The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) Zoning Committee voted unanimously to oppose the proposed luxury apartment project at 161 S. Huntington Ave. at last night’s meeting at the Farnsworth House.
Committee Chair Dave Baron also proposed that the neighborhood engage with elected officials to rezone the S. Huntington area. That way, he said, the community could have a say in what future developments would look like in the area. Many community members have called for the City to create a master plan for S. Huntington Avenue in response to this and other pending developments.
The vote was mostly based on the density and expected rental price of the proposed units, though committee member Red Burrows said he would be willing to compromise on the high density of the project if the number of affordably-priced units were increased.
Current plans have 30 of the 196 units being priced affordably, a little over 15 percent. The JPNC requests that all housing development projects in JP offer at least 25 percent affordable units.
The developers were looking for variances to accommodate for the height of the building and its high density.
Developer Curtis Kemeny and other members of his design team said that the total capital for the project is $75 million. They declined to say how much they paid for the property.
The developer, Boston Residential Group, plans to create 196 units consisting of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units in a four- to five-story building on the current site of the Home for Little Wanderers.