Municipal

BPDA Designates Diverse Development Team to Transform Lot

The Blair Lot development in Roxbury responds to a community vision laid out in BPDA’s PLAN: Nubian Square.

Boston  – The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) board of directors recently voted to tentatively designate Nubian Ascend Partners, LLC to develop the BPDA-owned Blair Lot parking lot in Roxbury’s Nubian Square.

If approved, it will create a new regional destination with a marketplace to support neighborhood businesses and local artisans, a food hall with an on-site culinary program, and a multipurpose cultural hall and theater.

The proposal meets the BPDA and city of Boston’s diversity and inclusion requirements for publicly-owned land to create increased opportunities for people of color and women, and for the participation of Minority Business Enterprises.

Mayor Walsh launched PLAN: Nubian Square (formerly, PLAN: Dudley Square) in 2016 to determine if the publicly-owned vacant land in Dudley Square could be put to better use. It has consisted of an extensive community engagement process, including over 30 public workshops, walking tours, community gatherings, and meetings in order to share information, establish a vision for the future, and solicit feedback from the community.

“The vision set out through PLAN: Nubian Square advances equity by prioritizing the use of public land for public good and supporting quality jobs and business ownership opportunities that lead to wealth creation,” said Mayor Walsh. “The Blair Lot offers us an extraordinary opportunity to improve the quality of life for so many Nubian Square and Roxbury residents, and I am pleased to see this strong proposal that responds to the vision of our community move forward.”