Approximately 30 people gathered on the second floor of the All Saints’ Church on Ashmont Street in Dorchester Oct. 2 to learn about a project proposal that would revamp 500 Talbot Ave. into a mixed-use building including retail, residential, and church space.
Several residents said they were in favor of the project. However, some residents of Argyle Street and Talbot Avenue raised concerns about parking.
Argyle Street resident James Leonard said he is in favor of the project, but his main concern is about limited parking availability once the project is built.
“Mr. Baker was very receptive when we met at the church on Talbot Ave.,” Leonard said during the meeting, referring to James Baker, the lead developer of the project. “What I’m questioning is if we could get more parking. A lot of us are concerned with the parking, and Mr. Baker did take note of not changing the direction of Argyle Street, but is there a possibility we could get more parking perpendicular to Talbot?”
JPA Development, in conjunction with Rode Architects, has proposed and filed plans with Boston Planning and Redevelopment Agency (BPDA) to build the four-story building at 500 Talbot Ave., which currently houses what was once Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, a space closed since 2012.
The building will include 40 housing units, five of which will be designated affordable. In addition, there will be two commercial spaces on the first floor, roughly 2,000 square feet each, and a multi-purpose church space.
John Campbell, the BPDA project manager, said he hoped to gauge public sentiment surrounding the project and noted what he sees as a need in the community for the building.
“This is a site that has been underutilized for years,” Campbell said.
Paige Larkin, a resident of the neighborhood, said she is on the fence about the project because she thinks it is too dense for the neighborhood.
“All the parking issues discussed are going to be very, very real. The neighborhood is zoned for multi-family homes, and that is mostly what is there,” she said. “Adding 40 units on a single parcel of land is going to be a lot of traffic, cars, people and trash.”
Larkin added she is not opposed to the project entirely, but she would like to see it come down in size fairly significantly.
“In this case, the space is not replacing existing living space, so no one is directly pushed out because of this building, but it certainly builds on the trend toward gentrification,” Larkin said.
JPA’s Baker explained that the hope is that for most people using the building, public transportation will be the best option and they will not need parking. The new building is within a five-minute walk of the Ashmont/Peabody Square Red Line T station to the south and the Shawmut T station to the north, he said.
Baker also explained that because they don’t receive public funding, there will only be the required five income-restricted units.
“The reality is we’re a private development team. We don’t have any public funds, subsidies or anything. So, to make it work, we’re sticking with the guidelines,” Baker said.
A similar public meeting was held in May for the direct abutters of the site. Since then, project developers have made several design changes based on the feedback they got from the public. Most notably, developers and architects have decided to use brick, wood, and terracotta as the materials for the building. Their hope is that the new building will match the architectural style of the rest of the neighborhood in Dorchester.
According to Campbell, if JPA Development receives approvals from the BPDA, the Zoning Board of Appeal and the Public Improvements Commission, they could potentially break ground next spring.
Story published via a special arrangement with Boston University News Service.
