Planning Board Approves Bedford Street Project, Advances Two Overlay District Applications

LEXINGTON — January 30, 2025 — Lexington Planning Board unanimously approved a mixed-use residential project at 185-189 Bedford Street and continued hearings on two larger MBTA overlay developments. The board granted major site plan approval with 52 conditions and a special permit for driveway setback relief to 185 Bedford Street LLC and 189 Bedford Street LLC, owned by the Chapa family, with peer reviewer Michael Giuliano of Eagle Brook Engineering confirming the project meets all stormwater regulations. The board also heard a first presentation on a 130-unit, five-story proposal at 7 Hartwell Avenue by Dinosaur Capital Partners, which includes 20 affordable units at 80 percent of area median income, 90 underground parking spaces, and rooftop solar panels — features that drew praise from board members, with Chair Michael Schambacher noting the project "opens up" the street-level lobby in a way the board has been seeking from overlay applicants. A 44-unit Massachusetts Avenue project by North Shore Residential Development was continued to March 5 after the team presented two competing plaza design options for a former fire access lane; the board signaled it wants the applicant to find a hybrid approach preserving both a retail dumpster and green space on the building's west side.