PROJECT EYES OK IN ALLSTON
Site close to Boston Landing stop
A New Jersey developer hopes to win city approval for three six-story buildings containing 261 apartments, first-floor retail or restaurant space, and an automated valet parking structure in Allston.
The Michaels Organization’s proposed 294,438-square-foot project is targeted for 1.89-acres near the MBTA’s Boston Landing station. The site includes five parcels on Rugg Road, Braintree Street and Penniman Road now occupied by a parking lot and four industrial buildings.
“By transforming an underutilized site into a vibrant mixed-use residential and retail location, the project will contribute substantially to the improvement of the pedestrian environment, the retail and service vitality of the neighborhood, and the urban design and architectural character of the Brighton/Braintree Street area,” according to the developer’s project notification form filed with the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Boston-based DiMella Shaffer is the project architect.
The apartments would include 94 studios averaging 505 square feet, 105 one-bedrooms averaging 700 square feet and 62 twobedrooms averaging 1,050 square feet. Thirty-four apartments would be designated as affordable housing units.
Although the Michaels Organization’s University Student Living division is mentioned in its project notification form, the company has said that the apartments will not be built as student housing or targeted to students, according to a BPDA spokeswoman. University Student Living develops and manages privately owned, on- and off-campus student housing.
The site’s existing parking lot would be replaced with a five-story automated garage with 168 spaces for resident use only. Upon arrival in the garage, a driver would park the car in one of the loading turntables and leave the building. A sensor would analyze the size of the vehicle, and the vehicle would be moved to an empty space. When the driver wants to retrieve a car, he would scan a card or key, and the system would deliver the car to one of the exit bays.
The roof of the garage would serve as outdoor amenity space for residents. The garage parking would be supplemented with 12 surface parking spaces on Emery Road for residents, retail patrons and visitors.
The Michaels Organization has a purchase and sale agreement to acquire 40 Rugg Road and 76-84 Braintree St., pending permitting approvals, according to an affidavit on file with the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds.