Energy-efficient apartments approved on East Lenox Street

The Zoning Board of Appeal this week approved a seven-story, 34-unit apartment building with solar panels on the roof at 11 East Lenox St. in Roxbury.

The new building, by Boston Real Estate Collaborative and D2 Development, will go on what is now a vacant parking lot. It's Boston Real Estate Collaborative's fifth project in the East Lenox Street area.

The building, half a block from the Silver Line on Washington Street, will have eight parking spaces.

The units will be split between 4 studios, 6 one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom units and 14 three-bedroom units. Four of the units will be rented to people making no more than 70% of the Boston area median income.

In addition to the solar panels, the building is designed to reduce energy use through measures that include "oversized, high-efficiency triple pane windows and continuous exterior insulation," as well as "the latest in energy saving technologies including variable refrigerant flow HVAC units, energy recovery ventilators, energy star appliances [and] low flow fixtures" that, in total, will mean energy consumption that is nearly 10% of that of typical new construction."

The project’s holistic embrace of novel sustainable systems informs its design, engendering a contemporary design and aesthetic. The project’s design reflects its high degree of optimization in all aspects, the stacked floorplates are designed to work within the constraints of an optimized structural system that allow efficient MEP systems to be kept to a minimum. Its exterior design and materiality embrace this optimized repetition and efficiency - the fenestration is large and ordered, with its expansive openings highlighting the exposed interior finishes while the exterior materials are composed of contemporary finishes that are durable and will require little maintenance. The design seeks to be a holistic representation and manifestation of its sustainable vision, a future case study as an urban low-carbon Passive House multifamily development.

BPDA documents on the proposal.