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Add another big change to Boston’s Allston neighborhood: The Boston Planning and Development Agency has signed off on the four-building Allston Yards project on the site of the Stop & Shop supermarket and surrounding parking lots off Everett Street near the Massachusetts Turnpike.
The 10.6-acre project is due to include up to 868 condos and apartments, with 148 of those income-restricted. The development will also bring 1 acre of privately owned public parkland as well as 117,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space (including a new Stop & Shop), 350,000 square feet of office space, and 10,000 square feet of community art space.
It could take up to 10 years for the development team behind Allston Yards—which includes New England Development and Stop & Shop parent Ahold Delhaize—to roll out the more than 1.2 million-square-foot development, one of the largest in Allston’s history.
When it does roll out, Allston Yards will join other transformative projects in the neighborhood, such as Harvard University’s expanding footprint and the multi-building Allston Square. It will also be but the latest Boston-area project to go up at least partially on surface parking lots.
Allston Yards is not without controversy. Some residents opposed it because of its scope—plans originally included more than 1,000 housing units—and because of the traffic it’s likely to add to the neighborhood. The developers scaled back its proposal in response, including reducing the heights of the four buildings, for one thing—the tallest will be 232 feet—and reducing the amount of housing.
There is also concern about the parameters of the Allston Brighton Homeowner Fund, which was created in response to criticism of the project. The developers are putting $4 million into the fund, which is supposed to help with downpayments and home-repair loans, among other things. The developers have also committed to $2.5 million in subsidies for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for improvements to surrounding bus and commuter-rail service.
Plans for Allston Yards stretch back more than two years. Stay tuned now that it’s a go.