The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) board during its May 11 meeting approved the 1457 Tremont St. development.
The BPDA held a community meeting in April when the majority of attendees did not oppose the project.
Local developers Suzanne and Leland DiMeco have plans for an environmentally-friendly development to be built at 1457 Tremont St., the current site of a dilapidated Knights of Columbus building. The proposed building would be a 36,454-square-foot, mixed-use project with four floors of 40 residential units over ground floor commercial space.
The residential component of the building allows for five of the 40 units to be “affordable” at 70 percent area median income (AMI). There would be 24 studio units and 16 one-bedroom apartments. Residents would have access to a common area rooftop deck, which helps the development meet its open space requirements from the City’s zoning.
Residents making $48,000 to $80,000 annually qualify for 70 percent AMI, and “affordable” rent for a studio may be around $1,000. A one-bedroom at market rate would rent for $2,495 a month, which includes all utilities. The building would monitor electricity and water usage for each unit, and the information would be displayed publicly in the lobby to motivate residents to keep their consumption low.
The retail component of the development allows for one family style restaurant on the left side of the building, one retail business on the right side of the building, and one area to be reserved for Knights of Columbus and community space.
The building has goals to meet several certifications to demonstrate its low impact on the environment: Passive House, LEED, and WELL. These certifications would ensure high quality of construction and healthiness of the building’s indoor air quality. The building would have a ventilation system to filter particulates out of the air, and a solar panel canopy over the roof deck to meet some of the building’s energy demands. The five-story building would be roughly the same height as other buildings near it, though the solar panel canopy would tower a bit higher.
For more information on the project, visit bit.ly/2peg3PJ.