Recently, the City of Boston facilitated a public meeting to review the proposed project at 4487 Washington St. in Roslindale.

The project is headed by developer John Wardwell, zoning and permitting attorney Jeffrey Drago, and project architect Nick Landrey. The proposal is seeking to construct a new five-story residential building comprised of 28 dwelling units and 12 off-street parking spaces.

Pointing to the parcels location on the corner of Cornell and Washington Streets, Drago emphasized that recent zoning changes Squares+Streets (S+S) make the site particularly suitable for the proposed development. He said that the team felt that given the new zoning changes for this particular area, this project would be very appropriate and have the ability to create new and needed housing for this section of Roslindale.

With the Project Sites total lot area being just about 11,058 square feet and having a total gross floor area of roughly 35,285 square feet, Drago noted that this proposal is zoning compliant.

One thing to note is that all of these different areas are dimensional in use regulations for this particular area. Because of the changes in zoning, this is one of the few projects that Ive represented that I can say is completely zoning compliant, Drago said.

Nevertheless, Drago clarified, We still have a Boston Planning Department (BPD) process, so this still will go through the article 80 Boston Planning Board Process, and there will still be a community process of which this meeting is part, but we will not be required to go to the Zoning Board of Appeals because it meets all of the new zoning requirements.

Drago added that this is a homeownership project with condominiums.

Residents raised questions regarding whether environmental measures were being taken, particularly about the use of gas in the building.

As part of this process, we need to comply with the net zero project standards that the city has put in place so we will not have gas in the building. It will all be electric said Landrey. We will have provisions for solar panels on the roof, and well be doing all energy-efficient heat pumps. Right now, were weighing out whether we will use standard electrical hot water heaters for a combo unit.

Drago also added that they would consider adding e-bike charging stations as part of the project as well.

Regarding the scale of the development, many residents were concerned about the parking. Even with the public transportation in the area, residents were worried that 12 parking spaces would not be enough.

But, as Drago cited, The zoning in this area has changed. There is a movement across the city to have less parking on projects, and we are meeting every zoning requirement.

I appreciate the concern but were simply following the code thats in place for this area. I can tell you across the city there is a strong movement. Folks want to see fewer cars, so if there are fewer parking spaces available, the idea is that people will find other modes of transportation

Proponent Wardwell also added that, Were not afraid to add parking if its allowable, but I think 12 spots will be suitable based on what weve done with other units.

I understand that it is congested over there, but we feel like 12 spaces are going to be ample based on projects weve done locally. Typically, if we ask for more parking with the city, they like to see us reduce the parking, so its a community-driven decision, he said.

For more information, residents can contact Project Manager Zoe Duvall at zoe.duvall@boston.gov Comments may also be submitted online through the projects webpage by Monday, Jan. 5, 2026 at https://tinyurl.com/yttmee85