Demolition kicked off this Thursday for the development at 25-39 Harvard Avenue that includes a 170-unit apartment and Allston’s United States Postal Services (USPS) Office.

According to Noah Maslan, principal at Eden Properties which owns the development, demolition is expected to last two or three weeks. All four buildings will be taken down, starting with the building that housed the former Allston Post Office. Shortly afterward, foundation work will begin, and Maslan expects to complete development by summer of 2027.

In addition to the return of the post office, the development will also feature ground-level retail space for two or three businesses. An apartment complex with 170 units, including 29 affordable units, will be constructed on top of the retail space.

The comeback of the post office has been a long and highly-anticipated process. The USPS closed the post office. citing structural damage in 2019. Maslan says that one of the walls inside the old post office was held up only with scaffolding. Eden Properties purchased the space along with some neighboring properties two years after its closure. Through conversations with community members through summer 2022, Maslan says that “the number one thing on the list is folks wanted to see if there was some way to get the post office back in the neighborhood.”

Returning the post office has been a highly collaborative process. Initially, Maslan says that it was difficult to find the right person from USPS to begin the process, but he found support through local politicians and leaders of community organizations, like the Allston Civic Association (ACA). 

“All credit really goes to Councilor Breadon and folks in her office, along with Tony D’Isidoro at the ACA and Rep Pressley and others who work to try to figure out who were the right people to talk to us,” he says.

Even with the support, the process has encountered delays from tariffs and market instability. However, earlier this year, USPS sent a notice of final determination, signaling their intent to relocate to Allston. USPS is currently conducting a final stage of internal review before they can officially proceed with the new location. The timeline for that final approval is still uncertain although Maslan says that “we’re very close.” 

Alongside the post office and the apartment building, the 25-39 Harvard Avenue development will build an expanded sidewalk and the first BlueBike station on Harvard Avenue. With demolition kicking off, Maslan hopes that the new units and amenities will eventually add new life and housing to Harvard Avenue. 

“We are so excited and over the moon to be able to bring 170 new units of housing, which includes 29 affordable units, to this amazing neighborhood,” he says. “It is just great to be able to address the housing supply shortage facing the city of Boston. And this is just a great site to be able to do that.” ■