By Michael Coughlin Jr.
On Tuesday, the Planning Department hosted a meeting where proponents of a project to bring commercial space and several units to 3458 Washington Street presented their plans to the public.
According to the project webpage on the Planning Department’s website, the proposed project would include constructing a five-story building. At Tuesday’s meeting, the project architect, Philip Sima of Balance Architects, indicated that the building would contain 36 units, seven parking spaces, and bike parking, with a 1:1 ratio of spaces to building residents.
One of the seven parking spaces will be for a shared car for building residents, and there will also be a shared electric cargo bike.
Regarding the unit mix for the project, there are plans for studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units.
Moreover, the proposed commercial space on the ground floor of the building is slated to be about 800 square feet, and other amenities, such as a gym, are included.
Sima also described the landscaping for the project, which included a mix on the side and rear of the building. He also noted that the parking entrance was off Kenton Road.
“We’re working with the abutters — our landscape architect is — to kind of come up with something that really melds privacy of that parking area as well as a landscape opportunity,” said Sima.
Additionally, new plantings with smaller trees and lower shrubs on Kenton Road and larger trees on Washington Street are planned. Sima also mentioned plans for bike spaces and benches in the area.
As for how this project complies with the area’s zoning, the project attorney, George Morancy, said it would require zoning relief. He thought the violations would be for the maximum floor area ratio, maximum building height, minimum parking requirements, and minimum loading bay requirements.
“While the project is compliant with PLAN: JP/ROX, it will require [Zoning] Board of Appeal approval because PLAN: JP/ROX has not yet been codified into zoning,” said Morancy.
After the project was presented, those attending Tuesday’s meeting were provided time to comment and ask questions.
For example, some attendees who spoke had concerns about the size of the building, minimal parking, and the density proposed in the area.
“It’s too big, there’s not enough parking, too many units, and it’s overpowering to our neighborhood,” said one resident.
Another resident echoed the sentiment about the building’s size, saying, “This project is enormous and too big.”
However, other residents were not as concerned with aspects such as parking, density, or building size.
One attendee who said they supported the project stated, “We are in a housing crisis in this city. We need more housing units; this provides it. Washington Street is ripe for redevelopment.”
Another project supporter appreciated the developers working with the neighbors and said, “The neighbors were happy with it because what we’re seeing now is the need for development, the need for apartments.”
Although, as mentioned, some shared concerns about aspects of the project, a few residents clarified that sharing those concerns was not an attempt to halt the project.
“No one in this neighborhood is trying to stop this project,” said the same attendee who voiced their concerns about the size of the building, the density, and the amount of parking.
“We want housing, and we particularly want affordable housing… we’re not trying to stop it; what we’re trying to do is to make it relevant to the neighborhood and to Washington Street.”
As the conversation continued, one significant topic was affordability. Specifically, multiple attendees wondered how the proposed number of affordable units complied with PLAN: JP/ROX.
Morancy noted that eight inclusionary development policy units (IDP) — three studios, three one-bedroom, one two-bedroom, and one three-bedroom — are planned, with varying area median income (AMI) levels.
While Tyler Ross, a senior project manager at the Planning Department, indicated that the proposal complies with PLAN: JP/ROX’s IDP recommendations, there were some questions on how that was calculated and a request to get more information.
Other topics discussed during the meeting included dumpsters, delivery areas, and more before the conversation concluded.
According to Ross, this project is tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board at this month’s meeting on January 16th. He also emphasized that residents can comment on the project by emailing [email protected].
For more information about the project and to view the recording and presentation from this meeting, visit https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/3458-washington-street.