Still plenty of room left for development on Washington Street in Jamaica Plain: Apartment building proposed to replace parking lot

A Dedham developer is proposing to replace what is now a tow lot at 3409 Washington St. with a 29-unit apartment building.

The proposal by S & H Management would sit a couple doors down from a new 21-unit residential building and a few doors down from where the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corp. has approval for a 39-unit apartment building for seniors (although that group would first have to prevail against lawsuits by a neighboring brewery and its landlord).

It's across the street from BMS Paper, whose owner has proposed adding 160 residential units atop its existing warehouse and store, which in turn is near where Pine Street Inn has approval for a 140-unit apartment building. Just across Green Street, a developer has proposed a 43-unit building to replace the parking lot and garage next to where Exodus Bagels used to be.

S & H's plans call for five affordable units. In total, the building would have 14 studios, 8 one-bedroom units and 7 two-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 450 to 850 square feet.

The building would have parking for seven cars: "The project is a transit-oriented, smart-growth development that takes advantage of the MBTA buses along Washington Street and nearby Orange Line Green Street T-Stop and Forest Hills multi-modal transit station."

Also planned: A ground-floor "community" space that S & H is still figuring out exactly what to fill with; possibilities range from an art studio to a coffeehouse to a room for community meetings.

Their filing describes the architecture:

The project seeks to continue the material palette already found on Washington St by employing brick with dark metal detailing while also utilizing other complimentary high-quality materials. Terra cotta and small-scale textured metal panels will relate to the finer residential grain and enrich the streetscape. A screening element will conceal the parking area and visually limit the break in the ground floor needed to accommodate off-street parking. The screening, set back from the building face, creates an increased pedestrian zone and an improved streetscape.

The rear and side facades of the project will employ the same high quality, thoughtfully detailed materials and language found on the Washington St façade. Additional step-backs will limit the rear massing toward neighboring residential units on Union Ave.

3409 Washington St. filings and calendar.