BPDA Panel Recommends Developer For 5-Acre Charlestown Site
Five acres of city-owned parking lots in Charlestown are one step closer to being developed.
A Boston Planning & Development Agency committee made up of staff and neighborhood residents recommended Trinity Financial as the developer for the site at its monthly meeting, Banker & Tradesman reported. The developer was one of two to respond to the city's request for proposals released earlier this year.
The project would include 686 housing units across four buildings ranging from 70 to 150 feet tall. Trinity would also reserve 60% of the total units as income-restricted. The developer is expected to take out a $276M construction loan for the project, B&T reported.
The other development proposal came from Dream Collaborative and Roxbury-based Onyx Group, which called for a six-building, 757-unit development on the site.
The RFP says the development proposal that is picked will need to adhere to the PLAN: Charlestown goals, a planning guide that includes housing creation for all income levels, a swath of public open space, and pedestrian and bicycle connections.
The city approved the planning guide for the neighborhood in September with several developments already in the pipeline, like Leggat McCall Properties and Joseph J. Corcoran Co.'s $1.4B Bunker Hill housing development, Rise's 753K SF 40 Roland St. and The Flatley Co.'s 1.7M SF 425 Medford St.
The plan was controversial and received pushback from neighborhood members and public officials like City Councilor Gabriela Coletta, who argued that the allowed density and height limits could create transportation and public safety problems.
The Austin Street parking lots are just one of a handful of city-owned properties that Boston officials have considered redeveloping.
Other properties include a 4-acre site near the Boston Water and Sewer Commission and another parking lot site in Chinatown, which the Asian Community Development Corp. was awarded tentative development rights to in September.
