Hyde Park suddenly awash in development proposals: Builder wants to replace two-family homes it built 15 years ago with an apartment building

A Hyde Park home builder is looking to replace four two-family homes it put up in 2004 and rented out on Fairmount Avenue with a four-story, 47-unit apartment building.

The BPDA will hold a public meeting at 6:30 p.m on Oct. 22 at the Boston Police Academy, 85 Williams Ave. in Hyde Park, to discuss the proposal by the DiSipio Building Group for 99-105 Fairmount Ave., which runs between the building where the Fairmount Grille used to be and the bridge over the Fairmount Line and the Neponset River.

In addition to the apartments, DiSipio is proposing ground-floor commercial space and 33 parking spaces. It says the proposal is "transit oriented," what with being a walk of about a minute to the Fairmount stop and ten minutes to the Hyde Park commuter-rail stop.

It's one of several proposals that have popped up of late along the River Street/Fairmount Avenue corridor in a neighborhood that had once been largely avoided by Boston builders.

Just last night, two developers presented preliminary plans for a 48-unit condo building where Dempsey's used to be on River Street, across from the Muni. Last week, the family that owns the Rogers gas station in Readville proposed a 32-unit building where Junior's Automotive used to be at River and Business streets.

In March, the BPDA approved a 24-unit building on Dana Avenue, near the Rite-Aid, although residents are still trying to convince the city that it requires variances and a hearing before the zoning board.

Even larger buildings could come to Readville. Last month, the BPDA approved a 247-unit complex off Sprague Street, just south of the Readville train station. Still under BPDA consideration: A 305-unit residential complex off Hyde Park Avenue and the Father Hart Bridge on the north side of the Readville train station.

In a filing with the BPDA, DiSipio says it will provide residents with both private and shared garden space on the first floor as well as roof decks in a building it will call Logan at Fairmount. The 33 parking spaces will be in a below-ground garage accessed through Maple Street.

The filing discusses the challenges of building a large structure next to what is essentially a ramp up to a bridge:

One of the most significant project challenges related to the siting of the building is the existing Fairmount Avenue Bridge which abuts the site along Fairmount Avenue and has related retaining walls beneath it along Maple Street. The portion of Fairmount Avenue abutting the site was constructed under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a State Highway. There are significant existing retaining walls along the east edge of the site that influence the positioning of the building on the site, requiring the design team to create a buffer zone of outdoor space to keep the new building foundations outside of the zone of influence of the existing retaining wall. The portion of Fairmount Avenue considered a State Highway has existing galvanized steel guardrails along the property line. The design of The Logan at Fairmount proposes to replace the existing guardrails with new board formed cast-in-place concrete walls which are designed to create an accessible path to the first floor program spaces which face Fairmount Avenue.

DiSipio says it will also work closely with the Boston Water and Sewer Commission to deal with storm runoff from the site.

99-105 Fairmount Ave. small-project review application (12.3M MPDF).