By Seth Daniel
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) reported this week that the Cosmopolitan development in the former Immaculate Conception (IC) Church on Harrison Avenue would not move forward to the Board at a public hearing scheduled for tonight, Sept. 15.
Instead, major changes will be brought forward on the project, including losing parking in the basement and going to rental units rather than condos.
“The proposal will not be brought forward to the BRA Board in September,” wrote Christopher Tracy, a senior project manager at the BRA. “After the proponent did some engineering and structural analysis in the building, they determined that some changes will need to be made to the proposal. BRA staff has asked that the proponent now submit a Supplemental Small Project Review filing to detail these changes.”
Some of the proposed changes will include the loss of parking in the basement level of the church and a change from home ownership condos to rental apartments.
The exterior plans, which have gone through a long process with the Landmarks Commission, will not be changed.
The BRA indicated that once the project, located at 771 Harrison Ave., is re-submitted, it will be posted to the BRA website and public meetings would once again resume. An official comment period would also be instituted.
“We will let the proponent explain all the changes and the reasoning behind them in our public meeting which we hope to get booked in the coming weeks,” wrote Tracy.