The Washington Street corridor continues to be the fulcrum of Jamaica Plain as light industry/auto-related business makes way for multi-family housing,

Some progress has been made but the hallmark of 2025 is that progress has been slowed.

Doyle’s development by Watermark faced some financial problems with its three-building development at Williams, Washington and Gartland streets, an ongoing project since October 2020.

The six-unit site at 69 Williams St. and 60 Williams St. with seven condominiums are completed and some have been sold.

But financial issues have left a $5 million gap due to a lengthy hold-up from the Boston Transportation Department on parking, construction costs and interest rates.

Watermark proposed to offset these costs with two cash equivalents to JPNDC for offsite units.

Watermark met heavy resistance to this change at the Oct. 28 Stonybrook Neighborhood Association (SNA) meeting, but the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) Board was more sympathetic at its Dec. 9 meeting.

Andrew Feldman of Mayors Office of Housing explained why the affordable housing agreement signed on June 28, 2023 had to be changed.

The BPDA voted in favor and board member Matt O’Mally added, “This is extremely rare to change an affordability agreement.”

“But we do recognize this is a local developer. It’s a good project. I highly support this,” he said.

A new affordability agreement will be drafted by the MOH.

Bob Harrington of BMS Paper, after a long and arduous five-year process, finally received zoning approval on June 3, 2025 for his six-story residences and new restaurant, bakery, grocery and paper products building at 3390 Washington St.

But according to Harrington in a recent phone call with The Bulletin: “It’s on hold. Dead in the water.”

The reasons are the same Watermark is facing: material costs and rising interest rates. Harrington had to reduce the original unit number from 180 to 84 in large part due to neighbor complaints about density.

But the affordable number – 23 percent – which Harrington (like Watermark) is self-funding “don’t work out financially,” he said.

“Investors walked away from the restaurant. They could see the drug activity and the happy people around at the front of the Pine Street building,” Harrington said. “It’s a show.”

“Needles everywhere. I had to close my outdoor deli patio. Pine Street people were sitting there.”

“Interests rates have gone up,” Harrington said. “I’ve talked to Cambridge Savings, ten banks. No one wants to invest in the city limits. They invest in the suburbs. They see rent control coming along.”

“People double park. Nobody enforces traffic laws. I can’t get my trucks out.”

“I’ve survived blizzards, pandemic but I can’t survive Wu,” Harrington said, “after 45 years.”

Marc Kaplan of Eldev Washington LLC is slowly beginning demolition of 3326 Washington St. for a project he bought fully designed and permitted for $2.75 million. in July 2024.

Number 3326 is a five-story, 43-unit small apartment development that the BPDA approved with 10 affordable units at 70 percent area median income (AMI).

But Kaplan is running into the same problems as Watermark and Harrington, high interest rates, affordable financial requirements, and constructions costs.

On Oct. 23,2025 Kaplan submitted a “notice of modifications to the affordability program” to the BPDA because of “lending requirements and high construction costs.”

Kaplan proposed instead to offer four apartments as Section 8 vouchers and buy out three through the city’s cash-out option.

As reported by The Bulletin, Kaplan’s plan met fierce rejection at the Dec. 16 Jamaica Plain Housing Committee (JPHC) which voted unanimous opposition.

After a two-hour hearing, the committee voted unanimously to oppose his plan and told him to come back in January with a new one.

“I don’t know what happens next,” Kaplan said after the vote.

In 2021 Jigar Patel proposed a four-story, 29-unit building to replace the Stanley tow lot at 3409 Washington St. that received zoning approval on Nov. 1, 2022.

Patel would self-finance six apartments at below-market rents.

The Bulletin reported on good authority in September that Patel had sold the planned and permitted project but showing how fluid development can be, Patel’s company S+H management did not go through with the sale.

Instead, Patel’s attorney Matt Keiffer asked for and received a one-year extension at the Dec. 9 Boston Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) hearing.

“My client is looking for financing,” Kieffer later told The Bulletin. “He hopes to start construction in 2026.”

RODE is the architect which designed two other buildings on Washington Street, The Lyndia and 3200.

There are two Washington Street developments likely to get started in 2026, both of which received unusually warm approval by the SNA.

3458 Washington St. is the old Keegan’s garage property.

Adam Burns of Boston Pinnacle Properties got zoning approval on July 8, 2025 for his five-story, 36-unit building at the corner of Kenton Road,

Designed by Paul Sima of Balance Architects, the $8 million project is reported to be completed in two years.

Burns is experienced; he is a pioneer in the nascent office-to-residential conversion program. In July 2025 Mayor Wu was at the construction start of his 77-unit 263 Summer St. project.

Joe Hassell of Boston Real Estate Capital proposes two buildings at 3340-3440 Washington St. totaling 230 units to replace Hatoffs gas station and Acme Auto Body.

The project at 3340 Washington St. is five stories with 100 units and 3440 is six stories with 130 units. The architect is Marc Sullivan of Choo and Company.

Hassell is self-financing 46 affordable units between 50-60 percent AMI.

Hassel received warm approval from the SNA and is scheduled for the ZBA on Jan. 13, 2026.

Forest Hills does not seem to get much love; plagued by traffic jams, a rutted road bed, backed up MBTA buses, irregular traffic lights, it was also the scene of a tragedy when Greg Inghram was struck and killed by an MBTA bus in October 2024.

A month later, the former Chief of Streets Jascha Franklin Hodge came before the nascent Forest Hills Neighborhood Association and promised a shopping list of improvements for Forest Hills Square, none of which have happened.

In the middle of this Vince O’Neill came to the neighborhood in a virtual call in October 2024 with his plans for a six-story, 35-unit apartment house at 3718-3724 Washington St. at the corner of Tower Street.

Ironically this is opposite the location of Inghram’s death where the buses exit and the site of the city’s unmet safety promises; none by the MBTA either.

The six-story building would replace Forest Hills Dental, Forest Hills Check Cashing and Forest Hills Pizza.

O’Neill was well received then and well received again on Aug. 28 2025 at an in-person presentation to the FHNA.

O’Neill seems to be moving carefully; he has not yet filed a project notification with the Boston Planning Department.

In the meantime, Forest Hills hopes for the promised Forest Hills street improvements from Nick Gove, the new –albiet interim – chief of streets.

O’Neill might be waiting for them too.