Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi Architects
After a four-year hiatus, New England Development submitted a redesign of its plans for 240 apartments at Charlestown’s Bunker Hill Mall property.
The Boston-based developer reduced the building height from 85 to 70 feet, or 6 stories. The proposed 195,000 square-foot project is the first phase of a potential larger redevelopment of the 6-acre property at 201 Rutherford Ave. developers said in their first new filing to Boston officials since late 2021.
Completion of the first phase now is scheduled for 2028.
“The project presents an opportunity to transform an underutilized portion of a suburban-style retail center by introducing a residential component and creating a more vibrant and connected mixed-use destination,” New England Development wrote in the draft project impact report.
The building would occupy the western side of the property, replacing surface parking and the 99 Restaurant outbuilding. Under a previously submitted design, the 99 Restaurant would have remained.
New England Development previously proposed a 7-story, 206,000 square-foot building, which would have included smaller units as part of Boston’s since-expired compact living pilot program.
The changes reflect the goals of the PLAN: Charlestown study, which sets guidelines for development along the western side of the neighborhood. Large industrial parcels in the corridor have attracted acquisitions and redevelopment plans in recent years.
Proposed walk-up style units are now planned facing on West School Street, rather than Austin Street. In other changes, building setbacks were doubled along the edge of the property, and a pocket park is now planned at the corner of Rutherford Avenue and Austin Street.
New England Development is proposing up to 0.4 parking spaces per unit, or 96 spaces, within the structure at grade level.
The project would include 48 income-restricted units, representing 20 percent of the total, reflecting the city’s current inclusionary development policy. The total includes 13 percent of the units at 70 percent of area median income, and 7 percent at 80 to 120 percent of AMI.
Future phases of development would take place as existing leases expire, the filing states. Existing tenants include Whole Foods Market and CVS.
A public comment period on the changes expires March 11.
