BPDA Approves Condor Street Project at January Meeting

By John Lynds

The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) approved Boston Real Estate Capital, LLC and Condor Street Condominiums, LLC’s plans to construct 21 condo units at 187-191 and 211 Condor St. at the agency’s January meeting last Thursday.

The project recently received BPDA approval in June 2017 as one project under Article 80 large project review. However, since the approval the two addresses are under different ownership and are being developed as two separate projects.

Condor Street Condominiums, who is developing 187-191 Condor St. filed a Notice of Project Change with the BPDA to alert the agency to the change. The developer’s attorney, Marc LaCasse, said nothing major has changed at the 187-191 Condor St address and developer will still construct a four story, 9-unit building with 11 parking spaces. There were some slight changes made to the exterior design which received the BPDA approval last week.

LaCasse, who is also the attorney for Boston Real Estate, LLC who is developing 211 Condor St. was forced to make some modifications after he found that the project would be subjected to Chapter 91 regulations due to its proximity to the Chelsea Creek.

Boston Real Estate was forced to file a Notice of Project Change with the BPDA and slightly scale back that project that previously received BPDA approval.

As previously approved, 211 Condor St. was proposed to be a new four story residential building consisting of 14 residential units. Together with 187-191 Condor St., the two building would have resulted in a total of 23 condo units when the proposal was one development.

Although 211 Condor St.  does not lie within a waterfront zoning sub-district under Article 53 of the city’s zoning code because it is across the Street from the Chelsea River. However, LaCasse said after the BPDA approval in June 2017 further study revealed that the property is subject to the jurisdiction of Chapter 91 under state law.

As a result the proposal at 211 Condor St. has been slightly revised to pull the proposed structure back from the edge of Condor Street and away from the waterfront along the Chelsea Creek and reduce the number of units. The total number of condo units has been reduced from 14 to 12 units. The proposed unit mix will be three one-bedroom units and nine two-bedroom units. A reduction of approximately three off-street parking spaces will bring the total number of parking spaces to 11. A reduction in the gross floor area of 2,665 square feet will result in a new gross floor area of approximately 13,955 square feet.

In the end the two projects will result in three affordable units under the city’s ‘inclusionary’ policy.

Additionally, the two developers will provide financial contributions to the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, Piers Park Sailing Center, and the Veronica Robles Cultural Center.

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