador and the North Island of New Zealand."
Well, that's pretty good company!
"The ette ending is intended to convey that this is a small version of a supermarket. However, supermarket has been shortened to super - leaving superette as an unusual example of a prefix and suffix with no stem word."
That's all well and good, but this place is coming down and will most likely be turned into super-condos.
The effort to redevelop this rundown area of Coolidge Corner has been under way since 2012, when a "decorative urn-shaped object fell off the building and almost struck a pedestrian," per this Patch article. "At this point, we decided to act," said Kara Brewton with the town's Planning and Community Development. She added that store vacancies went unfilled, graffiti problems were increasing and the garages were not well kept. This in a trendy area served by craft pizza shops, a Trader Joe's, a popular bookstore and countless restaurants and chain retailers.
In April of this year, the Town of Brookline entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with subsidiaries of Chestnut Hill Realty in relation to a mixed-use project that would be sited in part where these garages are now. That agreement says, in part, that the project -- to include a hotel, an apartment building with retail or restaurant space and underground parking (oh the irony....) -- would benefit the City by a) providing 11 affordable apartment units; b) a 95-year tax certainty agreement; c) increased open and green space; and d) access to meeting space for non-profit Brookline community groups.
Since that time, something called the Coolidge Corner Study Committee submitted a zoning by-law amendment that would allow the project to proceed. I'm not sure where the project stands now. Chestnut Hill Realty is currently offering the Waldo Garage for lease. So perhaps things are on hold for now.
When the project does get green-lighted, Chestnut Hill Realty is required, "prior to the issuance of a demolition or other building permit....[to] provide historic documentation of the Durgin Garage at 10‐18 Pleasant Street to Brookline Preservation staff."
To get an idea of what the project would look like, check out the video below:
No comments:
Post a Comment