Soil Contamination Stalled Stonybrook Project

In late 2011, developers pulled back a deal to develop a seemingly unused parcel of land off of Washington and McBride streets. On Wednesday night, they told the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood council why:

The soil underneath the property is severely contaminated.

David Fulton, chief operating officer for SSG Development, the commercial developer for the property, said tests revealed solvents such as industrial cleaners, paint thinners and other chemicals were “literally dumped right into the ground.”

The highest concentration of contaminants is located between McBride and Burnett streets near the Southwest Corridor Park bike path, Fulton said.

David Goldman, principal at New Boston Ventures, the residential developer for the property, said the land underneath the old Flanagan & Seaton used auto dealership warehouse was used as a dumping ground for industrial cleaners and other chemicals possibly in the 1940s.

“There’s an extraordinarily serious environmental problem,” he said.

Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council chair Benjamin Day asked Fulton what sort of health risks the situation might pose. Fulton did not go into specifics, but said: “Honestly it could be very serious.”

The Williams family, which owns the property, alerted the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, which now must decide on next steps for the area. Fulton said his team has experience remediating the soil and could clean up the contamination if the department's recommended steps are within their budget for the redevelopment of the site.

Cleanup would entail “taking all existing structures down…literally pulling those soils out of the ground, putting them on a train and sending them out of Jamaica Plain,” Fulton said.

Fulton said it is not known which previous property owner is responsible for the contamination, but that the problem was unbeknownst to the Williams family at the time of its discovery.

Developers seek to build a three-building complex at 3521-3529 Washington St. with residential, retail and storage components. The residential building would have 36 one, two and three bedroom units. The area would also include a 70-space parking lot, new landscaping and additional green space. In total, the site would have 42 residential units, with 15 percent being deemed affordable housing, according to Goldman.

Aside from the contamination, area abutters and neighbors have argued there are too many parking spaces for a location so close to two MBTA T stops and several bus lines. Also, one citizen present at the Wednesday night meeting said there is not a sufficient amount of designated affordable housing as the project stands.

Goldman said developers have been working with abutters – formally organized as the Stonybrook Neighborhood Association – on all aspects of the site, but resolving the contamination issue must come first.

“Whether this development happens or not, this needs to be addressed,” he said.