Plenty of Room Podcast

The JP Arboretum Development Is Back From the Dead! (Ep. 3)

In this episode, Nate and Andrew are joined by Seamus Holland of Sixteen Penny [https://sixteenpenny.com/], the builder behind the long-stalled housing proposal at 920 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain — the former site of the Poor Clares Monastery adjacent to the Arnold Arboretum, which we first covered in episode 1. After years of process, opposition, and a near-total redesign, the project has new life. Seamus walks through what’s changed: the project has been retooled from 123 units to 160, split evenly between rentals and for-sale condos, with 36 units at 60% AMI — deeper affordability than the previous proposal, with no public subsidy. The age-restricted senior housing component is gone. The monastery itself will come down, and the new building will observe 50-foot setbacks on all sides, with nearly a million dollars in large-caliper trees planted along the Arboretum boundary on day one. They’re calling it the JP Green Monster. The conversation covers the shadow study and what it means for the Arboretum’s magnolia collection, the switch away from mass timber construction to meet height constraints, the case for offering one parking space per unit (and why some on the Impact Advisory Group want a visitor-parking carve-out), and what Seamus would do differently if he were starting the process over today. The project is now headed back into Article 80 large project review, with a public meeting potentially as soon as late June or early July. If you want to show up and speak in support, stay tuned! Links: * 920 Centre Street revised project proposal [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1POrRRqhYFKAkE35Y2Sg39uMtEsjpkre5/view?usp=sharing] and project page [https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/920-centre-street] on the Boston Planning Department website. * Boston Globe: “Poor Clare nuns are ‘in a state of crisis’ as Boston holds up housing plan for years. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/business/monastery-housing-arnold-arboretum/]“ * Boston Globe: “This former JP monastery is a case study in why Boston is short on housing. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/06/opinion/monastery-housing-arnold-arboretum/]“ Intro/Outro music by Big Wild [https://open.spotify.com/artist/0PxzGnCYBpSuaI49OR94cA]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plentyofroom.substack.com [https://plentyofroom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Boston’s Street Safety “Pause" & The Case Against Parking Mandates (Ep. 2)

In this episode of the Plenty of Room Podcast, Andrew and Nate dig into Boston’s stalled street safety and transit projects, including Hyde Park Avenue, Blue Hill Avenue, bus lanes, bike infrastructure, public engagement, and the Wu administration’s shifting approach to transportation policy. Then they turn to Councilor Sharon Durkan’s proposal to eliminate residential parking minimums citywide, explaining why parking mandates raise housing costs, block incremental development, and force Boston into an outdated, car-oriented zoning framework. The conversation connects transportation, housing, political courage, and the limits of hyperlocal consensus-building. Links: * WalkUP Roslindale action alert [https://walkuproslindale.org/weblog/2026/04/28/action-alert-speak-up-for-safety-and-accountability-at-budget-hearing-5-4-1000-am/] on Boston street safety and accountability. * Better Parking for Boston [https://betterparkingforboston.org/]: volunteer group advocating for the repeal of costly residential parking mandates and better management of Boston’s on-street parking. * Councilor Sharon Durkan’s writeup on eliminating residential parking minimums citywide [https://rondurk.substack.com/p/big-amendment-i-proposed-eliminating]. * Boston City Council June 4 hearing [https://www.boston.gov/public-notices/16577166] on eliminating residential parking minimums. Intro music by Big Wild [https://open.spotify.com/artist/0PxzGnCYBpSuaI49OR94cA]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plentyofroom.substack.com [https://plentyofroom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Arnold Arboretum Blocking Housing & "Community Input Is Bad, Actually" (Ep. 1)

In the first episode of the Plenty of Room Podcast, Nate and Andrew dig into two connected questions at the heart of Boston’s housing politics. First, they discuss the long-stalled proposal to turn the former Poor Clares monastery near the Arnold Arboretum into housing [https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/920-centre-street], including senior and affordable units, and why opposition over shadows and “viewsheds” has become a flashpoint in the broader fight over whether Boston will allow more homes in exactly the kinds of places where housing makes the most sense. They also talk through the larger stakes: access to parks, proximity to transit, environmental tradeoffs, and who gets to benefit from living near major public amenities. Then they turn to Jerusalem Demsas’s essay in The Atlantic, “Community Input Is Bad, Actually” and compare its argument to their own experience in Boston neighborhood planning meetings. They discuss why public processes often overrepresent a narrow slice of residents, why repeated evening meetings tend to filter out ordinary people with jobs, kids, and other obligations, and why hyper-local decision-making so often produces delay, conflict, and too little housing. Along the way, they also reference research on who tends to dominate local land-use politics and a book on how public engagement can be made more inclusive and more useful. Referenced reading Boston Globe: “Poor Clare nuns are ‘in a state of crisis’ as Boston holds up housing plan for years. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/25/business/monastery-housing-arnold-arboretum/?utm_source=chatgpt.com]” Boston Globe: “This former JP monastery is a case study in why Boston is short on housing. [https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/06/opinion/monastery-housing-arnold-arboretum/?utm_source=chatgpt.com]” The Atlantic: “Community Input Is Bad, Actually [https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/04/local-government-community-input-housing-public-transportation/629625/?utm_source=chatgpt.com],” by Jerusalem Demsas. Background on Neighborhood Defenders [https://www.amazon.com/Neighborhood-Defenders-Participatory-Politics-Americas/dp/1108477275] by Katherine Levine Einstein, David M. Glick, and Maxwell Palmer. Veronica Davis, Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities [https://www.amazon.com/Inclusive-Transportation-Manifesto-Repairing-Communities/dp/164283209X]. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit plentyofroom.substack.com [https://plentyofroom.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]