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10 stories of affordable housing planned for Back Bay development
The proposal also includes more than $54 million in investments for the Hynes Convention Center MBTA station.
A developer is seeking Boston’s approval to build over the Massachusetts Turnpike in Back Bay, proposing 125 affordable housing units, 12 stories of lab or office space, MBTA station improvements, and a public bike storage area.
Just don’t expect to find a parking space — The Peebles Corp.’s proposal doesn’t include any on-site parking.
The air-rights site, known as Parcel 13, stretches over the Mass. Pike between the Hynes Convention Center MBTA station and Boylston street. The project is now under Boston Planning & Development Agency review, with the next public meeting scheduled for Nov. 14.
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Here’s what to know about the developer’s proposal:
What does the project entail?
The project, to be built under a 99-year lease from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, includes two main components: a 10-story apartment tower with all affordable housing and a 12-story lab or office building.
Peebles says the project will boost the affordable housing stock in Back Bay, where only 6% of housing units are considered affordable — far below Boston’s neighborhood average of 19%.
The developer intends to pursue both city and state subsidies for the housing, as well as federal low-income housing tax credits, The Boston Globe reported in April. Peebles is also asking elected officials to allocate some federal infrastructure money for the project.
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“That’s what it’s going to need to get the housing done, but we’re confident that we’re going to be able to do that,” Don Peebles — Peebles Corp. founder, chairman, and chief executive — told the Globe.
He added: “We think that having affordable housing in the most expensive area in Boston says that this is a moment in time that developers, in partnership with the state, are meeting the community’s needs.”
The proposal also includes more than $54 million in investments for the Hynes Convention Center MBTA station, according to a project notification form filed last month. The funds will go toward accessibility and compliance upgrades at the station, which currently lacks an accessible path to Green Line platforms.
Additional features include a “micro-mobility hub” with more than 100 public bicycle spaces and lockers, as well as 10,700 square feet of street-level retail.
“To limit traffic impacts, the project will not have any on-site parking,” the developer explained.
Speaking of traffic…
Peebles is also proposing that Boylston Street be converted to one-way traffic eastbound (inbound) between Massachusetts Avenue and Dalton Street, in order to improve traffic flow and safety.
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The switch to one-way inbound traffic is consistent with the balance of Boylston Street east of Mass. Ave., Peebles said in the project notification form, and “will simplify and result in safer intersections … and will accommodate new and more robust plantings and greenscaping along this gateway block to the Back Bay neighborhood.”
The timeline
If the project moves forward, Peebles expects to begin construction in the first half of 2024, with the development due to be completed in early 2027.
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