And the development boom goes echoing on. The Boston Redevelopment Authority has approved the development of a 197-unit apartment complex at 411 D Street near the convention center in South Boston. The approval comes after the developers tweaked their plans to sooth the concerns of a neighboring condo building that worried that some of their views would be blocked.
More importantly, we think, 411 D Street will include 26 so-called "innovation units," which the BRA defines as apartments for those who make too much to qualify for affordable housing but who don't make enough to rent anything decent in this town; the units are smaller, with more flexible layouts, and the building's they're in have common areas that are suppose to encourage brainstorming over artisanal coffee, Ultimate Frisbee, etc. Basically, they're city-encouraged micro-apartments for the tech set.
The $60 million project will replace three warehouses in what one resident called "a wasteland." Architect David Manfredi (who else?) told the BRA, per Greg Turner at The Herald, that the new complex, including its retail and covered parking, is designed to “have a sense of the organic growth of the city.”
· City OKs Rental Project for D Street on Southie Waterfront [Herald]
· Innovation District's 'Call for Housing' Answered by 212 Number [Curbed Boston]