#79 - Matthew Martin, Snr. Urban Designer at Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA)

Real Estate Addicts

This week are extremely excited to be joined by Matthew Martin, Snr. Urban Designer at the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA). In this episode Matthew provides incredibly helpful insights that he’s gained over his 20+ years in urban design at the BPDA. The conversation is wide ranging and interesting throughout. Some of the topics discussed are highlighted below: Podcast Sponsor: First Boston Capital Partners www.grossmanco.com/private-lending/ Trusted partner & private lender providing loans to builders, developers and real estate investors in MA, CT, RI, NH & NY. 0:45 What is the BPDA? 2:00 On a scale from Texas to Paris in terms of rigidity in planning and land use, where does Boston rank? 8:15 – What are the key components that you might look for when reviewing a new project and how have those components evolved? 10:40 – What happens if an applicant deviates from approved plans during construction?! 12:10 – What is a mockup? How are they used? 14:00 – Does the BPDA prefer traditional or contemporary architecture? If a developer wanted to propose a more modern design how is that perceived and what tips can you offer? 18:00 – The natural evolution of architecture and change of design within a city 19:30 – Discussion of the “neighborhood process” and concerns related to “othering” that is sometimes inherent in this process 21:30 – Parking! 26:30 – Tension between controlling initial investments in preliminary/unapproved projects and later concerns related to buildability and technical aspects 31:00 – Advice for architects and developers on how to submit a thorough set of design documents that will lead to fewer rounds of revisions during the design review process? 36:00 Under-rated / over-rated / appropriately rated!