Boston ZBA Upholds Homeless Shelter Permit, Approves 318-Unit Allston Housing Project

BOSTON — October 28, 2025 — Boston Zoning Board of Appeal upholds two disputed shelter permits and approves a 318-unit Allston housing project in a day-long session. The board voted 5-1 on October 28 to uphold an ISD building permit for 5 Redlands Road in West Roxbury, where Making Opportunities Count, a state-contracted emergency-assistance operator, plans to house up to 120 families under a congregate living classification — rejecting opponents' argument that the facility is a legally distinct "homeless shelter" or "transitional housing" facility requiring a conditional use permit and full community zoning review. Building Commissioner Mike Joseph testified that ISD acted correctly on professionally stamped documents; appellant's attorney Kevin Cludier alleged that floor plans had been altered and that the parking calculation was deficient. Member Mark Collins voted no, saying the proponent "misled ISD by doctoring stamped and professional equations and documents." In a separate unanimous vote, the board upheld the ISD permit for 153 Third Avenue in Charlestown's Navy Yard, where a Saint Francis House and Boston Catholic Archdiocese joint venture is converting a 1992 YMCA hotel into 100 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing, over procedural objections including alleged Section 106 federal historic preservation violations. The board also unanimously approved the 318-unit, 54-affordable-unit Allston project at 22 Pratt Street, with Allston Civic Association president Tony Disidoro urging the developer to avoid undergraduate student rentals in a neighborhood "with a high concentration of undergraduate student housing and all the problems that go with it."