Construction of the apartment building A would begin the 176 Lincoln St. development in Allston under a proposed project change/Image courtesy of CBT Architects
Berkeley Investments’ redevelopment plan for the long-dormant 176 Lincoln St. site in Allston is shifting to reflect the difficult financing conditions that continue to plague commercial projects.
The Boston-based developer is seeking to move the income-restricted portion of the project off-site, enabling it to obtain financing for construction of the first apartment building.
The 314-unit residential component includes an allocation of 45 income-restricted units, 35 of which would be moved to an off-site location, according to a proposed project change submitted to the Boston Planning Department.
The new off-site housing would be located at 108 Holton St., a 2-acre Harvard-owned property currently occupied by a warehouse, and include units reserved for households earning 30 to 80 percent of the area median income. The 10 income-restricted artist lofts would be included in the apartment building on the 176 Lincoln St. property.
Developers also proposed redesigning the underground garage at 176 Lincoln St., and reducing total spaces from 710 to 600.
The project includes 548,000 square feet of approved office, lab and R&D space, which would be built in a later phase.
Berkeley Investments is competing against nearby Allston lab developments still seeking initial tenants including Lendlease and Ivanhoe Cambridge’s 60 Guest St., King Street Properties’ Allston Labworks and Tishman Speyer’s Harvard Enterprise Research Campus.
Berkeley Investments predicted a single 38-month construction phase for the entire project when filing its initial plans in October 2020, to minimize disruption to the neighborhood. The project is a partnership with Harvard University, owner of the 5.3-acre property bordering the Massachusetts Turnpike.
A 400,000-square-foot telecom facility was completed on the site but never occupied under previous ownership.
Another major mixed-use project, Hilco Redevelopment Partners and Redgate’s 776 Summer in South Boston, is seeking approval to begin construction of its own residential buildings first because of the lab leasing slump. The project is approved for 636 units.
