DAVID TABER
The MBTA plans to issue invitations to bid (ITBs) for parcels U, V and W, offering parcels V and W as a package, in early January.
It is required by law to sell to the highest qualified bidder. Adherence to the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s (BRA’s) Use Design Guidelines, which have been developed with considerable input from the community over the last year and will be sent out with the ITBs, will determine if a bidder is qualified.
The guidelines, which are not finalized, call for the construction of 198 residential units, 28,000 square feet of retail space, and 6,000 square feet of community space, including a daycare on the three parcels.
In response to community concerns, the final guidelines may call for more retail space on parcel U, BRA Senior Architect John Dalzell, who has been managing the Forest Hills Improvement Initiative (FHII) community planning process, said.
Twenty-four percent of parcel U will remain open space, according to the draft guidelines. The majority of the development on parcels V and W will be situated on the larger parcel W, on the west side of Washington Street. The long, slender parcel V will only have eight residential units and 79 percent of the parcel will remain open. The guidelines call for an extension of the Southwest Corridor Park along the lot.
The buildings on the three parcels will range from three to five stories.
The MBTA hopes to have selected developers for the site by next spring, and the developers plans will have to go through an extensive design review process. If all goes well, MBTA Real Estate Director Mark Boyle said, ground will be broken on the parcels in 2009.