Mixed-Use BPDA Approves New Housing in South Boston, Dorchester, and Allston

Boston – The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) board of directors recently approved four new development projects representing 2.5 million sq. ft. The new projects will create 145 residential units, 56 of which will be designated income-restricted, and will support approximately 2,267 construction jobs and 4,614 permanent jobs.

Located between the marine industrial and residential areas of South Boston, the project at 776 Summer Street is the frst of the master plan for Planned Development Area No. 128, which was originally approved in January of 2021. The project will build a new transit-oriented, mixed-use development, including the rehabilitation of the Edison Turbine Halls and the construction of two new buildings, each of which are expected to include offce, research and development, and retail uses. This project is consistent with the master plan and community’s goal to honor the industrial history of this site by preserving and adaptively reusing the early 20th century Turbine Halls.

What is now the campus of WBZ-TV at 1170 Soldiers Field Road in Allston will be converted into four new buildings: three life science buildings and one apartment building containing 85 units. The ground foor of each life science building will also allow for cafe or retail space. This is the frst project approved under the Western Avenue Corridor Study and Rezoning income-restricted. The project falls within the Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District and will address sealevel-rise-design food elevation through project design.

(WACRZ), which provides zoning, urban design, and mobility frameworks to guide change in an area undergoing increased development demand.

What was formerly the convent for St. Augustine Church at 207 E Street will be redeveloped into income-restricted senior housing in South Boston. This project, led by the South Boston Neighborhood Development Corporation, will maintain and restore the facade of the existing 5-story brick building originally built in 1926, and construct a rear addition to the building. The project will add new landscaping, an entryway, and a seating area.

The project at 26 Coffey Street in Dorchester will construct a new 4-story building containing 24 condominium units, four of which will be considered

On the Simmons University property at 305 Brookline Avenue, located in the Longwood Medical Area (LMA), the Planned Development Area (PDA) plan will redevelop a portion of land on the campus into a mixed-use development spread over fve buildings including residential, community space, retail, laboratory uses, offce uses, and commercial uses. Within the residential space will be approximately 388 housing units, 20% of which will be incomerestricted. This development plan is a critical step to enabling the construction of the Simmons University Living and Learning Center.

With the approval of this PDA Development Plan, the project will contribute $7 million to the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, with $1 million going to study the shadow impacted areas of the Emerald Necklace, which will guide the development of a policy to prioritize the protection of the Emerald Necklace from development impacts.