Condo building proposed to replace daycare, former plumbing office at Washington and Lesher streets in Roslindale

The children of Benjamin Gold, who ran a plumbing business at Washington and Lesher streets in Roslindale until his 2005 death, have proposed razing the business and the neighboring Little Peoples Playhouse daycare for a building with 19 condos topped by a "green" roof covered by soil and plantings.

In a filing with the BPDA, the Golds say they are hoping to offer the ground-floor commercial space to Little Peoples Playhouse, but that no agreement has yet been reached.

Three of the units would be sold as affordable.

The building would have either 16 or 19 parking spaces - the application lists both numbers.

As proposed the four-story structure is reasonably consistent with other four-story and mixed-use buildings in the general neighborhood. The façade of the building aligns with the front edge of the site and is therefore compatible with adjacent properties. From a functional design stand-point it seems reasonable to conclude that other proposed buildings will offer similar height and scale to the proposed project. As proposed, the single tenant space enables the façade of the building to have a singular cohesive aesthetic and not confused by extraneous signage and visual congestion. The design philosophy was to promote a simple but effective approach to try and keep the ground floor as daytime use commercial space with residents living above who can enjoy the after-hours solitude.

The green roof will reduce storm runoff from the building, extend the life of the roof and reduce air-conditioning costs for condo owners, the Golds say.

4011-4019 Washington St. filings and calendar