In June 2025, Alpine Property Group, a Needham developer, paid $925,000 for a vacant three-family house on a lot of about 11,000 square feet at 4301 Washington Street in Roslindale. That is according to Universal Hub's report, which drew on Suffolk County Registry of Deeds records. On July 16, 2026, the Boston Planning & Development Agency board approved a four-story building with 16 homeownership units on that lot. Divide the purchase price by the approved units and you get roughly $58,000 of land cost per future home.
That math is new in Roslindale. It is possible because the city rezoned Roslindale Square under its Squares + Streets program, and the effect is narrow. The rezoning adds condos and apartment buildings along Washington Street. It leaves the single-family market alone. Year-to-date sales through September 2026 already show the two property types moving at different speeds.
What Changed on June 2, 2025
The BPDA board adopted the Roslindale Square Small Area Plan on February 13, 2025. The Boston Zoning Commission adopted the zoning amendments on May 21, 2025, and they took effect June 2, 2025, according to the Boston Planning Department's Roslindale Square page.
Before the rezoning, most of the Square had a 35-foot height limit. Universal Hub's coverage of the Zoning Commission vote reported that the new rules allow up to seven stories on the blocks around Adams Park, up Washington Street toward Healy Field, and along parts of Poplar Street. The stretch from the commuter-rail station down South Street can go higher. The city's adopted zoning guide sets out the districts:
- S0: up to 4 stories and 14 homes
- S1: up to 4 stories
- S2: up to 5 stories
- S4: up to 7 stories
- S5: up to 145 feet
At the hearing, Abdul-Razak Zachariah, who led the rezoning for the Planning Department, said the old zoning was mostly "biased against multifamily" development, meaning buildings with four or more units. He also said the new rules let owners of existing buildings make changes without going through a zoning appeal. Changes larger than 300 square feet still require a public explanation. The city says areas farther out along the named corridors were left for future planning. The zoning targets multifamily buildings near the Square. The single-family side streets beyond the mapped area are outside it.
Four Washington Street Filings, Mostly Condos and Apartments
Sixteen months after the zoning took effect, the filings that followed are concentrated on one corridor:
| Address | Developer | Building | Units | Parking | Latest milestone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4259–4267 Washington St | B'nai B'rith Housing | Six stories, ground-floor retail | 41 affordable senior rentals | None | Board approval, Dec. 11, 2025 |
| 4487 Washington St, at Cornell | Jon Wardwell | Five stories, roof deck | 28 condos | 12 basement spaces | Board approval, Apr. 16, 2026 |
| 4301 Washington St | Alpine Property Group | Four stories | 16 homeownership units | 7 spaces | Board approval, July 16, 2026 |
| 3841 Washington St, near Forest Hills | Not identified in filings reviewed | Seven stories, 5,652 sq ft commercial | 165 rentals | 33 garage spaces | Scoping determination, Sept. 15, 2026 |
The B'nai B'rith project, on the former Bank of America lot, was the first proposal locally reported under the new zoning. Universal Hub described it as housing for seniors at or below 60% of area median income, with 21 bicycle spaces and no car parking. The 3841 Washington project sits along the corridor near Forest Hills Station. It was filed in December 2025, and the July 2026 BPDA board agenda listed 28 income-restricted units and five voucher units.
For a buyer, the two ownership projects matter most. Wardwell's 4487 Washington plan calls for 16 one-bedroom and 12 two-bedroom condos. Four or five would be sold as affordable to households earning 80% to 100% of area median income. Universal Hub also reported that Wardwell was already building an eight-unit condo building across Cornell Street, and that he had converted a former three-family at 4459 Washington, at Wellsmere Road, into eight condos. He bought the 4487 parcel, an 11,000-square-foot lot with a single-family house, for $2.75 million in May 2024. That was a year before the new zoning took effect. Spread across 28 approved condos, the price comes to about $98,000 per unit.
Alpine's 4301 Washington project splits its 16 units evenly between two- and three-bedroom layouts. Universal Hub's March 2026 report called it an apartment building. The later July 2026 BPDA board notice lists 16 homeownership units with two income-restricted units. In an April 2026 comment letter, the advocacy group WalkUP Roslindale counted three affordable units. The official record is the more recent source, and it points to ownership.
The Sales Data Already Shows Two Markets
Count the ownership units approved near the Square and you get 44 between 4487 and 4301 Washington, before Wardwell's eight-unit building and the 4459 conversion. Through the first nine months of 2026, Roslindale recorded 93 condo closings, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors' September 2026 Local Market Update. So the two approved buildings alone equal close to half of a year's condo sales to date. None of them has reached the resale market yet.
The condo market already has more room than the single-family market. Year-to-date figures through September 2026:
| Metric, Jan.–Sept. 2026 | Single-family | Condo |
|---|---|---|
| Closed sales | 61, up 24.5% | 93, up 31.0% |
| Median sale price | $860,000, up 4.1% | $610,000, down 1.6% |
| Percent of original list price received | 104.3% | 99.6% |
| Cumulative days on market | 26, down 25.7% | 37, flat |
| New listings | 87 | 171 |
| Months of supply, September | 1.7 | 3.8 |
Single-family buyers paid above the original asking price on average, and homes sold faster than in 2025. Condo buyers paid slightly below the original asking price, waited the same 37 days as last year, and saw the median ease a little. In September 2026, 39 condos were listed for sale, against 13 single-family homes. The single-month September medians, $871,250 for houses and $625,000 for condos, each rest on five sales. MAR's report warns that one month's activity "can sometimes look extreme due to small sample size," so the year-to-date figures above are more reliable.
None of these projects has delivered units, so the rezoning did not cause the condo cushion. What the rezoning does is add to it. Every approved Washington Street project produces condos or rentals, and the single-family market, already at 1.7 months of supply, has no comparable pipeline. Over the next few years, that gives condo buyers near the Square more options, while single-family buyers keep competing for the same limited stock of houses.
The Debate Shaped What Got Built
The plan drew support and opposition. When the BPDA adopted it, Boston.com reported that WalkUP Roslindale president Ben Bruno called it an "exciting, long-overdue vision." Brendan Fogarty, then interim executive director of Roslindale Village Main Street, endorsed its focus on mixed-income housing, transportation, and public space. At the May 2025 Zoning Commission hearing, Universal Hub reported that opponents objected to the heights allowed near the station. They also called the outreach rushed and hard for non-English speakers to join, and argued that new lots would leave too little green space. City Councilor Enrique Pepén spoke in favor.
The projects so far fit that compromise. The tallest approvals sit on Washington Street, and the Taft Hill municipal lot keeps its parking and open-plaza role instead of being rezoned for housing. WalkUP Roslindale described the reform as eliminating off-street parking minimums. The filed parking ratios bear that out. The approved projects range from no spaces for 41 units to 12 spaces for 28 condos.
Before Making an Offer Near the Square
If you are buying near the Square, especially a condo on or near Washington Street, three pieces of public information belong in your pricing:
- The BPDA project pages for nearby addresses. Each filing lists unit count, height, parking, and milestones. The 4487 Washington and 4259–4267 Washington pages show how a project moves from filing to board approval.
- Which district your block falls in. The city's Roslindale Square page links the adopted map. A three-family next door in an S4 district has different redevelopment potential than one outside the mapped area.
- Competing new construction. A resale condo listed in 2027 may compete with new units at 4487 or 4301 Washington. Unit mix tells you where that competition lands. Wardwell's building leans toward one-bedrooms, and Alpine's is all two- and three-bedrooms.
For single-family buyers, the zoning map matters less than the September 2026 count of 13 homes for sale.
FAQ
Is 4301 Washington Street going to be rentals or condos? The July 2026 BPDA board record describes 16 homeownership units, and the project page lists board approval on July 16, 2026. That is more recent than the March 2026 news report that called the project apartments.
Does the rezoning cover all of Roslindale? No. The mapped area centers on Adams Park and includes Washington Street north and south, Cummins Highway and Belgrade Avenue, areas north of the Roslindale Village station, and Firth Road and Florence Street.
Was 4487 Washington bought because of the rezoning? The $2.75 million purchase closed in May 2024, about a year before the new zoning took effect on June 2, 2025.
If you are weighing a condo near Roslindale Square against the approved buildings on Washington Street, or deciding what a three-family inside the rezoned blocks is worth, Maxfield & Company Real Estate can work through the filings, the district map, and the year-to-date numbers with you. Get in touch.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
