BPDA Board Unanimously Approves 1400 Boylston Street Lab Tower, St. Mary's Campus

BOSTON -- February 15, 2024, Boston's planning board approves 1400 Boylston Street lab tower with $12 million library commitment and St. Mary's shelter expansion. The BPDA Board of Directors voted unanimously February 15 to approve the 548,000-square-foot mixed-use lab and office project by Samuels & Associates at the current Star Market site in the Fenway, along with a 121A campus renovation for St. Mary's Center for Women and Children in Dorchester. The Boylston Street project, presented by principal Peter Sugeridis, includes an $18 million contribution to fund 48 affordable homeownership units at nearby 165 Park Drive, $1.3 million to the Fenway CDC, $6.8 million to the Neighborhood Housing Trust and Jobs Trust, and a developer commitment to build a 5,000-square-foot civic building intended as a new Boston Public Library branch backed by a $12 million investment. The St. Mary's project, approved under Chapter 121A, will demolish a dilapidated three-level parking garage and construct 71 units of permanent supportive housing alongside 51 renovated shelter units on the organization's Jones Hill campus. Several Windermere Road abutters challenged the St. Mary's approval process, with attorney Michael Duffy arguing the waiver of the Impact Advisory Group was legally improper and that the proposed 78-foot building height far exceeded the district's 35-foot limit. BPDA Deputy Director of Comprehensive Planning Caitlin Coppenter said the IAG waiver applied because 100 percent of the St. Mary's units are income-restricted or permanent supportive housing.