About the Project

Revitalization of this underutilized and vacant Property with the construction of a new, five (5) story residential building including 41 affordable rental units, onsite parking for 12 vehicles, and a community art space/work room, on a uniquely-constrained and topographically-challenged property site, in an appropriately designed building along with related improvements in landscaping, site design and pedestrian access that is consistent with the character and housing needs of the surrounding community.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Interested in what blasting means for you as a Massachusetts property owner? Download the guide HERE to learn more.

Project Communications

JANUARY 9, 2023

  • Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council meeting.

OCTOBER 11, 2022

  • Mattapan Square Main Street meeting.

NOVEMBER 3, 2022

  • Woodhaven Culbert Regis Neighborhood Association meeting.

JANUARY 26, 2023

  • Woodhaven Culbert Regis Neighborhood Association meeting.

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

  • BPDA Public Hearing meeting. View meeting video here.

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

  • Neighborhood Community meeting at Culbert St with Culbert residents and City of Boston Community Engagement Manager.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

  • BPDA Board Hearing.

October 8, 2025

  • Construction update community meeting.
  • Tree/Overgrowth Clearing is complete.
  • Soil exports are underway and anticipated to continue through Friday, 11/7.
  • Ledge Removal is currently planned to begin on Monday, 11/10. 
  • Dellbrook JKS has also been informed by McCourt Construction that Woodhaven St., which was opened this past weekend, will be shut down again this week for paving work. McCourt Construction has posted an electronic sign on Blue Hill Avenue, which will provide respective updates while McCourt Construction continues to make improvements to Cumming Highway.

November 3, 2025

November 10, 2025

  • Soil exports nearing completion, anticipated completion by end of Day on Monday 11/10.
  • The site is closed on Tuesday 11/11 for the Holiday.
  • Ledge Removal will begin starting Wednesday 11/12 with initial prep work, following by actual ledge removal starting Friday 11/14-Monday 11/17.
  • Ledge removal is anticipated to last through mid-January 2026.

November 17, 2025

  • Non-Mechanical Ledge Removal Commencing 11/17/25.
  • Simultaneous Mechanical Ledge Removal and Trucking will be ongoing through completion of the Ledge Removal activities, anticipated to last through mid-January 2026.
  • As this will be the status over the next couple of months onsite, DBJKS' next planned update will be as we near completion of the Ledge Removal activities in mid-January 2026, unless the planned construction activities change at which point in time, we will provide an update to all.

November 19, 2025

  • On Tuesday 11/18 the planned Non-Mechanical Ledge Removal Operation was placed on hold.
  • There were pre-existing National Grid infrastructure issues off site, which were discovered because of the DBJKS team and our sub-trade partners following safety protocols & procedures in place for the onsite blasting activities. National Grid is onsite working on repairs; however, the timeline for resumption and completion of the planned Non-Mechanical Ledge Removal activities are currently unknown by DBJKS.   
  • It is our understanding that National Grid will be doing these repairs this evening and potentially continuously until the repairs are complete. We will provide updates as we receive them from National Grid.
  • In the interim, DBJKS will be performing a limited scope of work Wednesday 11/19 through EOD Friday 11/21 consisting of drilling and mechanical ledge removal.
  • We will provide an update once more information on the timeframe to resume Non-Mechanical Ledge removal is known.

November 20, 2025

  • Our General Contractor, Dellbrook, has informed us that the National Grid crew will be onsite again overnight tonight (11/20) to continue working on the gas line repairs at the corner of Blue Hill Ave.

November 21, 2025

  • The National Grid crew onsite anticipates completing the gas leak repairs by early evening tonight, around 6 PM. Additionally, we are told the night crew is not expected to be onsite tonight.
  • There is a possibility that a National Grid truck may appear over the weekend to monitor and perform check-ins on the repairs to ensure they are holding and that no further leaks have been detected.
  • Depending on the weekend's outcomes, National Grid is scheduled to be on site either Monday or Tuesday next week, though we haven't been given a specific timeframe.

November 24, 2025

  • National Grid is not onsite as of this morning, Monday 11/24. DBJKS has reached out to National Grid to confirm their repair work is complete, but we have not received confirmation as of the time of this update.
  • DBJKS does, however, anticipate obtaining clearance from National Grid this week. Once that takes place, blasting operations & ledge removal are scheduled to resume starting on Monday, 12/1/25.

November 26, 2025

  • Informational response to community questions provided by Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council attached here. Additional resources are below:

December 3, 2025

  • National Grid detected another leak in the area; this leak is approx. 100’ away from our site. Map can be found here.
  • We were informed that BFD Fire Prevention they will not allow work to proceed with an active gas leak in the area. Both BFD Fire Prevention and National Grid will not escalate this leak to Emergency status to begin repairs immediately.
  • Accordingly National Grid will be submitting for a permit at the next (road opening) moratorium hearing scheduled for today 12/3/25, if successful that would allow them to dig and likely start repairs sometime the week of 12/8/25.
  • Without approval to proceed our work is still currently in a day for day delay until the repairs and clearance to resume activities is received.
  • Our General Contractor, DBJKS, was informed this morning Verizon will be onsite starting today, 9:30am, to begin work on the permanent service relocation to the homes at 1465 & 1467 Blue Hill Avenue.

  • As of Monday 12/16, DBJKS has obtained clearance and approval from National Grid and BFD Fire Prevention to resume activities onsite.
  • Equipment will be re-mobilized over the next couple of days on Thursday you will see the crews putting the Temporary Fencing, Jersey Barriers, and Pedestrian Walkways back together in accordance with the approved CMP, which has previously been moved for National Grid to complete their repairs.
  • Construction activities will resume with drilling, blasting, and ledge removal operations on Friday 12/19.

December 16, 2025

Question 7. What was done differently this time?

We have not changed the process or safety procedures. We will continue to follow the protocol outlined in Question 4.

Question 6. Who signed off on the permit?

The blasting permit is issued by BFD Fire Prevention.

Question 5. What groups will be present on site for the blasting?

Dellbrook|JKS, Genesis Utilities (site contractor), Maine Blasting and Drilling (subcontractor performing blasting operation), National Grid, BFD Fire Prevention, BDP, and the Project Geotechnical Engineer of Record are all onsite for each blast.

Question 4. What is your standard protocol for reviewing the area prior to, during, and post blasting to ensure if a leak is found we are responding or halting work?

Prior to loading the bore holes with the controlled explosives, the National Grid crew is onsite, they perform a gas “sniff” test of the area using a combustible gas leak detector tool, onsite representatives from National Grid & BFD Fire Prevention will give approval to proceed with the blast based on the findings of the test performed by National Grid. National Grid remains onsite and then conducts a post blast survey with a “sniff” test prior to us proceeding with any other work. This happens for every blast, even when multiple blasts per day occur.

Queston 3. What has been done differently since we acquired the first permit to verify this will not happen again?

Dellbrook has not made any changes as we will continue to follow the protocols outlined below in Question 4.

Question 2. What has been repaired since?

National Grid would need to respond to their work performed.

Queston 1. What has happened since the first gas leak?

The initial leak was discovered during the pre-blast survey by the National Grid crew onsite to ensure it was safe to blast (see response to Question 4 below on protocol).

Response to Community Email 12/17/25

January 16, 2026

We have received your concerns regarding the blasting and drilling process that occurred today and last week at the 1471 BHA site. In response to some of the concerns, we are taking the following measures to mitigate the impact on residents as this process continues:

  • Noise level: We take vibration and decibel readings for every blast and report to our geotechnical engineer and BFD. All blasts to date have been below the State and the city of Boston's requirements for decibel readings.
  • Dust: When blasting, we put blast mats down to help control dust/ debris, while during drilling, a vacuum and watering process is happening to reduce the dust. In addition, we will be providing additional air monitoring assessments.
  • For parking: Dellbrook has ensured no parking on Culbert by Dellbrook or Dellbrook’s sub-contractors and the parking spots that are blocked off for access during construction are accessible again by 5 PM daily.
  • We would also like to make everyone aware that we will be working this Saturday, 1/17/26, and will be off on Monday

While we do understand the inconvenience of this process, we assure you that we will continue to follow and adhere to the safety protocols that have been described in previous emails and have been approved by the required City agencies and National Grid.

  • As of Friday 2/20/26, Blasting Operations onsite are complete. Thank you, Culbert residents, for your patience during that difficult portion of the project. 
  • Due to the snowstorm the project site was closed on Monday 2/23/26 and today Tuesday 2/24/26. 
  • As of tomorrow Wednesday 2/25/26, we plan to re-open the project site. Tomorrow’s on-site activity will consist of snow removal, and we are anticipating multiple days of snow removal this week. 
  • Once snow removal is complete, we will proceed with the following:
  • Perforated drilling
  • Mechanical ledge removal around the perimeter of the site 
  • Excavation and export of ledge offsite

FEBRUARY 23, 2026

Regarding the Rodent Mitigation Plan:
As part of the City’s Building Permit process with ISD, every project is required to have an approved rodent mitigation plan in place before work can begin. DBJKS submitted its plan, which was reviewed and approved by Community Sanitation on May 2, 2025.

We’ve included the plan along with monthly inspection reports from October 2025 through January 2026 so neighbors can stay informed. The February 2026 inspection was postponed due to the recent snowstorm and has been rescheduled for the week of March 2. Once those results come in, DBJKS will meet with the pest control specialist to determine if any additional steps are needed, especially if we see an increase in activity.

Regarding Early Construction Start Activities:
DBJKS has followed up with the sitework contractor about the early start times that were brought to our attention. The contractor acknowledged beginning work a bit ahead of schedule on those days, and we’ve been assured this will not happen going forward. DBJKS sincerely apologizes for the disruption. We also held a stand‑down meeting onsite with the subcontractor to review expectations, reinforce the rules, and make sure everyone is aligned with permitted working hours.

Regarding Parking:
We want to reassure neighbors that DBJKS and its subcontractors are not parking on Culbert Street. In partnership with city officials, DBJKS previously worked to adjust the original 24‑hour parking restriction to a more limited “No Parking” designation only during permitted work hours, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To further reduce any impact to the neighborhood, DBJKS has arranged for offsite parking for construction workers through Jubilee Christian Church, and we are currently waiting for the final parking contract to be issued.

Regarding Noise:
Blasting activities were completed as of Friday, February 20. All noise levels were recorded throughout the process and included in the Blast Reports submitted to the Boston Fire Department. None of the blasts exceeded the allowable limit. 

FEBRUARY 26, 2026

We are currently working to address the concerns around increased rodent activity for the Culbert residents with Lincoln Ave and Inspectional Services (ISD). Effective immediately we have increased the Pest Control services to bi-weekly. We will continue to provide updates to remediate this situation as they develop.

In addition, we have the following updates for on-site activity:
  • Perforated Drilling is complete and the drill rig has been demobilized from the site.
  • Ledge Removal and Foundation Excavation is ongoing.
  • Exterior Mockup Construction has started.

Here is what to expect next week:
  • Concrete Foundations will begin.
  • There will be a Rebar Delivery made off Blue Hill Ave (within the fenced in construction site area) in accordance with the CMP.

Also as follow up from the last update we have attached the 3rd Party Dust Air Monitoring reports provided by Mabbett & Associates. We had dust air monitoring in place during drilling, blasting, and ledge removal (excavation), as well as offsite trucking operations. The attached memo from Mabbett & Associates provides a detailed accounting of the procedures, and results of the dust air monitoring. DBJKS will continue to provide enhanced dust mitigation efforts onsite.


MARCH 6, 2026

Maloney Properties
1471bluehillave@maloneyproperties.com

Leasing

Lincoln Avenue Communities
nbracco@lincolnavenue.com

Developer

Dellbrook Construction
1471BHA@dellbrookjks.com

Construction

Questions?