Apartment project plan is filed

The high-end apartment building proposed for the Home for Little Wanderers site will have about 196 units and stand 65 feet tall, according to a plan filed last month with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA).

The Home is moving out of its three-building complex at 161 S. Huntington Ave. this year. Boston Residential Group wants to demolish all of the buildings and erect a new, 190,000-square-foot apartment building. The BRA will hold a meeting about the project on April 11. [See What’s Up listing.]

The plan says the building would have one- and two-bedroom units and various amenities, including a “fitness center and concierge.” It would have a blocky, modern design and be built in two connected parts, one four stories high and the other five stories. Twenty-six units would be rented at “affordable” rates.

There would be 170 on-site parking spaces, with 154 of them in a partially underground garage.

The project requires significant zoning variances, including for height, density and open space per unit. It also needs approval for its size under the Greenbelt Overlay Protect District that covers the property due its closeness to the Jamaicaway parkway and Olmsted Park. The developers previous said the project would require rezoning of the site, but the filing says that only variances are required.

The developer is aiming for a LEED-certified building, meaning it would be significantly energy-efficient. It would have bicycle storage and possibly a site for the car-share company Zipcar. The plan claims the project would have little shadow impact on the adjacent parkway and park.

The project will be subjected to several public meetings. If all goes well, the developer aims to start building late this year, with construction lasting 18 months.

The BRA is forming an Impact Advisory Group (IAG) to review any mitigations for the project’s neighborhood impacts in terms of design or traffic. The final membership list includes: Dave Baron, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council; Red Burrows, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council; Jennifer Flaata, Goddard House; Pat Flaherty, Mission Hill Neighborhood Housing Services; Kay Gallagher, Back of the Hill Community Development Corporation;  Claudio Martinez, Hyde Square Task Force; Kevin Moloney, Jamaica Pond Association; John Papson, Jamaica Pond Assocation; Michael Reiskind, resident; Patrick Stapleton, Sherrill House; Joe Silva, MSPCA; and Merlin Southwick, Mount Pleasant Home.

An illustration of the front of the apartment building proposed at 161 S. Huntington Ave. (Image from Boston Residential Group filing)

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