195 Commission Selects Boston Development Firm for Parcel 2 Despite Neighbors’ Opposition
Thursday, February 03, 2022
At the January meeting of the 195 District Commission meeting, the majority of the public voiced opposition to the three design proposals.
At that meeting, Leslie Gardner, the former chair of the Capital Center Commission, called the proposals "oversized" and strongly urged the commission to limit the height of the project to four stories. She also suggested that the Commission should consider scrapping the existing proposals and issuing a new request for proposals.
Despite the majority of members of the public voicing opposition to the three final designs in January, on Wednesday, the Commission voted to select Boston developer Urbanica as the vendor for the apartment complex on parcel 2.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“We create contemporary urban spaces for communities of diverse cultures, lifestyles and incomes by transforming underutilized buildings and sites into exceptional spaces for living, working and playing," is how Urbanica describes itself.
Parcel 2 is the space across from the Michael Van Leesten Bridge between South Water and South Main Streets.
Urbanica’s President Kamran Zahedi wrote in a letter to the Commission before the vote, "We at Urbanica affirm our commitment to working collaboratively with the community should we be designated as the developer for Parcel 2. During the entire review process, our team has highlighted our 25 years+ experience working in Boston and its outlying towns on city /state-owned sites.”
“Over time we have gained a strong reputation for being able to adroitly manage this process and have successfully completed many projects as a result. Moreover, we have also demonstrated our willingness to respond to questions and concerns of our Parcel 2 proposal and have already begun to generate advancements both to the design as well as a development program in an effort to address these concerns,” added Zahedi.
The Commission voted 5-0 in selecting Urbanica.
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