What’s Going on in Development in Boston Right Now?
Several developments around Boston will create new housing units and give new purpose to a historic building.
If you are looking for housing in Boston, the next few years may be a good time for you. The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and Economic Development Industrial Corporation (EDIC) has approved four projects around the city that are set to create 300 new housing units (and about 400 construction jobs) that will cost about $137 million.
The projects include turning an underutilized Jamaica Plain lot into housing and a self-storage facility, creating new housing units near the East Boston Greenway, and demolishing two buildings in South Boston to make a mixed-use building. The other project, in Fort Point, involves a little more rehabilitation.
The Fort Point building at 319 A Street will be transformed from an office building into 48 residential units with roughly 5,500 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
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The building was originally constructed 1914 and Boston Residential Group, LLC wants to preserve the historic brick building instead of tear it down.
In the historic preservation world this is called “building reuse.’’
The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab did an analysis that found “reusing existing buildings is good for the economy, the community and the environment.’’
The study also found rehabilitation projects create 50 percent more jobs than new construction projects.
The Whole Building Design Guide, which is a program of the National Institute of Building Sciences said:
“By reusing existing buildings historic preservation is essentially a recycling program of ‘historic’ proportions. Existing buildings can often be energy efficient through their use of good ventilation, durable materials, and spatial relationships.’’
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