The development at 185 Corey Rd. isn’t exactly unique.

The biggest thing going for it – if you summarize all the positive comments on the project made during the Boston Planning Department Article 80 meeting on the project last week – is that its 34 proposed units are condominiums.

Homeownership is a touchy subject in the Allston and Brighton neighborhoods, as many projects originally proposed as condos have been changed to apartments after the projects were vetted by the community through the Article 80 process.

The Notice of Project Change (NPC) process does have some notification and sometimes has a public meeting attached to it, but it’s not required. It did happen when City Realty had an NPC three separate times on its Allston Square project; however, there was not any public process for the company to finally auction off two properties within the development project, again after the development was approved.

So residents at the 185 Corey Rd. meeting were, possibly understandably, a bit touchy, about promises to “try” to keep the project condominiums.

“I think this is a good idea, and there needs to be language in the proposal that guarantees both that this will stay condos and not turn into rentals, and that it be done with union labor,” said resident Liam Lofgren. “I think doing both of those will ingratiate you with this community.”

Resident Brendan Donovan said he sees similar developments all across Corey Road that focused on the two-bedroom aspect of the development.

“I could hurl a football and hit three similar buildings that are offering the exact same thing, shoe-box-sized condos for $1.5 million and they’re sitting there completely empty, because they’re functionless,” he said. “Housing is great. You want to bring families in? This is a lovely neighborhood to bring families into… You should bring families in, but you’re getting them in this over-developed space. My fear is if you build this thing it’s going to be a ghost town.”

Resident Jeffrey Houben said that doesn’t allow for families to move in, as two children apparently can’t share a bedroom.

“It’s not really good for families, they might have a son and a daughter... they need two bedrooms,” he said.

“Two bedrooms aren’t a family unit,” Donovan said.

Donovan directly asked the Planning Department and the developer about the financial viability of the project.

“The city and the mayor have really pushed the Planning Department to prioritize housing,” said Boston Planning Department Project Manager Zoe Duvall.

Donovan interupted Duvall.

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“These things are identical and they’re sitting there empty, they’re ghost towns,” he said.

Developer Brendan Marshall then asked Duvall if he could answer, and in doing so, interrupted Donovan.

“I now live in Brighton with six children, and I would not be able to live in a two-bedroom with six children,” he said. “That’s for sure. It would be too small. But a lot of my friends and colleagues who got married around the same time, found that their entry to the community was to get into a two-bedroom, and they started their family that way, and it was a way to build wealth.”

Marshall said while he wants to have condos, he can’t promise them, even as he used the apartment complexes around the area as an example of why his project’s condos will succeed.

“I would also say respectfully the other units you’re seeing in the area are rentals and not ownership,” he said. “We’re giving people the chance to take advantage of the fact that there’s asset appreciation in Brighton… The demographics support what we’re doing and show there’s a demand for these types of units in this location. But it’s my gamble, and I’m putting a lot of money on the line to do this.”

Resident Jerry Zhou said he and his family live in one of those “ghost towns” just up the street.

“I do support the construction of new housing, even these two-bedroom units,” he said. “I know these are probably not units that I will be looking at when I look at buying a home in this neighborhood, because it will be out of my price range. But the construction of these units means that people who otherwise would be buying more affordable units would have these instead. More supply is a good thing, we need more housing.”

Zhou was referencing the theory that increasing housing options at all levels, even luxury housing, frees up housing further down the line because scarcity determines whether a house is affordable rather than its overall age, condition or amenities – https://gvimes.link/hsngaff

Zhou added that he’s not exactly thrilled about his home being called a ghost town.

“My neighbors are incredible, and I really feel discouraged when I hear people say we’re building these new buildings and they’re not for the community,” he said. “I’m a part of the community. I participate in local public meetings, I communicate in community groups, I volunteer, I participate in cleanups in the neighborhood, and I feel disrespected when people say residents like myself are not members of the community. I want to live here my whole life. I want this community to be a community where everyone can live in and afford to live in, and the way we do that is by building more housing and no restricting where we build housing.”

The comment period for this project ends on Aug. 11. For more information and to leave a comment, go to https://gvimes.link/185cryrd