Tag: Allston

  • Alchemy Station Launched at Western Avenue’s Allston Labworks

    Alchemy Station, a consulting firm and art studio that supports local artists to realize this dream in the Allston community, launched their Allston location earlier this year at the Allston Labworks (280 Western Ave).

    The duo Kate Anderson and Suzi Hlavacek of Alchemy Station works with artists to create spaces that are grounded in the context of the community. “When we work with our clients, we really want to get a sense of […] goals for their space,” said Anderson. “So, for example […] it could be a hotel, and it’s in a historic building, and they […] want to tell the story of the history of the neighborhood.” 

    Anderson and Hlavacek founded Alchemy Station in 2022. Prior to that, Anderson had been a member of the Entrepreneurs Organization where she learned the skills she needed to run a business from human resources to contracting. However, Anderson credited a book called Start with Why by Simon Sinek as a motivating factor toward launching her own company.  

    “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it,” she said. “A lot of people don’t even know why they do what they do.” That philosophy carries over to the ethic Anderson and Hlavacek established with their artists.

    They enlisted the help of Miki Diminico, managing director of King Street Properties, to help them find a studio large enough to function as a collective for early-career artists. 

    Alchemy Station offers more than space. Anderson and Hlavacek work closely with artists throughout the creative process, as well as with practical issues, such as helping them find studio space or referring clients to reasonably priced framing businesses.

    Stephen Hamilton, of Roxbury, Mass., is one of Alchemy Station’s residential studio artists. His work centers around African art practices of sculpting, weaving and dying and mixed media. His pieces often require space, and Anderson and Hlavacek were willing to accommodate him.

     “I am one of the artists who participated in the Boston Public Art Triennial,” said Hamilton. “Through [Alchemy Station], I was able to get the space that I needed to work on […] the project.”

    Four years after they opened, Alchemy Station have been attempting to engage the Allston community by recruiting upcoming artists through organizations such as the Harvard Ed Portal and the Artisan’s Asylum.

    King Street Properties facilitated Alchemy Station’s expansion by working with the city’s Office of Arts and Culture, where they have received feedback on potential expansion and targeted marketing.

    The artists themselves engage with the Allston community as well. “Part of my work as an educator has been developing programming workshops for Black and brown communities in Boston centered around themes that are important in my practice as an artist,” said Hamilton. 

    As the enterprise continues, Anderson and Hlavacek hope to inspire artists to see themselves beyond their role, applying their skills as storytellers, teachers and entrepreneurs.

  • After Delays, Allston Post Office Development Plans to Proceed

    After years of delay, Allston’s Post Office is slated for reconstruction by the start of next year.

    The original Allston Post Office closed after a record-breaking North American Blizzard dropped nearly two feet of snow, exacerbating its structural issues. In 2021, Eden Properties, a developer, purchased the site and planned to build a new mixed-use building. Within their plan included a space for a new post office. In addition, the developer proposed 170 housing units as well as a parking garage with 58 spaces.

    In the four years since, however, plans to reopen the space ran in fits and starts. Earlier this year, after persistent petitioning by local residents, The Harvard Crimson reported that construction was slated to begin by the summer. Eight months later, the site is still inactive.

    According to Lizzie Torres, an Allston resident working in housing policy, the delays are attributed to difficulties navigating the city’s approval process. She says that access to the sole post office is crucial for folks in the Allston area, especially considering its high population of renters, who frequently move around. 

    Optimism is beginning to tinge conversations about the prospects for the post office.

    “I’ve spoken with the developer, and they are […] ready to start demolition on the old building,” says Allston-Brighton District Councilor Elizabeth Breadon. “They’re sort of starting out the final details for the requirements […] for a retail post office on the side as well as with the United States Postal Service.” 

    Breadon said the Boston City Council believes it is in a good position to advance the project, but USPS staff cuts have complicated the process. Both Torres and Breadon said in the past, the main reason for the delay was worrying about funding for the project, including rising interest rates, tariffs making materials harder to buy, and construction loans.

    Allston resident La’Femme Bolden says that  the lack of a neighborhood post office is an inconvenience and extra costs that present an unnecessary burden for residents. She says that residents have had to travel to Cleveland Circle or the Brighton Post Office.

    However, the impasse may be coming to an end.

    Breadon said demolition is supposed to start this fall, with reconstruction beginning next year.