Developers cut scale, switch to for-sale condos for two Old Colony Avenue projects; hearing continued

Attorney Edward Fleming, representing Ballston Assets LLC managers Cindy Zhu and David Lee, told the Quincy Planning Board on May 21 that two Old Colony Avenue proposals were reworked following community and board concerns about height, unit counts, parking and local drainage.

The larger site at 18–24 and 28 Old Colony Ave., originally proposed as a six-story, 94-unit rental building with one parking space per unit, has been reduced to a five-story building with 62 for-sale condominium units (54 two-bedrooms and eight one-bedrooms) and a 98-space garage. “We actually exceed the parking requirement,” Fleming said, noting the new parking ratio is about 1.58 spaces per unit, above the Business C zoning minimum of 1.5.

For the smaller site at 38 Old Colony Ave., the project has shifted from 27 affordable rental units to 19 condominium units with 19 on-site parking spaces (1:1 ratio) and an added interior trash room to replace an on-lot dumpster. Fleming told the board the change was driven by finance and regulatory differences between rental apartments and for-sale condominiums in the city’s affordable-housing rules.

Civil engineer Carlos Sculte of Civil & Environmental Consultants said both sites will hold stormwater on-site for at least the 2-year storm event and that the teams are working with the Department of Public Works and the city’s consultants on how the projects relate to the Wollaston area flood-inundation study. Sculte said the team will schedule a coordination meeting with city staff and then resubmit final civil plans; the smaller building’s resubmittal will be deferred until that meeting occurs.

Sculte also referenced an Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) parking analysis the applicants supplied. He said the analysis estimated average peak parking demand for the larger building between about 43 spaces (average) and 78 spaces (80th percentile) for the 62-unit building, and that the proposed 98 spaces exceed those figures.

Applicant David Lee told the board the owners had hoped the smaller building’s affordable units could be credited against obligations on an unrelated South Street project, but learned that the city treats apartments and for-sale condominiums differently for those credits. He said, without subsidy or an affordable-housing program vehicle, the numbers for the 38 Old Colony affordable scheme did not work.

Public comment and questions at the hearing focused on parking, traffic counts, stormwater runoff and how condominium homeowner associations (if the projects are sold as condos) would be assigned maintenance responsibility for stormwater infrastructure and trash handling. A neighbor asked whether the proposed parking would be in addition to curb parking pressure on nearby streets; the applicants said parking for on-site units would be assigned and that off-street supply is intended to reduce curb parking demand.

The board continued both cases to the June 25 meeting so the applicants can coordinate civil design responses with DPW and the city’s consultants. Fleming said the teams will provide updated civil drawings and photometrics, and that they will discuss whether any affordable-housing obligation would be satisfied on-site or by fee-in-lieu with the Affordable Housing Trust Committee.

Votes and procedural outcome: a motion to continue the public hearings for 18–24 & 28 Old Colony Ave. (Planning Board case nos. 2025-06 and 2025-07) to June 25 passed by voice vote.