BOSTON—A top official with Related Beal, a division of Related Cos., tells Globest.com that the beginning of construction is imminent on its $230-million mixed-use workforce housing project at the Parcel 1B site in the Bullfinch Triangle.

Related Beal reports that it has closed on the financing for the project that will include 239-units of affordable workforce housing, a hotel and retail space. In addition, the firm also states that it has into a 99-year land lease with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for Parcel 1B in the Bulfinch Triangle. The project site also includes Parcel 1C, which Related Beal acquired from an affiliate of Boston Development Group at the end of 2014. Parcel 1C is currently used as a surface parking lot. Parcels 1B and 1C were part of the Big Dig and sit above two Central Artery tunnels. Parcel 1B is located across the street from Related Beal's Lovejoy Wharf where the developer redeveloped 160 North Washington St. for Converse's new headquarters and 131 Beverly St.

In August, the Boston Redevelopment Authority approved the Parcel 1B project, which the authority estimated was valued at approximately $220 million. Ted Lubitz, vice president at Related Beal who oversees Related Beal's affordable projects in Boston and the surrounding area, tells Globest.com that the firm has now put the project estimate at approximately $230 million.

The project is the first large scale mixed use development with a 100% income restricted residential rental community to be built under Boston Mayor Martin Walsh's "Changing City: Boston 2030," plan that calls for the creation of 53,000 new residential units by 2030, 44,000 of which are to be earmarked for workforce units. The Related Beal development's housing units will have rent restrictions ranging from 30%-165% of Area Median Income.

Lubitz, who was interviewed on Tuesday (Dec. 22), said that his firm was hoping to get the green light from the MassDOT "to start moving dirt" the following day. "All permits are in hand and we are ready to go," he says. He says the project should be completed in between 24 to 26 months.

Designed by a CBT Architects, Related Beal's mixed-use development will include a 14-story residential building totaling approximately 484,000-square-feet, a 220-key hotel, street level retail and on-site parking. Lubitz says the new hotel will be operated under a Marriott Courtyard flag.

The financing for the venture will come from a variety of sources: Related Beal expects to contribute capital equal to between 22%-26% of the $230-million project or approximately $50.6-million to $59.8 million; the venture will benefit from $52 million in tax-exempt bond financing issued by MassDevelopment; $3 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; a contribution of between $10 million to $11 million from a partnership between Boston Properties and Delaware North as part of their affordable housing commitments for projects in the immediate neighborhood; 4% federal/state low income housing tax credits and a 121A tax stabilization plan created by the City of Boston.

If the financing for the project seems complex, the construction of the development will also entail some unconventional construction. Lubitz explains that since the project will basically be built atop two tunnels, "We end up pretty much locking to the slurry walls of the tunnel, straddling it and then going vertical. We can't go below grade. There are areas where it is only six inches deep before you hit the tunnel roof," he says.

Lubitz describes the construction of this project as "extremely difficult." He adds, "The amount of oversight and engineering that has gone into this project is not quite a modern marvel, but it is up there."

The project's numerous benefits include: a $500,000 contribution to the Boston Redevelopment Authority to be used specifically for the design and construction of an open park on Parcel 2, a $300,000 contribution to the Boston Crossroads Initiative, focusing on Causeway and North Washington streets, a $75,000 contribution to support neighborhood improvements within the vicinity of the proposed project as directed by the BRA, a $50,000 contribution towards streetscape improvements and additional traffic studies and a $12,000 contribution to the Bulfinch Triangle Streetscape Improvements Initiative. In addition, RelatedBeal will contribute approximately $465,000 to the Neighborhood Housing Trust and $56,000 to the Neighborhood Jobs Trust.

The project is expected to generate $1.5 million in annual property taxes, as well as unspecified hotel occupancy tax revenues. It is anticipated the development will create approximately 500 construction jobs and approximately 105 to 120 permanent jobs.