Developer wants to triple approved number of parking spaces at West Roxbury condo project; says nobody wants to live there without dedicated parking

A developer who won approval in August for a 30-unit condo project with 11 parking spaces on Grove Street at Washington Street in West Roxbury yesterday asked the Boston Planning Department to let him put in 30 parking spaces instead.

In a project-change request, an attorney for Derrick Fitzgerald's S & F Development said denial of the request could lead to the project's financial demise before ground is even broken because there just aren't enough people ready for the car-less lifestyle at an intersection only directly served by a bus route - and that without the extra parking, he could also lose the 17-unit condo building he recently completed next door, on Washington Street at Grove, where the Lee Myles transmission place used to be:

As you are aware, the developer also completed the adjacent 5205 Washington Street building and has been marketing those units for approximately eight months. In that time, he has only sold seven of the seventeen units and most of the interested buyers are requesting two parking spaces. When his brokers explain the parking situation, they are told by the interested buyers that this part of the city is not transit friendly, and the potential buyers move on to other buildings. It is a near certainty he will encounter the same issue when marketing units for 231-245 Grove Street with its current parking ratio. He understands the city's position on parking, however, if he cannot add additional parking to the building, he believes he could lose these buildings to the bank.

In summary, he is facing the realization that prospective buyers will not purchase home ownership units without the promise of a dedicated parking space in this part of the city.

Under the requested change, Fitzgerald would supplement his originally requested and approved ten-space ground-floor garage with a 20-space underground garage. Also changed: A reduction in the number of proposed ground-floor retail spaces from four to three.

Although city zoning codes still generally call for at least one space per unit, especially in the city's less dense neighborhoods, in recent years, the planning department and its predecessors have worked with developers in recent years to reduce the amount of provided parking. Officials have long held that more people are turning to public transit supplemented by ride-sharing services such as Zipcar and that reducing parking reduces construction costs, theoretically helping to ameliorate the price of units. The Zoning Board of Appeal would then typically grant the variance needed for the reduced amount of parking.

Just this week, two city councilors proposed eliminating parking requirements altogether, saying it would help spur additional housing in a city with some of the nation's highest housing costs.

In his initial filing, which called for 11 parking spaces, Fitzgerald played up the proposed building's transit connections - if not going so far as to call it "transit oriented:"

The Proposed Project is well-served by public transportation provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (“MBTA”). The MBTA 34E Bus, both inbound to Forrest Hills and Outbound to Walpole Center, has stops less than 250 feet from the Project Site. The MBTA 34 and 35 Buses also have multiple inbound and outbound stops within 0.3 miles of the Project Site. Additionally, the aforementioned West Roxbury MBTA Commuter Rail station is approximately 1.5 miles from the Project
Site.

The planning department is accepting comments on the proposed change until Feb. 13, after which its board will make a decision.

231-245 Grove St. filings.