Boston Board of Appeal Approves Three Residential Projects With Design Conditions

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston's Board of Appeal approved three separate residential development proposals Tuesday, each subject to ongoing BPDA design review conditions. The board cleared an unnamed residential project — reduced from its original scope after more than a year of community engagement including three formal abutters meetings — on the explicit condition that a contested rooftop deck be removed; Robert Jones, a member of the Hancock Street Civic Association, told the board the deck "was never presented to the community" and had been agreed to be dropped in prior developer conversations. Companion cases for 139 and 135 Harrishoff Street in Roxbury, which had been deferred from an October hearing pending ISD review of revised plans, also passed unanimously. The most contentious case involved 2 Oakland Street in Brighton, where attorney Alec Benelli of Pulgini and Norton sought approval for six three-bedroom townhouse units replacing an existing mixed-use structure on a 13,694-square-foot lot; abutter Robin Gibbs of 17 Malbert Road told the board she had "never heard anything from the developer whatsoever," and a representative of City Councilor Breeden's office went on record in opposition, but the board approved the project unanimously with conditions for screening and buffering near the parking structure abutting a neighboring single-family home.