Zoning board approves 8‑unit condominium at 3 Thayer Street with storage and parking conditions

The Quincy Zoning Board on Jan. 13 approved a special permit and several variances to allow Boston Property Management LLC to replace a rooming house at 3 Thayer Street with a three‑story, eight‑unit condominium building, subject to conditions intended to limit commercial parking uses and provide tenant storage.

Edward Fleming, representing Boston Property Management, told the board the proposal would remove the existing rooming house and build a three‑story building with eight condominium units and 13 parking spaces, including garage parking beneath the building and a surface lot accessed from Bridge Street. "The proposal that's before you tonight is to remove the rooming house ... to build a new 3 story 8 unit, condominium building," Fleming said, noting the site is a 9,202‑square‑foot parcel in the Quincy Center Business C district.

Architect Glenn Hoffman and civil engineer Chi Minh described the layout: four two‑bedroom units and four two‑bedroom units with a den, washers and dryers in each unit, and garage and surface parking providing at least one deeded space per unit. Chi Minh described a stormwater management approach that includes an underground system and a COWTEC unit; he said the COWTEC system volume is 935 cubic feet and the design will reduce runoff compared with existing conditions.

Board members raised questions about rooftop equipment, screening and storage for residents' bikes and gear. The petitioner agreed to locate additional locked storage within the garage footprint and to work with the historic commission on exterior materials and screening. The board's motion to allow the petition included two explicit caveats: that the petitioner provide additional storage in the garage for unit owners and that "no parking space shall be rented or sold to a nonunit owner." The motion carried and the board recorded its vote in favor; the transcript records members responding "Aye" on the motion.

Why it matters: The project replaces a transient rooming house with for‑sale condominiums in Quincy Center, changing the site's use and adding deeded parking and storage commitments; the conditions aim to limit spillover parking demand and provide residents with secure storage.

What happens next: The development team said it will present the design to the historic commission and work with staff to finalize screening, storage details and any final engineering details required by the city's permitting process. The board noted the conditions on storage and parking will be included in permitting paperwork.