For answers to housing woes, look to vibrant Davis Square
“THIRTY YEARS ago, Davis Square in Somerville and Forest Hills in Jamaica Plain looked a lot alike. Both were gritty corners of Greater Boston, far off most residents’ radar. And both were hoping a new subway station would breathe new life into a neighborhood with great potential.
Since then, their paths have diverged. In Davis Square, the opening of the Red Line station in 1986 sparked a remarkable transformation. New residents flocked in. Bars and restaurants sprang up to welcome them. Housing construction surged. On Friday nights, Davis hums with activity. Somerville, in turn, has seen a steady increase in home values and property tax receipts, leading to better schools and services.
But in Forest Hills, the reopening of a new $38 million station in 1987, topped by its distinctive clock tower, hasn’t made a similar impact. The neighborhood’s potential remains, but so does the grit. With its grated storefronts on Hyde Park Avenue and derelict apartment buildings on South Street, much of the area seems frozen in time — a sad symbol of the Orange Line’s unrealized expectations since the line was relocated in the ’80s.
As transit-friendly areas emerge, so does the possibility of reasonably priced units.
At one time, fear of crime and vandalism made investors wary of building new housing in “changing” neighborhoods like Forest Hills. Now, with a bustling Jamaica Plain business district just a mile or so away, Forest Hills is poised for improvement. But it’s being held back by poor state planning, in the form of a giant bus lot and crumbling overpass, that make the neighborhood seem unnecessarily isolated.”
Editorial. The Boston Globe 28 February 2013.