Above is a Rendering of the Proposed Building  for 30-32 Atlantic Street.  Are Those Roof Top Appurtenances REALLY “Invisible from the Street?”  How Many Units?”  What is the Height of the Building?  Who Knows?  The City Knows, And It Isn’t Saying!

A Building on the 32 Atlantic Street Property From City Records. The Photo Dates Back to 1924.  (Photo Provided by the Architect.)

This Vacant Lot at 30-32 Atlantic Street is Under Consideration for Residential Development by the City’s Planning Office and the Historic Preservation Office as well.

Plans for the future development of an empty lot on Atlantic Street were submitted to the city’s planning office on May 15, 2021 by architect Lauren J. Reiter on behalf of the owner/developer Kestrel LLC.

Plans that were requested  by this blogger from the city’s planning office did not include specific information – such as how many units are proposed, is it rental or condominium, how many are one bedroom units. two or three, height of the building, how many parking spaces will there be, how many bicycle racks are planned and other important details.

The ten page letter dated May 15, 2021 did not contain any of the specific information referred to above. Surely, the city’s planning office received this information with the architect’s application.  Apparently, the city is withholding that information from the public at this time.  Why?

The letter focuses on how this proposed building fits into the “mixture of 1 l/2 to 3 l/2 story houses” surrounding it.   Specifically, the letter says:  “The proposed building is on a vacant site, on a street that has a mixture of 1 – l/2 to 3 – 1/2 story houses…there are also a number of 4 to 4-l/2 story residential buildings on nearby streets.” Most likely  information needed to justify the height of this proposed building – whatever that may be.

The May 15, 2021 letter does not indicate the height of this proposed building. No way!

The same letter also states that rooftop appurtenances have been positioned so as to be “invisible from the street.”  Those appurtenances hidden from the street below include roof decks, railings and mechanical equipment. There is no mention of how many units and their sizes by bedroom numbers are part of the application.

“I figured it was just a matter of time before this vacant lot got developed,” said a neighbor living across the street.  “It’s been vacant for years. I want to know more about the developer’s plans.  Why are the details being kept so secret?”