Image courtesy of The Architectural Team

Boylston Properties received approval to develop a 295-unit apartment complex in Newtonville under the Chapter 40B state affordable housing law.

The five-building project will include a 20 percent affordable component, with those units reserved for households earning a maximum 50 percent of area median income.

The Newton Zoning Board of Appeals last week unanimously approved the 78 Crafts St. project, which will be built on a site located behind the Whole Foods Market on Washington Street.

“We believe that the deeper affordability of these units is critical to help meet community needs for low-income families and individuals, particularly given the shortage of affordable housing in the City and surrounding cities and towns,” the Newton League of Women Voters wrote in a support letter submitted to the zoning board.

In September, Boston-based Boylston Properties submitted a series of changes to the original January proposal in response to comments from city officials and residents. The developer reduced the unit count by 12 units while increasing parking from 263 to 278 spaces

A Boylston Properties spokesperson said no timetable has been set for starting construction.

In January, the new owners of a stalled apartment development in Newtonville received financing for a 292-unit project. The 3-acre site includes the former Barn Family Shoe store and surrounding residential and commercial properties off Washington Street on 

New Jersey-based Garden Homes acquired the property from Mark Development and received $117 million in construction financing from Goldman Sachs Bank USA. That project includes a 25 percent income-restricted component.