A development proposal aired at a public meeting last week would bring more than 400 new residential units and commercial retail space to a 3.88-acre parcel at the corner of Enterprise Street and Boston Street in the Polish Triangle.

Under the supervision of the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), the plan is moving steadily through the city’s Article 80 review process. About 30 people attended the meeting last Thursday at UA Local 12 Plumbers and Gasfitters building on Mass. Ave. in Dorchester to hear from Chip Batchelder, of Bass Realty, the developer behind the proposal and the longtime owner of 15 Enterprise St., which now houses a Verizon service center and neighboring warehouse.

The site is tucked in closely behind South Bay, which has been transformed in the last few years into a mix of residential developments and new commercial space, including a movie theater and several restaurants.

Batchelder said that Verizon has occupied the space since the early 1970s and has only two years remaining on its lease. “Back then, it was pretty much an industrial site,” he said. “Obviously, the world has changed since then. About a year or so ago, I was walking around the site and saw the beautiful project that they did,” said Batchelder. “So, I’m sort of the last Mohican sitting in the middle of a beautiful residential neighborhood, and I said to myself ‘I have to do something better,’ and I think what we’re proposing is a lot better.” 

Of the 406 proposed residential units, 53 would be marketed as affordable per the city’s Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP). The remainder will be priced at market rate. The current unit metric breakdown includes 163 studio units at 476 square feet, 160 one-bedrooms at 670 square feet, 75  two-bedrooms at 854 square feet, and 8 three-bedrooms at 1,075 square feet. 

The development proposal is compartmentalized into three primary “bar” buildings, with staggered heights at four and five stories that step down approaching Boston Street, each with its own textural looks, said Louis Kraft, an associate with Stantec, an architectural firm. The residential buildings would be privately connected by overhead bridges, allowing for more open space. 

“I’m giving up close to half of the site to open space, which is almost unheard of in the development business,” said Batchelder. 

A handful of residents commended the team on its plan to create a large amount of open space, but community members did raise concerns about the lack of a traffic study on one road in particular: Clapp Street, which many said is often illegally used as a short cut to Mass. Ave. 

“No one looks at Clapp Street. I know that we’ve made the team aware of our issues with Clapp Street before, and I’m surprised that you didn’t include it in your study,” said Millie Rooney, McCormack Civic Association leader.

Travis Stewart, also a McCormack Civic leader, echoed Rooney’s sentiment of frustration: “We really do need it to be studied and we need enforcement! I’ve been down there when people come off of Jan Karski and take a left off Enterprise Street,” he said. “We’ll have to lean on the city for enforcement, but we’re just asking you to have the study done because no one from this development or EDENS [the developer of the ANDI residences at South Bay] has looked at it. And please, take into account that the pipefitters do training, and that people park on both sides of the street. It’s really a duel to get down it sometimes. That’s where our frustration is coming from.”

Replied Batchelder: “We can definitely take another look at the whole area and spend a little bit more time and money and make some recommendations.” 

Raul Duverge, BPDA project manager, also said that the agency intends to bring developers in the area together with the community to assess which issues, like the one concerning Clapp Street, could be mitigated. 

“Keeping that in mind, from a long-term planning perspective, one thing we’re looking at doing is bringing these various proposal parties together to look at what meaningful mitigation can be done – whether that’s upgrading streets, sidewalks, or other infrastructure,” he said. 

As to parking, 258 residential spaces would be housed underneath the development, Batchelder said, allowing the team to dedicate three-quarters of an acre to open space. An additional 29 residential spaces would be on the street. 

The team’s plans for open space would include a 3,000-square foot civic lawn, a courtyard, an amenity deck, a children’s play space, and a pollinator lawn. A publicly accessible entrance on Jan Karski Way would wrap around ground floor retail space to create a landscaped pedestrian-friendly pathway. 

“We are proposing to really maintain this significant, publicly accessible pedestrian connection and unbroken open space through the site,” said Kraft. “This is not just about vehicular traffic and moving cars in and out of the site. It’s about connecting the activity and use of the new development to the existing neighborhood and vice versa.”

An extension of District Ave. that would lead to a pathway into the ALDI development from Boston Street is another point of emphasis on connectivity,said Kraft. “That can be an extension of the shopping, dining, and cultural experience that is currently under way and really flourishing at [South Bay].”

The team proposes to revamp the sidewalk presence in the surrounding area by planting trees and providing walkways large enough to comfortably include cafe patio seating. And they have agreed to move utilities underground along Enterprise Street.

Developers also highlighted their incorporation of a number of sustainability and resiliency initiatives that have been outlined in citywide planning through programs like Climate Ready Boston and Climate Ready Dorchester. 

As the meeting wrapped up, a young man who said he volunteers at the Dorchester Historical Society, which abuts the proposal, advised the team about why they should be good neighbors to the society in particular.

“You could use the residential and retail draw to get people into the Historical Society. When your residents move into Dorchester we want them to know what it’s really about. It’s not just South Bay and it’s not Newbury Street, you know? It’s the residents in the triple-deckers and the Irish history – immigrant history,” he said. 

“You’re going to be here, so how can you guys connect community benefits and use the Historical Society as leverage to preserve the community and keep that old image that we’re still trying to own. Because it seems to me that that is the reason why people come to Boston, for that type of identity and vision. I just ask you to open your hearts to what they want as well as what other people and new residents want.”
 
Everyone in the room seemed appreciative of his suggestion, as it elicited a large round of applause and more than a few approving nods and “well saids.” 

The initial public comment period, which will inform which steps the BPDA requires the developers to take next in the process, will close on March 12.

“After that there will be another formal public comment period and a series of meetings with the Impact Advisory Group,” said the BPDA’s Duverge.