Image courtesy of The Architectural Team

Boylston Properties will seek approval for a 307-unit apartment complex on a cluster of commercial properties in Newtonville under the Chapter 40B affordable housing law.

The Boston-based developer estimates the project cost at $181 million, including $25 million for acquisition costs for 11 parcels on Crafts Street spanning nearly 5 acres, according to application materials submitted to the city of Newton.

The site, located north of Whole Foods Market, is currently occupied by eight commercial buildings and a two-family home.

The project would  include four apartment buildings ranging from 4- to 6 stories, while retaining nearly an acre of green space, according to a project eligibility letter submitted to city officials. The 266 parking spaces would be located in ground-level podiums in three buildings, along with a 2-story parking garage.

The project would reserve 20 percent of units for households earring a maximum 50 percent of area median income. Boylston Properties estimates rents for the affordable units would range from $1,298 for studios to $1,929 for three-bedroom units.

Market-rate units would range from $3,100 to $5,900.

Boylston Properties has signed purchase-and-sale agreements for six of the 11 parcels, located on Crafts Street, Maguire Court and Court Street, according to the application.

The property is not located within areas in Newton recently approved for by-right approval of multifamily housing under the MBTA Communities law, or part of the city’s ongoing Village Center rezoning process.

Newton recently attained “safe harbor” status under Chapter 40B, meaning that 10 percent of its housing units are classified as affordable. But the Boylston Properties proposal will be reviewed under Chapter 40B because it was filed in December prior to the city’s attainment of safe harbor status, according to Barney Heath, Newton’s director of planning and development.