Boston Tries Its Hand At Artist Housing

"It might take some artistic imagination, but the industrial neighborhood of Readville in Hyde Park is preparing for a big influx of artists.

With property costs rising in neighborhoods where artists have traditionally congregated -- Fort Point Channel, for example -- developers see Hyde Park as an affordable alternative for those who want to remain in an urban setting. The Boston Redevelopment Authority recently approved what will be the city's largest market-rate, unsubsidized live-work artist development, the 62-unit Lofts at Westinghouse, on the campus of a large industrial site, where Boston mayor and Hyde Park native Thomas M. Menino once punched a clock, as did his father.

'We're excited about it because this is the first time we'll really see what the demand is for market-rate artist space,' said Heidi Burbidge, senior project manager of the BRA's Artist Space Initiative."