By Dan Murphy
The proponent unveiled the revised plans for the first phase of the proposed Longwood Place project during a city-sponsored virtual meeting of the Impact Advisory Group (IAG) on Monday, March 9.
This phase of the mixed-use project, proposed for 305 Brookline Ave. in the Longwood Medical Area, and with a gross floor area of 1.043 million square feet, comprises a pair of commercial buildings (C1 and C2, standing 13 and 15 stories), a 227-unit, 17-story apartment building (R1), and 520 below-grade parking spaces and a loading area, along with landscaping and public-realm improvements.
The first phase of the proposed project is within the approved Longwood Place PDA (Planned Development Area), which the city approved in March of 2023.
The Swedish develop, Skanska, intends to redevelop Simmons University’s approximately 5.8 acre residential campus into Longwood Place. The approximately 1.75 million gross square-foot project will comprise five buildings, ranging in height from 295 feet to 170 feet, and replaces a cluster of brick dormitory buildings that have long occupied the site.
Philip Dugdale, a principal with the architectural firm, Sasaki, outlined the landscaping design for the site, which includes the Main Heart, with a “framed lawn” beneath a canopy of trees; and a Front Porch, extending from the residential building; and a “Hammock Lounge,” adjacent to the main circulation path, among other features.
Retail at the ground level intends to active the site, added Dugdale.
On Brookline Avenue, the project will result in a new bus lane, street plantings, and a wider sidewalk, said Dugdale, along with a new MBTA bus shelter and new Bluebikes stations.
Additionally, Russ DeMartino, vice president of Skanska, detailed planned vehicular improvements to the site, including widening Pilgrim Road and creating a hybrid dedicated lane there, which can accommodate on or two Windsor School buses, as well as a hybrid pickup/drop-off lane, which can also accommodate the school.
Public realm improvements planned for the site include the creation of approximately two acres of open space, said DeMartino, along with 9,000 square feet of community and public programming space.
The Forum space, said DeMartino, is intended as a “community space for everybody in the neighborhood…a Hub if you will,” which can serve as a performance venue.
Other community benefits from the project include the designation of 20 percent of the 227 planed rental units as on-site affordable housing; a $7 million endowment to the Boston Parks Department; and $11.8 million in linkage fees ($10 million for housing and $1.8 million for jobs), added DeMartino.
While the precise timeline and phasing are still undetermined, DeMartino said he expects the first phase of the project would get underway no earlier than January of 2027.
Kelly Brilliant, an IAG member and co-executive director of the Fenway Alliance – a consortium of 21 cultural and academic institutions in the neighborhood – praised the new project design, describing the newly unveiled renderings as “very beautiful.”
Along with the proposed on-site affordable housing, Brilliant also commended the project team for creating an “inviting” public space, as well as for their endowment to the Parks Department.
“So far, we support this project,” said Brilliant.
Tim Horn, an IAG member and president of the Fenway Civic Association, expressed concern with the expected wind impact of the project and requested wind mitigation in the site’s main area.
Horn also asked whether the first commercial building (C1) is still intended for lab use, given the current surplus of vacant lab space in the city.
DeMartino replied that despite the city’s high lab-space vacancy rates at this time, the Longwood Medical Area remains among the most desirable locations in the city for lab space.
“We’re not about to build an empty lab building,” said DeMartino, adding that the market for lab space in the city is also expected to improve over time.
As for the fate of mature trees at the site, Dugdale of Sasaki said only two or three trees would likely be able to be transplanted.
“Because of the garage, a lot of the trees are going to be affected and are going to have to be removed,” added Dugdale.
Dan Deutsch, an IAG member and executive director of Temple Isreal, said additional traffic on Pilgrim Road, and especially on The Riverway, remains his foremost concern. He requested the proponent undertake additional traffic studies for the project.
In response to Deutsch’s concerns, Ryan White a traffic consultant with the Watertown-based civil engineering consulting and design firm, VHB, said most traffic created by the project is projected to go out towards Brookline Avenue, and that the project is expected to have a “very incremental impact on traffic along the Riverway.”
White added the proponent, together with the state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), is examining all intersections in the immediate area.
The proponent was scheduled to make the same first-phase project presentation at another virtual meeting sponsored by the Boston Planning Department on Wednesday, March 11.
The city will then convene another virtual IAG meeting on Monday, March 16, which will focus specifically on the expected shadow impact from the project. The same shadow presentation will be presented again during a city-sponsored virtual meeting on Wednesday, March 18.
The city’s public comment period for the first phase of the project is open through Wednesday, April 1.
To submit a public comment, or for more information on the project, visit the Boston Planning Department’s project page at: http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/longwood-place-phase-one
Public comments can also be submitted through April 1 via email to Sarah Peck, development portfolio management for the Planning Department to: [email protected].