Developer seeking to convert auto-repair shop to apartments
A new West Roxbury apartment building with 17 units is being proposed for the current site of an automotive center on Washington Street, in a neighborhood of small shops and restaurants.
Hub Development LLC hopes to construct the four-story building at 5205 Washington St., on an approximately 12,060-squarefoot parcel on the east side of the street, where a parking lot and one-story building housing Lee Myles Transmissions are currently located.
Redevelopment of the lot will add energy and vitality to the Washington and Grove streets intersection, and enliven and visually enhance what is a primary gateway corridor to Boston, according to Hub Development’s project letter of intent, which was submitted to the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
The eight-yearold, Dedham-based Hub Development is led by Antonio Ferrara, who lives in West Roxbury, about a half-mile from the proposed project site.
The company has hired Dedham-based McKay Architects to design its project.
The apartments would be located on the second through fourth floors of the building and would include nine one-bedroom units averaging 938 square feet and eight two-bedroom units averaging 1,246 square feet. The building’s first floor would be dedicated to storage and parking for 26 cars and 12 bicycles.
The plans are subject to a small project development review by the BPDA. That process is used when projects include less than 50,000 square feet of gross floor area, but still are expected to affect the surrounding area because of their size or location. A preliminary analysis by Hub Development determined that the project, which would be built in an area zoned for neighborhood shopping, requires no zoning code relief.