Dorchester to get 90 ‘compact’ rental units near South Bay Center

Plans for 115-121 Boston St. boast a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, measuring 450 square feet, 595 square feet, and 743 square feet in size, respectively.

Ninety “compact” residential units are now set to replace the site of a two-story commercial building and parking lot in Dorchester after developers recently secured city approval.

On April 11, the Boston Planning & Development Agency board of directors signed off on the project envisioned for 115-121 Boston St., a 0.8-acre site comprising four parcels a stone’s throw away from South Bay Center, just west of Interstate 93.

The planned 88,339-square-foot, mixed-use complex will take the form of two five-story buildings interconnected at the ground level, plans filed by developer, Boston 115 Development LLC, show.

The project may be among the last few to take advantage of the city’s “Compact Living Pilot.” The program, launched in 2018, aimed to spur the creation of new residential units by allowing for smaller ones than those typically found in Boston’s housing stock with shared amenities.

The pilot ended last year, although developers who filed initial plans before May 31, 2023, were still eligible to participate.

Plans for 115-121 Boston St. boast a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, measuring 450, 595, and 743 square feet, respectively.

As set under the city’s Inclusionary Development Policy, 15 of the apartments will be deemed income-restricted affordable housing units, filings say. The complex will offer resident amenities such as a meeting and recreation room and a pet washing and grooming station, plans show.

There will also be 57 garage parking spaces and 122 bicycle spaces, according to filings.

A second-floor rooftop terrace will provide space for a lounge, with enough room for activities such as resident dining and yoga sessions, William Chalfant of the Somerville-based architectural firm behind the project, Khalsa Design Inc. (KDI), told board members last week.

The two-tower design “also provides a little bit more breathing room to the existing neighbors across the street and maintains a view corridor to the city beyond,” Chalfant added.

The ground floor will feature 8,400 square feet of commercial space, which will house a new CrossFit Southie location, he said.

Additionally, the project will feature a pocket park along Boston Street and at least one new sidewalk adjacent to West Howell Street, plans say.

“This is a sort of a pedestrian wasteland along the front of this parcel, so our goal was to activate the streetscape [and] provide a much more friendly environment for folks in the neighborhood and residents of the building as they traverse from this portion of Boston Street to South Bay plaza and beyond,” Chalfant said.

BPDA officials approved the proposal unanimously.