The Fenway CDC’s proposed project, which will bring much-needed affordable-housing ownership opportunities to Beacon Hill, cleared another procedural hurdle on Thursday, Aug. 21, when the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission approved a pair of applications at its monthly public hearing held virtually on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Per its agreement with developer JDMD, the nonprofit Fenway CDC (Community Development Center) is redeveloping two adjacent properties located at 27-29 Hancock St. into a total of 15 units at 80-100 percent AMI (Area Median Income) for new homeowners.
JDMD, which developed The Archer Residences – a luxury condo building on Temple Street – purchased 27-29 Hancock St. in 2018, with plans to gift the buildings to another developer for the creation of off-site affordable housing units to satisfy its IDP (Inclusionary Development Policy) with the city for the Archer project.
The application for 27 Hanock St. proposes the installation of new door hardware and a new light fixture; the replacement of existing, non-historic windows at all levels; and the repainting of the lintels, as well as repainting the door and surround to match finish of 25 Hancock St.
A motion to approve this application as submitted was put forth by Vice Chair Arian Allen and approved unanimously by herself, Chair Mark Kiefer, and Commissioners Maurice Finegold and Sandra Steele; it came with a ‘friendly amendment’ that the new windows have a two-over-two configuration; that a dark spacer bar be used in the windows; that no low-e glass be used in the windows; and that project details be submitted to staff (Nicholas Armata), prior to construction commencing.
The application for 29 Hancock St. proposes the replacement of the side entrance door; the lowering by 6 inches and resetting of the threshold on side door to make the entrance ADA compliant; the replacement of all non-historic windows with all wood, two-over-two, double-hung windows; and the repainting of the cornice in black.
A motion to approve this application as submitted, put forward by Chair Kiefer, was unanimously supported by himself, along with Vice Chair Allen and Commissioners Finegold and Steele; the determination came with several provisos, including that the new paint color for the cornice be revised, specifically to match the building’s masonry, and that the paint color be delegated to staff for final approval.
Chair Kiefer noted this affordable home ownership project on Hancock Street was a “long time coming,” with a lot of community feedback leading to “what looks like quite a successful resolution to bring affordable housing to Beacon Hill.”
Likewise, a representative from Homes on Hancock – a grass-roots group which continually advocated for the creation of adequate affordable housing at 27-29 Hancock St. – also voiced their strong support for the proposed project.