Fields Corner library is due back in December, and a 7-story Christopher Street plan shrinks to 99 units

Two projects are changing the blocks around Fields Corner: a new branch library, now promised for December, and a proposed seven-story apartment building on Christopher Street.

The library

The Fields Corner branch of the Boston Public Library has been closed since renovation began in October 2024, the Dorchester Reporter reported on Tuesday. The $30.9 million project will produce an all-electric building with about twice the library space, a second floor opening onto an outdoor reading terrace, more study and community rooms and a children's story area, according to the Reporter. Completion is expected in December.

In the meantime, branch librarians hold weekly story times and a small book exchange at a local cafe, and a youth sports and leadership group has hosted library events at its field house, the paper reported.

What our records show. The date has moved. At a May 4 Ways and Means Committee budget hearing, the Public Facilities Department showed its online project dashboard, which listed the Fields Corner branch as 88% complete and due to finish in July (watch at 19:23). At a May 19 budget hearing, a library official told councilors the branch was "almost done" and that the library looked forward to an opening in the fall (watch at 15:52). District 3 City Councilor John FitzGerald said at that hearing that the branch "looks beautiful so far" and that he looked forward to the ribbon cutting (watch at 39:20). The Reporter's December date would be the third target this year.

The Christopher Street building

A developer has scaled back its plan for 80 Christopher St., now an auto repair business near Fields Corner, the Reporter reported on Tuesday. According to the paper:

• K&CG Properties LLC cut the building from 108 units to 99, with fewer studios and more one- and two-bedroom apartments. Twenty units would still be income-restricted.
• It kept the seven-story height, with a roof at about 77 feet, where zoning allows 45. The Boston Planning Department had suggested a six-story alternative.
• The site's local industrial zoning does not allow multifamily housing, so the project needs zoning relief, including variances for height and density.
• Other changes include two curb cuts instead of three, 22 parking spaces, an affordable artist live-work unit in place of ground-floor retail and a relocated Bluebikes station.
• The project still needs Planning Department review and a vote of the BPDA board. The public comment period runs until Nov. 18.

What our records show. Projects needing variances like these typically end up before the Zoning Board of Appeal, whose members the council confirmed last week (our story). Two council proposals on how such projects are reviewed are pending in the Government Operations Committee: an ordinance from City Councilor Ed Flynn, co-sponsored by FitzGerald, to require abutters meetings and a community process for every project seeking zoning relief (docket 1712), and City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata's ordinance on transparency at the ZBA (docket 0388).

Fields Corner also kept its post office this month after a last-minute lease extension (our story).

What's next

Comments on 80 Christopher St. can be filed through the Planning Department's project page until Nov. 18, according to the Reporter. The library has not announced an opening date; the Public Facilities Department's project dashboard tracks its status.