The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) will host a public meeting regarding a recently submitted proposal to develop the Laz Parking Lot at Forest Hills into a mixed-use development.
The meeting will be held on Nov. 30 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Saint Andrew Church at 24 Orchardhill Road in Jamaica Plain.
“The Residences at Forest Hills” was submitted to BPDA last month as a project notification form (PNF) by Criterion Development Partners. The project would contain 252 residential rental units, 5,500 square feet of retail space, and 140 parking spaces at 3694 Washington St. The project site’s current use is a parking lot, which is used by commuters for the MBTA.
Criterion proposes to create approximately 50 affordable units. The design is composed of three main buildings: the building facing Washington Street will provide five stories of residential units over ground floor retail space, and the two buildings behind that will provide six stories of residential units with one building tapering to five stories where it is closest to Tower Street and Orchardhill Road.
The project will be LEED certifiable with a minimum goal of LEED Silver certification. Criterion predicts that the project will provide approximately 200 construction-related jobs, and six to seven full-time jobs in on-site property management, in addition to retail jobs.
The project as originally proposed in a letter of intent to the BPDA was slated to have 260 residential units, but based on input from the community, the design was modified to increase buffers between the new buildings and residential neighbors and to change the shape of the buildings. As a result, the proposed project now consists of 252 units.
Units will be a mix of studios, one- two- and three- bedroom units, three bedroom townhouses, an artist live/work housing unit, and units consisting of three bedrooms with private bathrooms and common living and dining space.
The project will need to garner many approvals at the local, state, and federal level. For more information, visit bit.ly/2dT6Zcl.