T parcel gets bids; deadline extended again

FOREST HILLS—The MBTA has received bids on a surplus parcel south of the Forest Hills T Station on Hyde Park Avenue, but has extended its bidding deadline to April.

MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo told the Gazette that bids have been received for Parcel U, but would not disclose who the bidders are until after the deadline has passed.

Bidding documentation states the minimum price for purchase of the parcel as $1.1 million.

Bids were originally due Feb. 15. The deadline was extended to Feb. 29, and now to late April.

Parcel U, encompassing almost 123,000 square feet, is one of a handful of parcels that the T has been trying to sell, with limited success, since 2007.

The Forest Hills Improvement Initiative (FHII) Use and Design Guidelines, completed in 2008, dictate that Parcel U should house locally-supportive businesses such as hardware stores, bookstores or dry cleaners.

It also states that 4,000 square feet should be set aside for community use in housing something like a day care facility. It further asks for 150 housing units, half of which should be affordable; 130 residential parking spaces; and for 30,000 square feet, or 24 percent of the parcel’s area, to be left as open space.

Parcel U is bounded by Hyde Park Avenue on the west and Ukraine Way on the north. It extends just south of Walk Hill Street. It is also on a steep incline down to the commuter rail tracks on its eastern boundary.

Parcels V and W, subject to the same FHII guidelines, were sold in 2009 and are under development. A new Harvest Co-op Market and a bank are slated to open there in September.

The MBTA is required by law to sell to the highest qualified bidder. Adherence to the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s (BRA’s) Use and Design Guidelines, which were developed with input from the community and will be sent out with the parcel documentation, will determine if a bidder is qualified.

Interested parties can find more information on the parcel at bit.ly/MBTAparcel.

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