An architectural rendering of the Arboretum Road housing development in Boston's Roslindale neighborhood. Image courtesy of Embarc Design

Boylston Properties is looking for growth opportunities in the multifamily housing sector with an active $300 million development pipeline, after hiring a former AvalonBay Communities executive to lead the housing push in Greater Boston.

Boylston Properties Principal Andrew Copelotti said the company plans to focus on transit-oriented multifamily developments.

“The housing crisis in our region is dire, and we believe increasing supply is one of the only ways we can enact change in the short term,” Copelotti said in a statement.

Michela DeSantis, who was named senior development manager for the Boston-based developer this year, oversees the multifamily development and acquisition activity.

The MBTA Communities law is expected to open up new opportunities for multifamily development, with its recently-strengthened requirement that 177 eastern Massachusetts communities allow multifamily development by-right near transit stops.

Communities outside of Boston served by the MBTA subway network – Braintree, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Milton, Newton, Quincy, Somerville and Revere – must have their MBTA Communities-compliant zoning in place by Dec. 31 this year, while communities that host commuter rail stops and others with bus service or which are near an MBTA commuter rail stop must have adopted their new zoning by Dec. 31, 2024. Small towns at the fringes of the MBTA network have until Dec. 31, 2025.

Boylston Properties said it plans both acquisitions and ground-up developments, but declined to comment further. In February, the company began permitting for a 230-unit apartment complex at 18-22 Arboretum Road in Roslindale.

As a senior director of development at AvalonBay, DeSantis oversaw development of more than 1,000 apartment units in Massachusetts including projects in Acton, Easton, Brighton and Saugus.

Boylston Properties, best known for recent developments such as Watertown’s Arsenal Yards with a major life science component, is focusing on multifamily as many of its recent developments reach stabilization, the company noted.