Image courtesy of The Architecture Team

The developer behind a project planned for Boston’s most southerly neighborhood is asking city officials for permission to convert the project from a mix of condominiums and rental units to fully rental units.

The request from Boston-based Ad Meliora Asset Management to build the 151 condos in its 273-unit Residences at Readville Station project as apartments comes after a year of rapid increases in interest rates that sapped homebuyer interest and buying power in 2022.

A letter to Boston Planning & Development Agency Director Arthur Jemison from project representative MLF Consulting says “market and financing challenges” are impeding Ad Meliora’s ability to build the project’s home ownership component.

Beyond changing the project’s ownership structure, MLF’s letter says no other changes to the project are contemplated. Fifteen percent of the units in the 6-story building will be designated as affordable housing. The site a short walk from the MBTA’s Readville commuter rail station currently hosts a single-story light industrial building. Amenities include a pool and green space in a central courtyard, 273 car parking spaces in a basement garage, a 273-spot bicycle storage room, bike repair shop, dog wash station and fitness center.

The development was originally approved by the BPDA board in December 2020 and the Boston Zoning Board of Appeal in August 2021.

The developers later hired a Boston brokerage to market the approved site, before submitting the proposed project change to the BPDA this week.

Interest rate hikes and increased construction costs have threatened to derail approved multifamily developments, and Boston’s pipeline of proposed projects slowed in 2021.

City councilors have attempted to encourage more housing production through potential zoning changes, such as elimination of on-site parking minimums and density bonuses.

Opponents of Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposed increases in linkage fees and affordable housing required under the city’s inclusionary development policy say the changes would make it even harder to obtain financing for projects, particularly those with home ownership units.