The Housing and Development Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) held its regular monthly meeting last Tuesday evening, September 15, via Zoom.
On hand for the session were chair Purple Reign, vice chair Willie Mitchell, and fellow members Sarah Horsley, JPNC chair Alcurtis Clark, Lorenzo Bartoloni, Pam Bender, Gert Thorn, and Kathy Brown.
Also in attendance was Zavia Dickerson, the liaison to Jamaica Plain from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, and Michael Fishbein, the Senior Advisor for District 6 City Councillor Ben Weber.
The meeting consisted principally of a presentation regarding the plans for the development of 3841 Washington St. in Roslindale.
Joseph Vozzella, the owner of the site, told the committee that he and his family have deep roots in the Jamaica Plain community. Mr. Vozzella tsaid that his family has owned the property for three generations. He presently owns the Wellsmere Monument Company, which has been in existence for over 100 years, which operates out of the current building on the site. In addition to the commercial space, there are two apartments in the existing building.
The property consists of 0.83 acres (about 36,000 sq. ft.), most of which is a paved surface that serves as a parking lot. It is located near the Forest Hills T station and is in close proximity to the Arboretum.
Vozzella, who served for nine years on the JPNC Zoning Committee, said the time is right to develop the property.
“I see an opportunity, given the housing shortage in Boston and given the demand for transit-oriented development. This seems like the right time for me to move forward with doing this project,” Vozzella said.
Attorney George Morancy said the plans presently call for a seven-story building, with 165 rental units and 5600 sq. ft. of ground floor commercial space. There will be 33 garage parking spaces at grade. The units will range in size from studios to three bedrooms. The project will consist of 20 percent affordable units to meet the city’s inclusionary zoning guidelines, with 17 percent of the units to be set aside for tenants with up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) and three percent reserved for tenants with housing vouchers.
The affordable units will be spread evenly across the building’s mix of 59 studios, 71 1-bedroom units, 26 2-BR, and nine 3-BR.
There also will be significant street improvements, including the addition of trees, wider sidewalks, a relocated bus stop with a shelter, and accessible crosswalks, all of which have been reviewed and approved by the Boston Planning Dept. There also will be a public courtyard with seating.
Eric Robinson from RODE architects noted that the community process has been extensive, including involvement from the Arboretum, which is separated from the property by the MBTA train tracks and the Stony Brook conduit, which is owned by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission.
Zack Kutchin from RODE presented the details of the building, which will cover 76 per cent of the property area, along with architectural drawings.
Thorn, who is an architect, suggested the addition of more trees, a greater curve in the upper floors, a larger canopy at the proposed bus stop, and a general “cheering up” of the building with more color in the architectural elements, such as the balcony railings.
“This needs a little something, a little color, a little more pizazz,” agreed Clark, who added, “This building is massive. It will be the tallest thing in this area.”
Bartoloni also made note of the height and urged the developer to add deeper and more affordable units in order to come up to the 25 percent that the JPNC asserts as an objective that goes beyond the city’s 17 percent affordability threshold.
Horsley mentioned issues relating to sustainability, the hiring of construction firms that pay prevailing wages, and renting the first-floor commercial spaces to local businesses instead of national chains. Kutchin addressed some of those concerns, noting that the building will be all-electric.
On a separate note at the end of the meeting, Clark announced that there will be a neighborhood meeting for the JP community about the plans for the White Stadium project at English High from 6:00-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 24.
Read more coverage on the topic from the September 22 JPNC meeting on Page 12.