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Revised plans for 40 income-restricted apartments at 329 Blue Hill Ave. go to neighbors

A five-story building with ground-floor commercial space is proposed for a vacant half-acre in Roxbury, on the corridor at the center of the council's fight with the MBTA.

By Boston Politics staffUpdated

A plan for 40 income-restricted family apartments on a vacant lot at 329 Blue Hill Ave. in Roxbury went before the public again Thursday night, when the Boston Planning Department hosted a virtual meeting on revised designs, the Dorchester Reporter reported.

The site is on the corridor where the city and the MBTA are planning a major transit redesign that has divided the City Council.

The proposal

According to the Reporter:

  • Developer: Caribbean Integration Community Development.
  • Site: A vacant parcel of about half an acre.
  • Building: Five stories and about 49,620 square feet, with roughly 2,600 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor.
  • Homes: 40 income-restricted rental apartments for families. The Reporter did not list income limits.
  • History: The plans were first filed in September 2025. The revised designs respond to community feedback.

The Reporter did not say how many parking spaces are planned or which approvals the project still needs. The Planning Department's project contact is listed in the Reporter's story.

What our records add

Blue Hill Avenue has been the subject of repeated council action this year:

  • The MBTA summons. On Oct. 21 the council voted to summon MBTA General Manager Phil Eng to testify about the Blue Hill Avenue transportation plan, as we reported. The hearing is set for Friday, Nov. 6, on City Councilor Miniard Culpepper's order for a hearing on the civil rights implications of rapid transit inequities (docket 1340) and his resolution supporting a study of an Orange Line extension along the avenue (docket 1341). Whether Eng will attend is still open.
  • Bus lanes. Culpepper's resolution urging the MBTA and the city to cancel center-running bus lanes on the avenue and shift the money elsewhere (docket 0483) has been in the Planning, Development and Transportation Committee for 242 days. His order for a hearing on moving project money to streetscape improvements (docket 0402) has waited 249 days.
  • Small lots. City Councilor Brian Worrell has an order pending for a hearing on eliminating minimum lot size requirements in District 4, rules he says keep more than 60 vacant city-owned lots there from being built on (docket 1103).

The council does not vote on individual private housing proposals like this one. Large projects go through the Planning Department's review, and projects that need zoning relief go to the Zoning Board of Appeal, whose members the council confirms.

What's next

The Reporter did not give a deadline for comments on the housing plan. On transit, the council's Nov. 6 hearing is the next public step on the Blue Hill Avenue plan. City and state officials have said they plan more community meetings in 2027 and hope to start construction in 2028, the Reporter has reported.