##VIDEO ID:VViYwZzdzIA## e e e e e e e good afternoon my name is Priscilla roas and I the chair of the bpda board thank you for joining the December 12th 2024 Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Boston board meeting at this time the Boston Planning and Development agency is hosting public meetings in a hybrid setting for the health safety and accessibility of Boston residents hybrid means that our board meetings are conducted in person at City Hall in our boardroom on the 9th floor and virtually via zoom in Boston City TV for more information and updates visit Boston plans.org the open public meeting law requires that I notify that this meeting is being recorded Please be aware that an audio and visual recording of this meeting is being made and broadcast by Boston City TV which is a part of the city of Boston office of cable communications at expin Channel 26 RCN channel 13 and Verizon files Channel 9 62 was also being live streamed at boston.gov um and now if there's anyone in the audience who is uh recording this meeing can you please identify yourself now okay newspap okay um we've got that yeah okay um great and lastly an important request please kindly keep all conversations in the hallways to a minimum and leave the boardroom quickly and quietly the noise does carry into the board room and is picked up by our microphones um and you know sometimes this drops the presenters so uh thank you again for your cooperation to begin the meeting I will take a roll call of the members Miss Bennett present Mr Shephard present Mr om Al present and I Priscilla roas the chair and present item number one request authorization for the approval of the amendment of The November 14 2024 board meeting a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes item number two request authorization to transfer the lease between the edic and new Palmer Street limited partnership to the city of Boston for the use of approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial space located at 7 Palmer Street in the rockbury neighborhood effective January 1st 2025 Joseph good afternoon Madame chair Madam Secretary members of the board and director Shen my name is Joseph Lee chief of staff to the worker empowerment cabinet city of Boston and I'm here to request the authorization of the transfer of the lease between the edic and the new Palmer Street limited partnership to the city of Boston in the office of Workforce Development for the use of approximately 10,000 square fet located at Severn Palmer Street in rockbury of Massachusetts effective January 1st 2025 the office of Workforce Development provides several Public Service functions to the city of Boston which include both Youth and adult residences centered on the promotion of positive economic education participation in Workforce Development since 2007 the office of Workforce Development has used the space at 7 Palmer to host two programs in the staff that administer administer them youth options Unlimited in the centers of work worker Working Families the youth options unlimited program focuses on Case Management Services for court involved or gang and Affiliated youth ages 14 to 24 to help them provide uh help them become better successful members of the community as for the center of Working Families it provides free long-term financial and employment coaching to low and moderate income individuals and families to help them improve their financial literacy the center also host one of the busiest Boston tax Coalition sites that assess qualified low to moderate income Ci City residents with free filing Services both program service residents throughout Boston and is conveniently located to next to the Nubian Square MBTA bus stop which has numerous bus lines going through it and shuttles from the ruggle station which is located on the Orange Line in 2022 mayor Ru announced the creation of the worker empowerment cabinet under the leadership of Trin win who serves as his chief included in this cabinet is the office of Workforce Development whose transfer to the city and cabinet was a part of the recent transition of staff from the edic to the city of Boston to maintain the continuation of ow programming at this location and given 's move to the city and the worker empowerment cabinet owd is requesting the authorization from the edic and new Palmer limited partnership to transfer the lease to the city of Boston with all terms of the lease remaining effective thank you and I happy to answer any questions thank you very much uh do we have any questions or comments from the board okay hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moveed second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shephard hi Mr om Al I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you so much great work at owd just proud to be a part of that all right item number three uh request authorization to extend the tenative designation status with a joint venture between Lincoln property company and Quaker Lane capital for the long-term lease and Redevelopment of parcel U located at 7 Channel Street in the Rayman El Flynn marine park for 6 months ending June 30th 2025 y the mic was off all right thank you again Madam chair and members of the board my name is Yuna real estate development officer with the planning department um 7 Channel Street also known as parcel U is located in the r Raymond L Flynn Marine Park the approximately 45,000 ft site includes a two-story building of approximately 27,000 squ ft that previously housed stavis Seafoods and has been vacon for several years on June 8th 2022 W bpda issued the RFP for the site to capture opportunities offered by the Boston life science uh Mark lab Market in this location the RFP required proponents to include two development scenarios in their submitted proposals one of which would include the additional requirement for the delivery of a core and shell space within the development for community and their government use the bpda anticipates that under program B this space may serve as a Boston fire station for the Marine Park and the greater South Boston seport Neighborhood um Lincoln par uh Lincoln property company and CER Lane Capital the selected proponent uh proposed an approximately 262,000 foot ninef floor building with an office and lab space the proposed building will include a two- floor Firehouse on the ground floor and on the first floor the ground floor is proposed to include a cafe a co-working space a Lobby bike parking loading utilities and storage since the initial tentative destination award Lincoln and culane have been in active negotiations with the bpda staff on the terms of the ground leads for the Redevelopment of the site they have also been in coordination with with the bpda on starting the article 80 process during the next six month extension Lincoln and crer Lane must provide evidence of necessarily uh financing in equity undergo bpda design review and the bpda article 80 process and enter into an agreement with the Boston fire department so to be awarded final designation building permits must be ready for issuance and the terms and conditions of a ground lease must be fully negotiated in addition to obtaining any other necessary approvals required for the project to proceed so therefore staff recommends extending the T designation of this team thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions okay thank you any questions or comments from the board right hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lsmark I Mr Ali I and the chair votes I motion passes really looking forward to that to that fire station so thanks for your work on this thank you um okay item number four request authorization to issue a request for proposals for the long-term lease and Redevelopment of parcel M located in three Dolphin Way in the Marine in the Raymond Elfin Marine Park Yun thank you again um I'm here to request the authorization to advertise and issue a request for proposals for parcel M parcel M located in at three Dolphin Way within the Raymond elf Flyn Marine Park is a rectangular parcel of approximately 3 acres containing a vacant one-story building with a Meine space constructed Circa 1941 aka the premises uh the PDA previously issued rfps for the Redevelopment of this parcel in February 2027 uh sorry 2017 March 2018 and September 2019 among the three proposals received in the latest RFP in 2019 Eastern salt Inc was uh determined to be the most highly um advantageous proponent and was awarded tenative designation for their proposal to operate parcel M as part of a larger waterbor bulk Marine cargo terminal to be known as the South Boston uh um Marine multiport following a total of five extensions however uh this tentative destination will not be renewed at this month's board uh because this uh the project as originally proposed in the teams RFP is no longer deemed feasible by either bpda staff or E salt thus the tentative designation will be automatically rescinded without prejudice on December 31st 2024 bpda now aims to re-release the RFP incorporating the 202 2022 update to the uh the Raymond elf flan Marine Park master plan which requires 100% of the premises to be used for marine use BPD is objectives for the Redevelopment of parcel M are to promote Maritime dependent uses to further gener uh General Economic Development to support the PTO Boston and to create job opportunities for Boston residents uh the Massachusetts Port Authority or massport is also expected to release an RFP for the parcels on the mmt um also known as parcel s 6 C7 and 8 adj adjacent to parcel m in late 2024 or early 2025 which could offer expanded opportunities for business that would look to bid on both that part that side and parcel M so a critical funding source for the rehabilitation of the North Jetty which is critical to the Redevelopment of parcel M and the adjacent massport Parcels is support infrastructure development program or PP Grant administ administered by the US Department of Transportation Maritime Administration to allow appropriate time for the coordination with the selected proponent and to apply for the 2025 PP Grant opportunity the bpda seeks to release this RFP in January 2025 with a proposed recommendation um for tenative designation to the board in Spring 2025 thank you and I'm hoping uh I'm happy to answer any questions okay thank you very much um any questions or comments from the board just curious um uh can you just share a little bit more on um you know why Eastern salt um I I mean I remember the original presentation in the extension what was the explanation or reason right um so you know as you know we extended this entities that at least five times um during which time like they also apply for the pp grants and um overall like our conclusion is that this entity does not have the capacity to deliver their original proposal and there's just um such a significant infrastructure need that um requires to be addressed um and that requires a compilation of like very different funding sources um in order to make the necessary improvements and um yeah okay right thank you uh any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr shephard I Dr lsmark I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes thanks y thank you right item number five request authorization to issue a request for qualifications for house doctor architectural and Engineering Services on an as needed basis for edic owned properties William thank you and good afternoon Madam chair members of the board it's a pleasure to be before you today in person good to see you uh William erson Capital Construction uh before you today to request authorization to issue a joint design request for qualifications for the house doctor program this matter was last before you in uh uh May of 2022 when we got authorization to execute the fiscal year 23 to 25 house doctor contracts as a reminder we use the house doctor program to address unplanned unbudgeted time sensitive needs as well as small projects this is an architecture and engineering program in FY 23 to fy2 we utilize the program 44 times for a total of $1.5 million we are looking to continue through FY 26 through FY 28 this time with a program budget of $1.8 million it would be for the same categories and the same types of projects the RFQ would be issued following Massachusetts Journal laws chapter 7c and I would expect to come back before you with a recommendation to award in the spring happy to answer any questions you may have okay great any questions or comments from the board okay hearing and saying none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shephard hi Dr lsmark hi Mr omali I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you item number six request authorization to execute a general Construction contract with South Coast improvement company to repair the platform and canopy at 12 Channel Street in the Raymond Elin Marine Park in an amount of$ 3,974 31 and to further execute any change orders that may be required to complete the work as deemed necessary by the director for a total contract amount not to exceed 4,367 47410 will you all right thanks again uh so we are looking for authorization to execute a Construction contract this is with the South Coast improvement company and it is for our 12 Channel Street platform in canopy that's essentially our loading dock uh this matter was last before you November of 2023 to request authorization to issue the invitation for bids uh as you'll remember 12 Channel Street nine-story Building built in 1941 by the US military it was a Navy uh Storehouse there's a loading dock that wraps three sides of the building it's in serious condition in need of critical repairs we originally bid this in April of 2024 we received only two bids both of those bids were uncomfortably over budget uh based off of feedback and evaluation of the market conditions we decided to rebid the project we did so September 9th of this year we had more than 80 interested parties downloading the invitation for bids and we received four bids on November 13th uh the lowest eligible contractor was indeed South Coast uh their bid was 3,970 431 we are requesting a total authorization of 4,367 47410 that includes a 10% contingency of $397,500 which would come out of the fy2 capital budget happy to answer any questions you might have uh I do have a question so just looking at the bids there's kind of pretty widespread so I just wanted to you know get a sense of is that a yeah just so our low bid was 4 million our high bid was about 6.7 the average was 5 million our estimate was 3.3 million which is a little bit closer to the low bid that we did receive we're comfortable with the four bids and that spread uh in South Coast price okay uh any further questions or comments hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lsmark I Mr Ali I and the chair votes I motion passes item number seven request authorization to amend the Engineering Services contract with Gale Associates Inc to include construction administrative Services uh in connection with the platform and canopy repair project at 12 Channel Street within the Raymond Elfin marine park for an additional uh 2ou $216,200 uh I go for a total contract amount not to exceed $41,250 the design contract with Gail Associates for the same project uh we originally got authorization for this contract of June of 2022 uh at that time the estimated construction value was 800,000 as you just heard the actual construction project is in the magnitude of $4.4 million we need to add more uh construction Administration hours to the the architect of Records contract so they can have sufficient oversight of this project uh we are looking to increase the project the contract by $216,200 that would be a total contract value of $41,250 of the awarded construction value uh which is reasonable for this project happy to answer any questions right any questions or comments from the board hearing and saying none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lansar I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes item number eight request authorization to execute a Construction contract with Lee Kennedy Construction Incorporated for Suite 605 build out at 12 Channel Street in the Raymond Alin Marine Park in an amount of $1,400 and to further execute any change orders that may be required to complete the work as deemed necessary by the director for a total contract amount not to exceed $1,144 th000 williiam thank you this matter was last before you in August of this year to get authorization to advertise the invitation for bids as you'll recall Suite 605 is a 7,000 squ foot Suite that has been identified for the relocation of planning department staff from 43 Hawkins Street namely uh folks in finance procurement and the HR teams uh we bid this project September 30th of this year we had more than 100 interested parties downloading the invitation for bids we received eight bids which was quite impressive on October 24th uh the lowest responsible eligible bidder was in fact Lee Kennedy at a bid price of $1,440 th000 we are requesting a total contract authorization of $1,144 th000 which includes a 10% contingency of $114,000 all of which will be funded from the fy2 capital budget happy to answer any questions thank you any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lanmark I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes last one William thank you item number nine request authorization to execute an engineering design Services contract with child's Engineering Corporation for birth 10 repairs in the Raymond Alin Marine Park in an amount of one $122,500 43.5 all right so this one was last before you September of this year requesting authorization to advertise the RFP uh birth 10 as you'll recall is in the Marine Park uh it is bordered by Summer Street and the reserve Channel it is the Home Port of Boston Harbor Patrol unit as well as Thompson Island Outward Bound a recent inspection of the property identified some concrete Seawall repairs some masonry repairs and some Fender pile repairs so we are seeking to execute a contract with child's engineering uh to provide uh further inspection permitting and construction documents and construction Administration we put out the RFP on October 7th we had 30 interested parties downloading the RFP three proposals were submitted on November 4th with child's being determined to be the most advantageous respondent uh their fee proposal was for $122,500 that includes a 10% contingency of $1,258 which would be funded from the fy2 capital budget happy to answer any questions thank you any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr Lanark I Mr ell I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you William okay uh and last item uh Personnel Michael thank you madam chair members of the board Madame secretary and director Shen we have two items for your consideration on the edic agenda with the exact detail included in the board members we have one Employee Service contractor and the development review Department manavi data we have one resignation in the office of Workforce Development Sarah sui director of RSC evaluation analysis and owd thank you I I'll have any question answer any questions you may have okay uh any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Mr Shephard hi Dr lansar hi Mr om Al hi and the chair votes I motion passes thank you Michael um and uh now I need a motion to adjourn this meeting so moved second okay roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shephard hi Dr lmart Mr I and the chair post I motion passes meeting adjourned we now begin the uh second portion of our meeting thank you for joining the TW December 12th 2024 Boston Redevelopment Authority board meeting at this time the Boston Planning and Development agency is hosting public meetings in a hybrid setting for the health safety and accessibility of Boston residents hybrid means that our board meetings are conducted in person at City Hall in our boardroom on the ninth floor and virtually via zoom and Boston City TV at the same time so uh what else okay for more information and updates visit Boston plans.org the open meeting Law requires that I notify the public that this meeting is being recorded Please be aware that an audio and visual reporing of this meeting is being made and broadcast by Boston City TV which is a part of the city of Boston office of cable communications at xinity Channel 26 RCN channel 13 and Verizon files Channel 962 it is also being live streamed at boston.gov cable um again if there are if there is anyone in the audience who is recording this meeting please kindly identify yourself now okay thank you very much uh and last uh an important request please kind they keep all conversations in the hallways to a minimum and uh leave the room quickly and quietly as the noise carries uh into the boardroom and is picked up by our microphones so thank you in advance for your cooperation and to begin this meeting I will take a roll call of members Miss Bennett pres Mr Shephard present Dr lsmark pres Mr om Ali present and I roas the chair am present [Music] okay uh item number one uh request authorization for the approval of the minutes of November 14th 2024 board meeting a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I doc Mr shephard I Dr Lark hi Mr om Al I and the chair votes I motion passes item number two request authorization to schedule a public hearing on January 16th 2025 at 5:30 p.m. or at a date and time to be deemed appropriate by the director to consider the institutional master plan notification form for the proposed First Amendment to the suffk university 20 20 institutional master plan a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shephard hi Dr lsmark hi Mr Ali hi and the chair votes I motion passes item number three request authorization to schedule a public hearing on January 16 2025 at 5:40 p.m. or at a date and time to be determined by the director um to consider the notice of project change for the two Harbor building 2 South Boston Innovation campus project and to consider the the project is a development impact project uh motion is in order so mooved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lanmark hi Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes item number four request authorization to adopt the design Vision to guide the bpda and the community on future design strategies and recommendations intended to inform how the built environment is shaped to uplift um identity and Elevate quality design free thank you and good afternoon Madam chair Madame secretary and members of the board my name is Bri Breeze Outlaw I'm a senior Urban designer at the Urban Design Division and I'm here today on behalf of the Urban Design Team and Deputy Chief of Urban Design Diana Fernandez um I have slides there you go next slide please um mayor woo gave the ud team the task of creating and executing a beautiful human scale inclusive heterogeneous vision for the design of the built environment across Boston in order to leverage or uplift design as a tool to Anchor sense of place belonging and identity for those who call Boston home with design strategy and recommendations to advance this Vision um I want to know as as we undertook this we understood and understand understand that Boston is diverse in this people and its physical character um but also know that not every design not every neighborhood has equal access to this design quality and so this was where our conversation started next slide please um this was a collaborative effort um we relied on consultant services to provide support on Urban Design planning and engagement um as well as we LED this process in partnership with a community Advisory Board um which was a diverse residence U makeup of different neighborhoods with different backgrounds um experience in the planning process um and and an expertise um with that also we partner with different city departments to ensure that the design Vision um captur their Department goals as well as the vision for the city next slide this process took um a year or so um and included five phases each of these phases concluded with a deliverable that informs the design Vision next slide we launched Community engagement in the summer of 2023 we engage hundreds of bostonians about the what they love most about their neighborhoods um and in order to do that to really understand what good design means to them our engagement in included surveys popup events and a 3-day Open House Event um where we collected postcards annotated maps um mad lip survey responses um and we also conducted focus groups um where we gain more insight and help support with ref finding design ideas and recommendations um in addition to this the the community Advisory Board played a vital role in helping us shape the engagement Outreach but also grounding some of the knowledge that we were gaining during engagement to ground it in the community support and values um to to be reflected in design Vision next slide um ultimately the design Vision process was transformed into a vision um a statement of principles and ideas that the design team is committed to a poll in partnership with other departments um and and uphold the and Elevate the quality of design in our city we are committed to expanding design quality across the city um through a fair and transparent inclusive way um this includes how we what we aim to do when shaping projects um making sure that they are related to the context in the communities that they're within um Insurance sustainability um and the resiliency of other communities as well as contributing positively overall to um the the world around them next next Slide the design Vision it has four key principles um and these key principles will guide good design outcomes for the build environment in order to Anchor the elements such as the buildings the streets and Open Spaces um anchor them in a way that they support the sense of place and identity of these of communities particularly in the way places look and feel um we we believe that this would help us build more of what we value um and and really Center people and uplift diverse lived experiences through the through through design next slide um so I'll run through the principles really quickly the first principle is um design from understanding this principle is about the importance of understanding not only the physical characteristics of a place but also the people and the community of a place really understanding their lived experiences and their Community Values and how those needs can inform new projects next Slide the second principle is designed for the future um this is about understanding resiliency and how our built environment is constantly changing and how we can adapt to those changes while also um creating a built environment where the communities can Thrive next Slide the design beyond the boundary is uh a principle that speaks to the notion that projects are not built in isolation and should respond positively to their contacts so that includes creating greater access and connectivity to a place um and and representing that um creating the Sy contributing to the synergies of a of a place that is in the context next Slide the fourth principle is designed the details this emphasizes the opportunity for good design to Center culture um and identity and again starts to Anchor the sense of belonging through architectural details such as textures colors and patterns or it could be um an example of you know providing setback from the RightWay or from the streets to allow for Open Spaces that respond to the culture of a place and the cultural practices within a community next slide um so some of these principles are already being seen through the work that we do um we have examples here of a variety of different project scales and types and neighborhoods um kind of showcasing how these um principles um can start to shape our our city um and just to kind of highlight a few we have 156 Highland Street um in Highland Park neighborhood in Roxberry a good example of an infield project that is related to the context um we also have u in Brighton JJ Carroll house which is a great example of a senior affordable housing that leverages um that highlights resilience bu resiliency building and um the Civic um landscape of our City Hall Plaza being renovated to be more accessible and welcoming um to a variety of people next slide through the character analysis of the Boston Neighborhood engaging with community members um City staff and leadership as well as designers and developers we identify Place specific opportunities to inform future design guidelines um in a way to help us reimagine the public realm along with streets and Open Spaces shaping houses to support diverse families and people as well as creating Community connections and creating more care um and fine grain scale for the Main Street support that Community culture next Slide the design Visions uh has a 5-year implementation role map that is framed on recommendations from projects policy and process um all of these are aiming to advance the design ideas and and principles um and we've tried to we're we're we've identified different stakeholders to participate in each of those um I've spoken to the design principles and the design guidelines through this presentation but just to highlight a couple of more um um we're underway with u design review process reform creating Clarity in design expectations so that that process of um review is a lot clearer and quicker um as well as a neighborhood character analysis providing a process of an analyzing a place and it's really a practical tool of the first principle designning from for understanding next slide um in October we um we released a report we held held um public meetings and office hours in November Where We Gather feedback community members shared General appreciation and support for this effort as well as um by highlighting how the design V can strengthen the character and preservation of unique elements of the city um they did express some concerns um about the how this will be coordinated and how it interacts with other initiatives um in other departments and so we're actively you know trying to provide more clarity and resources to um to share that implementation and what this might look like um and next slide this next slide just shows some of those initial next steps you know continue to share the design Vision with different Community groups um providing materials to clarify with the design Vision interaction with other initiatives and projects as well as um you know starting to do an additional coordination internally for implementation um we'll have a series of different things that we will start to release as well as beta and testing to implement this so um so yes that's this concludes my presentation happy to answer any questions great great thank you um do we have any uh questions or comments from the board just a quick comment um I I think you guys have done an amazing job with this I've had the opportunity to um see this presentation a couple times and um just want to really commend the design staff embedding equity I think is is not always easy in in terms of um getting practical with our procedures and policies as a as a city and I think you got this is a great example of being successful with that so thank you thank you so much additional questions or comments uh great presentation Breeze um uh no no no come come come back I things to say my apologies we look at or wait did we vote on this or no yes we vote on this yeah right yeah okay um no again I just want to you know Echo um uh board member benett as well um I really appreciate the variety and creativity and inclusivity that uh you did with the community engagement and and doing those designs like right in where um where in the neighborhoods um uh I also um so I do have a question I was looking at the um the different types of streets so I saw the typ there was the a play Street a chill Street and a healthy Street yes can you tell me a little bit tell us a little bit about what that is yeah so so when we were doing all the engagement we and also when we were doing our initial analysis of the neighborhoods we observed how folks were using the streets a lot of folks are hanging out on the streets in front of local businesses that they've they've known for for dri along um and so the notion regards the streets is really expanding how we think of streets a lot of times we think of a street as getting from point A to point B in a lot of communities for various reasons streets are destinations and so it's really how do we Embrace that how do we think about um accommodating some of those uses um within the streets so play Street was really about um we we saw kids playing along the sidewalk um or people having like a quick dance party um but also like with the healthy streets you know a lot of cultures are using more being more active outdoor having access to those types of facilities um and then be built in within our rideway um was this how do you create that better access um when in the places that people are um find themselves in yeah that's great um and uh really excited for the database of community and cultural assets in a way that we can um you know track them uh and uh and ensure their protection um so yeah and I think overall I really appreciate the Des like the the language that you use uh with the design of um you know having a positive view uplifted like really kind of getting into what the character and the feeling is and that really you know again came through I see it I get it um and you know I can definitely see um uh why you had such good good participation uh so I would just appreciate your approach and also of acknowledging and keeping in mind um throughout this process the uh the concerns of the community and acknowledging those and absolutely yeah no okay was all my any further uh questions or comments okay hearing and saying n to motion is an order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr shephard I Dr lsmark I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you Breeze thank you that's a fun one um request number five request authorization to adopt the accessory dwelling units guide book to guide for sure future development of adus and offering a vision to address housing needs by providing neighborhood scale incremental housing options in Boston Citywide uh Andrea and will thank you uh good afternoon chair roas secretary Palos members of the board and director Shen my name is andreaa and I'm senior planner with the seing reform team I'm here with Will Cohen to present the accessory dwelling unit guide book over the last seven months the zoning reform team has been working uh doing a lot of research analysis and collaborating with uh Architects uh to come up with this resource next so many bostonians are interested in adus this includes young families looking to stay in Boston seniors aging looking to stay in their communities and agent place and homeowners looking for additional income through rent next people across many neighborhoods are interested in ad use including neighborhoods like Dorchester Rosland Dale Jamaica plane hiy Park and West Roxbury with prod L larger Lots next the city has been working on adus for many years since 2017 however only 200 adus have been permitted citywides and even fewer have been actually built currently uh only internal adus are allowed by right in this city under the Adu pilot 1.0 as long as no exterior alterations are made to the building matapan is an an exception in January of this year new zoning was adopted to allow both internal and external adus by right in matapan uh in all other neighborhoods Adu projects will most likely require a variance under current zoning regulations earlier this year the mayor announced plans to eliminate barriers for residents to build adus Citywide and the guide book that we're presenting today is an important first step toward achieving that goal however it's just the beginning The Next Step involves updating the Zoning for all residential areas across the city starting with neighborhoods primarily with large Lots next so we're here today to recommend that this guide book becomes a reference for the planning department as we prepare recommendations to the zoning Board of appeal for zoning relief since most adus outside of mapan will require zoning relief under current zoning the guide book will help us move toward our vision to address housing needs through adus providing neighborhood scale incremental housing options that fit into Boston's diverse neighborhoods next so why I needu guide book for homeowners this guide book will provide design inspiration to help help um understand what kind of Adu could be right for them and for their property and what they must consider in order to move forward with the design process for designers and contractors who are working with these homeowners the Adu guide book offers a range of architectural solutions that are appropriate uh for Boston and its neighborhoods and that and that align with the city's key values relative to aduse ensuring a matching neighborhood character ensuring safety and preserving trees for us in the city government and in the planning department this guide book will serve as a reference as we prepare recommendations uh for the zoning board of appeals it also presents a good guideline for the types of adus that are feasible and desirable for Boston it will be a valuable Resource as we work on updating zoning regulations showcasing the neighborhood scale incremental housing options that we want to promote next the guide book includes 12 different Adu designs for different lot sizes and building types commonly found in Boston's residential neighborhoods these designs include adus of various sizes ranging from Studios to three bedroom units uh they cover a range of options including internal adus like attic or basement conversions attached data use in the sidey yard or detached data use use in backyards and more so I will pass it on to wi will who will walk us through some of these designs uh thank you madam chair members of the board secretary director it is a pleasure to be with you in person today um next slide please so as noted by Andrea we have 12 different designs I we will not walk you through all 12 but we will give you three of them as a flavor of how this works we'll start with the smaller lots and so the guide book features five designs for Lots with li yard space it's splitting your unit converting an attic adding a floor converting a basement and extending into the rear yard and so um just to be clear these interventions while they are uh likely the best interventions for smaller Lots they're not exclusively for smaller Lots in fact we think they are well suited to lot with larger yard spaces or middle ground in fact the more limited intervention needed by some of these might make these an ideal intervention for a lot of property owners due to cost and complication um next slide please so let's start with to split your unit so um on the first page um for each one of the schemes we have a description of suitable use cases key considerations there's set of icons on the top of each of the schemes uh saying whether or not the Adu is internal attached detached uh the applicable building code whether stairs are required construction complexity and if you need sprinklers these are all high level things a homeowner wants to know immediately when thinking about whether or not a scheme makes sense for a property next slide please when we look at the plans you know you you see the original unit on the left the split unit on the right and in this case the Adu which is entirely internal uh this is splitting your unit the sort of least visible from the outside one uh it's highlighted in Maroon there's architectural guidance and tips um which we have aligned with the city's core values and those are highlighted throughout the page and call out so even if you can't read an architectural plan you be you can begin to make your way around what's happening on the page examples of those values in this case are preserving trees open space and using permeable surfaces for rear egress to support storm water management next slide please um additionally for each one of the designs we have guidance on how the edu can be adapted to fit various lots and structures um with examples of how existing structures um in the city are in many cases well suited for that kind of Ado next slide so now let's jump to medium right so for a medium-sized lots that is to say lots with a midsize yard or driveway say um we might have adus that can fit in the backyard or the sidey yard and for this case um we have schemes for adapting your garage some of the different kinds of extensions um or other situations for Corner Lots where you have more flexibility for what you can do along the street next slide please thank you um so again these these interventions are good for lots that are larger in size as well uh for this one attaching an Adu on the side this is excellent for uh Lots with a generous sidey guard of at least 20 ft one key consideration that you can see is ensuring clear access to the edu for emergency vehicles if need needed this is really something which drives a lot of the decision- making in in adus in urban settings this particular Adu is designed to have a very low impact on the existing building and it's situated so that it's easy to tie in to the existing building's water and sanitary lines next slide please for the Adu itself this is efficiently designed it's ideal for single single floor living or avoiding stairs which can be useful when we're thinking about multigenerational living it preserves existing trees and it keeps the backyard intact next slide please and again we provide various alternatives for side attached adus for this scheme with the exact placement and size depending on the needs of the homeowner and the exact dimensions of the building Andor lot and finally next slide we come to the larger lots and so uh let's go if we go to the next slide please when we look at this scheme the idea of building an ad Adu in your backyard this in many cases is the kind of Adu that um people who know about adus often think of in their head as the sort of paradigmatic example putting something a detached building in your backyard in this case you still need to have a minimum 10ft wide fire access path on one side of the house which is clear of any obstructions like parked cars to ensure that the fire department can access this detached Adu in case of emergencies next slide um in this case when you look at the plans you can see that the adus are designed to stay be below the maximum square footage and height specified in the Adu definition included in the zoning code from the mapan rezoning so even though this guide book is meant to apply Citywide we are actively lighting it up with ongoing zoning efforts happening across the city and then next slide in some cases um we see drawings like this one that let you imagine how your Adu could be used um in a more perspective kind of sense next slide we also like to give a glimpse of how the Adu could be lived in so we have section diagrams as well next slide but the work is not done the work always continues and so to implement the mayor's vision of enabling adus um based on this guide book we are now beginning additional work um working on how to update residential zoning and allow adus uh by right and we're beginning that with the largest lot areas of the city um to be clear the guide book this this document which you have before you and which we're working on getting published but we have it online and we're working on getting in the BPL branches across the city um it does not include any actual zoning changes itself so as noted at the beginning we we're seeking adoption of this so that we can use this um as we make recommendations because in indeed um these designs will still require relief from the zba um as zoning is currently written with the exception of matapan um this initiative that we've launched is called Neighborhood Housing zoning um we launched on November 19th with the public meeting um and the creation of an updated zoning map coming out of that um to allow this byright work will be essential as we move forward next slide please that concludes our presentation uh in conclusion our planning department team is working toward the development of a code that reflects our built environment furthers policy priorities in respects and reflects Boston as one city of many neighborhoods thank you and we are more than happy to take any questions you may have all right thank you very much great job Andrea and will so any questions or comments from the board no no questions Madam chair a couple comments um I'm delighted to see this terrific job team I want to see this publicized as as widely as possible this we should have an insert in our our water bills about this we should be at every libraries I know it'll be translated in as many languages as needed um I'm very passionate about this when the pilot program began in 2017 I wor I was in the council I worked very closely with then mayor Walsh and then director golden to make sure that JP and West Rocky were included in the pilot unfortunately West rockbury was not but those are two neighbors that are right for this every city in the Commonwealth should be using adus as a tool to keep families in their home to keep seniors to giving them the opportunity to age in place and to generate new uh growth and to grow our housing stock this is such an unused tool um I saw it when I was in office where you would have residents who would want to convert this and uh you had the the zoning code that was weaponized against them to prevent them so I appreciate your comments that uh updating the zoning code is the most important thing but this is great work lovely to see it let's let's publicize it as widely as possible and hopefully that number will uh that that the number of two from 2017 will grow exponentially in 202 well done additional questions or comments just a quick comment um definitely a great job and I think also this is a tool that a lot of people might not have known that they could apply this to their space of living so I think this is something great and like you said it definitely should be publicized because uh there's a lot of space that could be utilized and people just didn't know how to utilize it so I think it's great and uh just keep up the good work great anyone else um uh Echo all of that um as a non architect you know you took something that is can be is is fairly technical um and can be very intimidating to uh to us non Architects um so I just I appreciate I know design is kind of your thing right but like the design of this guide book was in a way that like it it makes sense you know I now you know when I'm driving when when I'm driving when my husband's driving but like or walking my dog like I can you know see like Envision you know put Adu there there there you know um so I just think this is really great and so applicable like the different options to the way that our built environment currently is um and yeah this is just it's so it's very exciting so um all right uh if there are no further questions or comments so motion is in order so MO moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr Shepard I Dr Lark hi Mr omali I and the chair votes I motion passes good job thank you okay item number six request authorization to petition the zoning commission to adopt text amendments for article 26 article 8 and Article 2 oh and okay article 24 article 53 and article 80 to make minor formatting and land use regulation updates to the squares and streets districts uh we have Maya or Ann Abdul awesome uh good evening Madam chair Madam Secretary and members of the board um Maya cannot join us today but I'll be presenting on both of our behalfs my name is Abdul Rak Zachariah I'm a planner to on the zoning reform team here at the planning department here to present on these minor text updates to the squares and streets zoning districts next slide please so uh as a broad summary there are three core changes or updates being made uh to the squar streets districts that I'll cover in detail throughout the presentation the first being a formatting update for Clarity on certain sections of the zoning uh for folks who use and implement the code uh greater land use flexibility within certain squares and streets districts particularly to promote more mixed use uh diversity and an update to the S2 District to allow for uh or to change the uh residential ground floor uh requirement that's there next slide please so uh as you all know the zoning reform team's primary focus is to update the code and maintain the code uh particularly we are focusing on proposing these updates to squares and streets based on response to public feedback in the squares and streets small area plan processes so we're currently working in Rosendale square and clear square and have heard uh interests in seeing updates to the code to reflect some of the existing built form that's there particular uh with responsiveness to a resident zoning petition submitted by the H High Park neighborhood association additionally as these uh districts are currently mapped within matapan we have seen questions come up in the implementation of these zoning districts with proposed and interested developments in that area so these updates are meant to provide better Clarity for folks proposing projects there next slide in our role in revising and maintaining and updating the code we are particularly focused in making sure that the code uh is still in line with City Planning uh goals and ideals and so particularly with this work we see that with squares and streets as a part of our city-wide base code there's a need to both make it continuously applicable to the goals set forth in neighborhood plans such as plan mapan and making sure it stays in alignment while also better aligning those rules with the desired uh land use Vision that is seen within our local planning processes as mentioned in places like rosenville square and clear square and with future planning processes in which we envision the mapping of squares and streets as one of the recommendations next slide uh so rather than leave the zoning unchanged our particular work is to focus on keeping track of squares and streets in practice how it's implemented um how it's read and understood to take account of any Trends we learn in our planning processes for commonalities in land use preferences and to also identify where necessary and propose these updates we're in a continuous tuning of the code that's what we want it to be a living document that's more responsive to the communities that we're in and so this is our effort to do that since you all saw squares and streets most recently in April we're trying to make sure that we keep it updated as we see and learn from it next slide please as mentioned the squares and streets districts were adopted back in April of this year uh they are a set of six mixed use zoning districts that are meant to allow for commercial mixed use and multif family residential development around our neighborhood centers and along our Main Street corridors uh what's particularly important about these districts is that they are supportive of bringing housing closer to a lot of our Transit resources as well um and as mentioned while is currently mapped in matapan area we are looking at other areas similar to that to map it uh with our planning process use next slide please uh this is just for a reminder a map of where the square and streets districts are currently within matapan uh these were approved and adopted uh in May of this year uh following recommendations from the plan matapan process next slide so now uh going to walk through each of the updates that are proposed uh starting with the formatting for clarity uh next slide so the main part of our reformatting uh updates is to uh update and make clear where the active use requirements and active use lists is within the land use regulations for squares and streets uh active uses are uses that make somewhere feel more like a main street they are typically open to the public and they help to make an area feel more vibrant and welcoming those specific uses are listed at the bottom of this slide here including places like community centers retail restaurants uh and the main reason for the zoning uh is that there's a list of active uses that is clear for folks uh who are within the S3 S4 and S5 zoning districts as there is a ground floor active use requirement within those particular districts so delineating or identifying these helps it helps a developer or proponent to understand what they' be required to provide in terms of those uses next slide please So currently within the code that list of active uses is found on the use table meaning that active uses is one of the categories in the table similar to how you have a category for residential uses and a category for commercial uses this means that because we can only because a use can only be in one section of the use table something like a retail store or a restaurant cannot be considered both an active use and a commercial use it can't live in both categories uh what we found though is that this can be uh confusing I was confused even in figuring out how to write this so it's clearly represented to you all um for members of the public during conversations about active and Commercial uses so in order to make it more clear we are making this proposed update um with the current orientation also makes it more difficult to navigate the table because if someone is looking for say a retail store use on the table or in the definitions they'll instinctively look in the commercial uses area but instead where it's currently located is in active uses just kind of furthering um how difficult it might be to navigate that because of this we're proposing moving those uses that are currently listed in the active uses section uh of the table into the more appropriate commercial uses or Civic uses sections where they would make the most sense to identify them along with this we would want to add a definition or we are proposing adding a definition that lists the same set of these active uses so there's no changes to the uses that satisi satisfy that requirement it just further identifies them within more than one place in the code for people to find them uh that is the bulk of the reformatting uh component of these updates along with this as Madam chair mentioned there are many other kind of articles that are included within this and that's necessary upkeep of the code to make sure that the zoning is consistent wherever it mentions active uses so it's referred to appropriately um and make sure that when folks read it they understand understand where to look all these changes are annotated uh in the draft that's in the board uh packet that's available to you and to be uh specific none of these changes in the formatting change the actual zoning rules that are implemented when it comes to these land use regulations for active use uh next slide please the second update is specific to land use regulations uh this amendment proposes changing particular land use regulations for the uses listed here uh in some of the squares and streets districts these changes are overall focused on moderately increasing the flexibility of mixed use within these areas uh these uses are commonly found on the ground floor and upper floors of buildings within mixed use areas of the city and so this update is meant to affirm and uh recognize existing land uses as we've especially identified during the small area plan processes in places like Rosendale square and clear Square um this increase in flexibility responsive feedback we've heard engagement about these specific uses and generally there are Community desires to have that greater level of flexibility particularly when we see that our communities have such a great diversity in the buildings and the uses that are present there next slide many of these changes are focused on increasing that flexibility when it comes to Upper story uses within buildings uh this slide shows a few of the examples uh like entertainment uses and offices which this amendment makes either allowed or conditional on the upper story of many buildings uh that would be uh proposed within squares and streets districts uh for a few larger uses specifically large grocery store and large surface establishment this amendment also makes them allowed on the ground floor in more districts but maintains a conditional use on the upper stories to control the impacts of such large uses in areas uh next slide this slide lists each of the changes by the squares and streets districts where they're proposed uh as you can see it's in the S2 District where we have the most changes this is because the S2 district is intended to what we call serve as the main street mixed use District uh the current zoning though has such high levels of restrict restrictiveness on certain commercial and mixed use that it doesn't Fully live up to its name in the way that we currently have it formatted so compared to these regulations that we see in the S3 S4 and S5 districts it can permit more um mixed activity on upper floors than it currently does a lot of these changes are focused on making the S2 District better fit to serve this Main Street mixed use environment so it's more applicable in many of the neighborhoods that we already see in Boston next slide and then the last update is uh our ground floor residence update for the S2 District uh starting first with the reasoning for this change we've heard a few concerns from community members about residential uses particularly dwelling units uh being on the ground floor along main streets and how that could lead to possibly losing the commercial character of certain areas currently the S3 S4 and S5 districts forbid dwelling units on the ground floor along primary along the primary lot Frontage to further prioritize commercial activity in those areas um and along the primary lot Frontage uh is basically the side of the building that faces the main street as opposed to the sides that face other buildings or any side streets or alleys within the S2 District however ground floor dwelling units are currently allowed along the primary Frontage as long as there is a 4- foot front yard the s0 and S1 districts that we have are much more residentially oriented and wouldn't be mapped in areas where we see this kind of Main Street mixed use so the S2 district is where we felt we could really address these concerns about ground for dwelling units in more commercial areas by updating that uh more flexibly next slide with the proposed update ground floor dwelling units would become conditional on the primary lot Frontage they would still be allowed on non- primary lot frontages though with a 4 foot front yard the benefit of this is that we would be able to get a conditional or one would have to acquire conditional use permit so there would be a process to ensure that dwelling units aren't replacing commercial uses where that's not desired um in particular instances but because of the ground dwelling units uh won't be forbidden we are creating or not creating a situation in which one cannot have a fully residential building so one can still have a ground Flo primary Fage that is a mail room or a Lobby and in the rear or deeper down in the ground floor have dwelling units still allowed in that um scenario additionally because dwelling units could still be allowed on the N non-primary Frontage uh we are able to kind of promote the opportunity for fully residential buildings in these Main Street mixed use areas without furthering uh prioritizing one over the other giving that level of flexibility it also means that in areas where there are already existing uh fully residential buildings that are mapped in matapan as S2 they would still be affirmed by the zoning because the conditional use does not knock them out of uh being allowed in that particular space next slide so to further recap all these changes this amendment would reformat the text and tables for clarity and readability including how someone reads for the active uses and the ground floor active use requirement it would also provide greater flexibility for for the variety of land uses common within mixed use areas uh it would add a requirement for special permission to the ground floor residential units in the Su District as well what it will not do is that it would not change which uses actually satisfy the active use requirement those will stay consistent as is in the current version it would also not remap or change the B boundaries of the current squares and streets districts within matapan and is not proposing the mapping of squares and streets districts at this time in ear any specific areas uh next slide and to close out the presentation I just wanted to walk through what our public engagement with these updates looks like uh in particular because these districts are already mapped within matapan we wanted to make sure we did due diligence in identifying this for matapan residents so we went to a meeting of the greater matapan neighborhood Council on November 4th and presented to them not only the proposed draft but also an annotated map summary for them to understand how this looks within the matapan districts that are there we also sent out mailed notices to property owners and tenants who are within the district boundaries we then held a Citywide public meeting on November 6 a virtual public meeting and provided an executive summary of these changes and took comments and questions during that time and held a public comment period from October 23rd through November SE 22nd uh in which we received seven comments including two comment letters uh we held Virtual Office hours twice on November 12th and 14th and we responded to public comments each one that we received to provide Clarity for folks on any questions they had or concerns expressed which is also provided in the materials that you have um and with that I and done with the presentation happy to take any questions that you may have awesome uh any questions or comments from the board how and when will the impacts of these changes be assessed yeah thank you for that um and I'll also pull any support from folks um on our staff so presently we've seen that there have been a few development projects proposed within matap pan that are within squares and streets districts and so our kind of first very qualitative assessment is seeing the quality of project that comes out of that and what it looks like to follow that zoning um we are not yet a year out from having that mapped yet so I would assume we would take a periodic look to see after there have been developments proposed as well as projects that have gone through that have not needed zoning relief um so my colleague Rachel had presented um is working on in the past a uh zba or zoning relief uh updates to you all part of the work that she's also doing is creating a zoning reform impact tracker and that would show kind of not just squares and streets but overall impact of the zoning reform efforts that we have and so when that track is created and also share more insights I appreciate the great work this is important it's not the most glamorous but incredibly important um and obviously it's making you know for those watching or who are following this it's making a very complicated zoning code slightly less opaque and it's making it a little more easy to understand very robust Outreach you mentioned there were seven comments two comment letters can you characterize the tone and tenor of uh the feedback yeah so the mix was um obviously as I mentioned there was resident petition from um residents within hide Park so we had a letter uh speaking to that um and we also responded to uh respectfully uh include how we wrote These recommendations and proposals in response to some comments in those letters things like the upper story uses that were included things like the ground floor residential change are really responsive to that uh we also had comments that were really important in the concerns of if you uh make this ground floor dwelling use conditional that still requires zoning relief for someone who wants dwelling unit so would that propose a barrier or financial burden to anyone doing fully residential which is why we spoke to the fact that while you may not have the dwelling units on the primary Frontage you still have kind of necessary residential spaces like the lobby something that's more active um to speak to that opportunity and also encourage better design overall of what we see as a Main Street living situation um in addition to that folks we're fine with the formatting I think to your point like changing things to read better was generally well received and it was much more of what does it look like as the the typ ology of building that could come out of this and overall we're providing more flexibility um which was supported in that yeah thank you additional questions or comments um again just want to to Echo great demonstration of this being a living document and it's really great to see that we're able to fine-tune as we go along and as we go like Square by square um and and incorporate that right and we're not doing kind of waiting till like the next time we come around to the street so like this is um any super fabulous um and uh I just want to take a a moment uh to uh to recognize Amy Chambers and Diana Fernandez your teams are on fire all of this stuff that we are are reviewing today is phenomenal and I just want to say that like that is a an absolute reflection of your leadership uh so I really appreciate um yeah this is just super exciting oh I guess it's exciting as it's exciting for me okay so with that before we take a vote I'm told that coun okay okay well I'm here I just got to rename myself I'm as Diana bronchuk right now okay okay the floor is yours counselor hi good evening everyone my name is councelor Enrique pep and representing District Five that's toz andell High Park in Matan and as you can imagine squares and streets has been something that's been um talked about since I got into office in January with Rosell square and clear Square um being the priority the first two priority areas but to the chair to the board members to the planning director and everyone that's on tonight um thank you so much for the opportunity to testify I've been able this has been one of the topics that a lot of my constituants have been working on but specifically U there's a good portion of some high Park folks that were working on these amendments and we're working closely with the squ and streets team shout out to them um who have been more than available more than proactive of engaging with my residents in the district and making it as easy as possible to communicate with them and to be as collaborative as possible um which is why tonight I am I'm inan I am in support of the president amendments to the zoning code and order the board to vote for its Passage I think that we're in the heading in the right direction I've been a big fan of squares and streets um since the Inception of the idea and I just hope that we continue to work together between the squares and streets team the residents my office and everyone else that's been involved to make sure that this not only happens in my district but the entire city so that's my testimony for tonight yeah asking for your support of the Amendments thank you great thank you counselor and thanks for making time to to come here that really helps us um in getting a sense of uh you know what your constituents are U are communicating so uh with that there are no further questions or comments a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shephard hi Dr lsmark hi Mr om Al I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you Abdul thank you all right item number seven request authorization to execute a license agreement with the city of Boston's public facilities department for the use of the tunnel adjacent to 45 School School Street to perform construction activities for a period of 24 months Welter thank you madam chair I here to request authorization to Grant a license to the public facilities Department to engage in the construction work needed within the Court Street tunnel the building at 45 Court Street served as Boston City Hall now known as Old City Hall the Court Street underground tunnel was constructed to provide direct access to 26 Court Street which served as an Annex to Old City Hall today 26 Court Street still serves as a municipal building housing several city city of Boston Apartments Old City Hall is owned by the bra and has been leased to a private entity that operates the building as a multi-tenanted investment property the Court Street tonnel is also owned by the bra as part of the city's ongoing construction project at 26 Court Street the public facilities department is requesting access to the Court Street tunnel the main objective will be to reinforce the tunnel structure and to seal access to 26 Court Street from the tunnel for security purposes access will be granted from both within 26 Court Street and through any above ground excavation work the term of the awarded Li is suggested for 24 months as this work is required to complete the renovation at 26 Court Street in the associated public benefit of reopening 26 Court Street no fee is proposed thank you madam chair and members of the board and I'm available for any questions you may have thank you Walter any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is an order so mooved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr Shepard I Dr lansar I Mr I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you item number eight requests authorization to extend a tentative designation status of Drexel Village LLC as developer of eight Parcels of vacant land also known as the Crescent parcel in the Nubian square area of Roxbury South End urban renewal area for a period of six months through June 30th 2025 Benjamin good afternoon and thank you madam chair members of the board pleasure to be in front of you in person today the bpda board tely designated Drexel Village LLC to be the developer of the crescent parcel in November 2021 the Crescent parcel is approximately 73,000 Square ft foot sight composed of eight Parcels of vacant land the property is located in both the Campus High School and Southend urban renewal areas Drexel Village proposes a two 280 squ foot development with approximately 187 rental units and 30 home ownership units this whole development will be located on the Crescent parcel and the adjacent parcel owned by the Roman Catholic arch dicese of Austin since being granted tenative designation the development team has made significant progress including the following negotiating a license negotiating a license agreement completing site due diligence including test borings for Geotech and a phase 2 report received an award of massworks infrastructure funding and DCR earmark funds and executed a contract for these earmark funds with the bpda received an incorporated design feedback from the bpda bcdc andoh design review teams submitted an application for funds from moh and just last week they received approval from bcdc during the requested six-month extension the development team is hoping to provide Andor complete the following steps evidence of necessary financing inequity submit an application to the state funding round complete bpda design review in the article 80 and 37 processes execute the ground lease with the bpda receive uh public Improvement commission approval for project infrastructure work as a condition of article 80 approval and execute Boston Transportation Department transportation access plan agreement and construction management plan therefore staff recommends extending their T tenative designation for six months thank you and I'm H and I'm happy to answer any questions okay thank you questions or comments from the board makes sense uh hearing and saying none a motion is in order so moved second we'll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shephard hi Dr Lark hi Mr hi and the chair votes I motion passes thanks benjam thank you item number nine request authorization to amend the contract with M nevas Incorporated for Citywide site maintenance services in the am in the amount of $37,500 for a new Total contract amount not to exceed $187,500 in for the current contract term Lauren Madam chair members of the board on December 15th 2022 the B board authorized the director to enter into an initial contract with m Nez for an amount not to exceed $150,000 per year the firste contract is set to expire in February 20125 and the total funds have been depleted due to unforeseen amounts of trash debris and Disposal fees um that were unexpected throughout bpda properties in consideration of the unanticipated escalation of the scheduled services staff is asking to amend the current contract not by a total not to exceed 37,5 $0000 the total cost of the amended contract is not expected to exceed $187,500 for this current term I'm happy to answer any questions okay any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lsmark I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes thanks Lauren thank you item number 10 request authorization to execute a contract with BT Marine Construction Company LLC in an amount not in an amount of $2,876 700 for Timber Boardwalk reconstruction at Shipyard in the charest toown Navy yard and to execute any change orders that may be required to complete the work as deemed necessary by the director for a total contract amount not to exceed 3,164 $370 mil thank you good evening again Madam chair members of the board uh we are requesting authorization to execute a Construction contract with BTT Marine for the timber Boardwalk that wraps the uh dry do number two in the Charlestown Navy Yard this matter was last before you in August of this year to request authorization to advertise the invitation for bids uh as you'll recall the timber Boardwalk wraps ROK number two heads over towards Pier 4 uh it's in pretty bad condition it's been giving the operations team a bit of a headache for a while now so we're very pleased to be bringing this matter before you we will completely reconstruct the boardwalk we will use marine grade Timbers which should give us a service life of 40 years uh we advertised the bid on October 28th we had 40 uh interested parties downloading the invitation we received eight bids on November 14th uh the lowest most qualified bid was from BTT Marine the amount of 2, 876,00 uh we are requesting a total authorization of 3,164 370 which includes a 10% contingency of $287,600 which will be funded from the fy2 capital budget happy to answer any questions you might have okay thank you any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moov second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr Shepard I Dr Lance Mark I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes item number 11 request authorization to execute an engineering design Services contract with fo infrastructure and environment LLC in an amount uh of $549 9,665 for the Long Warf North facing seaw wall Rehabilitation project in the central Warf district and to further execute any change orders that may be required to complete this work as deemed necessary by the director for a total contract amount not to exceed 6 32,1 14.75 thank you again this matter was last before you uh September of this year requesting authorization to advertise the RFP uh we are now asking authorization to execute the engineering contract with fa infrastructure structure they happen to be the engineer of record for the other projects here at Long Warf as you might recall we're looking to continue the stabilization efforts that have been underway for more than a decade uh the south side is complete we are now working on the east side with your recent authorization for that Construction contract now we are requesting authorization to get an engineer to look at the North side there are some specific sites of the seaw wall that need some additional reinforcement and this work is critical before any additional uh Coastal resiliency Pro projects happen uh so we issued an RFP on October 14th of this year we had more than 60 folks download the uh RFP four proposals were received on November 21st uh the most advantageous was in fact from fa they gave us a fee proposal of $549,000 665 we are requesting a total authorization of $632,500 contingency a little bit higher than normal of $82,400 75 uh to be funded out of the fiscal year 25 capital budget happy to answer any questions okay any questions or comments from the board hearing and saying none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr Lanark I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes item number 12 I kick you I KCK you uh request authorization to issue a request for wait yeah wait which one was I in 12 right yeah okay request authorization to issue a request for qualifications for House doctor architectural and Engineering Services on an as-needed basis for bra owned properties William so this is the same presentation that I gave earlier in the evening for edic it would be a joint request for qualifications for the house doctor program this one would serve uh the bra properties all the terms would be the same happy to answer any questions questions or comments from the board hearing and saying none a motion is an order so moveed second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr Shepard I Dr lansor hi Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you will have a good evening happy holidays me too um item number 13 request authorization to issue an invitation for bids for landscaping and maintenance services at B owned properties in the downtown Waterfront Lauren here to ISS inv the landscaping and project this uh project generally includes in Cal and of City Scope Services out will consist allary labor materials equipment transportation and supplies for landscaping will aded 30 and 39 including advertising with local newspapers the bpda webbsite the Statewide Combi system and the state goods and services Bulletin the ifb will include all applicable wage requirements and the resulting contract will be awarded to the responsible and eligible bidder with the lowest total bid price the cost is not expected to exceed $150,000 per year and I'm happy to answer any questions okay questions or comments from the board right hearing and saying none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr Sheard hi Dr Lark hi Mr Ali hi and the chair votes I motion passes uh um before you go William and Lauren I just want to recognize that I do recognize there's a significant increase in volume of people who are downloading uh these um request for proposals and the amount of bids that we're that we're getting and their new names that I've never heard not not I know they're reputable whatever but like you know new names that we're seeing and so I just want to recognize that you know I know you guys have made significant efforts um in in this area to um so so great great job I appreciate that thank you you okay um item number 14 request authorization to issue a certification of completion for the successful completion of parcel R-3 a-2 project number Mass r-92 located at 900 Washington Street in the South Cove Cove urban renewal area also known as the Josiah Quincy upper school pursuant to the land disposition agreement by and between the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as a Boston Planning and Development agency and the City of Boston acting by and through its public facilities commissions dated June 21st 2019 Max thank you good afternoon Madam chair members of the board secretary and director Shen um as stated before you is a request to issue a certificate of completion for the Josiah Quincy Upper School located at 900 Washington Street also known as parcel r382 within the South Cove urban renewal plan area based on the land disposition agreement J dated June 21st 2019 this property is to be used for school purposes the josah Quincy upper school is owned and managed by the city of Boston acting through its public facilities commission who have requested that the bra issues a certificate of completion certifying that all improvements on the property have been completed in accordance with the LDA I visited the property on November 6 2024 and found that the subject property was constructed according to the approved plans as described in the aforementioned land disposition agreement namely that the property is serving as a school thank you again I'm available to answer any questions okay uh question are comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lsmark Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes Thanks Max okay item number 15 has been removed item number 16 request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80e small project review of the zoning code for the proposed construction of 20 residential home ownership units 10 car parking spaces and 22 bicycle parking spaces located at 99 through 105 Addison Street and to enter into a community benefits agreement and to take all related actions Zoe and Ella thank you and good evening Madam chair members of the board director Shen and secretary bimus my name is Zoe shudy and I'm a project assistant in the development review division of the planning department we're here before you this evening to discuss the proposed article 8e small project located at 9 99 Addison Street in East Boston the proposed project consists of a new four-story multif family rental building containing approximately 23415 gross square fet with 20 residential rental units 10 vehicle parking spaces and 22 secured resident bike parking spaces on the ground floor the proponent filed a small project review application on September 26 2024 a public meeting was held on October 21st and was advertised in the local newspapers posted on the planning department website and a notification was emailed to all subscribers of the East Boston Neighborhood update list the public comment period ended on November 8th I will now turn it over to Ella to present the planning context before the development team begins their presentation thank you thanks Zoe good evening Madam chair members of the board secretary director Shen my name is Ella Wise and I'm a senior planner with the planning review team the proposed project uh next slide please the proposed project n99 105 Addison is located in the harbor view neighborhood of East Boston across the street from a large warehouse and industrial space you can see on the Northern section of the slide and just a block east of Route 1A Addison Street um running East West defines the edge between this industrial area and the Harbor View residential neighborhood the transparent blue on this image shows the extent of the coastal flood resiliency overlay District or sea frod sea frod as a reminder is defined as the area anticipated to be flooded with a 1% chance storm event in 2070 with 40 in of sea level rise simply put land in the sea fraud is especially vulnerable to coastal flooding next slide there has been robust recent Planning and Zoning in this area to guide the review of this project so planning Boston was adopted by the bpda board in January of this year on the left hand side of this slide you can see the arrow uh pointing down towards the south side of Addison Street it's a little hard to see um but that blue arrow is pointing to the general vicinity of the project on the south side of Addison which had been zon mclen Highway Economic Development Area subdistrict the plan recommended shifting this area south of Addison Street to Neighborhood residential zoning and spe specifically to a new EBR 4 zoning subdistrict the image on the right shows that plan recommendation and exactly what was adopted in zoning codifying the plan recommendations so due to these amendments the project is within a neighborhood residential subdistrict next slide please this chart as you're familiar with now compare some key facts about the proposed project to the adopted planning and zoning and in this case the adopted Planning and Zoning um mirror each other the proposal was designed to closely adhere to both in terms of use and dimension the project is consistent with the plan and Zoning specifically as discussed earlier a portion of the site is in the coastal flood resiliency overlay District the proposed project has elected to fully comply with the provisions of article 25A which governs Coastal flood resiliency specifically what that means is all residential use are elevated 2 feet above the sea level rise base flood elevation and in terms of Dimensions when the project was first proposed the rear yard was only 25 ft deep and lot coverage exceeded 60% after article 80 review and staff feedback the project was refined to meet the zoning code uh requirements for rear yard and less thought coverage as an example of how the project was um closely designed to adhere to the plan and zoning in addition the project will provide sidewalk improvements per complete streets guidelines and increase the tree canopy with new Street trees and protection of an existing tree with that I'll turn it over to the development team thanks very much thank you Ella um good evening Madam chair members of the board Secretary of palus director Shen uh my name is Richard Linds with a business address of 245 subar Street East boss on behalf of the petitioner uh I'm going to do the best I can to keep my comments brief so we can get to the architect I know they have a full agenda tonight uh always tough being the first one to go so as you can see here and as Ella said uh this area U of of East Boston which is the Harborview neighborhood um is the U uh portion of Addison Street that has seen a a good amount of uh investment and development over the past few years um the changes to the zoning uh which help make this project a little more predictable for us uh was something that uh we really work closely with with staff and we feel uh represents yet another fully zoning compliant project for the community um I want to point out before I turn over to Monte French uh we did have a very good experience uh with planning staff uh the efficiency and communication and the ability to move this project uh in advance to the board uh in just over six months from the time we filed our first small project review uh pre-file meeting so I do want to commend the staff and Zoe for their work uh this certainly represents and is reflective what we feel uh are the the result or the fruits if you will of the zoning changes that occurred in East Boston uh to help guide and make these projects a bit more predictable so with that I'll turn over to Monty French who's our project architect to walk through the program briefly uh good evening Madame chair and members of the board thank you uh Richard um next slide please um so just briefly this is kind of a a diagram that points out the scope of the site we have an existing structure on the site on one side and an open lot on the other side and a slight grade that slopes to the rear uh Rising uh and then you can see the existing Street tree that I'll mention later on in the plan uh in the image on the right um and then the extent of the site comes over to the left you can see there's a fire hydrant there uh next slide please uh this is the site plan uh showing the building footprint and as mentioned before we've got the 33t set back at the rear yard 5 foot on each side and along the front we've complied with all the complete Street guidelines uh We've added two Street trees a new curb cut uh and bike post all to meet the guidelines uh next slide please uh just a little more detail on those components so you can see where we've shifted the the uh curb cut to align with our uh garage entry which I'll point out later uh the two Street trees one on each side of the new curb cut uh the other one that's on down the way uh the existing Street tree and the bike post um next slide please uh this is the diagram of all those things that I just mentioned with the curb uh the green space and The Pedestrian accessway um all fulfilling the complete Street uh guidelines next slide uh this is sectional quality that really diagrams out how we arrived at our levels uh for the C fraud compliance um I think that that was well kind of represented earlier um so I won't dig into that too much more next slide please um in terms of the elevation we have a mixture of metal panel fiber cement and brick a lot of materials that kind of speak to the permanence of the project and also this kind of saw tooth form that helps give a little bit of relief along the facade um and a little bit of a step along the parit again to give a little bit of shade and Shadow and depth to the facade we also chose to use much larger Windows to give a lot of uh fresh good daylight to the spaces inside um next slide please and then along the rear we have some private outdoor spaces with uh balconies uh the materials used back here are a little more uh simpler with shiplap siding um and again brick at the base of the building next slide please more of the same material at each side of the building next slide next slide um so these are the the final renderings that we arrived at again with metal panel brick uh fiber cement and uh the large window format next slide so this is kind of getting into the streetscape and pedestrian uh experience of the building so you can see here we have The Pedestrian ramp that gets down into the entry again dealing with the free board of the uh Coastal flood resilience um sectional um arrangement of the building and then you can kind of see how the saw tooth you know also creates a canopy for the entry and a little bit of dynamic to the facade the screen panel that you can see there along that uh ramp is into the parking area um the parking is 10 parking spaces we have at the lobby we have 22 bike parking spaces trash um and mechanical um next slide please and then this is just another overall rendering that's all happy to answer any questions okay great uh questions or comments from the board just a quick question what um sorry if I missed this but what size are the units in terms of bedrooms I mean we we have a full range of one to it's all one and two bed units one and two thank you additional questions or comments um uh quick question um I saw that the um uh there's a contribution to treey uh if someone get out like what is tree e sure yeah um I can explain that Madam chair so uh Tre is a organization that has uh worked to expand the tree canopy in East Boston East Boston is one of the few communities in the city with probably least amount of tree cover um it's a nonprofit that has generated a lot of interest and work very closely with the development community so one of the things that we look at as we eliminate some of the tree canopy or some of the calber on site is to replace that in kind either through a contribution or additional trees whether those are Street trees or trees on site and so we've estimated the value at about 177,000 for replacement of trees that may be removed from the site and we'll make that contribution a tree eate okay thank you um and wow six months what I'm used to that being a Year's number so uh so kudos to the planning department um and uh you know my favorite thing to do is to tick and tie against the like plan and the development it's one of my favorite pre-board meeting games um and this just it was really really easy uh to do that um and to understand how this all fits into the greater East Boston plan so with that if there no other further uh questions or comments the motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Sher I Dr Lark I Mr om Ali I and the chair votes I motion passes a congratulations thank you very much have a great evening and safe holiday you too thank you all right item n wait sorry item number 17 request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80e small project review of the zoning code for the proposed construction of 54 residential rental units including seven IDP units 21 car parking spaces and 50 bicycle parking spaces located at 1305 hide Park Avenue to enter into an affordable housing and affordable rental housing and restriction agreement and to enter into a community benefits agreement and to take all related actions Dan Daniel good evening thank you madam chair Rus members of the board director Shan and secretary Paul heus my name is Daniel palano I'm the project manager for the proposed article 80 small project before you tonight at 1305 High Park Avenue located in the High Park neighborhood the proponents uh the Project's proponent 1305 High Park LLC consists of fivestory residential rental building containing 54 dwelling units maximum of 21 parking spaces within the 54 units will consist of 44 Studios eight one bedrooms sorry um A1 bedrooms two two and two two-bedroom units all the 21 parking spaces are located internally within the building out of those 54 dwelling units seven of those are approximately 12. 96% of the total units within the proposed project will create IDP rental units all seven units Will Made Will Made affordable to households earning not income No More than 70% of Ami the proponent took the bpds recommendations into consideration and Incorporated them into their design filing their small project review application on June 5th 2024 following that we had public meetings that were held July 16 20124 September 30th 2024 and the last one being December 3rd 2024 thank you for your time and consideration for this project before you tonight do have the development team here uh with me today to present the project in detail to answer any questions you may have regarding the project not turn over to Ford delu who will discuss the planning context thank you thank you Dan uh next slide please good evening chair Roa secret secretary Bemis members of the board and director Shen my name is for Delio and I'm the plans reviewer assigned to this project the proposed project is located at 1305 Hy Park Avenue one of the main thorough fairs of the Hide Park neighborhood the area is largely defined by its mixed use character with the surrounding buildings being combination commercial single family homes and smaller multif Family Properties two blocks north is River Street where the where there's a cluster of local commercial businesses the hi Park MBTA station is located directly behind the property which serves the Providence so line in addition the thount Indigo line is a half mile from the post project on the same block as the property there's a collection of MBTA bus stops that serve the 32 33 40 and 50 bus routes next slide please the proposed project is located in the ns2 subdistrict of the Hy Park neighborhood zoning District staff review was informed by existing zoning as well as insights from ongoing planning processes in January 2024 the bpda launched a small area planning state for Clear Square as part of the Citywide squares and streets planning Planning and Zoning initiative focus on adding supporting and improving housing public space small businesses and arts and culture and Transit accessible neighborhoods centers and along main streets the clear Square Plan area encompasses the area within 1 half mile of the main commercial intersection of hide Park Avenue and River Street although the clear Square planning study is still in process and future zoning of the proposed project location is unknown the squares and Street zoning text provide context for staff review of the new development in clear Square additionally staff review was informed by the H High Park neighborhood strategic plan which envisioned mixed which envisioned mixed use in residential development in this location this plan was adopted in 2011 and subsequently encoded in zoning article 69 which forms the basis for the project design thank you and I will now turn over to the development team to present the project in more detail thank you um Madam chair members of the board Michael McKay I'm the project architect and with me is uh the property owner and developer Joseph federo um next slide please um as mentioned this is at the corner of Dana RAV and uh hi High Park Avenue um walking distance to the the commuter rail just uh you can see the on the top end of the of the image and also walk in distance to Clary Square we're proposing a five-story structure that um with 54 residential units um sorry need my glasses 44 Studio units 81 bedrooms in two two-bedroom units with uh 21 um par garage parking spaces and 54 residential uh bike spaces uh we also have 12 visitor parking spaces next slide please it's just an aerial view of the uh of the site uh Dana is running at the bottom in uh hide Park yav to the right side next please just some a couple of context pictures of the images of uh of existing structures next please this a neighborhood uh just some inspiration from some of the other projects in the neighborhood across the street and U nearby um projects kind of took our Clues from the design from some of the Bays of the typical triple Deckers and we can show that uh as we progress thank you next uh next please this is the U the site plan uh prepared by verdant landscape architect um again Dana is running on the bottom of the street hi park on the right um the garage entrance is off on Dana to get it off of H High Park Avenue there's a uh manity space on the top of the of the um uh of the site um and then Street plantings and new sidewalks and widen sidewalks um wrapping around the entire site um next please just some details uh of landscaped and that the tree selections by the landscape architect next please and one more next please trying to go fast and this is just a detail of the uh of the sitting area the landscaped U amenity space in the back of the site next please just existing condition site next sorry this is the garage parking uh level and the bike storage the residential the entrance is off of High Park Avenue uh enters into the lobby and bike access is directly off of both the garage and the lobby and also access to the exterior next please on next just a blow up I'm sorry there's so many drawings next now skips it jumps right to the roof plant we have a roof deck uh yeah a roof deck U with uh uh with both stairs and the elevator providing access to a common roof area um next please the design of the building again it's five stories ground level is uh is the garage um we worked with uh BPA staff um we're introducing a trellis um to promote um Vines uh at the ground level to provide some Greenery it is a full brick base and then the materials are a mixture of different color siding not showing up so well in this drawing but uh panels and horizontal siding and some lap siding as well next please this is the the HDE Park Avenue it's a little bit skewed as it's not a straight on view but uh the entrance to the um is is um off of hide Park is shown in in this elevation next please and this is the rear elevation and this provides access to that uh landscaped area next please and that's it thank you okay thank you um do we have questions or comments from the board uh through the chair please uh uh looking at the entrance to the garage and that's off of High Park AV you said or Dana it's off of Dana oh it's off of Dana it's off of Dana yes definitely it's very congested in the area can't wait for the River Street bridge to come back right all right so it's off of Dana it's off of Dana additional questions or comments oh sorry I thought you were gonna do um I do have I do have a question um so we did receive some um uh some feedback from the from the community and and letters that were in our packet um and uh maybe you could just speak to um the community process some of the feedback received and kind of how we've uh you know addressed sure um we've had two neighborhood meetings um some of the meetings have been uh focused on the type of parking whether it was an allowed use um but it is it's much needed housing in a an area that is allowed to have the housing and we've tried to work with the neighbors as much as we can um Mr Federico we just we still have a process to go through to work with them and uh we plan on doing that um can you speak a little bit there I saw some um comments around uh around the trees and can you speak a little bit to in the back of the site there's a there's a I call them trash trees the trees that have just kind of grown they're weed trees that have but there is a nice tree in the back what we've done it has to go it's not going to live um with this building but we are introducing Street trees and also trees along both the side the uh if you're looking at Dana on the left side in the rear there's landscape trees that are you know very welld developed it's just there are a few trees in the back that are that need to go to allow for this building okay okay um all right any additional questions or comments okay hearing and seeing a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lanmark I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you thank you very much okay uh yeah yeah yeah okay so uh we are going to uh to take a brief recess uh we will resume back at 5:30 to begin the first public hearing thank you for e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all right uh thank you everyone for uh joining us today we're now going to be begin the public hearing portion of of the meeting so simultaneous U Mandarin Cantonese and Spanish interpretations are being provided for this meeting using the language interpretation function within Zoom we ask that you please be patient in case of any technical issues uh language interpretation will not be enabled until instructions on how to access interpretation Services have been translated into Mandarin Cantonese and Spanish once interpretation has been enabled a globe icon will appear at the bottom of your Zoom screen [Applause] for those uh of you wishing to follow the presentation in Mandarin cantones or Spanish here in our boardroom we have headsets for you so please raise your hand if you uh would like one and we will assist you to enable interpretation for Mandarin Cantonese and Spanish via Zoom please click on the globe icon at the bottom of your screen and select the language you wish to listen to listen to you must also mute original audio if you're using a headset the language of your choice will be audible also an important reminder to all who are speaking today we ask that you please speak speak slowly for the interpreters if you are speaking too fast I may interrupt you and ask you to speak more slowly so that the translator can catch up with your information thank you so uh Tina will you now Please interpret the instructions I gave in into mandrin fore for thank you thank you Tina um Maple will you now Please interpret the instructions I gave into you cantones okay uh for okay thank you thank you Maple and uh finally Juan will you now Please interpret the instructions I gave into Spanish thank you very much Madame chair good evening everyone this is Juan Spanish interpreter for inter thank you very much back to you Madame chair okay thank you H and anly please now uh activate the interpretation and we'll give everyone a a few seconds to join okay as you can see there's the globe icon on the bottom of the screen um and you can click there uh to join a a channel um in your preferred language um if you are having any difficulty activating the interpretation please call the phone number on the screen if you have difficulties with translation later in the meeting you can call that same number we do have interpreters available to assist you over the phone this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency being held in conformance with articles 80 A-6 and 80b or an 80- B7 of the zoning code to consider the proposed notice of project change in relation to the proposed project located at 246 through 248 Dorchester Avenue in South Boston as a development impact project this hearing was duly advertised on November 22nd 2024 in the Boston Herald this is a bpda hearing on a proposed petition by the agency staff members will first present their case and are subject to questioning by members of the agency thereafter anyone who wishes to testify about the proposed project will be afforded an opportunity we are taking support and opposition at the same time if you are planning to testify via Zoom please take time now to verify that your computer microphone is active and click on the hand icon on your Zoom control panel this will signal to the staff that you would like to speak and when your hand is raised it will be blue if you are calling into the meeting and would like to testify please please dial star9 to raise your hand when I call for all testimony staff will announce your name and allow you to talk you must unmute your microphone and your webcam will not be active if you are planning to testify in person in the boardroom please line up behind the podium after the presentation is concluded and we will call on you in an effort to accommodate all who would like to speak about this proposal each person will be given up to two minutes to comment bpda staff will indicate when 30 seconds remain and at that time please conclude your remarks so that the hearing may continue and others may be hard finally the proponents are allowed a period of 5 to 10 minutes of rebuttal if they so desire and Dylan will you now please begin the presentation good evening Madam chair members of the board uh Chief sh Shen and secretary pemus um my name is Dylan Norris and I'm a project assistant with development review I before you today to present the not a proposed notice of project change in relation to the development impact project located at 246 to 248 doorchester Avenue in South Boston originally approved in January of 2018 for the construction of an 87,000 ft hotel with ground floor commercial use containing 159 hotel rooms or Keys uh the proponent proposes today to revise the approved project to consist of 10 stories versus the original eight stories but of the same Building height of 109 ft the building will include 10 more Hotel keys in a building of the same approximate size of 87,000 squ Ft but on a smaller subdivided lot of approximately 16,000 3 363 ft reduced from the previous lot size of 2 uh 22,42 ft in order to maintain the approved Hotel use but to slightly shift the programming to an Extended Stay model with kitchenet the proponent filed the notice of project change with the bpda on October 9th 2024 the submission of which initiated the large project review process for the proposed project and a public comment period which concluded on November 8th 2024 the bpda hosted an impact advisory group meeting on October 30th 2024 as well as a public meeting on November 4th 2024 both meetings were advertised in local newspapers posted to the bpda calendar and an email notification was sent out to all subscribers of the bpda South Boston Neighborhood update list thank you and I will now turn it over to Ford Del Veo to review the planning context in which the planning department staff reviewed the project thank you thank you Dylan good evening chair roas secretary pimus members of the board and director Shen my name is Ford Delo and I'm the planning reviewer assigned to this project uh next slide please the proposed project is located within the study area of plan South Boston Dorchester Avenue and in the plan's use three colon Edge Zone the plan recommends that non-residential uses be limited to Neighborhood serving uses including smaller scale retail and professional offices such as insurance or real estate real estate agent offices accordingly the plan discourages Hotel hospital and Healthcare uses the NPC's proposed change from traditional to Extended State Hotel brings the previously border approved project into closer alignment with the plan's land use goals next slide please the proposed project is consistent with public realm improvements and building scales envisioned by plan South Boston Dorchester Avenue the plan envisioned this location as part of the transition zone between the existing lower scale South Boston residential neighborhood to the north to the north and east and a growth area characterized by greater building Heights to the South and West while the proposed while the NPC proposed proposes to increase the floor area ratio in lot coverage the plan does not recommend a maximum floor area ratio and lock coverage up to 100% is recommended for this location the previously board approved Building height of 109 ft is also consistent with the plan's maximum recommended height of 120 ft thank you and I will now turn it over to the development team to present in more detail thank you Ford thank you Dylan um good evening Madam chair members of the board secretary Paul heus director Shen uh attorney Joe Hanley I have the pleasure of representing uh the proponent development team uh who are with us tonight uh Jason scata Chris broff uh part of a joint venture we are excited to bring this uh Hotel development hopefully to a fruition uh we also have Michael LeBlanc from util uh who was the original architect for uh the the approved project and has helped us uh work on this NPC uh just quickly I want to um I want to thank Dylan of course and Ford and Casey Hines and John delzell uh and the entire entire team here at the planning department for helping to uh lead us through this notice of project change also want to thank the members the impact Advisory Group as well as the South Boston uh elected delegation so um this site is uh an underutilized site on Dorchester Avenue that uh for years has been a car rental site it is next to Doughboy Donuts which is sort of an institution in the neighborhood and uh our client has since had the opportunity to assemble a little more property in this node and so we're very pleased to be here with uh an improved site program and overall uh design uh with upgrades that as Dyan mentioned still retain the same Building height uh and approximate scale uh but would introduce we think some new elements that are uh more complimentary and consistent with the needs uh of the community so we were approved in 2018 that was pre pandemic uh unfortunately the client was prepared to pull a building permit and then we were hit by a global pandemic which decimated the hospitality industry uh what's come out of that is working with the bpda and being in the plan doav area uh are some improvements here that if you go to the next slide uh will uh will create uh new jobs but also introduce a uh contributing use that will support the local business district and also serve uh what has become more of an emerging growth in the doev uh quarter so you'll you'll hear you'll see over here and Michael will go through this for you uh the original proposed uh development again the same height uh 10 less keys and the improved version which we'll show you on the site itself the other aspect here is we're looking at at an Extended Stay component which we think uh also fits really well into the South Boston community and would help uh with the other job commercial uh job creation that is going on along this Corridor as well as to offset um some of the impacts in uh residential uh you know residential uses that aren't really appropriate for Extended Stay and finally uh you will see that we've been able to maintain community programming space as part of this development uh on its rooftop active ground floor retail and invest in a new pedestrian bike connections as part of uh the overall revitalization uh of Dorchester Avenue so with that I will hand it off to Michael to take you through the presentation thank you thank you Joe um thank you director Shen uh and members of the board I appreciate it I'm Michael LeBlanc a principal at util um we're serving as the architect for this project as uh as Joe stated we we um uh were the architect uh at previous iterations of this and uh and are continuing on I'm very excited to see it back um in in in short um you know what we're doing is really with the addition of the parcel next door we're trying to consolidate the footprint of the building in order to create what we think is ultimately going to be a much more vibrant development which will uh which will be more in keeping with the overall dot plan as it stands today um you can see on on the can you see no there we go um we're we're basically snipping oh we're basically snipping a uh you know a portion of the building off here and pushing it all uh to to the southern or right hand side of the of the site um that's going to free up more space for ultimately a second phase of this in the future next slide just to quickly show how show you how that's working the the current site as it stands today for 248 AV um is in the shape that you see right here next slide uh the acquisition of two uh 220v um sort of changed the thinking on this next slide uh and and now what we're looking at is uh taking approximately 4,000 squ feet or so and pushing it over to the 220 site ultimately making that the shape and size of that parcel much much more um uh productive we think for a future development and being able to consolidate our plan uh for the hotel at at the 248 site which is left over next slide SL so just to to quickly Orient you we're right across UHF from uh the uh cabat yards um which we know there's been lots of talk about uh in in recent years um and if you look uh around our site in in these kind of yellow outlines um there's uh multiple sites that that this board has approved or in approvals um or have been construed constructed or in the process of construction um this little void where our triangle is seems uh conspicuously empty right now and we're really excited that we're helping to kind of fill that in next slide um also if you if you look just a few steps down Dorchester Avenue and so you we we've kind of mimicked where our site is relative to all of this development here which is the um Washington Village um uh the national develop uh National Developments project which um the name of which is escape me right now and then um the on the dot development with core Investments um which um this board has approved all of this development in previous months um but as we as far as we know and we're involved with a lot of it um there are there's there's no Hotel use here um being proposed we feel like as a compliment to all of this development both residential and Commercial having a hotel in this location would be very beneficial for the neighborhood next slide um we are complying with the do have planed in terms of height lot coverage um commercial Frontage step backs um so you know we were I believe this project was one of the the first previously approved uh is is part of the dot plan and and this kind of iteration of it also complies with all of these same uh aspects of the plan next and just a reminder for people that the the existing site uh there's an Enterprise a on story Enterprise uh rental car uh facility um and and a surrounding parking lot there not to disparage Enterprise because it's a great organization um but we sort of we do feel that there's a there's a a higher and better use for this parcel here which actually will serve the Community much better next so quickly to walk you through uh the site plan here um just uh get getting the back of house uh out of the way first um we've got about uh 28 parking uh spaces in the back of the site um we have off Street loading in this proposal which we never did in the previous proposal so we're excited about that it takes uh congestion and and uh traffic off of um Dorchester Avenue and brings it onto the site um the ground floor uses are essentially a uh um uh retail uh space which is intended to be food and beverage the hotel lobby which will operate as sort of part of that whole operation um we're adding uh a a new bike lane which is curved between uh West Fifth Street and West 6th um as well as a new robust planting strip and widening the sidewalks up to 10 feet here and if you've ever walked on this stretch you'll know that that's going to be a great Improvement um we're also looking at uh creating uh more striping uh and and more visibility uh for pedestrians as they cross um in front of the Doughboy site right now which is a little bit precarious at the moment next um just quickly the the um one question you might have is is how are we getting 10 stories where we used to have eight but in the same height um couple things there uh at the top of the building previously we had much larger event spaces with much higher ceilings those event spaces um are are no longer part of the project and and we've substituted for those um uh what we think are much more neighborhood focused uh uses um so the FNB on the ground floor but also at the at the uh eighth floor we've got an outdoor deck and a food and beverage Lounge uh which will be affiliated with the ground floor uh FNB um and and so that allows us to have much tighter Flor to floors and stay within that 109 feet that were originally proposed for next slide so just quickly talking talking you a little bit through the massing and the design um this is looking at the building uh and uh along to to the South so standing north of the building limit looking South along Dorchester Avenue um you can see the opportunity that uh that the dot plan affords us uh in terms of having the step back in massing um above 70 ft uh allowing us to have a really nice um um public space on that on that level um which is intended to be outdoor deck food and beverage Lounge um and again the the the um ability to to use that that sort of language within the zoning to create a really what we think is a really pleasing massing here one which responds really well to the SC scale of this part of doorchester Avenue um and and the design is really trying to look at being a contemporary expression of a lot of the industrial uses that were in this neighborhood in the past next so this is looking from uh again from the other side of doav looking to the north um we will have a party wall here for a certain period of time until the the lot next to us is um uh is developed but you can see a little bit more here the step back above 70 ft um you know the planted roof deck above and also a little bit of the roof deck which is intended for uh above the 10th floor um the roof deck at the eighth floor is intended for public use as part of the lounge uh the the roof deck at the top floors is intended for guests to the hotel next uh so some of the ground floor um uh architecture here uh again we've creating the bike pass uh a robust planting strip a much wider sidewalk we are elevating the ground floor just a little bit uh for resiliency purposes we are not within the sea fra District but we feel it's important we're literally feet from it um we feel it's important to set the building height at a responsible elevation uh just to make sure that we've got a building that's going to be operational for the long term uh but uh you can see at the at the front uh we've got a a double height space for the food and beverage which also then bleeds back to the uh to the um the hotel lobby as well nice canopy that brings you back to the hotel entrance next just a little drone shot here of of looking down at that eighth flooor uh outdoor space and and Lounge behind it um as well as giving you a sort of better sense or purview of the of the the the ground floor public um uh realm and and space around the building and I think and I think that's all we have next slide yeah thank you very much thank you okay thank you for your presentation um questions or comments from the board appreciate the presentation by all accounts it seems like a better project than it was uh originally as proposed uh I specifically want to highlight the the uh lead gold certified and all electric was that in the original plan as well uh it it it was not I mean I think our our ability to to yeah just finish that one oh um Michael LeBlanc principal at UT um yeah no I I that was not part of the original plan but I think with with the way we have been approaching these buildings recently that the the ability to all Electrify them and get to that level is much easier might yeah and it would so so you you've unwittingly Now set the ground uh floor for me anytime a project comes back if they're not uh demonstrated a a significant increase in their sustainability goals um that's something we should discuss so well done appreciate that more of curiosity than anything else as as the newest person of the board you talked about uh the increase of room keys or Keys as opposed to Rooms is that because of Suites versus is that the par Lance you use with hotels a little bit of a change in the program as I mentioned to introduce some Extended Stay especially as as we become the the first hotel in the in the growth Zone with you know new corporate headquarters and jobs and the like so uh we think there's a need for that there are units that have kitchen Nets that are sort of understood they they appeal not just to um business Travelers but families or folks in the neighborhood that may have someone uh coming to to stay for a few weeks or uh or longer corporate stays and the like and in South Boston there's not a lot of that and so you do see some negative impacts I think in some of the older residential that are maybe being used in ways that shouldn't be used that but we we think the hotel will be uh that that's a a very good uh programming change and also very feasible for the overall program okay thank you thank you both you thank you madam chair okay uh apologize for a little brain fog there this is a public hearing so so we're going to we're going to hold the rest of the board's questions uh and uh and take public testimony so uh secretary paus are we doing in person first sure okay is there anybody who would like to testify please line up behind the podium hello and good evening good evening Madam chair members of the board secretary Paul hus director Shen Madam ambassadors my name is Kevin o suin I'm from councel Aaron Murphy's office councelor Murphy is in support thank you very much for your time and consideration have a great night thank you if there's anybody on the zoom who would like to testify please raise your virtual hand Mark you can unmute yourself yes thank you thank you madam chair uh my name is Mark deasio I am a representative of the North Atlantic State's Regional Council of Carpenters and we just want to go on record as being in full support of this project thank you thank you is there anybody else in the boardroom who would like to testify is there anybody else on the zoom who would like to testify Madam chair this concludes the public hearing portion of this item okay thank you um any additional questions or comments from the board um you mentioned you know kind of moving it with the intention of a a second phase can you say a little bit more about intent or sure I mean I I I think the the original thinking was that by consolidating the property just from a financial standpoint it helps the land basis of this particular project and makes it feasible um but it also then in the future gives us uh uh the opportunity to do a building which we think is more um you know more in keeping with uh with the dot plan rather than the parcel which was you know which currently exists at dooy which is sort of a you know Keyhole shaped kind of parel parcel which is quite small and awkward um so at the moment there's no plans for what that might be um but we certainly think it will tie in to to this project at some point in a hopefully a really meaningful way so yeah one one of the things I might say too is um you know the the site it's you know within that that block that's now contained if you've been by there been to dough Donuts that it's a little bit unorganized to say the least as far as the sidewalk and The Pedestrian realm goes and so that's being improved as part of that and then it it it provides really a new pedestrian connection to the walk shed at Broadway Station which doesn't really exist today so uh that that'll help uh Doughboy continue to be uh a presence in the neighborhood and then as we start to think about the future we think it'll comport better with the principles of plan doav should there be an opportunity for further development but dooy is staying yes than for clarify that I didn't mean to suggest that they don't their least suggest your name for a while great great now uh we got to protect the dove away oh yeah sure just to clarify um I I I didn't mean to suggest Doo was going anywhere anytime soon there their and their long-term lease uh suggests they'll be there for quite a while and we we love having them there as a neighbor okay great great and I'm just curious uh what's the market demand based on your analysis for the Extended Stay versus a regular hotel or housing so uh not it's not necessarily specific to this site although it is to a certain extent but that's sort of what we what the hotel and hospitality industry is starting to see right um and also having um stays that have a little more space let's say you're traveling with uh your child or some you may want something other than just a room and you may want some kitchen prep area and a little more space um and then for the Extended Stay obviously ly uh one thing that South Boston and of course the Waterfront big dividend is is at one point there really was not much of a a job incubator and now there is and that has spread down the red line and of course we talked about um four acres 22 Acres of being master planned at the Andrew Square t station and so we see these connecting together and certainly that uh there's a huge need for a lot of those companies for folks to stay a little longer than a few nights or maybe have a place when they came in and I also think that it helps for South Boston residents and people in the area uh if you were to move out or need a place to stay for uh a little bit but want to remain in your neighborhood and so the data sort of speaks to that and and things have changed and you know that's uh we're going to be the first one and so with this size of 169 keys or rooms we also think it's a uh appropriate sort of boot Boutique start and not you know to to test that market great okay thank you uh additional questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second we'll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lansar hi Mr Al hi and the chair v i motion passes uh thank you I like CH have good evening hey all right we'll just give him a second to exit thank you awesome great thank you um so we'll move on to the next public hearing this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as of Boston Planning and Development agency being held in conformance with articles 8 a-2 80b -5 and ADC D5 of the Boston zoning code to consider the proposed plan Development Area development plan for 259 through 267 Summer Street and the eighth amendment to plan Development Area number 69 100 AC master plan this hearing was duly advertised on November 22nd 2024 in the Boston heral this is a bpda hearing on a proposed petition by the agency staff members will first present their case and are subject to question questioning by members of the agency thereafter anyone who wishes to testify about the proposed project will be afforded an opportunity we are taking support and opposition at the same time uh if you're planning to testify via Zoom please take time now to verify that your computer microphone is active click on the hand icon on your Zoom control panel and this will signal to the staff that you would like to speak when your hand is raised it will be blue if you calling into the meeting and would like to testify please dial star9 to raise your hand when I call for all testimony staff will announce your name and allow you to talk you must unmute your microphone and your webcam will not be active if you're planning to testify in person in the boardroom please line up behind the podium after the presentation is concluded and we will call on you in an effort to accommodate all who would like to speak at this proposal about this proposal each person will be given up to two minutes to comment bpda staff will indicate when 30 seconds remain at that time please conclude your remarks so the hearing may continue and others may be heard finally the proponents are allowed a period of 5 to 10 minutes of rebuttal if they so desire and Dylan now please begin the presentation good evening Madam chair members of the board uh Chief Shen secretary PA hemus again my name is Dylan Norris I am my project assistant with development review I'm here today to present you an applicant of Mayor Woo's downtown office to residential conversion program the proposed article 80b large project located at 259 to 267 Summer Street within plan Development Area number 69 the 100 acres master plan as well as the proposed 121b agreement uh required to effectuate the downtown residential conversion incentive pilot program the proposed Pro large project contemplates the Adaptive reuse of the existing eight-story office building located on the 8,970 Ft lot on the corner of melt and Summer Street the proposed conversion will res result in a new net residential total approximating 5 uh 55,69969 will be affordable units 12 IDP units uh held at 60% Ami as well as three units reserved for HUD voucher holders uh based on bpda staff review under article 80 and review under the pilot program the proponent has been selected to receive a pilot agreement uh based on the pilot program criteria the proponent will upon approval uh by the bpda board enter into a pilot agreement among the city of Boston and the bpda if approved today the city and the bpda will provide the proposed project in average tax abatement of up to 75% of the assessed residential value uh for a term of 29 years terms are which are consistent with the October board vote on June 24th 2024 263 Summer Street Development LLC applied to Mayor wo and the bpda downtown residential conversion program the pilot program was authorized by the bpda board on October 12th 2023 and offers to approved applicants the tax abatement in exchange for converting their underutilized I'm sorry you can go to the next slide as well thank you um for converting their underutilized office building into multif family residential units uh the October vote uh board vote authorized the creation of a demonstration project plan area in downtown Boston where the bpda is able to act pursuant to Massachusetts General Law chapter 121b and provide a contract for payment in Lee of taxes pursuant to chapter 121b in order to comply with the rules and regulations under massachusett General Law chapter 121b uh section 16 the bpda must take an interest in the project site to effectuate that the bpda and the owner of 259 to 267 Summer Street will enter into a deed agreement which conveys limited rights uh in the 259 to 267 Street property uh Additionally the owner and the bpda will enter into an indemnification agreement to ensure the bpda does not have any liability on the property on uh September 24th 2024 the uh bpda received a letter of intent from the proponent based on the criteria of the executive order signed September 23rd 2024 the formation of an impact Advisory Group was waved on September 27th 2024 the bpda received a project notification form a plan Development Area development plan and the proposed eth master plan Amendment to the 100 acres master plan the bpda hosted a virtual public meeting on October 21st 2024 uh which was well attended and well received the public meeting was advertised in local newspapers and a notice was posted on the bpa's calendar as well as sent to the South Boston and South Boston Waterfront distribution list and the comment period for all three filings closed on November 27th 2024 I am joined today by uh John wild the bpda senior program manager for downtown conversion pilot program and uh thank you I will now turn it over to Ted schwarzburg to go over the planning context in which the planning staff reviewed the project thank you thank you Dylan uh Ted schwarzberg is assistant deputy director for planning review uh good evening uh chair Roos and members of the board uh as Dylan just noted uh the primary planning context is the res office to residential uh pilot program uh in terms of zoning uh this site is located in M industrial district but the most relevant zoning is uh a PDA overlay uh that this is consistent with and then finally I also wanted to include an image for you of the sea fraud the coastal flood resilience overlay District uh incidentally this parcel highlighted in red uh is on high ground and so uh it is less vulnerable to flooding and this once in future Island uh is why Summer Street is where it is uh and with that I'll downturn over to the proponent to present their proposal thank you uh Chad wman with balance Architects uh oh yeah sorry George is that you good evening Madam chair members of the board um I'll be presenting the project uh to you today um we while I'm presenting remotely we do actually have Adam Burns and George Mory attending in person um so let's kind of jump into it so here we have uh kind of the site Maps up as we mentioned the 263 Summer Street here kind of highlighted in yellow uh you know we're very close proximity to South Station uh very easy transportation to and from the site um and then on the far right image here this image is very important we have the boston Warth industrial really estate signage on top which uh we'll be maintaining throughout the project as that's a very important item both historically you know to the historic commission then honestly to anybody walking through Boston has seen that sign a multitude of times next slide uh these are just some pictures from the street level the building um just kind of showing this building is actually a fantastic condition um and you know we want to show this because we're actually doing as little as possible to the exterior of this building um generally replacing Windows where they've been boarded up along melter Street um you can go to the next image um and then actually on this left image you'll see in the indentation there there's a actually currently a series of louvers which when you look at historical imagery these used to be operable um so we're looking to bring those back to an operable State as Juliet balconies a to go back to the historic context but uh secondly actually to provide additional daylighting for those units that's required um again the image on the right just really highlighting that Boston War uh company industrial real estate sign next slide uh here we have kind of some of the site PL so there's a infiltration system being shown on this the left side kind of going in an indentation area uh to help alleviate water runoff and then on the right image here we have couple of things are kind of important in some proposed bicycle rack locations along the public Street um that Public public way there with the sidewalk and bike Lanes is actually in very good shape and was recently redone um so looking at potential to add a couple more bike racks to that and then again on this back side on that indentation area there that area is a little bit worse for wear um in terms of the curb cut and the current sidewalk so there'll be some upgrades to that just to make that a little more accessible next slide uh we'll go through a few of the plans so the basement plan here um the biggest kind of item to look at here is we're adding uh pretty good amount of bike bike storage and a bike room in the corner down here um there isn't a terrible lot of space in this building to add bike storage as we have a lot of know fire pump room uh main electrical room mechanical rooms um then a few smaller storage rooms so this area seem great to be able to get large percentage of bikes and we're maintaining the requirements for percentages with the 40 bikes called out there um and then we also have a commercial commercial space on the north side of the plan U which is along melra Street um and that has the high bay windows there and actually three of those are ones that are going to get replaced that are currently boarded up um and then some type of many space here we have it called out as a gym next slide uh first floor so we have the main entry up the center here that takes you the elevator Lobby um there's a lift for access to the basement as currently there is uh the elevators do not go down to the basement um and then on the left we have one commercial retail space on the right we have a second commercial retail space next slide and then here's a typical a typical unit plan um so we have you know a multitude of Studios along one side one bedrooms and a two- bedroom um and as was mentioned earlier we have 77 units total um four of these will actually end up being group 2A um and those are spread throughout the floors and then we also have um 15 affordable units at 60% Ami so approximately 20% uh next slide um and then this this slide's actually uh quite important so you know one thing we wanted to make sure is that uh on this roof we're having a roof deck that's kind of around the existing Penthouse and then behind that we're doing some mechanical equipment in the same place of the previous mechanical um so these are sight lines from a couple areas one once you've crossed the bridge uh towards melshire Street and you're looking at the building you know your view is pretty obscured but even all the way across on doorchester a looking across you know the sign the parit everything kind of obscures your abew you're not really seeing anything that's happening on that roof with a you know it's a low roof deck and then again mechanical equipment where it was previously but no real changes there next slide and these are these are some renderings of those of you so our buildings you know rendered so that you can easily to see what we're looking at so this is across from doorchester a next slide and then this is on the back so melter Street at Neco Street and you can see here we're looking at changing out those louvers for the Juliet balconies again that hearkens back to some of the historic imagery next slide and I think I think that's it so yeah this just summarizes what was brought up earlier okay thank you does that conclude the presentation or is there more yes Madam Chair George Mory that does conclude our presentation be happy to take any questions comments concerns thank you so we'll start with um this is a public that's not me okay uh uh this is a public hearing so we'll start with public testimony first secretary bimus is there anybody who would like to testify in the room you can line up behind the podium okay I see um Mark has his hand up you can unmute yourself yes thank you thank you madam chair thank you to the bpda board my name is Mark deasio I am a business representative for the cens Union in Boston and we just want to go on record as being in support of this project thank you thanks Mark is there anybody else on Zoom who would like to testify please raise your virtual hand Madam chair this concludes the public hearing portion of this item okay thank you uh questions or comments from the board what happens to the Boston Warf company sign uh excellent question Dr Lark so my client has committed publicly and uh and will in uh uh preserve the sign it's actually going to be upgraded right now it's somewhat deteriorated it is not um environmentally friendly it's it's neon tubes which not only consume more electricity than is necessary but cannot be readily replaced U Mr Burns is going to convert the sign to an LED sign uh that also includes the framework of the sign the cost of that is about $500,000 which uh I just asked my client because I anticipated that as a question what the cost was so it's kind of an astounding price but that is his level of commitment to the project it's going to be maintained because it is frankly a a Hallmark uh you know of of the community I mean I grew up in South Boston I remember always crossing the bridge and seeing that sign illuminated so it will remain in perpetuity thank you good to hear any y yes through the chair um this will be your second um office to Res iial conversion am I correct that's correct Mr Burns actually did I believe the first that was approved on Franklin Street and this is his second um uh in Testament to you know the mayor's commitment to the office to residential conversion in in the in the bpda planning Department's conversion a commitment to that conversion process uh he has found two properties now and continues to look for more because it's an excellent way obviously to take buildings uh that have commercial off occupancy that is underutilized and convert them into much needed new housing but with that um have you started construction on the first one yet uh no uh that was very recently approved I'll actually allow Adam if he would like to speak hi madam chair members of the board Adam Burns project proponent with Boston Pinnacle Properties I feel like some of these things are are best maybe directed to me so um 281 Franklin was the first approved through this board and I I want to thank mayor woo and this board for your vision um in supporting that project it is under construction we just finished Framing and uh we're moving through our mechanical electrical and plumbing right now and we plan on having it online this summer okay no and I asked that because um since you've been the first what would you see as one of the hardest aspects of construction when it comes to the conversion side of project great great question uh so I I think we're used to ground up construction initially we started seeing a deteriorating office Market in early 23 and started thinking along these conversion lines I would say the the most difficult or challenging component would be every building is so different um everyone has different layout different stair Towers different location of elevators different code compliance issues um so I just say the unique nature of every single asset is what makes it so challenging you can't just apply a price per square foot you can't just apply a blanket statement it doesn't work that way yes thank you questions or comments just uh wish wish you folks uh well this is so important and exciting as cities navigate the post pandemic sort of New Normal it's it's really uh exciting to see uh my four-year-old daughter will be excited to know you can actually live so close to the children's museum so uh that's uh it's it's a wonderful iconic building as you know there's a lot of affinity we all have for it so we're excited to see uh it constantly evolving much like the city we love so good luck thank you sir um yeah just a few a few comments um again echo echo my fellow board members I do want to call out um the uh the vouchers uh and the voucher units that you selected so we have one two-bedroom voucher uh unit and then two one-bedroom voucher unit those being at uh 60% of Ami um I appreciate the 60% of Ami portion of the affordable housing um units uh I think that's uh just appreciate that I think there there definitely is a is a need in that and and to see that um you know a more diverse group of people will be able to um to be able to live live here former resident of uh the leather District in a converted uh converted building it's a um uh you know it's a beautiful life lifestyle right and to to be able to experience living in in those buildings um and it's super special and and just really a uh again appreciative of your um taking on this unique floor by floor project so okay um any further questions or comments hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shepard hi Dr lsmark hi Mr Al hi and the chair votes I motion passes congratulations good luck thank you okay all right let's go back to item number 18 correct okay agenda item 18 request authorization to issue a scoping determination waving further review pursuant to article 80b large project review of the zoning code for the proposed construction of 115 residential rental units including 20 IDP units uh approximately 1500 ft of retail space and 69 car parking spaces located at 1690 through 1700 hiy Park Avenue and uh enter into an affordable rental housing and restriction agreement uh to enter into a cooperation agreement and to take all related actions uh ebony good evening and thank you madam chair members of the board Madam Secretary and director Shen my name is Ebony D roza and I'm a senior project manager in the development review divis Vision we are here before you today to discuss the proposed 1690 to 1700 High Park Avenue project I thank you for your time today the proposed project consists of the construction of a new residential building totaling approximately 999,000 gross Square F feet the proposed project will contain 115 rental units 69 garage parking spaces and approximately 1500 grow square feet of ground floor retail space the project notification form was filed on February 8 8 2024 which initiated a public comment period that concluded on March 29th a joint iag and public meeting was held on March 19th on August 21st a virtual iag meeting was held and on September 12th a site visit was conducted with the iag members present at this time I am happy to turn it over to Alana hes from the planning team to discuss the planning context for the project followed by a presentation from the development team thank you thanks uh good evening chair roas secretary pus members of the board and director Shen my name is Elana hes and I am the planner assigned to this project the proposed project is located in the Hyde Park neighborhood District in a local industrial 2 subdistrict the zoning designation is not consistent with the proposed use and dimensions nor the emergent mixed use cluster that has been recently established along this portion of Hy Park Avenue dimensional regulations and use intended for industrial building typologies assume buildings that are much lower and have higher lot coverage that is required to support new housing and much needed public realm and open space enhancements in this area the existing building is not inventoried by the massachusett historical commission as an historic structure although the neighborhood in which the proposed development is cited is within a Boston MHC historic inventory area known as the Reedville Industrial Area several surrounding properties are in individually inventoried by the MHC as well next slide please given the proximity of the site to the Reed Reedville MBTA Commuter Rail station the site is in the study area of the Fairmount Indigo Corridor planning initiative the area surrounding the Reedville Commuter Rail station is identified in the plan as having significant capacity for new homes and great potential for new residential densities and suggests that new zoning be implemented to support housing strategies outlined by the plan next slide please heat resilience solutions for Boston recognizes this area of Hyde Park as having the same median heat value as the city as a whole given the prevalence of ex heat across the city the median value is still quite High recorded as 99.5 degrees during the model 2019 heat wve as temperatures increase as a result of climate change it's important for the proposed development to work towards the mitigation of urban heat canopy coverage is an important step towards Urban heat island mitigation the Hy Park neighborhood as a whole Falls above average for canopy coverage in comparison to the city however the area surrounding the proposed development site bounded by two MBTA rail R of ways reservation Road and the neponsit River Parkway includes few Street trees Street trees are important not only for the shade they provide but for the value they provide to pedestrians through increased comfort and safety in separating the sidewalk from vehicle travel LS in the street the proposed project responds to this need through the intended addition of Street trees along hide Park Avenue as well as the creation of open space interior to the site next slide please the area around Reedville station is identified by the Imagine Boston 2030 plan as a neighborhood intended for expansion the proposed project site located in a Transit accessible area in the city with infrastructure already in place to support new mixed use housing growth the proposed height is acceptable as a response to the policies set forth by the planning context for the area and responds to Transit capacity in this area after board approval and Zoning Board of appeal approval for the required zoning relief the proposed project will continue in design review at the Boston planning department thank you and I will turn it over to the development team to present the project in more detail thank you very much thank you and good evening Madam chair uh members of the board secretary bimus director Shen welcome back Mr om Ali congratulations on your appointment we're very pleased my name is Dennis quilty I apologize attorney at mcder quilty Miller and Hanley um and representing the owner of the property West Boon Investments LLC with us Michael shien who's their director of real estate I'm going to turn over in a moment to Eric Robinson from Ro Architects but I just want to give a brief uh explanation of the process we undertook with great help from the staff Ebony and her staff were terrific to work with throughout the process we spent a great deal of time in the community in addition to the iag meetings we met with both neighborhood organizations in this particular area the Hy Park neighborhood association and the Reedville watch uh many changes were made as a result of the uh comments we receiv received from those meetings and at the iag meetings which included a site visit with iig members as well uh we're very uh happy to be here with what we think is a very exciting residential program in a very changing neighborhood this is an industrial Zone primarily but interestingly uh this board in the past recent past has approved two projects one immediately across the street at 1724 which is larger and one immediately next door at 1702 which is slightly smaller uh so the neighborhood is somewhat undergoing a transition and we hope to provide an advancement of that uh go to residential uses we have some very exciting we think uh Design Elements open space elements and of course with its proximity to the Reedville station this is the ultimate Transit oriented development so we look forward to uh moving forward we hope with your uh support tonight and with that could I introduce Mr Robinson from roie Architects to go through the plans in detail thank you thank you Dennis uh good evening Madam chairin uh members of the board director Shen uh this is uh a great uh moment for my firm and Ro Architects is our first uh opportunity to work in this area of the city and it actually has been a great process the city's been awesome to work with and the client has actually stepped up and really listened to the community so we're seeing a a a result of a very active and great process and we're excited to be here next slide so the need for housing is obvious and we we do that in all parts of the neighborhood but I think um not all projects are created equal and so we like to make sure that our projects are embracing the community and ensuring that they are going to be a good Civic neighbor and setting what we believe is a good precedent for future development which this area is seeing uh quite a bit of activity in and so we're excited to be part of that um first couple projects that are uh gr uh starting to create some density um Associated to this side of hard Park AB next slide please so we work closely with the bpda to reduce the number of zoning uh require or violations so we do have a building height uh violation as well as a f but we were able to adhere to this setback so we're excited about that next slide this is the current state of the site it's actually three Parcels um that are fairly underutilized in terms of its current condition um a lot of Paving and not a lot of building on it so we're excited to see the future of this site next slide it's a little washed out but um one of the things we do want to do when we're designing new projects in new areas is think about the context um this area of High Park AB is really a peninsula between two major rail uh aspects and um therefore not really in the smaller uh density of the surrounding community so we do think this project and the proposal is consistent with some of the other projects that have been approved um and works with uh again the future of High Park app next slide so just a quick uh buildup of our approach so the site is about a 30,000 square foot site we did do uh a series of studies on the exist or the new proposed buildings and we believe six stories make sense um and then we started to think about uh what is the project mean to its immediate site we started to uh push and pull the building a little bit and we uh actually are creating about a 5,000 square foot pocket park in the front um uh to Accent uh the future of High Park AB in terms of some green space and then um therefore uh sculpting the building to bring real natural light into that pocket parked to ensure that it's a good quality space um and then we're anchoring those edges of the street with both the Residential Building as you can see on the bottom right diagram um creating the street Edge but then stepping it down and then offering a community commercial space on the other end of the park to really activate those two edges as well so we're excited about the massing next slide here's looking uh just at the ground floor plan uh High Park AV along the top the other aspect of it we worked really hard with the bpda is uh the the quality of the street Edge um really pulling that back onto our property um creating uh the the necessary safe bike lane um as well as the plant zone and the and the wider sidewalk and one of the things we did work very closely with um the community on is actually having a drop off uh area off of High Park Avenue to get quick uh Uber drop offs or or Dr deliveries off the street to keep High Park app um moving well as much as it moves um and then we also uh are p uh providing a full offsite um loading zone for the building along with 69 parking spots that are all below grade uh below the building which your access to the right hand side um but as you can sort of see the pocket park is really embraced by the building the community commercial on the southern side or the left-and part um is really there to activate that street Edge uh there is quite a bit of actually um slope to the site um 5 feet so we're using using the park to actually navigate the transition um in the accessible routes along both the street and into our property um and then you can see uh framing the rest of the pocket park are the the public aspects of the building um along with the Bike Room which will accommodate uh 115 bike places on site so we're excited about the plan as well next slide and you can see here's just a quick section so the rail tracks are to our right so we're we're putting the the majority of the massing of the building back against the the rails side and then as we're stepping the building toward High High Park AB creating some nice occupiable spaces as well as we believe a nice scale to that transition to the building that has been approved to our South next slide and here are just some uh uh renderings of the pocket park and the material pallet so we're looking at uh bringing brick to those moments along High Park AV and you can see the taller six foot uh part of the building that's anchoring over by the um loading dock area so that will be brick and then we're pulling the brick through on the public side at the ground floor to Anchor then the community space and then it'll be complemented with metal panels above and extra- large Windows um obviously for the residential units so next slide please just another view of that pocket park with the building stepping down to the South next slide and then just the final view uh looking South on High Park AV uh with the building stepping and against the other building that's been approved but that transitional moment onto uh our site thank you oh well and there was some celebration of an earlier timeline this is pretty good too February 8th we we started and we are here on December 12th and this is a large project article 80 so again again a shout out to the city they were great to work with and really helped us move this through and we did have a lot of public interaction and meetings which takes time but um the turnaround time from the bpda was was great so we we can celebrate that too thank you awesome uh questions or comments from the board the unit mix yes thank you so uh we have 115 units um it's a mix of Studios ones twos and threes so as part of the discussion with the community we did increase there's uh 15 three-bedroom units in the building which is fantastic 19 two-bedroom units 44 one-bedrooms and 37 Studios and they all range in the the typical unit size yeah appreciate the um increasing the 3brs and and also um going above the requirement on the IDP to 7% thank you uh through the chair um speaking with um High Park residents during your public meetings what changes were made because you said you had a few changes made in between the initial and what was presented today one of the one of the changes was to increase the number of three bed units that was a very important part of the uh process uh the others were the a lot of attention was paid to the the pocket park and how it would be utilized and what would be the in the public by the way this is intended to be a public invited a publicly invited space as well um so you know that was something very important and then um interestingly there are some historic elements in the neighborhood left over from the uh works progress administration in the 1930s including some low fencing and that was very important uh from a number of people that we preserve that stonework as best we could and we made a a promise to do that um and then the usual you know where the garage entrance would be was there a drop off area that was very important to keep our traffic off of H Park Avenue so there was create creation of this drop off zone for both FedEx Uber whatever have you that would be off the street and not you know causing traffic disruption so those were the kinds of things that we worked on with the community and I do want to just say I neglected to say we met with uh councelor Pepin repres pres of consalvo state state senator rush and um who am I leaving out oh my God Matt helped me out in any we met with all of the elected officials in in in this area and spent a great deal of time on on concerns that they raised about some of the neighboring businesses which we worked with so we we had a lot of positive Outreach and you know good things came from it so yeah because I I call that part of um Boston the final destinations like the final destination with one of the most famous bostonians of all time living uh living there um Dennis I think you covered all the elected so so well done appreciate appreciate the sustainability um I the second bullet point exploring on-site renewable I assume that's PV could potentially be on the roof think that would be great not only will you be um you know ahead of the curve in terms of Berto compliance but you certainly would also I think that's a a very attractive amenity for uh for future residents so I appreciate that work thank you okay um echo my fellow board members um yeah I love a pocket park and that drop off area that is it's so meaningful um to is your approach uh and your um responsiveness to the community um we know change is hard um and so through your um through your responsiveness it's it's it's helpful in setting the tone for for community building right for there to be uh you know a nice healthy Community mix of you know new and existing residents and um and that really starts with uh with how you approach um uh you know development uh in an area that's you know just new to that um what else uh great affordability mix uh and and again appreciate the uh the percentage um of uh of affordable units that that you made here so um yeah very happy with it uh if there are no additional questions or comments a motion is in order so moved before I second when I say Final Destination I live three blocks from there and it's before you hit dead M so that's I was talking about you as the most famous I was just like who's the famous I thought that was a manino reference I seconded okay roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lmar hi Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes congratulations thank you and good thank you very much okay we have item number 19 Madam chair I'll will be recusing myself okay thank you Mr mie just give everybody a few [Music] seconds okay great thank you item number 19 request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80e small project review of the zoning code for the proposed conversion of 21535 gross Square F feet of office space to life science space and the addition of rooftop mechanical equipment located on at 60 South Street also known as two financial center and to enter into a community benefits agreement um and to take all related actions Nick thank you madam chair members of the board secretary pimus and director Shen uh I here before you this evening to present the proposed project at 60 South Street also known as two Financial Center uh two Financial Center is currently an existing office building located in the leather District the project will convert several floors within the building to a combination of office and life science uh uses as well as ADD needed new mechanical equipment to the roof and redesign the existing roof deck importantly the design team will continue to work with the planning department staff to ensure that the new Mechanicals are screened and not visible from the street all other changes are internal and no other changes are proposed the project will also be providing a contribution to the Rose C Greenway before I turn to the development team to take you through the project my colleague lse will take you through the planning context thank you thanks Nick good evening chair secretary pimus members of the board and director my name is Elis and I'm a senior planner with the planning review team the proposed project a two Financial street is across Atlantic Avenue from South Station this diagram can be hard to read due to the orientation but North is Page up and right you can see South station in the bottom left um and there's a arrow pointing to it near the proposed project there are a few similar projects including an an approved 11 story research lab building at 125 Lincoln and an Under Construction office to lab conversion at 745 Atlantic as well as the significant AIDS project above sou station the proposed project is within the study area boundaries of the greenway District planning study use and development guidelines for 2010 the guidelines being the source of this diagram the purpose of the guidelines is to guide growth in new opportunities created by the dismantling of the elevated Central artery and the subsequent creation of the greenway given that this site of um has an existing building the guidelines don't have any specific recommendations but more generally the guidelines recommend minimizing Shadow impacts and studying wind impacts the project proposes new rooftop mechanical equipment but it does not exceed the existing height of the rooftop mechanical equipment on the building and the proponent has submitted a letter stating that the project would not change or change uh affect or change existing pedestrian wind connections uh impacts next slide please the proposed project is within the article 44 leather District in terms of the proposed use um of office to lab conversion per section 4410 light manufacturing uses including scientific research and development are allowed and then in terms of Dimensions as Nick said the proposed project does not include any changes to the existing building footprint or massing but per uh section 446 rooftop additions that are visible from any point on any public way within the leather District are forbidden and all require additional use permit and then 448 establishes design guidelines for additions reiterating reiterating that mechanical units must not be located um so as in a way that's visible from public way planning department staff have analyzed submitted materials and continuing design review of the proposed roof deck and Mechanicals uh will include continued confirmation that the new structures will not be visible finally just wanted to note that the project is within the article 25A Coastal flood resiliency overlay District or C frad as well as the greenway overlay District the C frad article 25A requirements um don't apply since the change of use is below the threshold and there are no changes to ground floor use similarly The Greenway overlay District does not apply because there's no change in Building height for the ground floor uses with that I'll turn it over to the development team thanks very much good evening uh can we go on the next slide please good evening Madam chair secretary pus members of the board director Shen my name is Matthew Powers I'm the CEO of non Fung Life Sciences real estate um Madam chair earlier you had recognized the great work of Diana Fernandez and the planning team I want to Echo that Nick elois the team have been fantastic to work with um and have really shephered an expert and efficient process um for us to go through here um tell you a little bit about us um and jump into the presentation as I said I'm the CEO of non Fung Life Sciences real estate um we started our company uh in 2019 um the images you see here are buildings that we had uh redeveloped previously uh converted from office to life science use upper left images of one went square and the lower images of 51 sleeper Street uh important to note that we're a Boston based company we're headquartered in 51 sleeper Street um also mik just note I know that that's often um conflated the timing of the project that 51 sleeper Street and 51 melra Street sometimes get uh conflated we have nothing to do with 51 melra Street we're we're just 51 sleeper Street for those of you familiar with uh Fort Point neighborhood um this building directly AB buts the friends of Martin's Park um we recently uh were the presenting sponsor for the ship Lighting Event there with mayor woo and others um so uh well Mr rali is excited about residential there we're super excited about having a playground there so maybe maybe that's another added benefit for him uh we currently have four buildings in Boston uh these two and then two Financial Center which we're here to talk about and also 470 Atlantic Avenue uh so that those four properties are just under a million square feet of space that we have in the city of Boston next slide please so as stated earlier uh the property is a a 12-story Class A building it was constructed in 2009 it's one block from South Station um and there's three uh below three level below grade garage as well as bicycle parking and storage in the property and you can see building is highlighted here um on the Google map view next slide please so the proposed project um our goal is to redevelop a portion of this building uh to attract uh research and development life science tenants um to activate what is currently an underutilized office building with significant vacancy um as we stated before life science tenants um and having people in the building uh is going to add great vibrancy to the neighborhood um we spent a significant amount of time um you might be aware there's a a heavy concentration of food and beverage retail in this area that has suffered significantly since the the pandemic and so uh one great benefit to our neighbors in the FNB U food food and beverage side of the retail is that these employees um working in life science space need to come in the office it's not a job you can do work from home so it's perceived as a as a great benefit in improving the vibrancy of the neighborhood by executing this byright project next slide please so what we're planning to do here is convert approximately 21535 squ feet of vacant office space to R&D space as I mentioned it's an as of right use as as L uh noted as well we'll be adding new uh mechanical electrical and plumbing equipment to the roof uh in compliance with the zoning guidelines um we're here in front of you because the District zoning does dictate that any rooftop uh addition is subject to small project review um and while the building was built as I mentioned in 2009 it's not very old um I think we're all aware of great advancements that have been uh occurring in uh environmental footprint and sustainability for mechanical electrical and plumbing equipment and so we see that as a great added benefit to uh to improve here um in this building by the space that we're going to convert uh for life science use we'll have all brand new mechanical equipment which will have a better uh environmental in carbon footprint than the existing equipment supporting that space today next slide please so in light of that wanted to present to you what the roof plan looks like so just in in plan view as you can see here the existing Penthouse is uh highlighted in blue and then this kind of orangish color is kind of the new additional equipment that will be uh added and so we'll show you a series of images um to demonstrate as L pointed out that none of this is visible uh from The Pedestrian Corridor next slide please so here uh apologies I know it's difficult to see here it is a bit washed out but you can see there's kind of a hatch line there that shows kind of the perspective um from the street level uh looking up towards the building and what the sight lines are and essentially anything below that hatch line is not visible we'll demonstrate that with a series of photos and as you can see here in this image we're far below kind of the the sight line next slide please so here's a series of Street level views uh this first one is from Essex and Lincoln Street and so you can see um there's there's no change uh in the image from the what is the existing condition today on the left uh to the Future State on the right next slide please so the next one is from uh looking View North from Beach Street and South Street and so actually here you can see uh and this image on the left part of the existing Penthouse is visible today uh from this pedestrian Corridor but what you can see on the right hand side is that there's no additional um visibility to any new mechanical Penthouse uh uh after our project um as our project is uh below the edge and and behind the existing Penthouse so there's no change from this perspective either next slide please and so here um last images from Essex and Atlantic a um and so this is kind of across the street from sou station if you were standing there and the the building on the right hand side is is One Financial Center um and so as you can see here um nothing is visible from this perspective either uh looking up at the the new project uh once we're complete next slide please so happy to answer any questions comments okay thank you uh questions or comments from the board all right I do have a few um have you identified a a a tenant um y we have we're in negotiations with a potential tenant at this time but uh we we don't have anything finalized or formal at this point in time sure um okay um and then just while we have you here and you're a life sciences real estate development uh company um thoughts on you know the saturation of the life sciences lab market and kind of where you see things going you know why was this a worthy investment at this time yeah it's a great question um yeah I would say my my personal editorial here is that um coming out of Co I think because life science employees cannot work from home um I think this became a an interesting asset class for many different types of developers and um I think it's come people have realized it's it's actually very difficult to do and it's very expensive to do um we have the good fortune that our team solely focuses on life science real estate and so we have a we have a great team um and uh um what we do is somewhat unique we provide fully TurnKey lab space so um we do not just do a core and shell redevelop and then ask a tenant to fit out space it's fully TurnKey space so if we are fortunate enough to find a tenant that wants the space they the day that we turn over the project to them they can come in and start doing scientific work um and this is proven to be a great benefit to the tenants we have today so our two previous projects that I presented one wi up square and 51 sleeper Street are fully leased up um fully occupied um and um I personally have been doing this for 30 years with with a great team supporting us and so we think we have a really good understanding what the needs are uh specific locations and what the tenants need to make life easy for them to move in and execute science and Advance their business and so that's our model so I think what we're going to see is U again my editorial is a lot of forecasted life science supply probably will not come to the market in the future um and tenants there's a flight of the tenants that are in the market to having the path of lease resistance and having someone that can do turn key labs and make it super easy for them to move in start doing work is I think an added benefit so we have great confidence in our model okay great um is that it uh yeah no I think that was it any other questions hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr lsmark I and the chair VES I motion passes uh congratulations good luck thank you so much just get mat back in here great item number 20 request authorization issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80e small project review of the zoning code in connection with the notice of project change submitted by Madison Park Development Corporation on October 21st 2024 for the proposed construction of 35 income restricted home ownership units and approximately 2,600 square ft of retail space located at 40 through 50 Warren Street and take all related actions with Ebony and Michelle thank you again Madam chair members of the board Madam Secretary secretary and director Shen we are here before you today to discuss the proposed 40 to 50 Warren Street notice of project change project I thank you for your time today the proposed notice of project change consists of the construction of a new six-story residential home ownership building totaling approximately 4,387 Square ft 35 income restricted home ownership units and approximately 2600 square ft² of ground floor retail the proposed project amends the original 2020 approval which consisted of a six-story rental building totaling approximately 36770 Square ft 25 income restricted units co-working space and ground floor retail the notice of project change was filed on October 21st 2024 which initiated a public comment period that concluded on November 20th a meeting a public meeting was held on November 13th at this time I am happy to turn it over to Michelle ye from the planning team to disc discuss the planning context for the project followed by a presentation from the development team thank you thank you ay good evening Madam chair secretary bimus members of the board and director Shen my name is Michelle and I'm the planning review team planner assigned to this project next slide please the proposed project of 40 to 50 Warren Street is located in the Roxbury neighborhood zoning District within the Dudley square Economic Development Area subd District this area is currently a part lot owned by the Boston Transportation development and is part of the Newan squares commercial in Civic cluster the proposed project also falls within the boundaries of plan Newan Square which was approved and adopted by the bpda board in July 2019 under plan Nubian Square this cluster was identified as an area where public or empty public Parcels should be replaced with contextual scale and uses that would capitalize on the transit terminal while adding pedestrian activity to the area the request for proposal Sal was issue also noted that the proposed project must address the neighborhood's housing and economic development needs while also providing income restricted housing which this project will meet by providing 35 units of income restricted housing next slide please zoning relief is warranted for this update as this NPC is primarily focused on design changes that would enhance the public realm and is consistent with the goals of plan newbi and square outside the overall design of the building this project also upgraded the Bike Room to complement its proximity to Nubian Square to Nubian station which is essential as this project will not be providing any off street parking spaces this project will also bring many public realm improvements to the area such as upgrading the sidewalks and Street Scapes on both Warren and Ziggler Street to meet complete Street guidelines as well as installing an additional Street Tree on Ziggler street thank you and an now turn over to development team to present the project in more detail hi good evening my name is inti broi SAA and I am the director of real estate at Madison Park Development Corporation um we were founded in 1965 specifically to reinvigorate the Nubian square area following urban renewal and disinvestment and so this lot is very much in line and keeping with our mission as an organization and we look forward to creating housing at an underutilized lot which is currently a parking lot in the heart of Nubian Square we have come to this project after actually following the original 2020 article 80 approval so we were uh new partners in this project since then and have since taken the lead in the development the change from rental housing to home ownership housing uh was really exciting for us and I think something that if anyone has attended fln nuian meetings um over the last few years as we have um that's a change that the community is very much in support of and enthusiastic about uh we also eliminated the smallest units sizes the studio apartments and are focused on one and two bedrooms in this location which we think is more appropriate for family housing um but it still is a very much Transit oriented site and we're excited about that um I will hand it over to our um senior project manager Orin richin to discuss the details of the project thank you right uh good evening my name is Orin richin uh this is my first time speaking in front of you guys so thank you for having me uh if we could advance the slides um so here we have a quick comparison of the original proposal versus the current um as intia mentioned we eliminated the studio units in favor of um increasing the bedroom sizes slightly to one and twos um of course as we noted this was originally proposed as rental and is now home ownership and that responds to um the uh feedback we got from the community during the rsmp meetings we posited the idea of Threes but the community did not want them so we are with ones and TW at 35 units now and they are 100% affordable um next slide thank you um and I should point out that well actually it'll be on the next Slide the breakdown of the Ami so on this slide here we just have um the original massing and design versus the current massing and design so um as you can see the original was uh quite grand um and needed to be scaled back a bit to make it more appropriate for that street corner and for um residential housing um in the original proposal there was more co-working space H and office space we have eliminated the second floor commercial um SL office space in favor of more housing units um because we felt that rather than take up an entire floor with um potentially just one company um we could put uh seven more units on that floor can I have the next slide please thank you this is a quick breakdown of the uh unit counts and programming um so you can see the retail um it depending on how you count the circulation between 23 and 2600 Square fet um we have 18 one bedrooms uh 17 two bedrooms uh they're restricted to 80 and 100% Ami next slide please um actually let's go one more that's a better picture great so before we get into um the next nice rendering um this is the current lot so as you can see um it's just a public parking lot right now um you know yes it's great that it exists there but that corner during the day tends to just be a a spot where people congregate is trash um and so our intent is to activate that street corner right across from a very busy bus terminal which is exciting if if we go to the next slide um so if you're standing at Nubian bus terminal this is what the building will look like as you're facing it you can see that we've tried to activate the street on Zigler um and respect the existing trees on um Warren Street uh you zler will become a neighborhood connector uh we've already seeing development about one more block down the street um you know past 4050 Warren um so there will be a lot of activation there and as you can see on this building the second floor the first and second floors will retain um sort of that commercial look but the second floor will contain residential units um and this is in keeping with the context of the other structures around it um next slide please yeah so these are renderings um this is looking down waren street you can see the recessed um entrances for the commercial um and or sorry for the retail and residential um one of them exists right at that corner uh next slide please and this is looking down um Zigler street at the building as well you can see on the corner there's another recessed entry um and obviously the back is a little bit different um in terms of where the windows are placed uh there because we've only just recently made the switch to have the second floor be residential there will be about two more windows um in that line down the back of the structure there I think if we go to the next one so the rest are just floor plans um and and and plans as well so happy to walk through any of that but um okay that's it yeah I'm getting a we'll do casual okay um well great great thank you uh for your presentation questions or comments from the board just love seeing a 100% home ownership project affordable home ownership project just kudos to you guys seems great thank you yeah on that note like how did you do that I don't know like keep it financially feasible and uh and and affordable right we're very grateful for the mayor's office of housing uh support on this and they they initi initially um made an award to this project in 2018 perhaps maybe 2019 um and so they've continued that support and have been open to increasing it over time um and truly the fact that it's one in two bedrooms actually is what makes it doable for that number of home ownership units um because they actually you you get closer to covering the cost of production on a one and two bedroom than you do on a three and four for example so um so we were pleasantly surprised to see that it really was economically feasible to do uh one and two bedroom units yeah fabulous uh additional questions or comments hearing and say none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shephard I Dr Lark I Mr I and the chair votes I motion passes congratulations and good luck thank you item number 21 request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80e small project review of the zoning code for the proposed construction of 12 residential rental units including two IDP units approximately 4,000 square ft of commercial space six car parking spaces and 12 bicycle parking spaces located at 736 through 7:42 East Broadway and executed an affordable rental housing agreement and restriction and to enter into Community benefits Community benefit agreement to take all related action uh Zoe and Michelle thank you and good evening again Madam chair members of the board director Shen and secretary pimus my name is Zoe shudy and I'm a project assistant in development review in the planning department we're here before you this evening to discuss the proposed article 8 small project located at 736 to 742 East Broadway in South auson the proposed project contemplates the development of a four-story mixed use building containing approximately 20,25 gross square feet with 12 residential rental units um one ground floor commercial restaurant unit and six parking spaces the proponent filed a small project review application on August 22nd 2024 a public meeting was held on October 2nd and was advertised in the local newspapers posted on the planning department website and a notification was emailed to all subscri subbers of the South Boston Neighborhood update list the public comment period ended on November 7th and I will now turn it over to my colleague Michelle to present the planning context before the development team begins their presentation thank you thank you Zoe and good evening again good evening Madam chair secretary bimus members of the board and director Shen my name is Michelle and I'm the planning review team planner assigned to this project the proposed project is 736 to 742 East Broadway is located in the south Boston Neighborhood District within a multif family residential local services subdistrict this portion of East Broadway is a mix of mixed use residential and commercial buildings in regards to Transportation this area is serviced by multiple MBTA bus lines including the seven 9 and 10 bus RS next slide please zoning relief is recommended for this proposed project as the proposed dimensions are contextually appropriate with the dimensional context on East Broadway this project will also help improve both the public realm and current transportation infrastructures in the area the sidewalk and streetscapes on East Broadway will be upgraded to meet complete Street guidelines and it will also update the existing bus stop with appropriate signage Str me the dimensional regulations in addition two new Street trees will be added as well as a new post and ring bike rack thank you and now I'll turn it over to the development team to present the project in more detail thank you good evening Madam chair and members of the board my name is Dennis Greenwood from sus the design Architects we're probably a little slid heavy and some of them are probably a little washed out so I'll go quickly through that and if you have any questions please let me know next slide all right we can jump through that one for sure all right so again I'm Dennis Green with soua design Architects I'm George I'm joined by George Mory of Adams and Mory uh and we're here on behalf of the development team Monarch development next slide please so walk you through some existing conditions briefly so here's the site for context just to get everyone acclimated with where we're located uh it is a midblock parcel located between L and K Street at the rear of our site we actually have access uh via new Hill Place so you'll see in upcoming slides that's how we're providing some parking at the back of the site next slide please and so here you can see uh three existing conditions photos starting from the right our parcel is actually the Remax building there so the first floor is currently commercial space there's two floors of residences up above for four total units that are existing now uh the plan is to demolish that building we're going to do an infill building that matches the context of some of the other buildings on the street on East Broadway including 724 to 734 uh East Broadway which you can see in the left photo there next slide please speaking of washed out so these are the site plans uh on the left is the existing on the right is the proposed uh what we're doing is we're building tight to the left property line on the western side so that will directly abut that uh the Broadway building at 734 East Broadway on the right we're maintaining a 5- foot setback on the east side of the property that's going to provide uh an eagus way back to Neill new Hill Place as well as a uh a convenience factor to get from East Broadway down to New Hill Place for residents at the back of the site we have access via new Hill Place so we have six parking spaces that are at grade at New Hill Place it's down about one full floor from East Broadway down to New Hill Place so that's actually at the basement level uh where we're going to provide that parking next slide please okay and I think we touched Bas briefly on the zoning already so we're going to jump through this one we can go on to the next slide here okay uh parking so in this District it's a one to1 parking required what we're actually going to be providing is uh 05 ratio so there's a total of 12 units we're providing six parking spaces next slide and overall so there's 12 units they are all one bedroom one bath units there's two affordable units two IDP units uh included as part of that each unit is about 800 square ft uh again six parking spaces there's 12 interior bike parking spaces as well as two uh visitor bike parking spaces out front next slide jump to the next one actually and one more here we are uh so on the first floor what we have is we have a restaurant space a commercial space that's about 3,400 Square F feet a portion of the basement is also allocated as part of that residence uh restaurant commercial space so that would be their prep kitchen that's about 800 square ft downstairs uh again there is access to the parking through the lower level so you'd come in through the residence on East Broadway if you were a visitor or coming in as a pedestrian um and you could take the elevator down to the parking on the lower level uh and drive in and out through New Hill Place next slide please and on the upper floors uh each floor has four units so floors two three and four each have four total units so a total of 12 of those units again one bedroom one bath about 800 square fet each next slide and so what we did was we looked at the context of East Broadway uh made sure that in terms of scale and in terms of the vocabulary we matching kind of what's being developed in the neighborhood so again it's an infill parcel we took a lot of strong cues from uh 724 and 734 East Broadway which is directly to the left on this screen as well as the development that's currently under construction at 748 to 750 East Broadway which is at the corner of el street that you see on the right hand side of the screen next slide please and so what we did is we're using quality mat materials we're using masonry on the first floor uh with red brick on Floors 2 through four and then black brick down on the lower level we have a small sign band that protrudes out we're looking at uh double hung windows that uh have simulated divided light to look like the factory style windows with panel in between each window Bay um and that brick wraps the corner which you'll see coming up in the next slide so we bring that those materials back about 20 ft along the side elevation so this is the the East Elevation again where there's a 5ot break between our building and the the abing property next slide please at the rear of the building we do have a small balcony for each of the units in the rear uh so the main building facade is set back 20 ft off the property line and then we have small Bays that protrude out another couple feet and as well as uh a small balcony for each of those rear units next slide please uh and this was a site section again pretty washed out um you can see the gr change between East Broadway and new Hill Place though next slide and so here's a rendering of the building so again what we're doing is we're we're using masonry on the exterior of the building um you know really trying to make it fit in with the context of East Broadway and create a uh infill project that we think matches with the vocabulary of the neighborhood thank you okay that conclude the presentation do okay uh questions or comments from the board uh I'll just have a comment I just I think the windows are really cool in the front I think that's going to be a really like all right I just think it's cool um what kind of impact since that it is kind of you know um has those two ab buts what kind of impact is it going to have what to you know how are you working with the but sure sure so um to the western side the one where we have the zero property uh setback that's actually the same ownership um so we're all we're all set on that front um and then it's approximately the same setback as existing now on the Eastern property line as well so the existing three-story building is about 5 ft off that property line now helps the same ownership uh okay any further questions or comments hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second we'll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr shepher I Dr Lark I Mr I and the chair votes I motion passes uh thank you thank you good luck yeah yeah all right item number 22 request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursu to article 88e small project review of The Zone code for the proposed construction of three of a three-story animal adoption center and Veterinary Clinic and 25 car parking spaces located at 10 Chandler Street uh and to enter into a community benefits agreement and to take all related actions Zoe and jce thank you and good evening again Madame chair members of the board director Shen and secretary bimus again I am Zoe shudy um here before you to present um the proposed article 8e small project located at 10 Chandler Street in the South End Neighborhood of Boston the proposed project consists of three of a three-story animal adoption center in Veterinary Clinic consisting of 31,000 gross square feet the proposed project includes 25 off Street onsite surface parking spaces the proponent filed a small project review application on October 10th 2024 a public meeting was held on November 13th and was advertised in the local newspap local newspapers excuse me posted on the planning department website and a notification was emailed to all subscribers of the South and neighborhood update list the public comment period ended on December 2nd and I will now turn it over to my colleague Ford to present the planning context before the development team present presents their presentation thank you next slide please uh good evening secretary pimus members of the board and director Shen my name is Ford Delio and I'm covering for my colleague Jason McDonald the planner who reviewed this project The Proposal is located in the South and neighborhood zoning District District Community commercial subdistrict governed by zoning article 64 zoning overlays for the site include the groundwater conservation overlay district and the coastal flood resilience overlay District due the due to the neighboring Ellis's Memorial Children's Park the proposed project is also subject subject to city ordinance 7.41 which indicates that any project that is within 100 feet of a park or Parkway requires the approval of the Boston Parks and Recreation Commission prior to the issuing of building permits next slide please uh as submitted as submitted the proposed project is consistent with all use and dimensional zoning regulations except for conditional use triggered by gcod regulations the proposed site plan reconfigure reconfiguration will maintain the existing total of 25 off street parking spaces being located in gcod the proposed project must be reviewed and approved by the Boston Water and Sewer Commission as part of its conditional use permit application to the zoning board of appeals based on improvements to open space building and site plan design made through the review process staff recommend bpda board approval with further review from the bwsc and bprc thank you I will now turn over to the development team to present any more detail thank you uh Madam chair members of the board Madam Secretary Mr director uh I'm Bob Baldwin project manager for the Animal Rescue League of Boston and I'll keep my remarks very brief uh just a little context they've been at this site Animal Rescue League of Boston since 1957 I believe uh and doing the same thing that they plan to do in this new facility but as you can imagine uh time has marched on and uh the uh state-of-the-art for Animal Care has advanced and they have to advance uh with it so as mentioned it's a 30,000 foot three-story new building it fully conforms to zoning um and has the same amount of parking uh we have uh met with all of the elected officials the abutters and met with the Ellis uh neighbor Southend Ellis Southend neighborhood association several times and received their support as well so with that I'm going to introduce Dr Dr Edward scatino who heads the Animal Rescue League to tell you a little bit about the context and then Jonathan Garland will take you through the design thank you Bob thank you everybody and good evening it's a pleasure to be here in front of all of you I'm Dr Edward scatino I'm the president and CEO of the animal res League of Boston the animal res League of Boston was founded in 1899 by a social worker from Dorchester and a haris Smith she saw the cruel mistreatment of horses and animals in the city of Boston and saw children and adults being desensitized to that abuse and neglect and she took action and founded the organization the in we've been an institution for Boston for 125 years we've helped over 6.2 million animals since our founding and we help over 20,000 animals a year we partner with Human Service organizations throughout Greater Boston such as ABCD the base New England Center home um New England Center home for veterans um Boston Elder services and a variety of other organizations with Boston we have Partnerships with through these Partnerships we provide services to help keep pets and people together in homes and out of shelters we do this by providing lowcost veterinary care or no cost veterinary care we provide temporary pet housing to allow people to get the help they need without having to surrender their pets um and also provide a food bank and as well as services for folks of supplies for people to keep their pets as Bob mentioned the animal care has changed over the years as species should be separated species should not see pre species should not see smell or um see smell or hear each other um it causes stress within the animals currently in Boston dogs are next to cats cats are next to birds are next to rabbits when animals are stressed they have anxiety when they have anxiety when people want to adopt them they don't um so animals stay longer with us the longer animals stay with us the more chances they have of having disease length of stay increases and it's a continual cycle so we need a new facility to help separate the species and allow animals to present themselves the best they can to people to adopt them also animals that are coming into our care have greater medical and behavioral needs than ever before and they need the proper space as well to stay with us um we are very proud to reinvest in the city of Boston and we're very excited about this project so thank you very much thank you now Jonathan Garland than you uh good evening Madam chair members of the board secretary pimus director Shen good to see you all in person again this is great uh so I'm Jonathan Garland president of jge architecture and design I'll take you through the plans quickly uh this is just an overall site aerial view as has been mentioned we are proposing a 30,500 foot thre story building within the article 80 small project review application threshold and uh 25 on-site surface parking spaces next slide proud to report that we are uh seeking this out as as of right from a zoning standpoint not withstanding the groundwater conservation overlay um procedural matter next slide just a number of uh existing conditions photographs this is within the Southend neighborhood District so we are looking forward to going before the Southend landmarks commission um following uh the the uh planning department uh but this is just the existing conditions as uh as is on current day next slide uh this is the district the South End district is uh shown in the red outline if you draw your eye to that really top right corner of the red where the Bold uh footprint is that is our site which basically exemplifies that in some respects we are at the beginning of the South End District or at the uh at the tail end of it but we do see this as a transitional uh almost Gateway opportunity as as far as the site location is concerned next slide this is the existing uh we are anticipating what we call a phase uh demolition new construction where you have to think of this as an as a Hospital for Animals so the facility that exists today has to stay fully operational during construction and so uh you'll see in the next slide if you flip to the next slide we are uh proposing the new building to be built to the side of the existing which will will allow that that building to stay fully operational while we build a new facility and then once that is removed we'll be able to uh finish off the rest of the site next slide uh mature trees are also a qualitative element on the site there are a number of existing mature trees that we've work worked really hard to uh preserve and and essentially Nestle our new building within that tree canopy unfortunately the Three Trees shown in the red are the ones that we have anticipated anticipated having to be removed for the new building but all of the other bigger dark green trees are the ones that we are working hard to preserve and provide root Zone protection for next slide this would be the final uh layout of the site plan so you can see the new building to the far right much closer to tront Street which is along that diagonal right hand side Chandler Street is running at the top of the page the Ellis neighborhood playground is also top right along the page and so the 25 parking spaces we have 20 in the larger size lot to the left and an additional five along Tremont Street which is working with the emergency access Veterinary Care side of the facility next slide as far as our exterior design is concerned we uh really started this process by doing a walk around the neighborhood in the South End and tried to build or layer in the architectural character that we observed in the south South End things like a strong grid things like brick ornamentation and detailing and also ideas that we learned from the townhouse model which is very prevalent in the South End next slide this is a view from uh from the Chandler Street side of the site just behind this view is the Mass Pike so we thought you know signage is a great opportunity for visibility uh just for people to know where the facility is we anticipate you would be able to see that signage from the Pike uh but we are looking at a red brick uh second and third floor massing as well as a larger scale architectural masonry base and bringing the verticality of the windows down to help ground the building next slide this is a shot from the main entry along uh Chandler Street we actually have two entries one is on Chandler which would work for intake and uh adoption care the Treemont side would be for veterinary care so this is the main entry along Chandler and you can see a smaller lowrise one-story element to the right which we're using as a multi-purpose dog training uh center for the facility next slide uh this is a view as you're ending uh the edge of Chandler going into the Chandler tront Plaza uh you're also seeing how the building is working strategically within the larger tree canopy and we've also integrated some nice curv linear brick detailing Elements which we also saw is evidenced within the Southend District next slide this is a View kind of looking through the layers of the trees there are a number of trees within the Treemont Chandler Plaza out in the public realm as well as trees beyond the uh iron uh the rod iron railing which are on our site so this is a view which you would sort of see through layers of canopies of trees next slide and then uh finally this is a shot from the CH uh tront side of the building you can see the uh Handcock building in the background for context but this would be the other entry with the five parking spaces uh in an emergency situation that's how you get up to the Veterinary Care on the third floor next slide and I think that concludes our presentation open for questions thank you okay great thank you uh questions or comments from the board I know I've been uh uh very chatty this uh this meeting Madam chair so I appreciate the Indulgence of my colleagues uh it's fitting it's the last project that we're going to vote on this calendar year as this is probably the least controversial project we will ever vote on uh not just because it's about helping animals because the Animal Rescue League is such an institution in our city um Dr scatino we haven't met I worked very very closely with your predecessor Mary Nee on the puppy mill bill when I was in the council um my family has used the services of ARL it's just a remarkable place we are grateful to support this I know that spot very very well excited to see it happening um and wish you all the best and it's just an incredible organization I know I speak for countless bostonians when I thank you for your service to our city thank you very much um yeah definitely Echo I'm chatty all the time so it's okay could be there um yeah I mean I'm a I'm a double dog mom so like a you know um you know I think pets in general just they have a very important part in like the fabric of our community and in like people's life lives and so I just thank you so much for all of the work that you do that you do um and I know you'll continue to do in this really great state-of-the-art facility um appreciate it so there are no further questions or comments motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Mr Shepard I Dr lanmark hi Mr Ali I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you so much thank you very much good luck puppies for everybody thank you awesome thank you all right you even notice that was the last that was the last project of the year um okay contractual I need a motion to pay our bills I move that we pay our bills second the motion okay roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Shephard hi Dr lsmark hi Mr om Al I and the chair votes I motion passes please pay the bills and finally director update uh director sh the floor is yours good evening uh members of of the board I'm delighted to actually end this year's uh board meeting uh but before we end uh just a quick summary of what we did today um uh seven new projects almost 300 units of um uh uh approved today 44 of those are income restricted um total development costs of the projects we approved um $158.2 million um these will represent about 350,000 Square ft of new development of which uh almost 200,000 are residential uh projects um if the projects when constructed I shouldn't say if when constructed these projects will put approximately uh 500 trades people to work and create about 730 direct jobs and 250 indirect jobs um of course tonight you actually we spent some time seeing the work of the uh great staff that we have uh the Adu guide book I think many of you will go back and look at your your Lots tonight and think um you know do do we have the do you have the opportunity to actually add an Adu uh on your site uh this is a this uh this guide book as you can see actually really I think I think the goal of it is to actually get people to be excited about this opportunity I think the rest of the state already have this benefit but of course our city is a little bit more complicated um this is a tool that we've developed that obviously will get um more people within the city to add adus the guide book is also a companion for zoning initiative that many of you know um because as you can see still uh except for mapan every every every other neighborhood is still basically not as of right and the staff have been working uh to make sure that more of the actual Adu Zone and gets adopted um our anticipated timeline is to come back to the board to actually vote for the large lot sometime in 2025 um uh well I want to add my congratulations to the staff uh that have been doing this great work um you also saw the design Vision which has been a whole year in the making um you can see when it's approved that it aims to use design for the built environment across Boston so that it leverages design as a tool to Anchor the sense of place and identity and shape Boston's public spaces um part of this is to understand what is unique in the DNA of Design Within the city of Boston and actually build on that but also incorporate new ideas on how to actually do great placemaking um as you know I've already mentioned that this this process began over a year ago and many of the residents all over the city have been invited to partake in the public process and shaping these kinds of ideas about what kinds of design make their communities feel like home which is a theme as you know that mayor woo has been in building uh the last few years um I want to thank the overdesign team in particular for their hard work under the uh leadership of Diane Fernandez um to produce this wonderful uh end product and what I I don't think it was mentioned tonight is that we have um you will start seeing some of the advertisements for these Adu the Adu guide book show up in different parts of the city um we have including some of the electronic um uh Billboards because we have these uh Public Service Announcement requirements so if you go down to the I think in the Theater District um you'll start seeing the some of the images that you saw uh flash up uh another thing that we saw another project uh for office to um to residential con conversion um this is something that um I think we're delighted to see more of these projects the Summer Street project that include the iconic um Boston Warf industrial property sign um that will be turned into 77 units of new homes um I think you already mentioned uh Matt you mentioned how your daughter might be excited to suggest that you might move to that district and be closer to the uh to the children's museum um five of these conversion projects of course have been already approved and tonight we heard that one of them is under construction so this is something I think that will hopefully gather more steam one of the additional things that I think the staff did not mention is that because of the tax abatement that these projects have under our pilot program um we've been working with the state that the state will actually make available some of what they uh for other towns and and cities in in the Commonwealth make them eligible for particular kind of additional uh loan uh for for U for the conversion of these projects um well this is the final board meeting and I want to end by just uh uh providing a summary of what we've uh completed and accomplished this year so from the uh over all this year uh this board approved 64 new development projects um over 3,390 new residential units 1,150 uh income restricted units and the total development costs would be around about just under 8 billion and these projects will represent a total amount of um 11 million new Square fet built in the city when completed um and if we build all of it we will create uh 10,000 trades uh jobs in the trades uh and then 16,000 direct jobs and 5,000 indirect jobs now I would say that at the end of this year there's also some other accomplishments uh although I also unfortunately we're saying goodbye to a few longtime employees so um some of these uh people have uh are employees have made great contribution and impact over the decades that they've been they've been with us uh Susan DS has worked here for almost 20 years Fran mcnali has worked here for almost 40 years and Susan Malone has worked here the longest for 41 years and I remember meeting Susan back you know this is now 31 years ago when I first came to to the then BR um who helped me get me oriented in in this building um so and actually Susan started here as a service clerk in 1983 um we're very grateful for all three of these uh great uh and dedicated employees who have served us so well uh and also served the city so well and we wish them the best of luck um now in terms of as we say goodbye to uh three of our great employees we also said hello to about 38 new employees that were hired in 2024 um so that is an amazing thing I've mentioned to many people that the vibrancy of of the planning department is some something that that really energized me um and and then of course uh just in terms of the overall staff work many of you who have been on you've been on all of you have been on the board longer than I have know many of the Great achievements and just to mention a few obviously the squares and streets initiative and the small area plans to reson some of our most important neighborhood centers that's an ongoing work and you saw uh with the um the amendment of language to make that zoning clearer I think is the kind of work that we will continue to do um there there's also the ongoing work to modernize the article 80 development review process um we release the draft recommendations in November uh and we look forward to working with the community to implement parts of it in 2025 um I think we there are many good ideas and the intention that we have is to implement as many of these things without getting bogged down in some of the the bureaucratic work that needs to also go on um also the most important thing of course is the transitioning from the staff from the bpda to a New Boston planning department and becoming city of Boston employees um this shift I think occurred obviously before I arrived but uh I think has been achieved seamlessly um and actually this transformation I think you know the the the ease of the transformation transformation actually probably uh is disguised by the the the not disguised but really made possible because of the diligence of the staff's work and on that note I would say that this has only been my second uh board meeting um I want to make sure to publicly uh thank the board for leading that transition but also thank Arthur Jameson um who who was the the leader of of the bpda the director during that transition and also um Devin Kirk Devin Quirk who uh served in the interim role before I arrived so um I I would say that a lot of the success of this transformation goes to those two leaders who have come before me now um I wanted to actually end on a good note which is to say that in addition to all of the things that we've talked about in terms of people coming and and going that they are also our employees uh have lives and they are um residents of of the city um I I I I can't tell you how many babies uh have been born but I have noticed that there have been a lot of this kind of daily kind of um uh you know life that happens and I'm I'm delighted that I've been part of this for you know just the two two months that I've been back and I look forward to working with them and looking forward to working with the board for this coming year in 2025 and I wish you all great holiday season so thank you very much thank you thank you d okay um with that um I need a motion to adjourn this final meeting of 2024 so move second roll call for a vote M Bennett hi Mr Shephard Dr lart I Mr Al I and the chair votes I motion passes meeting adjourned happy New Year everyone we'll see you uh in January e