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Kids & Family

One Canal Project Will Have Supermarket

Developer will honor residents' priority for supermarket.

Residents and neighborhood groups seem relieved by Trinity One Canal LLC’s commitment to having a supermarket in the ground floor of its proposed development in the Bulfinch Triangle and West End area.

During a community meeting on Tuesday at CBT Architects, 110 Canal St., approximately 50 people came to hear how the One Canal Project is progressing and whether their concerns that the neighborhood have a competitively priced supermarket will definitely be part of the plan.

“Absolutely,” was the answer to their questions about such a store being a certain part of the plan for the proposed new 12-story development bounded by Canal Street, the existing Terra Cotta Building, Valenti Way, Beverly Street, North Washington Street and New Chardon Street.

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Abby Goldenfarb of Trinity One Canal LLC explained the project will have 320 residential units, 21,300 square feet of retail use where the supermarket will be situated and parking spaces on the second and third levels.

Morever, she said the project will not go forward without a supermarket and described the various successful projects Trinity One has completed including the Avenir condominium complex in Boston in 2009; the Carruth with condominiums and ground-floor neighborhood retail establishments in Dorchester in 2008; and a Shaw’s in Dorchester that was completed in 2003.

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“We’re hoping to bring the community process to an end and get going on this project,” Goldenfarb said. “Building on this property will bring more residents to the Bullfinch neighborhood, it will be a sustainable development and will generate tax revenue and jobs.”

Bill Tuttle who is the director of the real estate department for the Department of Transportation, said  the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Zoning Board of Appeals must next grant their approval for the project. The groups will meet on Aug. 9 and Aug. 21, respectively. The BRA will accept comments from the public until July 31.

“We’ve laid the groundwork for development,” said Tuttle. “We’re working on a terms of condition work sheet. The exact language has not been determined but we require that there be a supermarket.”

He said that the store must be at least 20,000 square feet with a lease of 20 years. The deadline for when the lease would be signed is March 1, 2013 and construction would likely begin a few months after with a completion time of approximately two years.

Should a different supermarket open and be operating in the immediate area, Tuttle explained the developer’s commitment to provide a supermarket would be released.

Residents also expressed pleasure with the design of the complex after architect Nancy Ludwig of ICON Architecture Inc. described the structure and its operative parts, and particularly way the electrical substation will be incorporated into the complex and its area beautified with a glass façade for the ground floor where the supermarket will be located.

Bob O’Brien, Executive Director of the Downtown North Association and co-chair the Supermarket Committee, said this is the project to be built in this area and, all along, the first priority of the community was to get a supermarket in one of the complexes.

The BRA process has taken several months but has arrived at a successful conclusion, said Geoffrey Lewis.

“We are excited to see the project moving forward, largely because of the supermarket (component),” he said. “The BRA will require a supermarket and the project cannot go through without BRA approval.”

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