Image courtesy of MLF Consulting LLC
A Quincy-based investor has notified Boston officials of his intent to develop a new apartment building in an industrial section of Fields Corner in Dorchester.
Michael P. Ross, a Prince Lobel attorney, filed a letter of intent with the Boston Planning Department Feb. 20 on behalf of an LLC controlled by Colman Grealish, called K&CG Properties LLC.
The letter says Grealish plans to file plans for a 108-unit, 7-story apartment building on what’s currently the site of a 2-story auto body at 80 Christopher St., in quadrant of the neighborhood that’s largely populated with auto bodies, construction yards and other light manufacturing uses.
Fifteen percent of the units will be deed-restricted affordable units for renters making 60 percent of area median income, the letter states, with a further 3 percent being set aside for participants in federal or state rental voucher programs.
Little additional information about Grealish’s plans is included in the letter.
The Proposed Project will increase housing supply in proximity to transit and employment centers, and support a more active, mixed-use subdistrict,” Ross wrote. “The Proposed Project aligns with the City’s goals for sustainable development, climate resilience, and efficient land use, while contributing meaningfully to Boston’s housing production and affordability objectives.”
While national developer The Michaels Organization has built one large multifamily complex further afield on Morrissey Boulevard, and proposed a second next door, Fields Corner itself has seen only limited developer interest in recent years.
TLee Development completed a 29-unit mixed-use, fully-income-restricted building next to the neighborhood’s MBTA Red Line station in 2022, but no predominantly market-rate development has been completed in the immediate area since 2016.
The BPDA board approved one largely market-rate, 41-unit building at 1420 Dorchester Ave. in 2023 and a second, largely market-rate 47-unit building that partly makes use of two historic structures at 1444-1446 Dorchester Ave. in 2025. The board is also considering a proposed 23-unit, largely market-rate building at 1428 Dorchester Ave.
Neither have city planners haven’t targeted the area for growth.
The neighborhood was originally an early candidate for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s Squares + Streets initiative upzoning neighborhood commercial nodes, but that exercise was one of several that appeared to be put on hold in the lead-up to the 2025 mayoral election amid pushback from neighbors skeptical about additional density.
