Archstone Avenir, a mixed-use apartment and retail property in Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle neighborhood, is on track to kick-start the redevelopment of a neighborhood once dominated by the Central Artery.

As the city watched the elevated highway eyesore evaporate and the rickety Green Line disappear underground after completion of the Big Dig, new land appeared in an area ripe for development.

In November 2005, the MBTA completed construction of the North Station Superstation, which placed the Green Line underground, and now offers riders inbound cross-platform transfers between the Green and Orange Line.

In the air rights above the subway, the story of Archstone Avenir, and a revitalized neighborhood, began.

Residential Revitalization

The property at 101 Canal St. is the first building in the Bulfinch Triangle, an area dominated by the TDBanknorth Garden, home to the Bruins and Celtics, to come online since the completion of the Big Dig, said Damien Szary, assistant vice president development for Archstone, the developer and owner of the project.

The neighborhood was originally designed and developed for commercial and industrial use only. Residential projects were prohibited from being built, according to Bob O’Brian, executive director of community group Downtown North Association.

“When the rezoning was done in anticipation of the demolition of the Central Artery, housing was introduced into the area and the community was in favor,” O’Brian said. “Originally all the developments planned for the reclaimed land were for housing only, but now there is a mix of housing, retail and office space, which is what we want to see.”

The $150 million, 10-story Avenir project was spearheaded by Trinity Financial, and, at first, called for condominiums rather than rental housing. When the condo market collapsed in 2006, Trinity decided to sell. Archstone bought the plans for Avenir and began construction on 241 luxury apartments (17 of which are affordable), and 27,000 square feet of retail, in July 2007, according to Szary.

“We didn’t have to worry about much groundwork because the building is located above the T, so there’s no underground parking,” Szary said. “Instead, parking will be located on the second and third floors of the building. Two-story loft apartments will wrap around the parking.”

With no time wasted on digging underground for parking, Archstone Avenir’s steel went up quickly. It is about 70 percent complete and is expected to be finished next summer with “close to 40 two-story, one- and two-bedroom units,” Szary said. The building will offer 116 resident parking spaces.

Szary describes the units as larger than typical size for Boston apartments, averaging more than 1,000 square feet. Rents will range from $2,000-$6,000 per month, depending on size and location of the unit within the building. Rents will fluctuate depending on the market, he added.

“We maintained the original plans from when we bought the building from Trinity,” Szary said. “We kept the exterior look and interior finishes, which are going to be a huge selling point … The brick and metal-panel building was designed to work contextually with the neighborhood.”

With several commercial and residential developments in the Bulfinch Triangle pipeline, Szary said Archstone is hoping to keep the street life of the growing neighborhood alive with the retail space on the first floor.

While no tenants have signed leases yet, Szary expects between four to eight retail tenants that could be restaurants, wine shops and small stores.

Can’t Get Enough

And Avenir is just the beginning for this new, old neighborhood.

A 360,000-square-foot, mixed-use development by Simpson Housing has been approved for 283 apartment units and 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Raymond Properties Co. has been approved for Greenway Center, a 488,000-square-foot development featuring 295,000 square feet of commercial office, a Stop & Shop supermarket and other first-floor retail.

“I think all these projects will be a big part of the revitalization efforts of the Bulfinch Triangle,” O’Brian said. “We want this neighborhood to be somewhere you can live, work and stay.”