It was back in November 2007 that John Keith reported that the Concord Baptist Church in the South End sold, to a condo developer (see South End’s Concord Baptist Church sold for “at least $3.3 million” … condos to follow?). It’s now January 2008, and the developer, Peter Zagorianakos, went out of his way on January 10, 2008 to meet with area residents who are concerned about Peter’s plan to convert the church into a condo development upon the congregation’s exit from the premises.
Notes from the meeting include the following:
Peter shared information about his firm and other projects they have done in the Boston area. He described their objective for the Concord Baptist Church – to preserve the structure as much as possible while making it usable as a residential building. He shared some of the challenges that they see with the building, including the large open volume of space, limited windows and floor space, structural problems with the two side walls, and some settling of the dome. He shared that they are considering taking the roof off and recreating it, building a structure within the structure made out of wood not steel and creating parking spaces accessible by a parking elevator. He expressed interest in hearing neighborhood opinion as input to his design process.
The community representatives shared some of their concerns, which included:
- Preserving the historical nature of the building exterior, including the roof
- Preserving the window lines, where windows are present
- Avoiding new windows or glass on the back (East) wall and roof by the abutters’ gardens. The issue of building code, property lines and windows was also raised.
- Addressing the framing and structural challenges of the project and also in the context of the financial viability of the project
- Fear that the building might be torn down if the project viability became questionable after purchase
- Understanding the details of some of the plans for the foundation and footings and the plans to mitigate construction impact on adjacent properties
- Understanding more about the number of units, total square footage and pricing
- Having sufficient parking places to accommodate all condo owners, or providing for alternative site parking
- Location of access to the building’s parking spaces
- Impact of the construction process on street parking
- Avoiding additional traffic flow or trash pickup impact on the alleyway
- Questions about the impact of the project on the water table
Peter Zagorianakos shared that he expects the permitting process to take 6 to 8 months, the construction drawings 3 months, and the construction process 15 months. The development is not yet listed on the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s website.
A meeting is scheduled for February 5, 2008 for Peter Zagorianakos to present conceptual plans to the Landmarks South End Commission (Room 801, Boston City Hall), currently scheduled to be covered at 6:50 PM.
Keith Munsell 
