BPDA Approves Burney Street Project

By John Lynds

At its May meeting the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) approved the project to bring 24 new rental units to Burney Street.

The four story building at 9-11 Burney St. is one of the first building in the neighborhood designed under the City of Boston’s recently adopted Compact Living Policy Pilot. This program was created with the aim of providing more affordable homes that are well-designed and well-located, allowing residents to live, work and play in their immediate neighborhoods.

Also part of the Compact Living Policy for the Burney Street project is a proviso to minimize impact on on-street parking. Residents of Compact Living projects, like the BPDA approved Burney Street project, will not be allowed to obtain neighborhood residential permit parking stickers. Developers of projects with Compact Living units must notify prospective residents about the inability to obtain residential parking permits prior to the signing of a lease or purchase of a unit.

Located in Mission Hill, within walking distance of the MBTA’s Orange and Green lines, 9-11 Burney Street will consist of 24 rental units, three of which are income-restricted as part of the BPDA inclusionary program.

There will be a mix of unit types including studios, one bedroom and two bedroom units. The approximately 1,625 square feet of ground-floor space will serve as a shared amenity area for residents.

“9-11 Burney Street is expected to provide many community benefits for surrounding businesses and neighborhood residents,” the BPDA wrote in its ruling on the project. “The project will create a laneway between the building and the rear of the existing buildings on Tremont Street, providing open space and potential seating for Tremont Street businesses.”

The laneway project is one of the highlights of the recently approved project. Conceptual drawings of the laneway show a bustling alleyway with open space and outdoor seating for restaurants like Milkweed, Bucktown and Crispy Dough. This would result in around 2,853 square feet of open space as an amenity for residents and patrons of surrounding businesses.

The project will also make significant investments in youth programming at the Tobin Community Center and maintenance work at the McLaughlin Playground.

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