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On December 3, the Allston Square (334 Cambridge St) public meeting drew over 40 attendees to discuss City Realty’s proposed change to cut parking lots. Although participants presented differing stances over parking cuts, many of them criticized the slow progress of the Allston Square development, which was initially approved in 2018.

Though the City of Boston initially only held a comment period for these proposed changes, the public meeting was scheduled after neighbors raised concerns about the lack of transparency and input from these changes.

During the meeting, Josh Fetterman, Director of Real Estate Development at City Realty, reiterated that the cuts to parking, which would eliminate underground parking and bring down the spots from 147 to 38 spaces, are largely due to cost. Jeffrey Drago, the legal counsel representing City Realty in the development, says that these changes are also consistent with the Allston-Brighton Mobility Plan.

Amid criticism surrounding delays in construction, Fetterman provided a timeline for the next phase. He estimated that Phase 1 of the Allston Square development will begin at the end of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027. Fetterman said that City Realty will take a “staggered” approach, starting with 1 Highgate Street followed by 8-12 Wilton Street to complete Phase 1. During the second phase, City Realty will construct buildings on 10 Highgate Street and 20 Braintree Street. 

According to Fetterman, a previous phase (Phase A), which constructed a three-story residential building at 16 Highgate Street and renovated Allston Hall at 4-8 Franklin Street, was complete.

Although there have been discussions with several general contractors, Fetterman says that no one has been officially selected for the preconstruction budget, a step that is typically required before physical building to lay out the financial costs of building.

Attendees were divided over the issue on the parking cuts. Supporters of the project say that the parking cuts would help mitigate traffic congestion in the intersection, pointing to the large number of transportation options as well as the walkability of the area. 

Opponents of the parking cuts say that the lack of parking in a high-density development area makes it difficult to accommodate the retail and residential population coming in and out of the development. Some also say that these parking cuts leave out older people and people with disabilities, who might not be able to bike.

Neighbors on both sides of the issue called for a systematic study of transportation mitigation in the area. As part of the community benefits for Allston Square, City Realty agreed to spend up to 150,000 dollars to fund a Transportation Network Alternatives Analysis, a study that would analyze the changes to bus lanes, street directions and pedestrian and biker accommodations surrounding the development.

Fetterman says that City Realty partnered with Stantec Engineering and the City of Boston Transportation Department to advance the study. Anthony D’Isidoro, president of the Allston Civic Association, said that the report should be made public and questioned whether the findings would be relevant considering the numerous new developments that have sprung since the original study was approved in 2022. 

Nathan Mandell, who spoke in favor of the parking cuts, says, “There have been references to transportation plans, but there have not been substantial proposals to make to improve traffic flow, to improve transportation access, to improve biker or pedestrian access to those areas.”

Beyond transportation, multiple residents say that the long delay for a project, initially proposed in 2018 and approved in 2019, has eroded trust with the community. Although Drago said that the delays were not unique to City Realty since many developers across the city were facing banking and financing issues, residents say that the delay in Allston Square construction has been unusually long.

Mandell points out that there have been a significant number of projects that were approved after the COVID-19 pandemic and were already under construction or completed. 

“Any attempt to try to normalize what has occurred to date is laughable. To try to make it sound like we’re no different than all the other projects in the city, from what we’ve gone through and everything, is baloney. We are talking a good six to eight years of going on with this, and in the interim, that area has become a blight on our community,” says D’Isidoro.

“It’s a damn shame.” ■