Local developer Chris DeSisto is proposing a mixed-use building at Green and Amory streets, across from the Green Street T Station, that essentially mirrors his successful 2012 project on the opposite corner.
The plan for 450-456 Amory St. calls for apartments, office space and ground-floor storefronts, including a restaurant. In substance and style, the proposal is similar to the “Bartlett Square” building with its popular café at 154 Green St., created by DeSisto’s Mission Hill-based Maple Hurst Builders. The new building is named “Bartlett Square II.”
Five zoning variances and Boston Redevelopment Authority review are required to build on what is now a vacant lot and parking area. The BRA is holding a community meeting about the plan on July 8, 6 p.m., at Curtis Hall, 20 South St.
In a proposal submitted to the BRA on June 5, DeSisto writes that the project “addresses the dire need for rental housing near a major public transportation station.”
The four-story building would include 15 rental apartments, two of them priced a City-determined affordable rate.
A parking garage for nine to 10 cars is part of the plan, as well as six on-street spaces created by moving the sidewalk.
The restaurant, featuring a terrace, would be created by the development team itself. Rooftop solar panels are another feature.
The land is currently zoned for industrial uses, so the residential use needs a variance. Other requested variances are for floor-area ratio (or density), and insufficient lot area, rear yard and off-street parking.
DeSisto and Maple Hurst have built many Jamaica Plain homes over the years, including the condo building at 131 Green St. on the other side of the T station.
An illustration of the proposed building at 450-456 Amory St. (Courtesy Image)