| As the $2.3-billion South Coast rail project enters the next phase of design and permitting, communities and developers are envisioning growth hotspots in smart-growth districts around future transit hubs.
In Taunton, a developer has proposed an apartment building next to the future site of the commuter rail station. Steven Koss, a Stoughton real estate agent, bought the 2.7-acre site 10 years ago. With the South Coast rail moving into the construction phase, the property has fresh potential to be redeveloped.
Koss has filed plans to build 60 apartments and retail space at the former rail station property now, which contains a multi-tenant office building. With increasing concern about housing costs in Greater Boston, the project would provide workforce housing for Boston-area commuters with steeply discounted rents in the $1,200 to $1,300 range.
“There is a huge demand out there for quality apartments, according to our market studies,” Koss said.
State transportation officials this month awarded a 10-year, $210-million contract to Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. for design of the 55-mile New Bedford and 53-mile Fall River lines. The first-year $12-million phase will cover preliminary designs and environmental permitting.
The project has been a long-time priority for Gov. Deval Patrick, who maintains it will improve South Coast residents’ access to well-paying jobs in Greater Boston while stimulating development and job growth in 31 communities along the rail corridor. The administration encouraged communities to adopt clustered village-style development near the rail stations.
Taunton is promoting higher-density mixed-use development, anticipating that developers will want to build apartments, offices and shops near the future rail connection to Boston’s South Station. The city adopted the transit-oriented district surrounding the future train station on Arlington Street, and a second district around the Greater Attleboro-Taunton Regional Transit Authority bus terminal on Oak Street.
The districts encourage dense, walkable development, including retail, offices, apartments and row houses in a mixed-use layout. Up to 48 housing units per acre could be built by special permit.
Profitability Questions Linger
A developer who specializes in urban and transit-oriented projects said the South Coast rail project could be a partial solution to Greater Boston’s shortage of affordable middle-class housing.
“Taunton residents are going to have more access to Boston where you have the bulk of the state’s economic activity,” said James Keefe, president of Boston-based Trinity Financial. “As Boston has been considerably less affordable, some of these outlying cities can provide very affordable alternatives, but they can also access their jobs in Boston.”
A study released this year by Metropolitan Area Planning Council concluded that Greater Boston needs to build 435,000 new housing units by 2040 to maintain its economic competitiveness.
Improving access to better-paying jobs could make it easier for developers to profit from multifamily development on the South Coast, where lower rents make projects financially risky.
“That creates what we call a ‘capital gap,’” Keefe said. “You do see multifamily housing going up sporadically, but you don’t see it consistently unless it’s subsidized.”
Trinity Financial is nearing completion of a $73-million redevelopment of 160 apartments and townhomes in Taunton called Lenox Green, which was subsidized by a $22-million federal HOPE VI grant. The project is located in the city’s second transit-oriented district near the GATRA bus terminal.
The state legislature is considering a new economic bill that would establish a transformative development fund to encourage developers to invest in the Gateway Cities, 26 communities outside Greater Boston that have suffered economic losses in recent decades. The bill includes a development fund that would be divided among the Gateway Cities to subsidize smart-growth projects. Lawmakers are debating the annual allocation, with Gateway Cities advocates arguing that at least $50 million a year is needed for the fund to have a significant economic impact.
Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com
