BOSTON—Equity Residential reports that it has received neighborhood support from more than 1,100 West End residents on the latest revisions to its proposed $350-million tower project at the Garden Garage project site here.
The Chicago-based multifamily development firm recently submitted a series of revisions, which included reducing the height of the building at 35 Lomasney Way by two floors, as well as significant traffic improvements and parking upgrades to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The latest revision marks the second notice of project change made to its original project plan that called for a total of 500 rental housing units.
The developer states the changes have been made in order to reach a consensus and sufficient neighborhood support for the project that calls for the demolition of an above grade parking garage, which will be replaced with a 44-story, 517,000-square-foot building that will feature 470 rental apartment units. In connection with the reduction of the height of the building, the changes include the reduction of 16 units from the prior proposal that called for 486 units. Originally the plan called for two buildings of lesser height but that took up a larger footprint at the 3.02-acre site. The project also calls for approximately 2,000 square feet of retail.
The sleeker building will allow for about 2.5 acres of public open space. Since 2008 EQR has been working with a group of community representatives—an Impact Advisory Group—to review the impact of the project and advise the city on possible mitigation. EQR officials say the latest changes to the project were made based on discussions with the IAG.
While the developer has received more than 1,000 signatures of support from the building's direct abutters including: the elected managing board of West End Place; Boston City Councilors At-Large Michael Flaherty and Stephen Murphy; owners of The Amy Lowell House; and the Downtown North Association, a total of about 600 signatures have been submitted in opposition to the project.
"We have worked diligently and openly since 2008 to develop a compromise solution that would be supported by the residents of the West End, in addition to the 1,100+ residents of the West End who have already indicated their support. This new rental housing will help to address the city's call for 53,000 new units for those who want to live and walk to work in Boston. We are pleased that the overwhelming majority of residents are enthusiastic about welcoming new families to the West End," says Richard Boales, senior vice president for EQR in a prepared statement.
EQR acquired the Garden Garage, also know as the home to Basketball City, when it bought the adjacent Charles River Park apartments in 1999. In 2006, Equity Residential began to create 310 new residential units. The $165-million West End Apartments project came on line in 2008 and 2009.
Some of the other revisions to Equity's original plan for the Garden Garage project include: adding three-bedroom units to the project, minimizing the shadow impact due to the decrease in building count and overall footprint, connecting the new garage and existing Longfellow garages to lessen the impact on traffic around TD Garden event days, the creation of new and wider continuous pathways to connect the site to North Station, Bulfinch Triangle and other areas surrounding the West End and Downtown, new lighting and landscaping, programmable outdoor spaces and recreational areas such as a bocce court, a sports flexi-court, suitable for a variety of recreational activities, an open-air pavilion for public gatherings and outdoor bike racks.
If approvals are secured from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, construction on the project could begin by the third or fourth quarter of 2016.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
