ZBA Approves Hotel Development on Cross Street

A proposal by William Caulder’s 6M Development to build a hotel at 40-42 Cross Street in the North End has been approved by the City of Boston Zoning Board of Appeal (ZBA).

The project also received the go-ahead from the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) that approved the hotel development before the ZBA hearing.

Plans for the five-story, 134 room, boutique hotel, which abuts Morton Street and Cutillo Park, has no parking, restaurants, one on the ground floor and another on the roof.

Opponents claim the project is too large for the area and it would cause traffic, parking and noise problems.

Stillman Street residents said the new hotel, just 8-12 feet from their windows, “would create privacy issues that would force them to move out of their homes”.

Both neighborhood groups, NEWRA and NEWNC oppose the project for numerous reasons before BPDA gave approval.

They, along with other residents attempted to postpone the ZBA hearing until more community input was given before any final decision was made.

The groups and abutters claim the “developer did not hold the required community meetings during the process”.

When residents learned that the ZBA hearing would not be postponed, they staged a public rally at the corner of Cross and Salem Streets to draw attention to their endeavor.

City Council Gabriella Coletta and State Representative Aaron Michlewitz (districts include the North End) endorse the project.

Coletta said, “She doesn’t believe the project is terrible and would not have a negative impact on the community.”

State Senator Lydia Edwards whose district also includes the North End opposed the project.

The Boston Transportation Department expressed concerns relating to the lack of parking, the 70-foot distance between the hotel drop-off area and its entrance, specifically how it would be on elderly, handicapped people and parents with children in strollers.

Original plans for the project showed a drop-off area in front of the hotel entrance, but the developer changed it on the insistence of the BPDA in an attempt to turn the area in front of the hotel into more of a pedestrian friendly area.

When the process to develop a hotel in the North End began, reportedly, the developer indicated that a funding donation would be given for the renovations of the adjacent Cutillo Park.

The amount of funding has not officially been released.