Image courtesy of Arrowstreet
Redevelopment of the former Boston Edison power plant property in South Boston is expected to begin with residential buildings, in a change reflecting weak demand for commercial space.
The Boston Planning & Development Agency board approved the 636-unit housing phase of the 1.7 million-square-foot master-planned project, which also includes 860,000 square feet of office and lab space.
As they completed a demolition project in 2024, Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP) requested to start the project with housing to reflect the downturn in office and lab demand.
Groundbreakings also were delayed by negotiations with Massachusetts Port Authority to remove deed restrictions preventing housing on some portions of the site, which borders the haul road to the Massport-owned Conley Terminal.
HRP has requested the 16-percent income-restricted portion of the housing be located off-site. That approval is subject to additional public comment and a separate board vote, Senior Deputy Director of Development Review Nupoor Monani said.
“We weren’t able to get to consensus,” Monani said.
Some developers have asked the BPDA to provide more flexibility on off-site location of income-restricted units, citing financing challenges for new development. In some cases, developers partner with a separate affordable housing project in the neighborhood.
According to one option presented to an advisory group in May, HRP would partner with WinnCompanies on its redevelopment of the the Boston Housing Authority’s Mary Ellen McCormack public housing property in South Boston, while including 50 percent of the income-restricted units in two buildings at 776 Summer St.
Community benefits tied to the project include a $400,000 contribution to the Boston Transportation Department to pay for upgrades to sidewalks, roads and landscaping on East First and Summer streets.
U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch spoke in favor of the housing-first phasing, noting that developers have struck a project labor agreement with building trades.
“The end project represents the wishes of the community. I think the developer has done a nice job of listening and trying to turn those wishes into reality,” Lynch said during a public hearing Thursday.
At Thursday’s monthly meeting, the BPDA board approved a total of nearly 1.5 million in development, including 763 housing units.
At 11 Avenue de Lafayette in Downtown Crossing, a 5-story office building will be converted into 70 apartments by Boston-based Thibeault Property Development under the city’s office to residential conversion program.
In Allston, the Flint Cleaners property at 170-172 Western Ave. will be redeveloped as an 8-story, 20-unit residential building using mass timber construction by May and Hun Jae Lee, owners of the property and the dry cleaning business.
In Dorchester, a six-unit building at 24 Mt. Everett St. will be renovated to add 10 housing units by Milton-based N6 Properties.
And in South Boston, a 21-unit housing project at 662-666 East Broadway will replace a pair of single-story commercial buildings.
