ZBA approves James’s Gate project

The City’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approved 5 McBride St. during a hearing on Jan. 24, according to the Inspection Services Department (ISD). ISD oversees the ZBA.

The project was seeking several variances, including for insufficient off-street parking and for dimensional regulations.

The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council’s (JPNC) Zoning Committee voted during a Dec. 6 meeting in favor of recommending the mixed-use project at 5 McBride St., the former site of James’s Gate restaurant. James’s Gate was a popular Irish pub that was sold in March of last year year to developer Stephen Ballas, who also acquired the parking lot across the street at 14-16 McBride St, for a total of $1.95 million.

Ballas has plans of developing both sites, and has formally committed to linking the projects for the purposes of calculating the minimum amount of affordable units necessary under the City’s affordable-housing policy and submitting it to the Boston Planning and Development Agency for design review. It is unclear if he has in fact submitted the project for design review.

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