An advisory group is supporting developers’ plans for a co-living complex at 525 Lincoln St. in Allston, including a 20 percent affordability component and ban on undergraduate residents and short-term rentals.

ARX Urban and Boylston Properties are seeking to develop the 6-story, 129,175-square-foot Common Allbright complex with 80 apartments totaling 282 bedrooms, including 70 three- and four-bedroom suites containing shared kitchens and living rooms. The remainder would be studios.

Members of the impact advisory group advising the Boston Planning and Development Agency on the project notified the BPDA they support the plans after extensive discussions with the developers on affordability, transportation and community benefits.

“We appreciate the proponents’ commitment to housing affordability in the form of a unique co-living apartment building,” members wrote in a letter submitted to BPDA staff.

Developers are setting aside four studios and nine co-living suites as affordable units, rented to individuals making 70 to 100 percent of the area median income. The minimum lease term would be 12 months, with no short-term rentals allowed.

Affordable units would rent for $844 per month, compared to $1,500 for the market-rate units.

Developers say the co-living model offers rents that are 20-30 percent lower than comparable studio apartments. The benefits to developers: projected net operating income that’s 23 percent higher than a conventional apartment complex, according to materials provided by Common Living Inc., which would manage the Allston complex.

Residents with vehicles would be required to purchase on-site parking separately from their rent, and developers will provide all residents with $20 monthly MBTA pass subsidies. The complex will include up to 60 garaged parking spaces.

The proposed community benefits agreement includes a 1,250-square-foot ground-floor space available to the community and $5,000 contribution for park improvements in the Lower Allston and North Brighton neighborhoods.

Boston’s first co-living development, 7Ink by Ollie, is under construction at 217 Albany St. in South End.

Allston Co-Living Complex Gets IAG’s Support

by Steve Adams time to read: 1 min
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