Two adjacent properties at 27/29 Hancock St., which are poised to
be redeveloped by the nonprofit, Fenway Forward, into a total of 15
affordable homeownership units.
Representatives for the newly rebranded Fenway Forward (formerly Fenway CDC) were on hand for a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 6, to outline their schedule and construction management plan for a home-ownership project planned for 27/29 Hancock St. Per its agreement with developer JDMD, Fenway Forward -a nonprofit developer of affordable housing – is redeveloping two adjacent buildings located
at 27/29 Hancock St., which are both currently zoned as lodging houses, into a total of 15 units
at 80-100 percent AMI (Area Median Income) for new homeowners.
Construction is expected to take around approximately 12 months to complete, and to kick off this spring, pending finalization of the last piece of funding for the project, said Tim White of the Boston construction firm, J.L. Dunn & Company.
The traffic plan, developed by J.L. Dunn & Company, together with the Boston traffic engineering firm, Howard Stein Hudson, has been submitted to the Boston Transportation Department for approval,
said White, and proposes the temporary removal of five parking spaces on the lefthand side of Hancock Street, directly across from the project site, for the duration of construction. Sidewalks in the immediate area of the impacted parking spaces are also expected to be closed at this time. (Hanock Street is a one-way street, with parking only on the left-hand side ascending from Cambridge Street, White noted.)
“There should be no shutting down of Hanock Street during construction,” said White, although one brief
project phase will shut down the street for a few hours over the course of three days to allow for the installation of a new water main.
Work vehicles accessing the staging area created via the five repurposed parking spaces will go up Hanock Street, pass the site, and then back into the enclosure per the proposed traffic plan. “We hope by establishing this [route], there will be no blocking of Hanock Street at any time,” said White. Barriers, comprising water-filled, semi-permanent jersey barriers and removable fencing, will be erected around the staging area to allow for unloading, as well as to accommodate a dumpster, which can then directly collect debris without disrupting traffic on the left-hand side of Hanock Street. This will also allow
the project to proceed without ‘live loads’ (i.e. variable, transient, non-permanent parts of a structure, such as movable parts or contents), said White.
Scaffolding will be in place to allow pedestrians to cross Hanock Street safely, added White, while netting
will also cover the sidewalk staging during the spring, summer, and fall, with a white tarp over it during the winter months.
“People will be on site regularly to clean and maintain the sidewalk,” said White. JDMD, which developed
The Archer Residences – a luxury condo building on Temple Street – purchased 27-29 Hancock St. in 2018,
with plans to gift the buildings to another developer for the creation of off-site affordable housing units to satisfy its IDP (Inclusionary Development Policy) with the city for the Archer project.