4 minute read
Mixed-Use
from February 2022
by High-Profile
BPDA Approves New Developments in January
Boston – The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) board of directors approved nine new development projects in January, advancing new affordable housing and job opportunities and investing in climate resiliency and mobility improvements throughout Boston’s neighborhoods.
The new projects will create 295 residential units, more than 43% of which will be designated income-restricted. The approved new development projects represent approximately 1.2 million sq. ft. and will support over 700 construction jobs and more than 3,000 new permanent jobs.
1201 River Street
Located in Hyde Park, the 1201 River Street project will build 63 one-bedroom units of income-restricted senior housing. The non-carbon-producing, all electric building will also include commercial space, a gym, community room, library, and outdoor space.
The project at 25-33 Hamilton Street, developed by the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (VietAID), will build 36 one-bedroom income-restricted units for seniors. Nine of the units will be affordable to households earning at or below 30% area median income (AMI), supporting individuals transitioning from homelessness.
The 24 Ericsson Street project in Dorchester’s Port Norfolk neighborhood will build four buildings to create a new mixed-use development comprising office, retail, residential space, and a boathouse. Because this area is vulnerable to sea level rise, the project will contribute $100,000 to support the implementation of coastal resilience solutions in Port Norfolk as identified in Climate Ready Dorchester, and will provide the preliminary design for a raised Ericsson Street.
24 Ericsson Street
25-33 Hamilton Street
Cotting School
The Val EMD Serono
3409 Washington Street
The project at 3409 Washington Street in Jamaica Plain will build a new 4-story apartment building with 29 rental units, six of which will be income-restricted. The project will also enhance the public realm by improving sidewalk conditions.
The transit-oriented development at 34 Oak Street in Hyde Park will build a new apartment building with 20 rental units, four of which will be income-restricted. On the project site, the public realm will be enhanced through widened sidewalks, new ADA-compliant curb ramps, bike racks, and new trees.
A new 6-story building at 44 Ellery Street will bring 18 homeownership residential units, including three incomerestricted units, to the Andrew Square area of South Boston. The project is consistent with the BPDA’s PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue, which focuses on the revitalization of largely low-density industrial uses, by promoting an urban, mixed-use neighborhood.
The project at 761-793 Boylston Street will add nine new units of housing and 26,634sf of office space, all while preserving the building’s historic facades. All existing facades will remain in place while a 5-story, mixed use, building is constructed from the interior. The existing restaurants will be preserved.
Replacing a vacant 3-story building nestled between Brookline Avenue, Overland Street and Burlington Avenue in the Fenway Neighborhood, the 109 Brookline Avenue project will construct a 250,000sf building that will include office, lab, research and development, and retail uses. The project will also create and fund a STEM Jobs Training Program housed on-site, and space for the Fenway Community Center Office.
Phase 3 of the Government Center Garage Redevelopment project, also known as Bulfinch Crossing, will fully remove the existing garage and construct new lab, office, and retail space. The project will bring approximately 2,500 workers downtown, generate over $3 million in contributions to fund affordable housing through linkage, and make significant public realm improvements, including a large public plaza. The project will create a new and improved Haymarket MBTA bus station.
761-793 Boylston Street
Design Work Completed at Arsenal Yards
Watertown, MA – Cambridge-based architecture and interior design firm, PCA, announced the completion of its placemaking and design work at Arsenal Yards, the emerging new neighborhood in the heart of Watertown’s East End at the site of the former Arsenal Mall.
Working with the project’s development partners, Boylston Properties and The Wilder Companies, PCA master planned the seven-building, one million sq. ft. mixed-use destination, and designed its urban village, residences, and open spaces.
The new neighborhood brings together a mix of live, work, and play environments including more than 50 retailers and restaurants, 108,000sf of lab and office space, 300 apartment residences, and a 146-room hotel. Anchoring the neighborhood are two original Arsenal brick buildings, authentically restored to their original character and size. It includes outdoor areas and green spaces, and walkways that connect residents and visitors to the River Green, Watertown’s Arsenal Park, and the bike and pedestrian path along the Charles River.
“From the earliest stages of our planning and community conversations, we realized the opportunity was to not only reimagine the Arsenal property, but to also make a great public space, a destination where people want to return to,” said Eric Brown, AIA, principal at PCA. “Fulfilling that goal led to a focus on designing an active pedestrian experience with walkways and sightlines that create the feel of a comfortable village center.”
In addition to master planning for the hotel and the 10-story lab building, PCA provided full design services, including
Arsenal Yards / Photo by Anton Grassl Photography
the interiors and tenant amenity spaces, for Arsenal Yards’ residential buildings and the planning and design of structured parking for 1200 cars. The PCA-designed Arsenal Yards residences, Blvd & Bond Apartments, is comprised of a mix of studio, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. Additional amenity spaces include a fitness center, a work from home area, game room and adjoining lounge spaces, and a communal kitchen.
