By Dan Murphy
The Boston Redevelopment Authority board of directors voted on Thursday to approve the approximately $162-million residential redevelopment proposed for 33-61 Temple St.
Dedham-based JDMD Owner, LLC intends to transform the interconnected Hiriam J. Archer and Frank J. Donahue buildings at Temple and Derne streets, which were previously owned and occupied by Suffolk University, into a 71-unit condominium development, with a basement garage located beneath the Donahue building that would accommodate 54 cars.
“We’re pleased with [the] approval of the Temple Street project, as it was a result of a good community process that led to design changes for a better project,” BRA spokesman Nick Martin wrote in an e-mail. “There seemed to be a shared sentiment in the neighborhood that people preferred this type of use (residential), as opposed to the institutional nature of the former use. The developer was responsive to community feedback by reducing the number of units and parking associated with the project, which we view as a successful outgrowth of our development review process.” The current plan came out of feedback from three public meetings sponsored by the BRA and lowers the proposed height by 20 feet to its current existing height of 95 feet with mechanicals. It also sees a reduction in the number of living units and parking spaces from the previous proposal, as well as an increase in the number of multi-bedroom units in an effort to attract more families here,” the developer said.