Brandeis secures Zoning Appeals Board go-ahead to construct new dorm

On May 13, the Zoning Board of Appeals met to discuss two proposed building projects in Waltham: a new dorm at Brandeis University  and a rental conversion on a private Moody Street property.

Brandeis’s new dorm

Last April, in an interview with Brandeis campus newspaper The Justice, Vice President of Student Affairs Andrea Dine revealed the university’s then-tentative plans to construct a new residence building on the south side of campus, behind the Spingold Theatre building, where a parking lot now stands. The Justice reported that Brandeis students had previously criticized the university’s lack of on-campus residence space. 

According to attorney Michael Connors, Brandeis presented its plans to Chief Building Inspector Brian Bower on March 11. On March 17, Bower ruled that he couldn’t grant the permit on the grounds of city by-law violations, so the case moved to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Waltham’s zoning code requires that a school building the size of the new dorm needs to be at least 450 feet away from any residential property lines. Brandeis’s plans involve building significantly closer to neighboring property lines, but Connors argued to the board that the closest property lines were non-residential, and that nearby property owners hadn’t brought up  any concerns about the placement of the residence during the public meetings the university held to consult with the community.

Furthermore, Brandeis is perennially in violation of the zoning code’s parking requirements, which would nominally require the university to maintain over 11,000 parking spaces. The board has previously waived such requirements for Brandeis, on the grounds that those rules don’t take into consideration the way university students actually use the grounds. Dine has previously stated that the university plans to reallocate parking to better address student needs instead of building new parking.

Representatives of local labor and carpentry unions took the dais to voice their support of new construction at Brandeis, and applauded the university’s record of working ethically with contractors. Ward 7 Councilmember Paul Katz spoke positively of Brandeis’s efforts to involve community members in the planning process. He specified that he did not speak for City Council, but said he was “in favor, generally speaking” of the new building, and hoped it would help address strain on the housing market from students looking for a place to rent.

The board voted unanimously to approve the university’s petition, waiving the parking and location requirements.

The university currently plans to break ground for the new dorm sometime in late June, and projects it’ll be ready by 2027.

Moody Street property woes

The owner of a Moody Street rental property returned to the ZBA after eight years with further petitions for renovations.

Joy Alamgir’s rental property at 642 Moody Street appeared in a case in front of the board in 2017 for its uniquely troublesome setup. The building, which was built over a century ago, violates zoning restrictions regarding its distance from property lines and onsite parking. At the time, Alamgir successfully petitioned the board to expand the property upward to increase the size of the unusually small residential spaces.

He returned to the board Tuesday to request permission to convert the ground-floor commercial unit into a residential one. At the moment, the unit is empty, and it has been empty since he purchased it a decade ago.

The board voiced concerns about parking, and requested Alamgir and his attorney investigate local parking solutions and return with input from the building’s neighbors. The board moved to continue the case at its June 10 meeting.