Q: What is happening at 920 Centre Street?
A: On February 10, the Sixteen Penny Co. filed paperwork with the City of Boston Planning Department to build a four-story condominium building at 920 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, overlooking the Arborway entrance to the Arboretum. The proposed new structure would be 52 feet tall and nearly 400 feet long and would rise immediately behind the historic Hunnewell Building and the Arboretum’s magnolia collection. The proposed complex would accommodate 85 condominium units. Sixteen Penny also proposes to convert the existing building on the property—the former convent building of the Poor Clare Nuns—into 38 senior apartments.
Q: What principles guide the Arnold Arboretum regarding potential development on its perimeter?
A: The Arboretum has two key principles in mind when we consider development projects on our perimeter:
- How will the proposed development affect the health and longevity of the Arboretum’s current and future living collections of woody plants?
- How will the development affect public views and the general integrity of Frederick Law Olmsted’s design of the Arboretum’s historical landscape?
Q: Why are these principles so important to the Arboretum and its mission?
A: The Arnold Arboretum is an outdoor museum of trees, internationally recognized as the steward of one of the most consequential collections of temperate woody plants in the world. The living collections are essential to the Arboretum’s scientific research enterprise, which is dedicated to the study of plants worldwide and, increasingly, to investigating the effects of climate change on plants, local ecosystems, and planetary health. Each tree in the collection has a unique provenance and extensive documentation tracked by staff throughout its life. Arboretum trees, in short, cannot be easily replaced—nor replaced without significant cost to our research work.
In addition to its scientific mission, the Arnold Arboretum is an urban oasis, designed by pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and carefully stewarded by Harvard and by City of Boston leaders for more than 150 years. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965, one of the defining purposes of the Arboretum, from Olmsted’s time to today, is to provide city residents the chance to be immersed in the natural world—an experience that public health literature indicates is not a luxury but an essential, measurable public health benefit. In addition, like all public green spaces, the Arboretum’s value derives from the fact that it is public—a place where every citizen, no matter their means or their background, can enjoy, in Olmsted’s words, “the pride of an owner.”
Q: Does the Arboretum support or oppose the proposed construction plan for 920 Centre Street?
A: The Arboretum opposes this development as currently proposed based on the two principles outlined above. As currently designed, the building would stand as close as 18 feet from the Arboretum property line and cast new afternoon shadows on scores of trees behind and around the Hunnewell Building. Shadow analyses conducted by an environmental engineering firm show that Arboretum trees in the shadow zone would lose 1 to 3 hours of sunlight during the growing season and more than 20% of their current sunlight at the summer solstice. These shadows would adversely affect the health of existing trees and make it harder for the Arboretum to plant and maintain new trees in the future given their greater dependence on sunlight and tendency to being shaded out by taller, mature trees.
Additionally, the 171,000 square foot building would abut and rise above one of the most sensitive locations in the Arboretum. It would be clearly visible from the Arboretum’s most open and expansive viewshed along Meadow Road, and loom over the historic Hunnewell Building and the Arborway entrance to the Arboretum, degrading for decades to come the Arboretum’s scenic value and the experience of its more than one million visitors per year.
Click here to view renderings of the scenic impacts of the proposed development from three distinct vantage points near and behind the Hunnewell Building.
Q: Does the Arboretum oppose all development around its perimeter? Are there alternative designs for 920 Centre Street that the Arboretum could support?
A: The Arboretum welcomes new neighbors and we would welcome new neighbors at 920 Centre Street. We believe there are design alternatives and impact solutions for this project that can create new housing for Boston without endangering the health of the Arboretum’s collections or devaluing Olmsted’s vision and the experience of Arboretum visitors.
Q: What else should I know about this project?
A: Under the Boston Zoning Code (Section 55-10), 920 Centre Street is located in a Conservation Protection Subdistrict (CPS). The purpose of a CPS is to “promote the most desirable use of land and siting of development in areas with special natural or scenic features in accordance with a well-considered plan, and to protect and enhance the natural and scenic resources of Jamaica Plain.” (emphasis added)
Q: Where can I find more information about this project?
A: You may find out more about this project at the project page on the Planning Department’s website. The project Fact Sheet and Project Notification Form contain many additional details. A second public meeting by the Boston Planning Department is planned for Monday, April 7 from 6:00-7:30pm. Public comments may be submitted on the project page through Friday, April 11, 2025.
For additional information, email Jon Hetman, Associate Director of External Relations and Communications.