Neighbors often go to great lengths to oppose, reduce or delay housing in Jamaica Plain (or throughout the Greater Boston Metro, for that matter) – height, traffic, shadows, parking, trees and views are the usual obstacles thrown up.

An hour is not unusual to debate a curb cut that would remove a coveted street parking space, where a shadow may lie, or why three stories would be reprehensible when two-and-a-half are what’s in the Boston Zoning Code.

Lately the ambiguous quality of life issue has emerged, and historic preservation has been used as an excuse to oppose, delay, or mitigate new housing; none more successfully than 19 Kenton Rd.

Neighbors became alarmed when Joseph Federico proposed on Aug. 24, 2024 to raze a circa 1870 farmhouse at 19 Kenton Rd. and replace it with eight townhouses (later reduced to six).

They went to the unusual length of petitioning the Boston Landmarks Commission for landmark designation in March 2025, which was approved in August, 2025. Jamaica Plain Zoning Committee (JPZC) member Kendra Halliwell expressed her dismay at the Jan. 8, 2025 zoning committee, “Eight months to build six townhouses?” she asked and, noting the pending landmark petition, added, “This is not an historic district.”

The house remains empty with no progress in sight to the frustration of the neighbors.

Historic preservation has also taken on a life if its own at 3326 Washington St.

On June 6, 2019 the original developers, Primary, presented a plan to demolish the old JP Auto Glass at 3326 Washington St. and build a five-story, balconied, 43-unit apartment house.

Historic preservationists immediately took a stand: they wanted to preserve what was originally a two-story, gabled schoolhouse built in 1851when Jamaica Plain was a separate municipality.

Historic Boston Inc. (HBI), which rarely gets agitated, rang the alarm bell in a post on June 6, 2019.

“The Turnpike Schoolhouse constructed in 1851 played a significant role in the history of working class neighborhoods in the JP/Rox corridor.”

“That history is now threatened by the latest wave of development. We ask you to join us to communicate your support to preserve the historic structure… at tonight’s meeting.”

Jenny Nathans, an architectural historian from Meehan Street, wrote about the history of Green Street in the April 15, 2019 HBI blog.

She came to the Nov 29., 2019, then Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) Article 80 meeting saying she represented the Friends of the Turnpike Schoolhouse.

Nathans read a statement with an ultimatum: she wanted Primary to develop “a well-designed website of the history of the site” and fund national register nomination.

Primary went one better: the company proposed at the ground-level lobby a museum that would tell the story of the schoolhouse, the old turnpike and the immigrant community.

But after a long and very contentious public process exacerbated by the pandemic, Primary realized after three years that 3326 Washington St. was no longer financially feasible and put the fully permitted and designed building up for sale.

Marc Kaplan of Sanford Homes in Wellesley bought the property on August 2024 for $2.1 million.

Among an array of other BPDA-signed agreements, Kaplan inherited a commitment to contribute $5,000 to HBI for a national register nomination of the schoolhouse neighborhood.

This commitment was little publicly known until Sue Pranger gave a brief presentation at the Aug. 31, 2026 virtual Egleston Square Neighborhood Association (ESNA) meeting.

Pranger and others have apparently been very busy in the past year on the national register nomination of the what they call the ‘Green Street East Historic District’.

Pranger showed on the screenshare a full website of the district history, which she said was funded by the Legacy Fund: wwwgreenstreetjp.org.

Legacy Fund, established in 2018, is focused on historic preservation and made its first grants in 2024.

Pranger talked with The Bulletin the next day and went into more detail.

She said the group calling themselves the Friends of Historic Green Street (FHGS) received $19,500 from the Legacy Fund.

“Because we’re not tax exempt, the Boston Preservation Alliance is our fiscal partner,” Pranger said.

“The proposed Green Street national register district includes both sides of Green Street from Brookside to Greenley Place [about 10 buildings].”

FHGS hired preservation consultant Eric Dray to “research the history and prepare the nomination required by the Massachusetts Historical Commission.”

Advertisement

“HBI has an agreement with the FHGS to hold [the $5000 from 3326 Washington St.],” Pranger said, “to use primarily to pay a preservation consultant to do the research and submit the nomination.”

Funds were also used “...for copying to notify all property owners of the potential designation. We’ve been working with Marc [Kaplan] to coordinate the documentation required for 3326. FHGS has offered to host the required exhibit on our website rather than have Marc do a stand-alone exhibit.”

City Realty contributed $10,000 as mitigation for 197- 201 Green St., a four-story, 23-unit apartment house completed in 2022; it replaced a circa 1854 end-wall house with side veranda documented by Nathans in her 2019 HBI study.

“We used $7,500 [of City Realty funds] to pay the consultant for the initial documentation and submission to determine if the district was eligible. It was,” Pranger said.

“The remaining $2,500 has been transferred to BPA with the Legacy grant.”

The Green Street East Historic District nomination – linked on the website – is a 43-page, illustrated document written by Dray and submitted in October 2025.

The MHC hearing on the nomination was scheduled virtually on Sept. 9.

“We anticipate using the $5,000 from 3326 Washington St. for ongoing website maintenance and research and possible signage,” Pranger said, adding “We may pay Jenny for future research if funds remain.”

3326 Washington St. was delayed six months over an often emotional debate on alterations to the inherited affordability agreement, but Kaplan has begun some demolition. The affordability acolytes have moved on, and the preservationists have moved in.

Kaplan talked about this with The Bulletin over the weekend.

“The $5,000 commitment to HBI will be paid once a building permit has been issued,” he said.

“So far the existing conditions of the building have been documented by Chris Drew of 868 Architects. Our next step is for Chris to create architectural elevations re-imagining what the original building may have looked like,” Kaplan said.

“Chris and I will create a first draft. My plan is to create an AI rendering depicting the original building.”

“So far the process has been collaborative and enjoyable, preserving the past,” Kaplan said.

At the other end of Egleston Square, Carolyn Royce and others are trying a different preservation approach with 52 Walnut Park.

As reported by The Bulletin in March, Amid Elhoury is proposing the raze the circa 1873 mansard roof house and build a 14-unit, four-story apartment house.

Royce told The Bulletin last week, “We’ve asked for some commitments [from Elhoury] and he seemed open to them, but nothing firmed up.”

Royce said the commitments include:

• Salvage exterior architectural features and reinstall on the new building.

• Fund documentation of the building before demolition, and research the history for the JP Historical Society website.

• Historical plaque on the new building.