DOT'S THE LATEST HOUSING PLAN
Developer pitches 40 units in industrial area
A Boston developer hopes to land an approximately $12.5 million, 40-unit residential development on a section of Massachusetts Avenue in Dorchester that has been dominated by industrial and automotive uses.
Douglas George is pitching plans for a pair of six-story attached residential buildings at 12581272 Massachusetts Ave., a site that until recently was occupied by the Express Motors used-car dealership. The studio to twobedroom units would be marketrate housing, save for five units that would be set aside as affordable, according to documents filed this week with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
“It’s an exciting area,” said George, who lives in north Dorchester’s adjacent Polish Triangle neighborhood, less than a quarter-mile from the proposed development site, and has been building in the area for 20 years. “There’s a lot happening in the Mass. Ave. area. I think it’s a good project that will help activate that part of Mass. Ave.”
The development is proposed for two parcels measuring about 19,896 square feet next to the new Dorchester Brewing Co. and the Carpenters Union Local 33 hall. George purchased the site, along with 249 Boston St. and another parcel, for $2.2 million in early 2015, according to a Suffolk County Registry of Deeds filing.
Whether the development — which requires BRA approval — would include residential condos, apartments or a mix of both depends on securing financing, according to George.
“It might be hard to get financing for condos,” he said. “To get the 60 or 80 percent pre-sold that might be required to make it a condominium project may be difficult on Mass. Ave.”
Approximately 1,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and off-street parking for 37 vehicles also are planned. George expects to split the commercial space between restaurant and office uses.
“(The BRA) wanted something to activate the area, so the restaurant would have outdoor space,” he said.
The proposed development will be subject to the BRA’s small project review process, which is for developments that total less than 50,000 square feet, but are expected to affect the surrounding area and public realm because of their size or location.
If George wins BRA and other permitting approvals, he hopes to start construction later this year and finish the buildings in late 2017.