Steve’s breakdown: As far as we can see, there are no marketing materials for this property as of yet.

BOSTON, MA: The Boston Redevelopment Authority board has approved plans for a 503-unit apartment tower by the TD Garden and Tip O’Neill federal building.

AvalonBay Communities’ 38-story Nashua Street Residences project includes a two-story retail arcade that will improve pedestrian circulation between Nashua and Causeway streets in the North Station area.

The tower will contain a mix of studios and one- and two-bedroom units, along with one three-bedroom units on each of the 32 residential floors above a six-story base that will contain a 219-space garage.

“If you listen to the residents of the West End, they’ll tell you that they are running out of family-sized units, and there weren’t that many to begin in the first place,” City Councilor Mike Ross said at last night’s BRA meeting. “So a credit to the proponent of this project who heard that loud and clear.

AvalonBay took over the $200 million project last year, buying the development rights from Delaware North Cos., the owners of the TD Garden.

“We believe the West End neighborhood and, in particular, North Station has tremendous potential to become a true nexus within the city for residents, commuters, and others,” said Scott Dale, AvalonBay’s senior vice president of development, said in a statement today.

The project approved last night is a revision of a 375-unit plan the BRA approved back in 2005 but fizzled in the recession.

“We’ve gotten tremendous support from the neighborhood,” said Harry Collings, a real estate consultant and former BRA executive secretary working on the project. “It was a great process and we spent time together and made quite a few changes in the project because of the participation.”

In other business, the BRA board backed Suffolk University’s new classroom facility at 20 Somerset St.

The $62 million project will consolidate the school’s academic seats outside the residential part of Beacon Hill where it has a history of conflict with the neighborhood.

“This building will provide the flexible academic facilities essential for today’s learning and teaching environment,” said Suffolk University president James McCarthy, in a statement. “At the same time, it shows the value of partnering with neighbors, elected officials and city agencies to find solutions that benefit all.”

The new 10-story building will replace a vacant government office, the former Metropolitan District Commission headquarters, and is expected to open in the summer of 2015.

The adjacent state-owned Roemer Plaza will be landscaped to provide an inviting area for students and neighbors to gather, Suffolk University said.

The BRA board also approved:

• a 177-room hotel catering to business travelers on vacant land at the corner of McClellan Highway and Boardman Street in East Boston near the Logan Airport. The $31.5 million project includes two restaurant/retail buildings along with a five-story hotel.

• the 54-unit Starboard Place apartment building down 1st Avenue from the USS Constitution’s berth in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The project will fill a rare empty lot — the so-called Parcel 39A owned by the city — with a four-story brick building that matches the historic area’s architecture.

Source:

ACLinks:

[acLink name=”Avalon Bay Communities, Inc.” type=”advertiser” id=”bmZq”]