Homeless-children group plans major expansion on Columbus Avenue in Roxbury

The owner of the old White Rock building on Columbus Avenue wants to build a 120,000-square-foot office building next door for use by Horizons for Homeless Children and other social-services agencies.

In a letter of intent filed with the BPDA last week, WaterMark Development and Horizons for Homeless Children say the three-story building at 1785 Columbus Ave. would let the group expand from its current space in the White Rock building - and provide space that would be rented to other social-services groups.

WaterMark says it would tear down an existing auto-body shop and plumbing-supply warehouse and use an existing parking lot.

WaterMark is proposing 160 parking spaces in a garage built into the side of the hill there.

The proposed building would exceed the density allowed under current zoning, but the proponents say that in addition to providing more space for social-services groups, the building "fits nicely" into the new zoning the BPDA is working to develop for the Washington Street corridor in Jamaica Plain and Roxbury.

Letter of intent (1.5M PDF).