Did the local media cover this? If so, I missed it.

Elma Lewis Partners to Breathe New Life into Roxbury with ‘Ruggles Place’

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today announced that the Boston Redevelopment Authority Board granted tentative designation to Elma Lewis Partners, LLC as redeveloper of Parcel P-3 in Roxbury ...

The project, which also includes a 1,044 space parking garage and the renovation of the existing former Whittier Street Health Center building, will greatly transform the long vacant parcel located at the corner of Tremont and Ruggles Streets in Roxbury.

Ruggles Place includes the development of four building blocks whose heights range from 4 to 20 stories. The use and gross square footages are as follows:

• 300,801 SF of office, educational, and medical space

• 60,100 SF of new space for the Whittier Street Health Center

• 47,471 SF of retail space

• 58,455 SF of space for the Museum for the National Center for Afro-American Artists

• 232,931 SF of space for arts and education programs including the renovation of 34,000 SF of the former Whittier Street Health Center Building

• 356,800 SF for the creation of 300 residential units

• A 1,200 to 1,600 seat performing arts center (included as a second phase)

• 342,331 SF for a parking garage with 1,044 spaces

This is a ridiculously large project. In some ways, it makes sense to build it big. However, perhaps it would have been a better idea to sell off pieces of the project to different developers, over time? Maybe this would have spread the risk?

The project will fill in an important stretch of land that is now barren; it will stitch together the area between the South End and Roxbury / Jamaica Plain.

Just about everyone benefits from this - neighbors, area residents, Northeastern students, taxpayers.

Yay!

Source: Mayor Selects Parcel P-3 Developer - Boston Redevelopment Authority

Map: Location of Ruggles Place