At the October board meeting the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) board approved changes made to the previously BPDA approved project at 154 Terrace St.
Located between the Jackson Square and Roxbury Crossing MBTA stations, the development at 154 Terrace Street will create 66 new homeownership units. The project will contribute $1.29 million towards affordable housing through the City’s Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP), $112,500 towards the City’s Mission Hill Transportation Planning project, and build a new pocket park along Terrace Street.
The project, located on a vacant and underutilized site at 154 Terrace Street in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood adjacent to the AMTRAK Mainline and MBTA Orange Line tracks, was first approved in January 2020.
However, developer Pickle-Ditson Phase II LP filed a Notice of Project Change (NPC) with the BPDA in June 2021. This was the third NPC Pickle-Ditson filed in connection with the project since the community and BPDA process began back in 2006.
“Since the January 16, 2020 BPDA Board approval of the previous iteration of the project we redesigned several aspects of the building based on additional community input and unforeseen events that resulted in global transformative change to the way people live,” wrote Pickle-Ditson in their NPC filing. “Specifically, the (latest) NPC now contains 18 two-bedroom units, 13 more than the (previous proposal) and the (project) is now pulled back approximately 30 feet from the adjacent and already constructed Phase I of the Project. This generous setback improves the pedestrian experience along Terrace Street by creating a break in the street wall and adding a pocket park in between the two buildings. The setback also preserves the views of the Phase I Project. The proposed pocket park screens the transformers from the street which improves the street experience.”
The redesign also provides a six foot sidewalk along Terrace Street with a more pronounced recess at the main entry accentuated by a canopy. By removing a utility pole, and with the creation of the pocket park adjacent to an existing fire hydrant, the new sidewalk increases accessible access down Terrace Street.
“Furthermore, the first and second floors of the seven-story building are comparable to the six foot sidewalk creating a comfortable street wall for the pedestrian experience,” the filing continued. “The façade is populated with vertical ornament to complement the verticality of the adjacent historic building while horizontal features accentuate a strong base and top to complement its historic neighborhood.”