The six-story, 150-apartment building proposed for 717-721 Broadway and 10-24 Spencer Avenue needs relief from 11 of Chelsea’s zoning requirements, according to the Zoning Board of Appeals notice for the case. The board will hear it on Tuesday, November 10, at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 500 Broadway.
Until now the public notices for the project, including the Planning Board notice we reported on in October, have said little beyond the building’s height and unit count. The Zoning Board notice for case 2026-25 is the first city document to list what the building would not meet.
What the applicant is asking for
The applicant, G & G Real Estate Investment, is asking for a special permit and variances. The notice lists these requirements:
- minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks
- maximum lot coverage
- maximum number of stories and maximum height
- maximum floor area ratio and maximum density
- minimum usable open space
- required off-street parking spaces
- minimum lot size
The notice does not give the number of parking spaces, the height in feet or the number of affordable units. The full application can be read at the City Clerk’s office: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Friday, 8 a.m. to noon.
A variance is harder to win than a special permit. Under the state Zoning Act, a board can grant one only if conditions particular to the land, such as its shape or soil, would make following the bylaw a substantial hardship. The Planning Board takes up the project’s site plan a week later, on Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m. The developer held a community meeting on the site on November 1.
Also on the Zoning Board agenda
- Walmart delivery depot, 121 Webster Avenue (case 2026-14). The board continued the case to November 10 on October 13 so the property owner could hold a community meeting first. That meeting was October 29 at the library. The Planning Board’s site plan review is November 17.
- Three housing cases return. The Planning Board recommended approval on October 27 of 60 units at 320 Revere Beach Parkway, 15 apartments over a garage at 139-143 Essex Street, and a third unit at 471 Washington Avenue. All three come back to the Zoning Board for a decision.
- 212 Arlington Avenue (case 2026-24). David Lamm is asking for a special permit to use the first floor as a special event venue. The notice says the space does not meet the minimum off-street parking requirement.
The board members are Chair Janice Tatarka, Vice Chair Arthur Arsenault, Joseph Mahoney, Hugo Perdomo and Marilyn Vega-Torres, with Joan Cromwell as associate member.
Economic Development Board, the same night
The Economic Development Board meets at 6 p.m. on November 10 by Zoom. Its agenda lists the same four items of new business as its October 21 agenda: the master plan, the urban renewal plan, the redevelopment potential of the former Floramo’s site on Everett Avenue, and an EPA brownfields grant. The board is again asked to approve minutes from February and May 2025. Registration for the Zoom meeting is on the agenda posted on the city website; by phone, call 1-309-205-3325 and enter meeting ID 830 3516 1992.
Board of Health: body art rules, the same night
The Board of Health holds an in-person public hearing on Tuesday, November 10, at 5:45 p.m. at the Williams School Building, 180 Walnut Street (use the Arlington Street entrance), on proposed revisions to the city’s 2001 body art regulations, the rules that cover tattooing and piercing. The notice does not describe the changes, and no draft was posted on the board’s page as of Thursday. Comments and requests for language accommodations go to Flor Amaya at [email protected] by Friday, November 6.
How to weigh in
Zoning Board hearings are public, and anyone can speak. Written comments can be sent to the Zoning Board of Appeals, City Hall, Room 101, before the meeting. Meetings in the Council Chambers are usually shown on Chelsea Community Cable.