Developer proposes 239 apartments, condos behind South Bay mall

A developer wants to put up a three-building complex with a mix of apartments, condos and commercial and office space in an industrial area off Allstate Road that is increasingly being transformed into a new multi-family residential and office area behind the new wing of the South Bay Mall.

In a letter of intent filed with the BPDA last week, an attorney for Adam Sarbaugh of Mission Hill says he will soon file detailed plans for the buildings on what are now 13 separate lots of "underutilized and distressed properties" along Willow, Baker and Fields courts off Allstate Road.

Sarbaugh says at least some of the apartments would be "compact" sized - under a pilot city program that lets developers put more, smaller units in a building under the theory they will charge less for rent.

In addition to the buildings, Sarbaugh said he would pay to put in wider sidewalks and to put overhead utility lines underground.

In October, another developer proposed a 400-unit building off Enterprise Street and Jan Karski Way - and to extend a road that now runs through the newer part of the South Bay Mall to Boston Street.

This would not be Sarbaugh's first Dorchester project. In 2018, Sarbaugh won approval to replace the old Tom English Bar and Dorchester Market on Dorchester Avenue at East Cottage Street with a five-story, 38-unit apartment building.

Willow Baker letter of intent.