Pine Street Inn Proposes New Income-Restricted Building In JP

JAMAICA PLAIN, MA — Pine Street Inn is proposing to turn its office building on Washington Street, not far from the Green Street T, into a multi-story 225 unit income-restrict apartment building, and officials are calling it the most significant project of its kind in Boston to date.

Pine Street Inn officials say the new building will replace the existing Pine Street Inn office building and proposes that 140 of the new apartments would be housing units with support services for men and women moving out of homelessness.

It is currently designed as five to six stories with step backs at upper floors. Depending on financing, the hope is to break ground early next year, according to a spokesperson. Construction could take between 18 months to two years, according to the project manager. It's still early days but the next steps are a review of the project's impacts on transportation, public realm, the environment, and historic resources.

The proposed design, by Boston-based RODE Architects, includes an estimated 18,000 square feet of Pine Street Inn office space on the ground floor and community space and amenities for residents. In addition, the plan offers approximately 60 vehicle parking spaces, 85 bicycle storage spaces, and 13,400 square feet of outdoor space.

“This project represents a major step forward in our efforts to solve homelessness in Boston,” said Pine Street President Lyndia Downie in a release. “The number of units in this building will allow us to scale up our housing to a new level, bringing us close to 1,000 units of supportive housing throughout Boston and in Brookline. With the average age of our tenants at 55, this will provide a safe, secure community as they grow older.”

The development team is meeting with neighborhood associations, community leaders and city and state officials to share details of the proposed project and engage them in the community process. More public meetings will be announced after the project is formally filed with the City of Boston.

But already Mayor Marty Walsh is supportive.

"Our goal in Boston is simple: end chronic homelessness throughout our city,” said Walsh in a statement. “This proposal has the potential to get us even further to that goal."

The Community Builders, a nonprofit developer of mixed-income housing, has partnered with Pine Street Inn, New England’s largest homeless services agency, to build the mixed-use building at 3368 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain.

This building will be designed in accordance with the Boston Green Building Regulations and work within the framework of the recently adopted Compact Living Guidelines from the Boston Planning & Development Agency, according to a release.

“In addition to serving formerly homeless individuals, this building will also create a place where people who work in Boston as teachers, firefighters and hairdressers struggle to find apartments they can afford," said Andy Waxman of Community Builders, who lives in JP. "This development helps ensure more people who help our city run can afford to live here too.”

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Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).