Friday, November 1, 2019

Dorchester Project to Create 207 New Apartments

A 1.81-acre parking lot at 780 Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester, that used to host the Phillips Old Colony House and Freeport Tavern, will soon be home to a new apartment building.

Camden, New Jersey-based Michaels Development, which purchased a controlling interest in the site, has plans to construct a six-story apartment complex. 

The project promises to bring in more much-needed affordable housing to one of Boston’s neighborhoods.

The new development will create 207 new apartments, with 92 studios, 94 one-bedroom apartments, and 21 two-bedroom units. Plans also include a 136-space parking garage.

Michaels Development bills itself as the “nation’s largest privately-held owner of affordable housing.” This would be its first project in Massachusetts.

The development will also cause the demise of another surface parking lot in Boston. The trend has gathered steam in just the past several months, with several new projects planned in downtown, Fort Point, Back Bay and Bay Village. 

The redevelopment of the site, now used for parking, is the latest in what’s becoming a trend for a city in need of housing as developers gobble up old parking lots and garages in favor of mixed-use developments in tightly woven neighborhoods all across Boston.

The trend is likely a result of not only the high land values in Boston—which make sales particularly alluring for lot owners—but the changing nature of driving and parking in the city.