There will be a community update on May 22 about a 45-unit apartment building proposed for Washington Street that was previously met with opposition by neighbors and politicians.
3353 Washington Street proposal for a mixed-use building with 45-units.
The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) is hosting a public meeting to provide an update about the six-story mixed-use project proposed by Boston Community Ventures. At the meeting, Boston Community Ventures will discuss its plan to change the project from rental units to condos.
The design of the building isn't going to change, and the building will still have 45 residential units, which will be available for homeownership. There will also be 9 affordable homeownership opportunities -- 20 percent of the building; Six of those units will be sold at 50 percent of the area median income (AMI) and three units would be sold at 70 percent AMI.
Marie Mercurio, senior project manager for Boston Community Ventures, said the change from rentals to home ownership was for several reasons. The company determined that 630 rental units have come on line since 2015, and another 136 are under review in some capacity.
"We talked to brokers about whether we still need condos. And the answer was emphatically -- yes," said Mercurio to Jamaica Plain News.
The BPDA board previously approved the project, as did the ZBA, despite opposition at the time from District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley and former District 7 City Councilor Tito Jackson. The project needed zoning variances for having less parking than required and being taller than what was zoned for that area. O'Malley is now open to the community discussing the project change from rentals to home ownership.
There had also been a lawsuit filed by Jamaica Plain residents against the project, but that lawsuit was dismissed in December 2018.
Boston Community Ventures doesn't need to go through another community process. They are just informing the public of the project change.
The community will be on Wednesday, May 22, and is being hosted by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA). The meeting will be at the Brookside Community Health Center (3297 Washington St.) from 6 to 7 pm.
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