Proposed Dot development would raze auto shops for flats, retail
A mixed-use development with residential rental units, ground-floor retail and art gallery space is slated to replace two auto repair shops on Hancock Street in Dorchester.
Boston-based Arx Urban wants to construct the five-story building at 233 Hancock St. with 31 middleincome and five affordable apartments ranging from studio to two-bedroom units.
“The proposed development will be removing two auto repair shops that generate signif icant daily traffic and noise for the neighborhood and local businesses,” Arx Urban stated in its small project review application to the Boston Planning & Development Agency. “By removing these buildings, there will be a decrease in the traffic volume in and out of the current site and for the surrounding neighborhood.”
The new building would include 22 parking spaces in a street-level garage. The developer also hopes to provide additional parking at three other Hancock Street properties. Hub-based RODE Architects Inc. designed the proposed project. An open lobby plan would allow pedestrians to view community artwork through the building’s glassed-in first floor. Arx Urban plans to allow neighborhood associations to rent the rooftop patio at subsidized prices.
The project site is a half-mile walk from the MBTA’s Savin Hill station and across from the forthcoming Dot Block Residences, which will include 350-plus housing units and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
In its application, Arx Urban says the development “will create pedestrian-oriented public spaces that will invigorate the heart of the site by fostering an active street life, with the introduction of cafes, restaurant and other retail spaces.”