Boston – The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) board of directors approved four new development projects and two updates to previously approved projects. The approved new development projects represent approximately 390,854sf and will support approximately 400 construction jobs and 482 new permanent jobs.
355 Bennington Street
An underutilized lot on the eastern edge of East Boston’s Day Square will be redeveloped to provide 170 new residential units, including 24 income-restricted units, while unlocking key pedestrian and transit connections in East Boston. The project site at 355 Bennington Street is critical to the community vision laid out in PLAN: East Boston, an active planning initiative led by the BPDA, to connect the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway and the Silver Line to Day Square.
A former industrial site at 202 West First Street in South Boston will be revitalized by a new mixed-use office and life sciences research facility. The project will bring public realm improvements and contribute $250,000 to design and implement sidewalk, traffic and pedestrian safety improvements along B and West 3rd Streets, and $30,000 toward the renovation of nearby Buckley Playground and for the maintenance of the West 2nd Street Park and Community Gardens.
202 West First Street
Located in Charlestown, 420 Rutherford Avenue will demolish an existing storage facility to build a new 4-story life sciences building. The ground floor will include storage; tenant amenities such as conference rooms, fitness rooms, restrooms, and showers; and a bike storage room. This project will provide new landscape design improvements to the site including new greenery and seating, and a roof deck for tenants. The property is located in the geographic bounds of the ongoing PLAN: Charlestown neighborhood planning initiative and the project has committed to expanding the road network west of Rutherford Avenue and addressing future coastal flood events and sea level rise through elevation of ground floor spaces and flood proofing measures.
420 Rutherford Avenue
A new residential development at 14 Gardner Street will bring 38 homeownership units of housing to Allston, including eight income-restricted homeownership units. The project will also provide $25,000 toward street improvements as well as $10,450 to the city’s BlueBikes program.
Parcel R-1
The BPDA board also voted to tentatively designate Asian Community Development Corporation to develop the BPDA-owned Parcel R-1 in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood. The proposal plans to create a mixed-use development with over 100 units of income-restricted, affordable housing and a permanent Chinatown branch of the Boston Public Library.
Additionally, the BPDA board voted to tentatively designate a joint venture between Related Beal, Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund and Kavanaugh Advisory Group to redevelop the BPDA-owned site at 20 and 22 Drydock Avenue in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in the South Boston Waterfront. The proposal plans to create a new life sciences/research and development hub, aimed at diversifying Boston’s life sciences sector by offering opportunities for job training.
20-22 Drydock Avenue
Like all BPDA-owned parcels in the city of Boston, the selected developers for Parcel R-1 and 20-22 Drydock Avenue were required to meet the BPDA’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion evaluation criterion, and outline commitments to including Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) in all aspects of their development.
