Apartments proposed to replace old garage in West Roxbury

Developer Ralph Vacca wants to replace the old Todesca garage at 4945 Washington St. with a four-story apartment building with 46 units and 67 parking spaces.

For the second month in a row, Vacca, his architect and his attorney met with the West Roxbury Civic and Improvement Association tonight to go over the proposal before they submit it to the BRA and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

The apartments would be split between 1- and 2-bedroom units. Vacca estimated most of the units would rent for $2,000 to $2,200 a month, which eased the worries of association members about the wrong sort of people going in there - as did Vacca's assurance that tenants would be barred from subleasing their units.

Six of the apartments would be rented at some amount less than that as affordable apartments.

Vacca's attorney, Joe Hanley, said Vacca has already had contractors on the site to clean up contaminants.

His architect, David O'Sullivan, said the rear of the building would only be three stories tall, as a concession to the neighboring Stony Brook Condominiums, where residents worried the new building would cast a shadow on some of their units and pool.

O'Sullivan said the roof of the three-story section will be "green" - covered in plants.

He added that tenants and guests would enter and leave via the existing Todesca driveway. Parking would be in both a garage under the building and in spaces along the driveway.