The latest details for the revised redevelopment proposal for 222 Friend St. in the West End were unveiled on Tuesday, Sept. 22, during a city-sponsored joint Impact Advisory Group (IAG) and public meeting for the project.
KS Partners intends to raze an existing three-story commercial building and adjacent 32-space surface parking lot to make way for a 155-foot (plus 4-6 feet of mechanicals), mixed-use building comprising 212 residential units, along with at-grade retail space. No parking accommodations will be provided, although the project will include designated space for bicycle storage.
The proposed unit mix comprises 82 studios; 44 one-bedrooms; 70 two-bedrooms, each including a den and office; and six three-bedroom units, said Dartagnan Brown, principal and founder of the Boston architectural firm, EMBARC. The units will be located on 13 stories, including the ground floor, added Brown.
The developer had originally proposed a life science building, which would have stood 168 feet, with an 18-foot mechanical penthouse, about three years ago for the site. But the project was repositioned as a residential one in accordance with the preferences of the area’s business community and other stakeholders in the neighborhood, according to members of the project team.
The revised project significantly reduces the number of planned curbcuts to only one, said Brown, while the change in use will also allow for the creation of more ground-floor retail via the elimination of erstwhile back-of-house space for the support of the building’s previously proposed life science uses.
The new design is also one less story than what was previously proposed, said Brown, due to the removal of a top floor containing mechanicals.
Trash disposal will be handled internally by the building, added Brown, while a concierge will be posted at a desk near the residential entrance on Friend Street to handle day-to-day activities.
The project is currently under review with the city’s Planning Department and is on track to go before the Boston Planning & Development Agency board at its Oct. 15 meeting, “assuming that board comments have been fully addressed [by then],” said Jack Gilman, project manager for the Planning Department.
