Roslindale butcher gets approval to add two apartments above shop

The Zoning Board of Appeals today approved plans by Deb and Tony DeBenedictis to add two residential floors above their butcher shop on Washington Street at Durnell Avenue in Roslindale.

The DeBenedictises will live in one of the two 1,500-square-foot units.

The proposal won the approval of the mayor's office - which had gotten messages of support from Roslindale, West Roxbury and Jamaica Plain - and City Councilor Tim McCarthy.

A direct neighbor also supported the proposal, but asked that the couple hire a structural engineer to ensure that the addition - which would touch her house - not cause any problems. The board asked Deb DeBenectis to work with the BPDA to resolve that issue and the issue of windows possibly being blocked by the vertical addition in an adjoining building.

Tony's is where it is today in part because of a disagreement between Tony DeBenedictis and his then landlord in Roslindale Square over the landlord's plans to add two additional floors to that building.