Boston – Boston’s Planning Department recently recommended approval of six new development projects to the BPDA board. All were approved.
The Drexel Village Project at 175 Ruggles Street will build three new mixed-use buildings and renovate the existing St. Katharine Drexel Church on what is currently partially publicly-owned land in Roxbury. There will be a total of 217 new housing units, 190 of which will be income-restricted. Building one will include 139 rental units and ground floor retail space. Building two will have 60 housing units which will be a mix of homeownership and rental units. Building three will have 18 housing units, and the construction of that building will also include a new daycare and playground as part of the renovation of the church. It will also create new public open space and new public art on site, and improve the public realm to enhance pedestrian and bike safety including new bike lanes and better sidewalks.
Located in Brighton, what is currently a parking lot and office space at 250 Everett Street will become a 6-story residential building with 240 residential units, 41 of which will be income-restricted. The site will be improved with new landscaping and new publicly accessible open spaces. The project will provide public benefits consistent with the existing zoning and informed by the Western Avenue Corridor Study and Rezoning (WACRZ), including 17% income-restricted units; the creation of publicly accessible sidewalks along the northern and western edges of the site; and carefully designed, publicly-accessible open space.
The 101-109 Boston Street project in Dorchester will convert underutilized land into a 6-story residential building with 59 residential units, including eight income-restricted units. There will also be indoor and outdoor amenity spaces, a ground floor restaurant, and improvements to the public realm like wider sidewalks. It will include the addition of 11 new street trees to the site to mitigate urban heat island effect and create robust tree canopies along Boston Street and Frontage Road.
The project at 3458 Washington Street will replace a Jamaica Plain autobody repair shop with a 5-story building containing 36 housing units and ground floor retail space. Eight of the units will be income-restricted. It will include wider sidewalks, six new street trees, and a rebuilt curb ramp to improve the pedestrian experience in the area. The project will contribute $9,900 to the Boston Transportation Department to support the bikeshare system.
The project at 23-25 North Beacon Street in Allston will convert what is currently a residential building and parking lot into a new 6-story, all-electric building comprised of 25 residential units, four of which will be income-restricted. This project is located in the study area of the Allston-Brighton Needs Assessment which was adopted by the BPDA board in January 2024. This project aligns with the goals of the needs assessment as it provides accessible and affordable housing in a transit dense area. As part of the community benefits, the project will make sidewalk and public realm improvements.
Located Downtown, the 101 Tremont Street project will convert an office building into student housing as part of an amendment to Suffolk University’s 2020 Institutional Master Plan (IMP). The project will maintain the current ground floor retail/restaurant space, and add amenity space for students. This new student housing is designed to help relieve the burden on the existing multifamily housing stock in downtown neighborhoods, as well as East Boston. The project will include improved sidewalks and crosswalks in the vicinity to enhance pedestrian safety.
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In addition to these projects, the board approved:
- An update to a previously approved project at 80-100 Smith Street to reduce the overall size of the project.
- An update to a previously approved project at 50 Herald Street to reduce the overall size of the project.
- The waiver of Article 80 review and renovation of the Orchard Garden Apartments located at 25 Ambrose Street in Roxbury.
