Roche Bros. wants to open a new store in proposed Brighton development
It might be good news for the building, since Zillow recently found grocery stores are good predictors of increasing home value.
Brighton Center might be the next Boston neighborhood getting a Roche Bros.
The Wellesley-based grocery chain is interested in attaching itself to a proposed mixed-use development at Washington and Parsons streets, Universal Hub first reported.
The addition of a Roche Bros. store was discussed at a recent Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) neighborhood meeting about 425 Washington Street, according to Universal Hub, and Roche Bros. spokesperson confirmed to Boston.com that the grocery store is exploring the option.
Legend Group, the developer of the project at 425 Washington Street, called for a building with “neighborhood service retail at the ground level’’ with one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment units above in its 2013 project filing to the BRA.
The plan would be to have 60 apartments, along with 44 retail space parking spots and 95 below-ground spots for residents.
Universal Hub noted that residents at the meeting were most concerned with the potential traffic increase that could come with adding new retail and residences to Washington Street.
The BRA still lists the project as currently “under review.’’
The original filing stated this project will provide a “convenient, affordable housing alternative for the neighborhood, serving existing residents and those wishing to move back into the City of Boston.’’
The fact that Roche Bros. is showing interest in this space is probably good news for the neighborhood. A recent Zillow report found that home values grow faster if they are closer to a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.
“Like Starbucks, the stores have become an amenity in their own right – a signal to the home-buying public that the neighborhood they’re located in is desirable, perhaps up-and-coming, and definitely improving,’’ Zillow Group Chief Economist Stan Humphries said in a statement.
Zillow did not look specifically at Roche Bros, which only has stores in the greater Boston area.
Zillow found that between 1997 and 2014, homes near Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s consistently had higher values than the country’s median homes.
Humphries continued, “Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the stores may actually drive home prices. Even if they open in neighborhoods where home prices have lagged those in the wider city, they start to outperform the city overall once the stores arrive.’’
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