51 Melcher St. Approval of the office-to-lab conversion in Fort Point was delayed in September after City Council President Ed Flynn stated concerns about noise, vibration and biohazard waste removal. Image courtesy of studioTROIKA
Boston Planning & Development Agency directors approved over 480,000 square feet of real estate projects including a new mixed-income housing tower in Mission Hill, while putting the brakes on a proposed lab conversion in Fort Point.
Directors tabled the approval of an office-to-lab conversion at 51 Melcher St., after receiving opposition from City Council President Ed Flynn and neighborhood residents.
GI Partners’ project has generated concern since it was originally proposed in December 2021 because the 51 Melcher St. building shares walls with a pair of residential buildings.
Developers said they designed the building to limit effects on neighbors, including locating some mechanical equipment inside the 102,727-square-foot building instead of the roof. The project would convert 57,000 square feet into lab space and support areas.
City Council President Ed Flynn submitted a letter of opposition to the BPDA board stating that neighbors’ health and safety would be put at risk by the project, including the removal of biohazard waste, and create noise and vibration that could disturb residents of 63 Melcher St.
“I feel it’s a little disingenuous for you to say when you don’t know who the tenants are going to be, that these kinds of labs uses are, to use your language, ‘Kind of just an office,’ unquote,” BPDA board member Ted Landsmark told developers during their presentation Thursday. “You don’t know what it’s going to be.”
As proposed conversions of office buildings to lab uses have increased in recent years, neighbors and some elected officials have asked for increasing scrutiny of projects near in and around residential neighborhoods.
In April 2021, BPDA directors delayed a vote on conversion of the 321 Harrison Ave. office building into lab-ready space. Board members said South End and Chinatown neighbors had insufficient notice of the project and opportunity to comment. The project was approved in July 2021.
The BPDA has been updating its review standards for life science projects to reflect neighborhood impacts.
At Thursday’s meeting, BPDA directors approved projects creating 305 housing units, including 111 which will be income-restricted.
The Traggorth Cos. plans to develop a $74 million mixed-income tower at 775 Huntington Ave. in Mission Hill. The 13-story project will include 57 apartments and 55 condominiums, with units reserved for renters earning 30 to 80 percent of area median income. Half of the condos will be reserved for buyers earning up to 120 of AMI, with the remainder offered at market rate.
In Brighton, another 117 housing units are planned in a redevelopment of a vacant bank branch located at 30 Leo Birmingham Parkway and another 38 units at the site of a former State Police barracks. Developer Mount Vernon Co. plans the 111,545-square-foot apartment complex across the street from its Radius apartment complex. The new development will include 17 percent income-restricted units, 5,810 square feet of retail space and screened at-grade parking.
At 46 Leo Birmingham Parkway, developer Arx Urban received approval for a 6-story, 38-unit apartment building.
In Newmarket, board members approved a new charter school and a planned cannabis cultivation facility.
Roxbury Preparatory Charter School will develop a site at 69-71 Procter St. for its 800 students, a year after dropping plans for a Roslindale site. The 4-story, 83,500-square-foot school will replace a vacant industrial site.
At 110-115 Hampden St. in Newmarket, developer Green Hampden Group LLC will develop a 3-story, 47,882-square-foot cannabis production and cultivation facility, replacing a property currently used for construction staging.
