onetenchelsea

I went downtown a couple days ago to pick up some of the monthly magazines that I really should subscribe to, Metropolis and Dwell, for example. Anyway, I was leaving when something else caught my eye. ArchitectureBoston, which I do occasionally pick up, has Eastie on the cover! I don't think I need to say what a giant leap that is. The article are mostly pretty good. I'd say that the magazine did a good job of both celebrating the culture that exists in East Boston as well examining the changes that are happening. Here's a snippet from the intro:

Most Bostonians don't really know East Boston, despite the fact that many of them drive through or fly over it on a regular basis. And most of the have no idea of the magnitude of the change that is underway... (Eastie) is a microcosm of issues that are playing out in many communities across the country, issues such as waterfront development, conversion of industrial lands, reuse of obsolete buildings, changing identity, transportation and open-space pressures, and an increasingly diverse population...

I think that's a really good intro to the issues the we're facing.

When I first moved to Eastie two years ago, I choose it because it was relatively cheap, safe and had good transit. I would say that for the 6 months or so, we were hoping to move into the city more at some point, but now I don't really feel that way anymore. The process that we've been living through here has been an invaluable learning experience. You find yourself at times loving the new improvements, like the parks or some of the new buildings, and at other times lamenting what is being lost, like the two beautiful brick buildings on Chelsea Street the were removed for some reason last year.

The magazine also points out some of the things that might "protect" East Boston from some of the changes that really hurt the South End years ago when it was going through the same process. We have smaller building footprints, which makes it tougher for a GAP or Starbucks to move in. We are a large percentage owner occupied (usually with tenants as well in the same building) which makes it harder to displace people, and, the neighborhood is full of community activists who are used to challenging the airport.

At the same time, we've got almost 2000 new luxury condo units coming in. It's hard to imagine that that won't change the change the neighborhood significantly.

Anyway, I might post some more on this later... but I need to get going... I'm so bad at conclusions...