The developers of the proposed 1457 Tremont St. development have made slight alterations to the project and plan to file a project notification form with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) in the coming weeks.
Leland and Suzanne DiMeco, a Mission Hill-based husband and wife development team, are planning to redevelop the vacant Roxbury Council Knights of Columbus building. Suzanne DiMeco spoke with the Gazette last summer about their plans at that time to build a 40-unit, five-story mixed-use project.
Since then, they have switched up the development team, bringing in a new architect. Suzanne DiMeco said in a recent phone interview that they still plan on having a 40-unit building, but that the visual exterior has been “changed and updated” and that the first floor has been opened up, now allowing for two retail spaces.
The project was always intended to be energy sufficient, but Suzanne DiMeco said they have added another environmentally-friendly certification, this time dealing with the air quality inside the building. She said that it will be the first time in the city of Boston that a project will have such a certification.
Suzanne DiMeco said they have been meeting with BPDA and the community on the project. She said that a concern that the community has expressed has been over the possibility of undergraduate students living at the new building. But, DiMeco said, the community and the development team are on the same page about not having undergraduates live at the new building.
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Banning undergraduates from new buildings in Mission Hill does nothing to solve the problem. If anything, new housing should be built for Millennials and undergrads so that we can return families to the family-style triple deckers. This is a red herring at best, and class warfare at worst - as every new developer in the neighborhood has shown there will be no efforts to keep these units affordable.
Considering that Suzanne DiMeco was once an undergrad at BU, she should be ashamed of herself.
Rami, we are only responding to the voices of the Mission HIll community in regards to limiting undergrads to our building. And if you attended the MH Alliance meeting and other community meetings over the past year we did in-fact try to push for allowing undergrad to be able to live in our building and we got struck down. The comments we received from the community is that they want the schools to increase their off campus housing stock. On a personal note, I have no problem with mature undergraduates who are here to study and be an active member in the community. Our real estate office rents and manages undergrads every year. If you want your voice to be heard attend our upcoming public community meeting in April (TBD) and voice your concern there about this topic.
Best
Suz
Unfortunately as a young working professional with late hours, I can not attend as many community meetings as the other retired locals. That said, I have actively opposed every other new luxury condo unit on Tremont with similar undergrad provisions, and I will vocally oppose yours at the April meeting.
Will you make any efforts to ensure that the local residents who oppose undergrads can afford these units - other than the legally required minimum?
Why does your new building directly oppose the state mandate for new housing to be optimized for Millennials? http://s3.amazonaws.com/media.wbur.org/wordpress/1/files/2016/03/Final-Housing-Report.pdf
Students are the economic engine of this neighborhood, your business admittedly rents to undergrads - but you've only chosen to ban them from this new unit? Why?
Please be prepared to address these questions and many more at the April meeting. I look forward to the opportunity to hear ANY valid argument in defense of outright discrimination.