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BPDA Board approves nine development projects

Mar 17, 2017

The Boston Planning & Development Agency’s (BPDA) board of directors approved nine development projects at the March meeting, including five new projects and four Notice of Project Changes (NPC). In total, the new development projects represent 91 residential units, 47 of which are affordable, and are valued at $157.7 million. During construction, these projects will put 312 trades people to work and will create 94 direct jobs when construction is complete. In total the projects represent a total of 436,085 square feet. 

New Development Projects

Viet-Aid Project to bring affordable housing to Bowdoin-Geneva 
Live: 41 affordable residential units, including five homeless set-aside units
Work: 60 construction jobs
Connect: Dorchester Community Food Co-op identified as tenant for retail space
Project Size: 49,597 square feet

The Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (Viet-Aid) will build a mixed-use four story development consisting of 41 residential units, a 6,057 square-foot commercial retail space and 46 parking spaces at 191-195 Bowdoin Avenue. As currently proposed, all 41 units will be affordable.  

Eleven units will be made affordable to households earning up to 30 percent of area median income (AMI), and the remaining 30 units will be made affordable to households earning up to at 60 percent AMI. Five units will also be designated as homeless set-aside units. 

The unit mix will be a combination of 13 one-bedroom units, 23 two-bedroom units and 5 three-bedroom units. The Dorchester Community Food Co-op has been identified as a potential tenant for the 6,057 square feet of retail space. The Co-op is a grassroots initiative to build a community and worker-owned grocery store that makes healthy food accessible and advances economic opportunity through neighborhood engagement. 

The project is located within short walking distance to the Four Corners/Geneva Commuter Rail Station to the west, the Fields Corner Red Line Station to the south and multiple bus line service. 

Construction is expected to begin in 2018, and the total development cost is approximately $18,700,000.  

New hotel to bring 64 guest rooms to 88 North Washington Street 
Live: 64 hotel rooms
Work: 12 retail and property management jobs
Connect: Four minute walk to North Station, adjacent to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway  
Project Size: 36,013 square feet

LIMAC Realty, LLC will develop a new 36,013 gross square-foot, 68 key, 14-story hotel at 88 North Washington Street, consisting of a first floor lobby, a second floor mezzanine, and 12 levels of guestrooms. In total, the structure is proposed to be 128 feet tall and the total development cost will be $16,500,000.

The developer worked closely with the community throughout the process, and in response to community feedback, approximately 16 feet of height and six hotel rooms were removed from the proposed project. 

The developer will make a $36,000 contribution to the City of Boston’s Parks and Recreation Department to be used for the Parcel 2 park upon issuance of the building permit for the proposed project. 

Boston College Field House will create home for athletic events, support spaces
Live: $856,000 to Boston’s Neighborhood Housing Trust
Work: 208 construction jobs, $171K in Neighborhood Jobs Trust payments
Connect: Implementation of 2.8 million gallon stormwater storage tank
Project Size: 115,700 square feet

The Boston College Field House will be located near the intersection of Beacon Street and Chestnut Hill Driveway, next to the parking garage on Shea Field within Boston College’s Lower Campus in Brighton.
The 115,700 square foot Field House will be home to athletic events as well as the support spaces that are necessary for indoor practice for the football program, other varsity sports, club and intramural sports, and recreational activities.

As proposed, the Field House will enclose a synthetic turf surface large enough to support a full-size football field with a 20-foot run-off space on all sides. Additionally, the project will include a new 11,000 square foot weight room, which will replace the existing weight room. Other spaces will include various athletic support uses, such as strength and conditioning coaches’ offices, a first aid room, a hydration space, restrooms and a large storage room. A welcoming lobby will be located at the main entrance of the Field House. The existing baseball and softball fields will be relocated as part of the Brighton Athletic Fields project recently approved by the board.

In addition, the project will allow for the storage of up to 2.8 million gallons of stormwater in underground concrete storage tanks beneath a portion of the Field House. During normal storm events the tanks will capture runoff. During significant storm events, particularly when a quarter inch of rain falls in less than 30 minutes, pipes will direct stormwater that currently ponds at the surface at Alumni Stadium and the Beacon Street Parking Garage to the new underground tanks. The tanks are designed to handle flooding from a 25-year storm event. 

Based on current plans for the project, Boston College will provide an estimated $856,226 in housing linkage funds and an estimated $171,451 in jobs linkage funds to the Neighborhood Housing Trust and Neighborhood Jobs Trust, respectively. 

Brighton’s 212-214 Market Street to bring 29 residential units, community benefits
Live: 29 housing units, 25 market rate, four affordable units
Work: 40 construction jobs, 1,045 SF of new retail space, $9.8 million investment
Connect: $24,000 in community benefits
Project Size: 35,755 square feet

The 212-214 Market Street project is located between Market Street, Saybrook Street, and Lawrence Place in Brighton. The proposal consists of 29 residential units, a 1,045 square-foot commercial retail space on Market Street and 32 garage parking spaces with access via Saybrook Street. Bicycle storage and a trash/recycling room will be located within the building.

As currently proposed, the 29 units will consist of 25 market rate units and fourInclusionary Development Policy (IDP) units. The unit mix will be five one-bedroom units, 16 two-bedroom units, three two-bedroom units with a den and five three-bedroom units.

This project will also donate $4,000 to the Allston-Brighton Friends of Daly Field to improve the fields and facilities used by Allston-Brighton Little League and Brighton High School athletics. In addition, there is a commitment to donating $10,000 to the Oak Square YMCA towards Summer Camp Scholarships to benefit Brighton youth, a $5,000 donation to Faneuil Gardens Apartments for improvements to the on-site youth center, and a $5,000 donation to Boston Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) Youth Soccer Program (D-14 Brighton). The total commitment to the community amounts to $24,000.

420 West Broadway to restore aspects of historic theatre, bring 42 residential units to South Boston 
Live: 37 market-rate units, 5 affordable units
Work: 50 construction jobs, 1,350 SF of new retail space, $18M investment
Connect: $20,000 in community benefits including improvements to Buckley Playground and a contribution to St. Peter’s Academy
Project Size: 44,000 square feet

420 West Broadway will transform the former South Boston theatre that has been vacant and under-utilized since the 1980’s into a mixed-use, six-story, 44,000 square-foot development. The proposal consists of 42 residential units and 42 garage parking spaces with vehicular access via Athens Street. Aspects of the original theatre entrance will be renovated and restored for the residential entrance and a 1,350 square foot commercial retail space on West Broadway. Bicycle storage and a trash/recycling room will be located within the structure of the building.

As currently proposed, the 42 rental units will consist of 37 market rate units and five IDP units. The unit mix consists of 12 studios, 19 one-bedroom units and 11 two-bedroom units. The construction cost is approximately $12,000,000 and total development cost is approximately $18,000,000.  

The project will include a contribution of $10,000 to the Buckley Playground, located between Bolton Street and West 3rd Street. A $10,000 community contribution will also be made towards St. Peter’s Academy in South Boston. 

Five units will be made affordable to households earning no more than 70 percent of the AMI and a $138,000 contribution will be made to the IDP Special Revenue Fund. 

Notices of Project Changes

Jackson Square Recreational Center will serve thousands of Boston youth
Work: 9+ permanent jobs, 100 part-time jobs for neighborhood youth, 115 construction jobs
Connect: Affordable recreational and educational programming for 26,000+ youth within 1.5 miles of center
Project Size: 75,000 square feet

The proposed Jackson Square Recreational Center, located at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and Ritchie Street in Jamaica Plain, will provide an affordable, multi-use indoor recreational space with an emphasis on serving youth and family. The NPC approved will provide the addition of a full second story to accommodate an indoor turf field. The first floor will be used as an ice rink for 10 months of the year, and will be converted to a turf field in the summer months. The project is located adjacent to the Jackson Square MBTA station on the Orange Line.

Board gives greenlight for amendments to Mattapan’s Brooke Charter High School project
Work: 40 permanent jobs, 150 construction jobs
Connect: School for 600 ninth through 12th grade students, 180 eighth grade students; outdoor garden and learning area, auditorium and gymnasium (already available to the community)
Project Size: 95,000 square feet

The approved Brooke Charter High School project will be located at 198-260 American Legion Highway and Kingbird Road in Mattapan, known formally as 150 American Legion Highway. The project will include the construction of a 95,000 square foot new school building to accommodate approximately 780 students in grades eight through 12. The building will include core and specialty classrooms, a gymnasium, a cafeteria, an auditorium, administrative spaces, and various support spaces. The project will also include outdoor educational space, a garden area, approximately 60 off-street parking spaces and loading/circulation areas.

Updates to the Goddard House project, originally approved in 2016, presented to and approved by BPDA Board
Live: 19 voluntary IDP units, adaptive reuse of the Goddard House
Work: 109 construction jobs, close proximity to the Longwood Medical Area
Connect: Adjacent to the Emerald Necklace, four minute walk to the Green Line
Project Size: 150,000 square feet

Located at 201-221 South Huntington Avenue, the Goddard House project will sit on the site of the now relocated Goddard House Assisted Living Center. Approved changes to the project will include reducing the project size by approximately 15,000 square feet, eliminating 18 dwelling units and 18 vehicle parking spaces, yielding a total of 149 apartments, 65 vehicle parking spaces, and 149 bicycle parking spaces.

101-105 Washington Street NPC approved, to generate 70 residential units
Live: 70 rental units, including nine affordable units
Work: 100 construction jobs
Connect: $50,000 contribution to build Hubway station, close proximity to “B” Line on the MBTA’s Green Line.
Project Size: 99,645 square feet

The 101-105 Washington Street project, originally approved in 2016, is located in Brighton - one block north of Commonwealth Avenue and less than a half mile from Brighton Center. The board’s approval of this NPC will modify the project to 70 rental units and 70 parking spaces. In addition, for the project to maintain compliance with the IDP, it will include nine affordable rental units and generate an IDP contribution of $30,000.

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