The Chinatown Neighborhood Council met on October 18, 2010 for their monthly meeting. The core of the meeting was on the Kensington Place and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
Mark Rosenshein, Senior Project Manager, represented the Kensington Place project. Although the construction of Kensington Place started in 2003, the project was placed on hold due to drastic increases in construction and construction prices. Subsequently, construction prices have become more feasible. Since the 2003 NPC approval, physical changes were made to the original plan.
According to Rosenshein, “economic decisions” were made. The building is going to be reduced from 30 stories to 29 stories. The number of residential units increased to a total of 384 units. Conversely, the building will be 100% rental with no condominium portion. In addition, instead of 5 levels of underground parking, there will be only 2 levels of underground parking. Despite the changes, the square footage of the building will remain the same.
The other focus of the night was presented by Nancy Brennan and Linda Jonash. Brennan stated that “Chinatown Park is really beginning to come into its own.” Since the Chinatown Park has been established, both young and old have been enjoying the amenities of the park, albeit without tables, chairs, and shade. However, soon this will not be the case. Brennan announced that the Barr Foundation has donated a generous amount of $10,000 to the Greenway Conservancy. The money will be utilized towards chairs, tables, décor, or anything that will enhance the comfort and safety of the park. Moreover, some old plants will be replaced with plants that are more suitable for the environment of the park. Large planters and new plants beds will be added to the park.
The Greenway Conservancy values feedback from the community and is currently looking for suggestions on the types of chairs, tables, or decor that would be most appropriate for the park. The chairs and tables could be available as early as spring.
Due to the large volume of feedback from the community on the need for a pavilion, Jonash mentioned that they there has been talk of building one. The design of the Pavilion would be an open outdoor stage. Unfortunately, construction is not imminent due to financial reasons. Nevertheless, there will be fundraising events for this project.
For more information, please attend the next monthly Chinatown Neighborhood Council Meeting meeting. The next monthly Chinatown Neighborhood Council meeting will be on November 22nd, 2010 at 6:00PM on 90 Tyler Street, Boston.
Diana Li is a Sampan correspondent.
