Charlestown neighbors are about to get a front-row seat to the next big chapter for Bunker Hill Mall, with city planners set to host a virtual public meeting on Monday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. The session will focus on a proposed tweak to the Charlestown Urban Renewal Plan that would clear the path for New England Development’s first phase at 5 Austin Street / 201 Rutherford Avenue. The filing calls for a six-story building with roughly 240 apartments, and developer documents and local reporting say about 20 percent of those homes - around 48 units - would be income-restricted.
How to join the meeting
According to the Charlestown Bridge, the Boston Planning & Development Agency’s Planning Department will run the meeting via Zoom on Monday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. Residents can log in through the BPDA meeting notice linked in that advisory. City staff are expected to outline the requested change to the urban renewal plan, then open things up for questions, comments and, most likely, some spirited Charlestown feedback.
What’s proposed
The proposal targets an underused slice of the roughly six-acre Bunker Hill Mall site for redevelopment into a zoning-compliant, six-story residential building with about 240 units, per the Boston Planning & Development Agency project page. Plans also call for structured parking, streetscape upgrades and new pedestrian connections tying together Rutherford Avenue, Austin Street and West School Street.
Affordability, parking and retail
Developer filings and reporting indicate the team is proposing 20 percent income-restricted housing - roughly 48 apartments - in the mix, according to Banker & Tradesman. Parking figures, however, do not quite line up across documents. Banker & Tradesman cites up to 0.4 spaces per unit, or about 96 spaces, while a neighborhood notice listed 49 structured spaces, per the Charlestown Bridge. Those discrepancies - along with how street-level retail will be maintained and phased during construction - are widely expected to be hot-button issues at Monday’s session.
Community concerns and next steps
Neighbors and preservation advocates have been urging the BPDA to require a full master plan for the mall’s entire six-acre footprint before signing off on any zoning changes, arguing that a phase-by-phase approach leaves too many unknowns on retail replacement, loading operations and pedestrian access, according to the Charlestown Preservation Society. New England Development filed a Draft Project Impact Report (DPIR) earlier this year, and the proposal remains under Article 80 review with additional public comment still on the table, as outlined by threadCRE.
What to expect at the meeting
At the virtual hearing, city staff are expected to walk through the requested urban renewal modification, summarize how the DPIR addresses parking, loading and public realm improvements, and record community feedback for the BPDA’s official comment record. For meeting details and to review the project filing ahead of time, check the Boston Planning & Development Agency project page and the local notice.
