Controversial Tower Project Gets Zoning OK

The 346-unit project, called Residences at Kensington Place, had faced stiff opposition from local groups, but received approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority in September.

Meredith Baumann, a spokesperson for the BRA, explains that the developer had applied for a Planned Development Area classification which would enable a project to exceed the 155 feet maximum allowable height under the current zoning. Baumann tells GlobeSt.com that the area allows for the creation of a PDA as long as the project encompasses at least an acre. Calls to the Chinese Progressive Association, the project's most vocal opponent, were not returned by deadline, but the issue of whether the project actually encompasses an acre has been a contentious issue. Baumann notes that both the commission and the city council accept that the project is that size.

But Kensington Investment is not out of the woods yet. In order for the project to be able to move forward, the developer needs the state to approve the city taking two parcels on which sit a night club, The Glass Slipper and the Gaiety Theater, by eminent domain. Baumann explains that the state needs to approve the move because it was part of a modification to the urban renewal plan that is leading the renovation of the lower Washington Street area. Baumann says the city will take the parcels at fair market value and sell them to the developer. She adds that the price of the parcels have not yet been determined.

The area has recently seen a number of upscale residential projects receive approvals, including the 28-story Liberty Place which is going up across the street from Kensington's project and Millennium Place where condominiums are selling for up to $7 million. In response to objections that the area does not need another upscale residential project, the developer, Kensington Investment Company Inc., agreed to increase the percentage of affordable units to 15% and to deepen the level of affordability of the project.