Developers increasingly eye West Roxbury: 138-unit condo project proposed for Baker Street

A developer is looking to put 138 condos in a cluster of buildings off Baker Street, across from the Catholic Memorial baseball field and hard by the Needham Line tracks.

The BRA and the mayor's office are holding a "pre-file" meeting for residents to get a first look at the 270 Baker St. proposal, at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 7 at the West Roxbury Elks on Morrell Street.

The developer, not named in a BRA mailing, is also proposing 210 parking spaces. To date, it has not actually filed any formal plans with the BRA.

At 155,000 square feet, the project would require a BRA "large project" review, which would include formal public hearings before the BRA votes on it.

Until relatively recently, West Roxbury had been largely bypassed by the building boom that has enveloped neighborhoods such as South Boston and the Fenway. A typical zoning-board meeting that would include votes on several multi-family proposals in South Boston might have just a single West Roxbury project, more often than not a resident seeking to add a deck - or, in one case, chickens.

These new plans, however, are the latest in a burstlet of developer activity in West Roxbury.

In October, the BRA approved a 48-unit apartment building on Lagrange Street at Centre, where the inhaler factory used to be.

Developers have submitted plans to the BRA for an 84-unit residential building on VFW Parkway, where the IHOP used to be, and a 16-unit condo building on Centre Street, where West Roxbury Motors used to be.

Last week, a developer outlined plans for a 46-unit apartment building on Washington Street, where Todesca used to be.