BPDA Board Approves Austin Street Lots Master Plan for 705-Unit Charlestown Development

BOSTON -- October 16, 2025, Boston's BPDA board unanimously approved a master plan and first-phase permit for the Austin Street Lots redevelopment in Charlestown, clearing the way for a 705-unit mixed-income project on 5.1 acres of publicly owned parking lots adjacent to the Orange Line. Trinity Financial, led by principal Abby Goldenfarb, will build Building B first, a seven-story, 123-unit all-affordable structure designed to passive house standards with a 144-kilowatt rooftop solar system, before returning for the three remaining buildings, which will include a planned YMCA facility, a child care center, and athletic fields. The overall project carries an approximately $118 million development cost across both new projects approved Thursday and will generate an estimated 157 trade jobs during construction. The board also adopted a first-in-the-nation Direct Displacement Disclosure pilot, presented by Planning Advisory Council Executive Director Catherine Lusk, requiring project proponents to notify tenants 30 days before Article 80 filing and disclose any potential displacement beginning January 1, 2026. Separately, the board accepted a $4 million EPA Brownfields grant for environmental cleanup at the Chain Forge Building at the Charlestown Navy Yard, and authorized bid solicitations for interim flood barriers at Main Street in Charlestown and Martin's Park in South Boston at a combined estimated cost of $1 million.