BOSTON—The most significant of the six development projects approved last week by the Boston Redevelopment Authority by far was the go-ahead to begin construction of the two-phased development known as Klarman Hall and the G2 Pavilion at Harvard University's Allston campus here.
Another key approval at the session was the ratification of Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh's executive order that will enact a new Inclusionary Development Policy in regards to affordable housing regulations and fees that will take effect Jan. 1, 2016. The BRA board also voted to approve the 10-year extension of 14 urban renewal plans across Boston. The Boston City Council, Mayor Martin Walsh, and the state's Department of Housing and Community Development must sign off on the request before the urban renewal plans expire in April 2016.
The BRA board approved the construction of a two-phased development $171-million project known as Klarman Hall and G2 Pavilion, which will replace the existing Burden Hall on the 358-acre Harvard Business School campus in Allston.
The first phase of the project involves the construction of Klarman Hall, a modern, media-equipped 1,000-seat auditorium with reception, meeting, and service space. An underground connection to Spangler Center, one of the main buildings on campus, will also be constructed during this phase, according to the BRA.
During phase two, Burden Hall will be demolished and replaced with a one- to two-story facility that contains meeting and classroom space that will be integrated with the adjacent Klarman Hall. The project is part of the latest Harvard University's Institutional Master Plan that was filed with the BRA in 2013. The Allston campus is home to the Harvard Business School, graduate student residences and athletic facilities.
artnership of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp/ and Back of the Hill Community Development Corp. The 47-unit project will be entirely affordable with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. 2,000 square feet of community and office space and covered bicycle and car parking spaces.
Porterfrank Realty LLC, an affiliate of Heath Management Co. of Boston, secured BRA approval for its $20-million project to renovate a former industrial building in East Boston's Jeffries Point neighborhood into a hotel with 127 keys. The 75,000-square-foot project, dubbed Loftel, will include a 6,000-square-foot addition atop the building to house the hotel's common areas and mechanicals.
The BRA gave the nod for the plan proposed by non-profits St. Francis House and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs to spend $22.9 million to restore the historic Boston Young Men's Christian Union building at 48 Boylston St. in Chinatown for affordable housing. Once restored, the currently vacant building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a designated Boston landmark, will contain 46 units of affordable housing, nearly 11,000 square feet of office space for St. Francis House and 3,800 square feet of commercial space, according to the BRA.
The BRA also voted to approve a $4-million plan by Parkhead Development, LLC to construct 19 condominium units off of Taft Hill Terrace in Roslindale and an $8.8-million expansion project at Dorchester's Epiphany School on Centre Street.
In 2015, the BRA approved a total of 7.1 million square feet of new construction throughout the City of Boston.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
