In The Bay State Banner: Developers present plans for Dudley Square parcels

02.27.2019

Cruz Construction’s rendering of a plan for a mixed-use development at 135 Dudley Street, opposite the Dudley bus terminal. PHOTO: COURTESY CRUZ CONSTRUCTION

At a community meeting Saturday, five developers shared their plans to redesign two sites in Dudley Square, creating what could be hundreds of units of housing, green space and retail units.

Four parcels of land in the Roxbury area, all currently being used as parking lots, are now up for development. At the meeting Saturday, developers shared ideas for 135 Dudley St., which is the former Area B-2 police station, and 75-81 Dudley St., at the corner of Dudley Street and Shawmut Avenue. Plans for the other two parcels will be shared at a separate meeting this coming Saturday.

The city issued a request for proposals in mid-2018, with proposals due in November. There were initially 13 proposals submitted for the four parcels. The total has been narrowed down to 11, with four for 135 Dudley St. and just one for 75-81 Dudley St.

John Feuerbach, senior development officer at the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development, explained that the city has gone through an extensive process since before its initial RFP to get feedback from the community on what they want for the sites, organizing open houses, walk-throughs and other community meetings.

“The goal was really to work with residents and businesses to determine what would be the most appropriate uses for these key public parcels in Dudley,” Feuerbach said.

Madison Park

The Madison Park Development Corporation has the only proposal for the site at 75-81 Dudley Street, and the CDC plans to combine the site with an adjacent parcel that it already owns to develop 17 affordable condos in a four-story building as well as commercial space.

The proposed triangular building on the corner of Dudley Street and Shawmut Avenue would complement the property at 24-51 Dudley, which is currently under construction. The proposal also includes ground-level parking hidden from the street for the two residential buildings.

MPDC CEO Jeanne Pinado said that in order to fight gentrification and displacement, the company plans to give preference to residents currently living in neighborhoods that are impacted the most by those issues.

“That will, I think, help us address the disparities that exist today from governmental policies that have resulted in discrimination and redlining, and led to a huge racial wealth gap in our community,” Pinado said.