By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Last week, the Planning Department hosted an Impact Advisory Group (IAG) meeting regarding a proposed project at 15 Supertest Street that will bring retail and affordable units in the north block of the Hood Park Master Plan.
Mark Rosenshein of Trademark Partners explained that the Hood Park Master Plan, which was approved in 2019, “dictates sort of the use, volume, height, density of each individual building.”
It should be noted that although the master plan was approved in 2019, it aligns with regulations crafted as part of PLAN: Charlestown.
“As we go through and we develop individual buildings, we are responsible for filing a development plan that speaks to the specific uses and dimensions of that building and essentially defining how any given project matches or doesn’t match the original master plan,” said Rosenshein.
“We do have some amendments here; there are some adjustments we’re making to the master plan in order to accommodate the specifics of what will be two projects.”
While last week’s meeting was focused on the 15 Supertest Street project, it does have a tie-in with another concurrently filed project at 25 Supertest Street, which is divided by a planned open space referred to as Hood Green.
Specifically, the proposed project at 25 Supertest Street has a residential component, and Rosenshein said they are looking to “off-site” its affordable units to 15 Supertest Street.
“Essentially, we need 25 Supertest and 15 Supertest to be looked at concurrently because we need the housing component of 25 Supertest approved in order to be able to move the affordable housing component to 15,” Rosenshein said.
As for the plans for 15 Supertest Street, they include about 24,000 square feet of space for a grocery store on the ground floor and 18 family-sized (two-, three-, and four-bedroom) affordable units on the two levels above.
Rosenshein said there are hopes of having 15 Supertest Street under construction in Q2 of 2026, with it opening 18 months later.
“The tower (25 Supertest) will take longer, and so, the ability to tie these two buildings together and move the affordable housing from 25 Supertest to 15 Supertest is really about bringing a grocer to Charlestown and bringing family affordable units much quicker to the neighborhood,” he said.
David Manfredi, a project architect, indicated that there will be 83 below-grade parking spaces for the grocery store and residents located above off of Supertest Street.
Moreover, he indicated that the loading area for the grocery store, which could also store residential trash, is located off of Supertest and is “completely interior” and “within the building.”
As the presentation progressed, other topics, such as landscaping that includes plans for a tilted landscape in front of the grocery store and a green buffer among other items, materiality that aligns with the neighborhood, like brick masonry, and more, were discussed.
With this proposed project, Rosenshein indicated that they are requesting changes from what was initially approved in the aforementioned master plan.
Notably, the gross floor area would increase from 12,000 square feet to 49,800 square feet, the height would increase from 20’ plus the mechanical (32’) to 42’ plus the mechanical (57’), it would go from one level to three, the use would change from retail only to retail, grocer, and residential, and parking, parking would increase from zero spaces to 83, affordable units would rise from zero to 18, and the amount of mitigation money would go from $24,000 to $48,000.
To close out the presentation, Rosenshein walked through the status of several mitigation commitments related to Hood Park, which are available in the project presentation.
After the presentation, the floor was opened to IAG Members, and later the general public to comment and ask questions.
One IAG Member complimented the project, saying, “the initial look at it — it’s going to be great — the community needs more housing, it certainly needs additional grocery shopping.”
Another IAG Member wondered about zoning as it relates to height, including mechanicals. However, Rosenshein said that the zoning height in a PDA (Planned Development Area) within 300’ of Rutherford Avenue is 70’.
The same IAG Member sought clarification on the availability of a mitigation commitment of $2,500,000 for projects with an educational focus in the neighborhood. Rosenshein explained that the funds would be paid in five installments over five years upon the issuance of the certificate of occupancy for the project at 10 Stack Street.
“We really need to get some tenants to get some money flowing through Hood that would then allow us to be able to make those payments,” Rosenshein later added.
Later, another IAG member noted that the affordable housing and grocery aspects of the proposed project are appealing, but emphasized there is a bit of frustration surrounding the 10 Stack Street project and not being able to immediately get those aforementioned mitigation funds for those who need them.
Later during the discussion, an attendee expressed concerns about the project’s financial feasibility and questioned the need for a grocery store in the area, among other comments.
In response, Rosenshein noted that during the PLAN: Charlestown process, there was considerable community sentiment regarding the need for a grocery store, and there is also significant demand for affordable family housing.
For more information about the project and to make comments, visit https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/15-supertest-street, which contains the recording and presentation from the meeting. The current comment period for the project is open until August 21.