The saga over a proposal to bring affordable housing next to the Shawmut MBTA Station will take another step toward a denouement as an advisory panel plans to meet and the close of the public comment period approaches.

The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) is reviewing the proposal, which calls for 74 residential units, most of them one-bedrooms, at 150 Centre St. Forty-five units (61 percent) would be marked as affordable housing. The site is currently home to Fitzpatrick Bros., an auto body shop.

The public comment period ends on Sat., March 4. Two days before that, the project’s Impact Advisory Group (IAG), a panel that is part of the BPDA’s review process that focuses on mitigation measures, will hold a virtual meeting at 6 p.m. At the previous IAG meeting in January, members who oppose the project called for a halt to the process.

Opponents argue that while they don’t oppose affordable housing, the four-story project is too big for the neighborhood, which is already struggling with traffic woes. Supporters say the affordable units, ideally situated next to public transit, are desperately needed as the region grapples with a housing crisis driven by a lack of supply against high demand.

A map shows how the proposed building, long and skinny, would be situated at 150 Centre St.
Image from ICON Architecture/Trinity Financial via BPDA

Opponents have launched a website and delivered flyers to neighbors as they seek to block the project. The area is zoned for single or two-family residences, and the abutting properties are owner-occupied single-family or small multi-family houses that were built more than a century ago “in an architectural style similar to that of the surrounding neighborhoods,” the website says.

Nevin Lorden, an IAG member who supports the project and has clashed with opponents, took to Twitter to post a photo of flyer, calling it “litter” and adding, “if you feel that this flyer doesn’t represent you, please join in standing up for dense, affordable, transit-oriented housing here in Dorchester.”

The developer is Trinity Financial, which is co-owned and operated by Jim Keefe, a Dorchester resident. The developer has also worked on the Carruth building next to Ashmont MBTA Station, transforming the area before moving on to redevelop the former Ashmont Tire business across the street into the Treadmark building.

The long-running battle over 150 Centre St. started with 91 units of housing, but after several rounds with local residents, Trinity has pared the number back to 74, with 39 parking spaces. Its letter of intent was filed in June 2022.

Michelle Sanchez, principal of the neighboring Epiphany School and an IAG member who attended the January meeting, asked proponents to lower the number of units even further, with more bedrooms to accommodate families. “It would be amazing if there was housing here that was family-oriented and low-income,” she said at the virtual meeting.

The Epiphany School had itself sought to purchase and develop the property for itself, with its leaders saying they would seek to develop 100 percent affordable housing, with fewer units. But they backed off after Trinity sent a letter from their attorney, noting they have a purchase-and-sale agreement with the Fitzpatrick Bros. property owners.