Real Estate Today: Zoning Committee, ZBA gives green light to portion of 125 Amory St. project

The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council’s Zoning Committee and the City’s Zoning Board of Appeals recently gave 137 Amory St., which is building C of the 125 Amory St. project, the green light to move forward.

The 125 Amory St. redevelopment project is proposed by Amory Street Partners, LLC, which is a partnership between The Community Builders, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Urban Edge. All three organizations are nonprofits that have been constructing affordable housing. Amory Street Partners’ proposal was selected by the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to redeveloped the site located at 125 Amory St., which is a public housing development for seniors and people with disabilities.

The 137 Amory St. project involves constructing a four-story building with 62 residential units.

The Zoning Committee during a Feb. 21 meeting voted in support of the project with one member abstaining and no opposition, according to Committee Chair Dave Baron.

“There was a neighbor across the street who expressed concerns about past conflicts she has had with neighbors at 125 Amory and about the impact on parking and traffic of the new building(s),” Baron said about attendees’ reaction to the project. “There were also a number of neighbors who spoke in support. “

Inspectional Services Department (ISD) spokesperson Lisa Timberlake said in an email that on Feb. 27 the project was approved by the ZBA contingent on a Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) design review. ISD oversees the ZBA.

The BPDA board approved the 125 Amory St. redevelopment project last month. The development currently has 199 affordable residential units and 54 surface parking spots. During renovation, some residents will be shuffled around the building into different units temporarily, but none of them will be displaced. Forty percent of the new residential units will be affordable to households earning 30 percent to 70 percent of the area median income (AMI).

The proposal involves renovating the existing building, and also building three new buildings, adding 360 new units to create a total of 559 units on the six-acre site. One hundred and four parking spots will also be added, bringing the total parking spaces up to 257 spaces total.

Sixty-two percent of all units on site will be affordable; 145 of the new units will be affordable, which means that there will be 344 affordable units total. Two hundred and seven units are slated for 30 percent AMI, 10 units for 50 percent AMI, 55 units for 60 percent AMI, and 72 units at 70 percent AMI.

The remaining units will be market rate. Noah Sawyer, senior project manager at The Community Builders, estimated that market rate would rent at around $2,500 for a one-bedroom.

 

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