Seven developers have made bids on the request for proposals (RFP) for redeveloping the Art Park site, which is City-owned land between Parker and Terrace Streets.
The RFP is a culmination of a more than a year-long process and calls for housing and a community garden to be built along Parker Street and housing, commercial and light industrial to be built along Terrace Street. There has been opposition to building housing along Parker Street.
The Parker and Terrace Streets site currently contains community gardens and the Art Park. The Art Park is an area with murals, mosaic footpath tiles and colorful furniture. The park would be dismantled. The redeveloped site would have a larger gardening area and housing and might contain art elements.
The seven developers are E+ Mission Hill LLC (Greylock Glenville LLC, Urban Spaces LLC and Hart Development Associates); Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation; Sebastian Mariscal Studio, Inc.; Scott C. Payette; PT Mission Hill LLC (Chris DeSisto/Maple Hurst Builders); Art Park Residences, LLC (Urbanica, Inc.); and Truth Box Inc., D+P Real Estate and Peregrine Urban Initiative.
DeSisto is a Mission Hill developer with an office on Terrace Street, Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation is a community development corporation based in Roxbury and Urbanica is a high-profile company that has done many projects across the city.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and the DND are working together to find a developer for the site, which will be a “green building” project. The City has a similar “green building” project in the works on Highland Avenue in Roxbury. Urbanica, Inc. has been picked to develop that project.
John Feuerbach of the DND said a community meeting to review the bids might come in August or September.