The timing couldn't have been worse: A murder victim is found sprawled in the shadows of a viaduct next to an upcoming South End apartment project — one day before a key neighborhood meeting about the development.
Then again, the bad timing has turned into good intentions. The developers heard the community's concerns about the gritty spaces under the elevated Expressway and offered up $250,000 to improve it.
The mitigation money will pay for an "artistic" lighting display designed to "create a sense of warmth and extend the neighborhood," said Justin Krebs, principal at Normandy Real Estate Partners.
Normandy and co-developer Gerding Edlen won approval this week from the Boston Redevelopment Authority to turn a parking lot at 275 Albany St. into a 380-unit apartment complex featuring a 19-story tower with views of downtown Boston.
"That is going to be their doorstep, right under the Expressway, so to make it more inviting is definitely a welcome addition to the project," said state Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (D-Boston), who attended the Feb. 25 meeting, held the day after a body was found amid the gravel, glass and other evidence of drug use and homelessness under the overpass.
Michlewitz said the murder and the $145 million project's advancement have given urgency to the state Department of Transportation's previous plan to overhaul the viaduct area, possibly by converting the dim, "dicey" spaces into well-lit parking lots.
"People are starting to realize that the pathway between there and South Boston is used a lot more than it was before," he said, noting the access to the Broadway MBTA station. "We need to accommodate the pedestrian use and make it a safer environment."
MassDOT spokesman Michael Verseckes said the agency is working on permitting and public bidding to improve three viaduct sections between Herald and Randolph streets.
"There is no immediate time frame on this, but there is wide agreement among interested stakeholders in converting these spaces to productive use," he said.
The adjacent section of Albany Street will see an influx of new residents in a few years. The old Boston Herald site will become the Ink Block, a 471-unit apartment complex anchored by Whole Foods.
Normandy, which scrapped plans for a pair of hotels, expects to break ground at 275 Albany St. in the fall. The project will be surrounded by wide sidewalks and a planting buffer.
Architect ADD Inc. tweaked the design, with input from BRA planners, so that even the loading area will appear more lively.
"We've put windows down there that will be backlit at night," said Tamara Roy, senior associate principal at Boston-based ADD. "So it will just feel like there are eyes on the street there as you walk around."
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