Allston Civic Association Monthly Meeting

The Allston Civic Association held their monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 20. Here are some key takeaways:

• Police Report: District 14 Officer Christine Marini provided the police report:
  • CVS Shoplifting: Marini says that CVS stores have been “hit pretty hard” by shoplifting. She said that they made four summonses and two arrests that day at the 14 Harvard Avenue CVS. This was the second incident in the past few weeks.
  • Scooter sting: On May 11, the Stolen Car Unit conducted a scooter sting, towing six scooters at Harvard Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue. Marini said that they plan to run this operation again due to the number of ongoing complaints in the area.
  • Robberies: Marini highlighted two robbery incidents: one on May 13 at Commonwealth Avenue where two men demanded cash from the victim. Nothing was stolen in the end. The victim had a bruise over his eye, and the ambulance was called. The second incident took place on May 15 around 4pm on North Beacon Street where the suspects on a moped grabbed the victim’s backpack and fled.
• Harvard Convenience seeks full alcohol license: The owners of Harvard Convenience, owned by Tushar Patel, are seeking to upgrade their beer and malt license to a full alcohol license. According to Kristen Scanlon, the primary reason for the upgrade is to sell “ready-to-drink” beverages, such as hard seltzers. There will be no changes to the operating hours.
• @Union seeks a full alcohol license: Jinsun Niland, owner of @Union, is seeking a full alcohol license with no change in operating hours.
• Laetitia Jubin is seeking community support for zoning relief to upgrade 5-7 Prescott Street: Jubin hopes to make several changes to the property, including adding a third-floor dormer without changing the building height as well as a second-floor terrace to improve the view toward the garden.
  
• Developers at 34-36 Pratt Street are seeking approval for several revisions made to the project: The development seeks to build 39 residential units and 12 parking spaces, including seven affordable units. The developers also met with an arborist and designed a root protection plan to preserve the three trees in the development.
• Developers at 57-59 Riverdale Street returned to the ACA after previously drawing pushback from abutters about fire and noise risk: John Banyan, the owner of the property, says that he will put in a lease addendum that prohibits parties and groups of six or more people. Banyan said that he agreed to a sprinklered building to address fire risk as well as a permeable pavement. 

Allston Multimodal Transit Project Announced Consultant  

After three months of delay, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) announced that it would be bringing on Arcadis as its independent consultant. The consultant will conduct a strategic review of the project’s scope, budget alignment, and phasing throughout 2026, evaluating project elements against available funding. Its findings are expected to inform environmental filings and construction planning, serving as one of several inputs guiding the project’s next steps.

Logistic Video for Franciscan Children’s Hospital Renewal Released 

A logistic video detailing the timeline for campus renewal at Franciscan Children’s Hospital, which provides behavioral and psychiatric care to children, was released. The project proposes to demolish six of the nine existing buildings that make up the hospital. In their place, the project will build two new towers along with playgrounds, parking and green spaces. 

The first tower is expected to be constructed between August 2026 and June 2029 with first patients coming in during the summer 2029. The second tower will begin construction during the following November and will be completed in June 2032, taking in its first patients in summer 2032. 

The project is expected to take more than seven years, beginning with prep work in March 2026 to its expected completion in October 2033.