Image courtesy of MassHousing
Wood Partners is joining a growing list of national developers seeking to build large-scale multifamily housing in Boston suburbs under the Chapter 40B affordable housing law.
The Atlanta developer is beginning permitting for 234 conventional apartments on a Newtonville site previously approved for a continuing care community.
Wellesley-based Mark Development received approval in 2022 for a 233-unit continuing care community on the 2.7-acre industrial site, located at 38 Crafts St. behind the Whole Foods Market property.
In June, Wood Partners signed a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire the property, according to a site eligibility letter submitted to MassHousing.
Wood Partners listed acquisition costs of $36.27 million and estimates the project will require a $73 million construction loan and a $60 million equity investment. The project architect is Cambridge-based PCA.
Wood Partners, which has local offices in Lexington, is preparing to seek approvals under Chapter 40B, the comprehensive permit law, for a development that would include 59 income-restricted units, or 20 percent of the total.
Affordable units would rent for $2,424 and up, according to the application. Market-rate units are estimated at $3,600 to $6,850.
Michael Yuen, vice president at Eastern Bank, submitted a letter of support stating that it has “a strong interest” in providing construction and permanent financing for the project.
The site is currently occupied by school bus and moving company vehicle storage and a residence.
Branded as Alta Newton, the project is subject to approval by the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals. If either approved by the city voluntarily or ordered approved by the state Housing Appeals Committee, it would be the second 40B complex OK’d for Newtonville in recent years, after Boylston Properties’ 295-unit 78 Crafts St. project next door, which received approvals in 2024.
The two developments and the Newtonville retail node are slated to be served by significantly more frequent MBTA commuter rail service pending major upgrades to its station and several others elsewhere in Newton.
