MBTA Communities rezoning prompted the owner of a vacant Brookline property to list it for sale as a potential condominium redevelopment. But brokers and developers say opportunities for large-scale projects are few and far between under the guidelines approved by many communities. Photo courtesy of Todd Glaskin Real Estate Advisor

Property owners and developers in Boston’s suburbs are entering the speed-dating phase as they review deals for suitable sites to add mid-rise multifamily housing under the MBTA Communities law.

It’s still early days in the implementation of what’s been hailed by legislators as a landmark victory for housing production in eastern Massachusetts, but real estate brokers and developers say few good matches for large-scale projects have emerged so far.

Gary Kerr, managing director of U.S. East development for developer Greystar, said there’s a disconnect between some communities’ approach and what developers are looking for when evaluating sites.

“They are maybe not thinking big enough in terms of scale,” Kerr said. “They are looking at smaller parcels and 75-unit developments. I don’t think they are trying to skirt it. Planning boards deal with people who want to put dormers on their homes, not necessarily large-scale development.”

All 12 communities with rapid transit service met a Dec. 31 deadline under state law to rezone for high-density housing near MBTA service. Milton voters will go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to repeal the December town meeting vote, after opponents forced a town-wide referendum.

Prior to passage, the rezoning proposals prompted intense debates in many of the remaining communities, with opponents warning of wholesale transformation of town centers with bulky apartment buildings replacing local shops and services. Supporters’ predictions that the changes will be incremental appear to be playing out, particularly in a challenging development financing environment.

“We’re in a little bit of a lull because of the cost of debt and construction, so I think developers will use this time to go through the permitting and design phase,” said Jeremy Freid, senior partner at 128 CRE brokerage in Newton.

Passengers leave an MBTA commuter rail at Boston’s North Station. Dozens of communities served by these trains are slated to update their zoning this year. iStock photo

Brookline Property Marketed for Condos

Factions lobbying for competing proposals reached a compromise leading to Brookline town meeting’s vote in November to rezone large portions of Harvard Street that allows 4-story multifamily buildings by right. The town’s major commercial corridor, it includes street-facing retail shops and many small individually-owned properties that don’t lend themselves to large-scale projects.

“It’s one of those things where sometimes you think they approved thousands of units, only 300 of which can be built,” said Todd Glaskin, a Brookline real estate broker.

Glaskin is marketing a vacant 2-story commercial property at 39 Harvard St. as a redevelopment opportunity created under the rezoning, and has received about a dozen inquiries from developers. Priced at $2.7 million, the building potentially could be expanded to four stories and deliver approximately six condominiums, he estimated.

“On this one, we thought it would be really cool to have residential on top, but the theory was you’d never get it [under the previous zoning],” Glaskin said. “It’s changed the way we are marketing it, and we are getting interest from builders.”

Lexington, Salem Get Green Lights

So far, the state Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has approved rezoning plans submitted by two communities, Lexington and Salem, neither of which have received any proposals to date.

In April, Lexington town meeting approved 12 new overlay districts spanning 227 acres, including sections of Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington Center.

Sandhya Iyer, Lexington’s economic development director, said planners have received multiple inquiries from potential developers. Iyer predicted the town will receive formal development applications this year after developers complete their due diligence on potential sites.

In Salem, the state approval reflects its existing zoning, which has allowed high-density development near its MBTA commuter rail station for decades. As a result, the city didn’t need to make any changes, said Tom Daniel, Salem’s director of planning and community development. Since 2020, the city has permitted more than 400 housing units near the Bridge Street station.

Steve Adams

“Our downtown zoning district demonstrates what the [MBTA Communities] law’s objective is, where you have compact, mixed-income housing with commercial uses as well,” Daniel said.

Salem also allows developers to use off-site municipal parking, which Daniel credited with spurring adaptive reuse of vacant downtown buildings’ upper floors into housing. In January’s State of the City address, Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo said he will support additional zoning reforms this year that further reduce parking requirements to encourage housing production.

Commuter Rail Suburbs Are Next Frontier

The next frontier for rezoning and opportunities to create major development sites will encompass suburbs with MBTA commuter rail stations or adjacent to communities with stations. Such communities face a Dec. 31 deadline to approve new zoning.

128 CRE’s Freid said his firm has arranged one deal placing an undisclosed property under agreement in an MBTA Communities zone and is working on three other potential deals.

“A lot of the property owners have been hearing about it and looking at the zoning density and what the height is going to look like,” Freid said. “Certainly, you have to be creative on the site assemblage to get to the density that’s required to justify a development of any real scale.”