Arlington Redevelopment Board Approves Amended Permit for Downtown Mixed-Use Project

ARLINGTON — June 15, 2026 — Arlington Redevelopment Board approves amended special permit for downtown mixed-use project on Massachusetts Avenue. The board voted 5-0 Monday to modify the original 2023 special permit for the mixed-use development at 190 and 192-200 Massachusetts Avenue, with developer John Murphy of Real Estate Strategies and project architect David Barsky presenting changes including a reduction in underground parking drive aisle width from 24 feet to 22 feet — necessitated by a previously unknown asbestos pipe on the Lake Street side — and an increase in compact parking spaces from five to eight. The board added special conditions requiring a kitchen exhaust chase for potential restaurant uses, restoration of fourth-floor roof terraces omitted from updated drawings, and selection of a fifth affordable unit sized to meet state EOHLC approval requirements after proposed Unit 203 came in at 511 square feet, well below the 700-square-foot minimum. "The building is really the same building, only more tightened up and more locked in now," architect David Barsky said. The meeting was also the final appearance of longtime member Rachel Zemberry, with staff announcing that candidate Michelle Shortsleve is set to go before the Select Board for confirmation on June 22.