The Goddard House project was recently approved by the Boston Civic Design Commission (BCDC) and will likely go before the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) board during its monthly meeting on March 17.
BRA spokesperson Nick Martin said, “We feel that the project is in a good place,” and that the BRA will host another impact advisory group (IAG) meeting before the board meeting on March 17. Depending on the IAG meeting, the project will go before the BRA board for a vote.
Some members of the Goddard House IAG have pushed for more affordable housing for the project. An IAG is a City-appointed group of residents and other stakeholders that advise the City on potential impacts of building projects.
“We are comfortable with allowing the development team to meet the standard obligation for [the City’s affordable housing policy] by making 13 percent of the total units affordable on-site to households at 70 percent area median income or below,” said Martin. “The proponent has worked well with the community and abutters to address concerns and plan an adaptive reuse of a challenging building, something the neighborhood sought.”
The project would involve the rehabilitation, expansion, and adaptive re-use of the former Goddard House nursing home, transforming it into a multi-family residence to include 167 rental apartments. The Goddard House is located at 201 S. Huntington Ave. The renovated and expanded Goddard House would hold 110 units, while a free-standing building would be built creating the remaining 57 units.
When facing the Goddard House property from S. Huntington Avenue, the new building would be built on the left side. One addition would be built behind the current Goddard House building, while the other addition would be built to the front right.
Additions to the Goddard House would be four stories tall, while the new building height would vary from four to six stories.
The preservation of the Goddard House building is defined as an “exceptional public benefit,” according to the S. Huntington Avenue corridor study conducted by the BRA in 2013.
The Goddard House controversially ceased operations on Sept. 8, 2012 and has remained vacant ever since. The enormous brick building was constructed in 1927 and housed about 100 seniors.
The developers, Eden Properties and Samuels & Associates, had filed their letter of intent last year.
The project is anticipated to begin construction in summer 2016. For more information, visit bit.ly/1l01M2J.