| Related Beal Cos. will begin construction of a 14-story, 239-unit affordable and workforce housing complex near North Station this fall, aided by a medley of incentives that offset land acquisition and development costs.
The project includes a connected 484,000-square-foot, 220-room hotel that would open for business in late 2018.
In a modification of the plans approved in 2008 under a previous developer, the apartment complex will contain 24 three-bedroom units.
“We think it’s important to have family units in these type of buildings,” said Peter Spellios, an executive vice president for Related Beal. “There are an increasing number of families that want to be in the city, but they can’t afford it and if they can afford it, they can’t find a three-bedroom unit.”
The apartment complex is expected to open in late 2017.
Designed by CBT Architects of Boston, the project will be built on a vacant parcel and parking lot at Causeway and Beverly streets a block from the TD Garden. Beal acquired the development rights from Boston Development Group late last year. Related Beal would pay the Massachusetts Department of Transportation $12.3 million for the 99-year lease on the property, which sits above the O’Neill Tunnel, The Boston Globe reported.
The city’s inclusionary development policy typically requires housing developers to set aside 15 percent affordable units. They can also submit payments to a fund that supports creation of affordable housing off-site.
Community activists have criticized that aspect for encouraging economic stratification and racial segregation, with the bulk of market-rate housing built in the form of high-priced luxury apartments in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods such as the Seaport and downtown.
Related Beal recently completed renovation of the new Converse headquarters at 160 North Washington St. and will break ground in late spring on a 175-unit luxury condo complex at 131 Beverly St., part of its Lovejoy Wharf redevelopment. It agreed to pay $7 million to support generation of affordable housing as a condition of that project’s approval.
“It gives us one project to invest in the same neighborhood and provide affordable units. We think that’s important,” Spellios said at a meeting of the Downtown North Association Wednesday.
Related Beal will seek 4-percent federal low-income housing tax credits to offset development costs, Spellios said. Rents will average $2.50 per square foot, Spellios said, compared with $4.50 at most new residential complexes in downtown Boston.
Related Beal’s apartments will be available to renters making from 30 to 165 percent of the area’s median income, which is $68,950 annually for a single household and $78,800 for a two-person household.
An affordable three-bedroom apartment has a maximum rent of $1,145 per month for a household making 50 percent of the area median income, under the city’s 2015 policy. A household making 120 percent of the area median income would pay a maximum of $2,748 per month for the same apartment. Income restrictions would be locked in on the property for 40 years.
The previous developers had an agreement for a Courtyard By Marriott format hotel. A similar, if not identical, operate is expected, Spellios said.
