Scrooge seemed to be the co-host of the Dec. 16 virtual Jamaica Plain Housing Committee (JPHC) at which developer Marc Kaplan explained why he needed to adjust the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) affordability agreement for the proposal at 3326 Washington St. that he bought fully permitted in July 2024.

For 90 minutes he was lectured, hectored, second-guessed and called greedy and disrespectful.

Kaplan may have been surprised but his attorney Jeff Drago has a chest full of purple hearts from contentious Jamaica Plain meetings when he represented City Realty seven and eight years ago.

3326 Washington St. is a planned, five-story, 43-small-unit apartment building first proposed and designed by Primary in 2019.

Drago explained how a lot had changed since November 2020 when the project and its affordability agreement had been approved by the then BPDA and then passed by the zoning board in March 2021.

“Banks are difficult to borrow from,” Drago said. “Interest rates have changed.”

Drago said there are two ways to save money: through design changes to save on construction costs and changes in the affordability agreement.

“The affordable unit number is still at 10 units, 23 percent, that hasn’t changed,” Drago said. “What has changed is the buy out of four units and use of Section 8 vouchers for the rest.”

Other changes Drago said are the bureaucracy. “There are now two hoops to get approval,” he said “The BPDA reviews the design, the mayor’s Office of Housing reviews the affordability. They flat out refused to change the area median income (AMI). They asked that we come to the JP housing committee.”

The architect-of-record is Spaulding-Tougias, and Chris Spaulding described the design changes: smaller windows from nine feet down to six, redesign of the first-floor lobby space, and change the façade materials to fiber-cement board.

Kaplan said in 2019 when the project was first proposed interest rates and construction costs were less.

“Now interest rates are up 3.5 percent to 5 percent and construction costs are up 20 percent,” he said.

“We’ve saved $1 million on construction with design changes but it’s not enough to finance the property with the minimum requirements set by the banks.”

“What we would like to do,” Kaplan said. “is to make four units at 30 percent AMI and make them voucher units; three would be purchased back at $300,000 each to the affordable housing trust fund.”

“The $300,000 is set by the city,” Kaplan said. “No negotiation there. No alternatives. The buy-out will cost $900,000 which we will borrow at $61,000 a year interest.”

“We have no choice; we will not get funding if we don’t make changes,” Kaplan said. “We’re not unique; many properties across the city are the same as we are, struggling.”

“We can get the financing if we meet the funding ratio required,” he said. “We’re excited to do this project. It will become a great project in seven-to-ten years.”

Housing committee chair Danielle Summer Kieta seemingly had invited several veterans of the Plan JP/Rox and 3200 Washington St. conflicts eight-to-ten years ago, one of whom was Lisa Thompson of Forest Hills Street.

“This is not acceptable,” she said. “You should not have bought the property if you could not afford to develop the project. Vote against this.”

Another caller named Weezie had a solution. “Maybe this doesn’t have to be built,” she said.

A caller named George, also a veteran of Plan JP Rox and 3200 Washington, spent over 10 minutes analyzing the affordability ratio and the associated rent structure arguing that these numbers were false.

Helen Matthews, from City Life/Vida Urbana, is a Plan JP Rox veteran and she repeated her long list of people she claimed had been evicted over the years. “This is a sad story. Vote no and urge the BPDA not to vote these changes,” she said.

Pam Bender is a committee member. “The move to vouchers – the taxpayers are going to pay for this,” she said. “This is unacceptable. You are not going to add affordability.”

Willie Mitchell is also a committee member. “This is confusing. Something is not being said. I’m tired of all this,” he said. “Developers do whichever they can to increase the bottom line. Same story. Same line.”

Purple Reign is vice chair of the committee. “I want to believe you,” she said, “but I’m sick and tired of the 1 percent coming in and not paying their fair share. I’m a penny-aire, not a billionaire. It took me seven years to get out of a shelter… I’m just upset.” Reign ended her remarks by saying “I’m going to land my plane now.”

Caliga is a committee member and repeated her oft-stated beliefs. “Let me tell you this,” she said, “there is a housing crisis because of greed. Developers want fat pockets, it’s all greed. We need less housing and more greenspace.”

Benjie Mauer is another Plan JP/Rox veteran. “This is highly exotic,” he said. “If you can’t do it, you shouldn’t have bought it. Sell it to the JPNDC (Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation), let them figure it out.”

Renee Stacy Welch of Beethoven Street revved up her B-52. “This is a level of gentrification,” she said. “My Black and Brown friends can’t even live here. You’re decimating the culture of the community. You’re pushing out Black and Brown people.” She continued, “You come in and scream costs whatever. You’re still getting paid.”

“I have banking experience. Twenty years. I’ve handled $10 million loans. You can do better.” Welch continued, “This is by design. You’re selling us out for financial gain. You’re very disrespectful. Don’t come to us with changes. You got caught.”

Mitchell made a motion to deny. “Come back in January,” he said. “This is not acceptable right now.”

The motion was passed unanimously with one abstention.

“I hear everything you say,” Kaplan said. “This is economic reality. We have to generate more income to get financing or it doesn’t get built. “I don’t know what happens next,” he said.