BRA board
approves one million square feet of new development
Student
housing approved for Northeastern University along with recreation center for
Boston College
BOSTON –
The board of directors for the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved
six new development projects totaling just over one million square feet at its
July meeting last night. Four of the six projects are residential, including a
large apartment building on the South Boston Waterfront and more modest housing
proposals in Dorchester, East Boston, and Beacon Hill. Major projects
associated with Northeastern University and Boston College, which will
construct new student housing and a new recreation center, respectively, were
also approved.
The
projects represent a combined investment of $594 million and are expected to
generate over 860 construction jobs.
Below is a
summary of the development projects that were approved.
Northeastern University, private developer partner on Columbus
Avenue dorm project
Total
Project Cost: $160,000,000
Total
SF: 320,000
Construction
Jobs: 270
Northeastern
University will move ahead with student housing that was contemplated in the
school’s 2013 Institutional Master Plan. In conjunction with
the Northeastern Community Task Force and the BRA, the university has been
working to increase the supply of on-campus housing for students to help
alleviate pressures on the traditional neighborhood housing stock. Partnering
with American Campus Communities, Northeastern will develop an 812-bed
apartment building for students with ground floor commercial space.
The
building will contain a total of 221 apartment units, consisting of two- and
four-bedroom apartments with both shared and private accommodations. Students
helped inform the size and mix of units through an online market survey. A
range of amenities, including a social lounge, recreation and gaming area, and
fitness center, will be available to residents.
Designed by
Elkus Manfredi Architects, the Columbus Avenue Student Housing Project will be
constructed on what is currently a surface parking lot at the corner of Burke
Street and Columbus Avenue. The project will vary in height, from eight stories
along Columbus Avenue to 21 stories on the eastern side of the parcel and 16 stories
on the western portion. Construction is expected to begin before the end of
this year and last approximately two and a half years.
Next phase of Waterside Place set to move forward in Seaport
Total
Project Cost: $157,000,000
Total
SF: 325,000
Construction
Jobs: 310
Developer
John Drew received approval for the next phase of The Drew Company’s Waterside
Place development on the South Boston Waterfront, a project that was originally
conceived in 2007 and has since been revised several times due to changing
economic conditions. Waterside Place – Phase 1B will create 307
rental apartments in a 23-story building adjacent to the existing Waterside
Place, which opened in early 2014. Phase 1B will have apartments that range
from studio to three-bedroom units, 62 of which will be “innovation units,”
smaller dwellings that benefit from the building’s communal amenities. There
will also be 3,500 square feet of retail space.
15 on-site
deed restricted affordable units will rent for between $1,065 and approximately
$1,600 per month. The balance of the developer’s affordable housing obligation
will be satisfied by a $5.7 million payment to the city’s Inclusionary
Development Policy Fund.
Located on
Massport property, Waterside Place is well served by public transportation,
including the MBTA’s World Trade Center Silver Line stop next door, several
buses, and nearby South Station. Drew hopes to begin construction in the first
quarter of 2017 and complete the project in early 2019.
New Boston College recreation center slated for Brighton campus
Total
Project Cost: $95,000,000
Total
SF: 215,000
Construction
Jobs: 146
As Boston
College prepares to open two new dormitories along Commonwealth Avenue this
fall, the transformation of its campus in Brighton will take another step
forward, as the BRA board approved plans for a new recreation center last night.
Edmonds Hall, a 790-bed residence hall will be demolished to make way for the
new facility, but the college will actually benefit from a net increase of 240
student beds as a result of the new dormitories opening. All of these projects
were envisioned in Boston College’s 2009 Institutional Master Plan and have
been vetted with the Allston Brighton Boston College Community Task Force.
The 215,000
square foot recreation center, designed with a modernized Gothic look and feel
that complements the existing campus architecture, will house a variety of
physical activity and support spaces for basic recreation, intramural, club,
and varsity sports programs. Plans call for six multi-purpose courts, indoor
lap and recreational swimming pools, three indoor tennis courts, squash and
racquetball courts, weights and general fitness space, and administrative
offices. The new center will replace the existing Flynn Recreation Complex,
which was built in 1972.
Former Suffolk University building to be converted into
condominiums
Total
Project Cost: $162,000,000
Total
SF: 119,000
Construction
Jobs: 89
A building
just steps away from the Massachusetts State House that used to contain classroom,
administrative, theater, and dining space for Suffolk University will be
renovated and converted into housing in Beacon Hill. Developers acquired the
Archer and Donahue buildings from the university last July and plan to create a
full-service, 71-unit condominium building with one-, two-, three-, and
four-bedroom units. While there will be a penthouse level constructed at the
top of the building, the maximum height will not exceed that of the existing
structure, a design change from the original proposal that the community worked
with the developer to achieve.
The project
at 33-61 Temple Street will have just
over 5,700 square feet of amenity space for residents, which could include a
fitness room, lounge, or family recreation space, though plans for this
component have yet to be finalized. An underground garage with up to 54 parking
spaces will be serviced by a professional valet and include a vehicle elevator.
Covered storage for up to 75 bicycles will also be available to residents.
64-unit apartment building near Dorchester’s Ashmont Station
approved
Total
Project Cost: $14,000,000
Total
SF: 48,200
Construction
Jobs: 36
The site of
the former Odwin Learning Center near Dorchester’s Peabody Square and Ashmont
Station will be redeveloped with 64 new units of housing. The project, located
at 1943 Dorchester Avenue, will include just over
2,100 square feet of ground-floor commercial space that could serve as a
satellite clinical facility for the Codman Square Health Center. In addition to
a multi-purpose room and an outdoor terrace, the building will have 24 vehicle
parking spaces and covered storage for at least 22 bicycles. Residents will
enjoy convenient access to the MBTA’s Red Line and multiple bus lines with
service to downtown.
The
majority of apartments in the project, 42 in total, will be studios, while 15
units will be one-bedrooms, three will be one-bedrooms with dens, and four will
be two-bedroom units. Eight of the 64 units will be restricted as affordable,
with rents ranging from approximately $1,065 to $1,400 per month. Peregrine
Urban Initiative LLC, the developer of the project, plans to begin construction
in 2017.
More housing coming to East Boston’s Maverick Square
Total
Project Cost: $6,000,000
Total
SF: 22,200
Construction
Jobs: 16
Developer
Matthew Newman received approval to construct a 20-unit condominium building
that will transform a site at 202 Maverick Street in East Boston
that is currently occupied by several smaller structures, including a garage
and a multi-family house. The new building, which is just a third of a mile
away from the Maverick Square MBTA Blue Line station, will feature two
penthouses and underground parking for 20 vehicles. Three of the building’s
units will be deed restricted as affordable in compliance with the city’s
Inclusionary Development Policy.
The
development is being marketed as the Maverick Shipyard Apartments.
About
the Boston Redevelopment Authority
As the City
of Boston’s urban planning and economic development agency, the BRA works in
partnership with the community to plan Boston's future while respecting
its past. The agency’s passionate and knowledgeable staff guides physical,
social, and economic change in Boston’s neighborhoods and its downtown to shape
a more prosperous, resilient, and vibrant city for all. The BRA also prepares
residents for new opportunities through employment training, human services and
job creation. Learn more at www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org, and follow us on
Twitter @BostonRedevelop
