Image courtesy of CBT Architects
Boston officials approved construction of two apartment towers that will transform a commercial section of Morrissey Boulevard and create a new landmark for Southeast Expressway commuters.
Developer Copper Mill plans to begin initial site work and demolition preparations late this year, principal Andrew Flynn said.
“We understand the trades are hungry for work, and housing is a very acute need in the city,” Flynn told Boston Planning & Development Agency directors on Thursday.
The first phase of the project, replacing the former WLVI-TV building, includes two 18-story towers totaling 613,320 square feet containing 754 apartments, and 414 parking spaces in a 3-story underground garage.
Flynn’s Copper Mill Development took over the project in late 2024 from the original developer, Center Court Partners, which began permitting in 2019.
The 75 Morrissey Blvd. project includes 151 income-restricted units, or 20 percent of the total. A 23,900 square-foot public park will be built between the two buildings.
The two buildings, built in the first phase of a six-building master planned project, will rise at the southern end of the 9-acre site, next to the former Boston Globe headquarters-turned-office/lab-complex now known as Southline Boston.
The first phase includes construction of a new east-west road running through the site and off-site upgrades to vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian access.
BPDA board member Matt O’Malley pressed Flynn for details on the selection of tenants for 7,450 square feet of ground floor space designated for community and/or civic space. Flynn said the likely occupant will be a nonprofit entity.
As part of the community benefits package for phase one, developers agreed to donate $600,000 to the Boston Parks Department for maintenance of Moakley Park in South Boston, and $209,755 toward the city’s bike share system. The project will be built with all union construction labor, and received support from local trades executives during a public hearing Thursday.
The Morrissey Boulevard project was one of three new developments approved by the BPDA board this month.
At 1444-1446 Dorchester Ave. in Fields Corner, The Beantown Companies of Waltham received approval for a mixed-use redevelopment including 47 residential units, along with commercial and storage space.
And at 344-350 Washington St. in Brighton, a Medway-based developer received approval for 19 home ownership condominiums with ground-floor retail space.
