By Emily Resnevic/Gazette Staff
A proposal by the Trellis Group LLC to convert the Clutch Works property at 1486 Tremont St. into residential apartment units and retail space was approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority board on Sept. 12.
Mission Hill’s Jason Savage, a main developer of the project, hopes to see the building process begin soon.
“We are still in the process of paperwork and obtaining a permit from the Inspectional Services Department,” he said. “We hope to break ground by the end of this year.”
Clutch Works, the business currently occupying the location of discussion, is an auto supply store with a large parking lot around it. Investigation has led to the discovery of lead paint and building materials containing asbestos, and the demolition proposal promises to safely dispose of those materials.
The new building will offer studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units with optional indoor garage spaces. The developers agreed not to lease units to full-time undergraduate students in response to community concerns. The building is also required to provide one affordable unit, which is slated to be a studio apartment at 70 percent of area median income.
The building will have ground-level retail space that might become either one large unit or two smaller ones. According to the project’s website, the developers hope to attract local and regional businesses to occupy that space.
“We look forward to finding some great retail tenants,” Savage said. “We’re really excited to break ground.”