Boston PIC Approves Streets for Affordable Housing, Animal Shelter, and Arts Plaza

BOSTON — May 22, 2025 — Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved 10 street petitions at its May 22 meeting, clearing the way for affordable housing, a rebuilt animal shelter, and a Frederick Douglass plaza in Roxbury. The commission green-lit three connected petitions for the Mildred C. Haley redevelopment in Jamaica Plain, including the naming of United Street — chosen by community vote with 75 percent support — as a new connecting roadway between Parker and Heath streets, with Urban Edge Housing Corporation project manager Russell Pandras presenting the plan. Penrose LLC won approvals for pedestrian easements and street repairs near its 88-unit affordable development at 95 Everett Street in Brighton, adjacent to the MBTA Boston Landing station. The Animal Rescue League of Boston received a specific repairs permit for Chandler and Tremont streets in the South End, where it plans a new 30,000-square-foot animal care facility to replace a 70-year-old building. Two Hitchborn Street petitions in Brighton were continued to the June 12 hearing pending a required appraisal, and the Frederick Douglass plaza reconstruction on Tremont Street in Lower Roxbury was sent to a three-week return date.