South Boston apartment development would not include parking

Developers Christopher Roche and Thomas Falcucci have submitted plans to the Boston Planning and Development Agency to replace an auto-shop at 603 Dorchester Avenue in South Boston with 25 one-bedroom apartments—without on-site parking.

The rationale is simple, as the developers explain in their proposal: “Located within 200 feet of the Andrew Square Red Line rapid transit station, the project will forego on-site parking in favor of the ground-floor amenity of a restaurant serving local neighborhood needs.”

The idea of no on-site parking for a ground-up development in Boston is still so novel as to be positively revolutionary.

The latest proposal is also further evidence of the city’s dwindling emphasis on accommodating cars (witness the wave of garage conversions and the city’s plans to hike parking fines as well as to co-opt parking spaces for other uses).

The plans for 603 Dorchester are obviously still up in the air. Stay tuned.

• Boston garage conversions: 6 major ones proposed or underway [Curbed Boston]
• Boston developments without parking: It’s a trend! [Curbed Boston]
• Boston parking tickets to fund improvements for buses and bikes [Curbed Boston]
• Cars and Boston: Driving has never been more of a headache in the city [Curbed Boston]