Zoning change to allow housing in Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle District MABA MassachusettsRealEstate FirstTimeHomeBuyers MaBuyerAgent

The Boston Zoning Commission voted this week to amend the zoning code for the city’s Bulfinch Triangle District to allow residential development. Boston’s City Council previously voted ten to two in favor of the amendment, sponsored by Councilor Sharon Durkan. The goal of the change was to remove outdated zoning barriers and encourage housing development in line with the city’s focus on increasing available housing in the Bulfinch Triangle District located in Boston’s West End.

 Durkan presented the proposal to Zoning Commission members Wednesday night. The approved amendment changes “Residential Use” from a “Conditional Use” to an “Allowed Use.” The approval eliminates red tape, accelerates housing development and encourages converting underutilized buildings into housing, Durkan said in her presentation. Boston currently has two active office-to-residential conversion projects as part of a program launched in October 2023 that encourages developers to convert underutilized offices into residences.

 In February, the Boston Planning & Development Agency approved a project at 4 Liberty Square that will convert the more than twenty five thousand square-foot, seven-story office building into thirty six residential units, seven of which will be income-restricted. In January the agency approved a project that will convert a South Boston Waterfront office located at 259-267 Summer St. into seventy seven residential apartments and fifteen income-restricted units.

 Last August the RMR Group LLC submitted a letter of intent with the Boston Planning Department looking to build a new 40-story mixed-use building that would bring hundreds of hotel rooms and residences, along with retail and restaurants. The hotel and residential project is located in the Bulfinch Triangle neighborhood and will encompass three adjacent parcels: 251 Causeway St., 100 North Washington St. and 126 North Washington St. That project is currently under review.

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