Boston Zoning Board Denies Allston Apartment Project, Cites Excessive Density

BOSTON -- August 27, 2024, Boston Zoning Board denies Allston apartment proposal as too large, approves dozens of other projects. At its August 27 remote hearing, the Zoning Board of Appeal voted 7-0 to deny without prejudice a 14-unit, five-story building at 17 Linden Street in Allston, with city planner Jeff Hampton warning that the redesign needed was "significant" and beyond the scope of standard BPDA design review. Attorney George Morancy represented applicant City Realty, which had committed to three affordable units at 21 percent IDP at 70 percent AMI. In the day's major approvals, the board unanimously backed a 121-unit apartment complex at 445-449 Charles Park Road in West Roxbury, the former Pizzeria Regina headquarters, featuring 20 IDP units and a $100,000 park contribution, and a 90-unit mixed-use building at 115-121 Boston Street in Dorchester with a new pocket park and $50,000 parks contribution. The board also approved a floor-area-ratio increase from 17.5 to 19.0 for the previously approved 300-room, 290-foot hotel at 39 Stanhope Street in Back Bay, and cleared a 16-lodger affordable lodging house at 250 Seaver Street in Roxbury after Commonwealth Land Trust reduced its proposed occupancy from 18, prompting neighborhood associations to withdraw their opposition.