Michael Coughlin Jr.
A project at 80-100 Smith Street, initially tabled in November, was approved during the Boston Planning & Development Agency’s (BPDA) board meeting last month. According to Board Chair Priscilla Rojas and the project’s webpage on the Planning Department’s website, the project would construct 218 residential units, 37 of which would be inclusionary development policy (IDP) units. There are also plans for 87 parking spaces and 262 bike spaces. Specifically, at November’s Board Meeting, Rojas voiced her concerns about how engagement with community and city leaders had gone and eventually moved to table the item. The motion was approved with four votes to table and one vote of present from Board Member Raheem Shepard. Ebony DaRosa, a Senior Project Manager at the Planning Department, indicated at last month’s meeting that the proponent met with City Councilor Sharon Durkan, former City Councilor and current Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kenzie Bok, the project’s impact advisory group, and Wille Pearl from the Mission Main Tenant Task Force after the project was tabled.
“That discussion centered around additional requests for mitigation and project commitments from the group,” said DaRosa. Following these conversations, the development team made several commitments. They will make one-time contributions of $200,000 to the Mission Main Tenant Task Force, $75,000 to the city’s park fund, and $75,000 to the Stabilizing Homeownership in Mission Hill Pilot Program. According to DaRosa, the Mission Main Tenant Task Force contribution will be used for rental relief and program-related expenses. At the same time, the funds for the Stabilizing Homeownership in Mission Hill Pilot Program will be used for homebuyer assistance. The development team has also committed to creating four speed bumps on Smith Street.
They will allow the community to use the project’s proposed courtyard from May to October for seasonal weekend activities from neighborhood organizations. Finally, the 37 IDP units will be accessible to voucher holders, and credit screening will be waived for those applicants. Since there was a full presentation in November, another one was not held. Board Member Kate Bennett commented, saying, “I just appreciate the team’s work over the past couple of months, and the community’s work, as well as the staff to get to this point.”
Rojas echoed Bennett’s sentiments: “Mission Hill is a very important neighborhood to the city, and so the actions taken are meaningful and important. So, I’m glad that they occurred.” Ultimately, the project was approved unanimously. For more information about the project, visit https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/80-100-smith-street.