More information at Boston Agent Magazine.
The New England Casket Company was destroyed by a massive fire in March 2019. According to the BPDA:
“What is currently vacant land will be converted into housing for the East Boston neighborhood. The site is vacant due to a catastrophic fire which destroyed the New England Casket Company in 2019. “What is currently vacant land will be converted into housing for the East Boston neighborhood. The site is vacant due to a catastrophic fire which destroyed the New England Casket Company in 2019.
The new, mixed-use building will be six-stories, and made up of residential and retail space. There will be 220 residential units, 31 of which will be income-restricted.
The project will also include bike storage, publicly accessible open space, and public realm improvements. Some of these public realm improvements include new crosswalks and bike lanes.
Consistent with PLAN: East Boston, one of the reconfigured intersections will provide a new bicycle crossing at Bennington Street, connect to the future shared-use path along Austin Avenue, and reclaim excess pavement for enhanced public realm, landscaping, and green infrastructure. In addition, this project will include the creation of a two-way separated bike lane on Bennington Street.
The project is located within the planning boundaries of PLAN: East Boston, an ongoing planning initiative that began in 2018. The recommendations in the plan include active ground floor uses supported by added height and density and transformational public realm improvements.
Staff review focused on ensuring a building massing and height that is sensible to the neighborhood’s character, mitigating building impact on the Belle Isle Marsh, and securing street and sidewalk improvements that include environmental protection and resilience measures for the community while preserving the Marsh as a natural resource. This will be a transit-oriented development, as it is in close proximity to public transportation. In addition the project will contribute $60,923 to the Boston Transportation Department in support of the bike-share system.”
