Image courtesy of HDS Architecture
Developers filed plans for an 85-unit all-electric residential building that would contribute to Cambridge’s Affordable Housing Trust as a trade-off for not meeting the city’s green roof requirements.
The site near the rotary of Fresh Pond Parkway and Concord Avenue contains four lots occupied by a pair of small office buildings and a garage, according to an application submitted to the Cambridge Planning Board. It includes parcels at 9 and 25 Birch St. and 30-36 Bay State Road.
The site would be redeveloped as a 6-story, 91,585-square-foot building containing 85 housing units. Developers propose 15 screened ground-floor parking spaces and a 1,580-square-foot roof deck with views of Fresh Pond Reservation.
The developer, BSR Birch LLC, lists Donald F. Law Jr. as manager.
The building height of nearly 70 feet is allowed by right in the city’s C-1A zoning district, according to a project summary. But it will require a special permit for not meeting the zoning ordinance’s 80-percent green roof area requirement.
The building would include 6,710 square feet of green roofs on floors five and six, but the main roof would be covered by 85 heat pump condensers for the individual apartments, along with those for common areas.
Under Cambridge’s zoning ordinance, the Planning Board may waive the minimum green roof requirement if a developer makes a unit price contribution to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust. The fund helps pay for and preserve income-restricted developments.
At neighborhood meetings held in December and January, residents “questioned whether the architectural style of the building was appropriate for the location, expressing displeasure with the aesthetic and noting that it looks like a skyscraper in the middle of Harvard Square,” according to a summary of public comments submitted with the application.
The development team includes HDS Architecture, landscape architect MDLA, civil engineer Hancock Associates, transportation consultant Vanasse & Associates and sustainability consultant enviENERGY Studio.
A public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on July 21.
