1630 Hancock Street certificate-of-consistency hearing continued after neighborhood protest; developer presents 150-unit design

The Planning Board opened and continued the certificate-of-consistency public hearing for a proposed seven-story mixed-use building at 1620–1630 Hancock Street on Aug. 6 after a lengthy presentation by the applicant and public comment from nearby residents.

Attorney David Mahoney and representatives of Boston Global Investors presented a proposal that would demolish the existing vacant commercial building and construct a seven-story building with about 150 residential units, one ground-floor retail space and two levels of structured parking totaling 110 spaces. The applicant’s team described a design that holds the street edge, locates a residential lobby at the corner of Elm and Hancock, provides an elevated south-facing courtyard amenity and organizes parking access off Mechanic Street.

Kenneth Hartfield, the project architect, described a masonry-forward design with articulated brick facades and punched openings. Civil engineer Zach Richards and transportation planner Lorenzo Dantes presented site utility and traffic work; Dantes told the board the project is transit-oriented — about a half-mile from Quincy Center commuter rail and served by multiple bus routes — and said the analysis estimates the building would generate a net new 28 vehicle trips in the morning peak hour and 33 trips in the evening peak hour. He said operations at nearby signalized intersections are expected to remain essentially unchanged.

Neighbors objected to the proposal and said they had not been contacted directly. Brandon Dante, who said he owns 29 Mechanic Street, told the board, "We have not been approached in any shape or form," and said his group also believes the project will cast significant shadows and place strain on local parking and service operations. Mr. Dante asked the board to reject the application; others noted concerns about trash and loading operations in the narrow service alley and about outreach to adjacent property owners.

Board members asked detailed questions about rooftop screening, waste and loading logistics, exhaust routing for potential restaurant uses, structural capacity of the courtyard over the garage, and the building’s floor, framing and mechanical approach. The developer said they will further study rooftop equipment screening, rooftop photovoltaics and EV readiness, and that parking was planned at roughly 0.73 spaces per unit to reduce vehicle generation in a transit-oriented location.

After public comment and board discussion, the Planning Board voted to continue the certificate-of-consistency hearing to Sept. 17 to allow the applicant to respond to outstanding technical questions and neighborhood concerns. No approval was granted; the hearing will resume at the Sept. 17 meeting.