A large airport-parking change is moving forward in Chelsea. The Zoning Board of Appeals approved a six-level, roughly 2,400-space garage at 111 Eastern Avenue on September 8, according to reporting published September 25. The proposed structure would occupy the northern portion of a 7.5-acre site and stand approximately 62 feet tall, exceeding the district’s usual 50-foot height limit.

The garage is intended for Logan Airport employees. It is part of a swap between two existing parking operations: employee parking would move from 270 Central Avenue to Eastern Avenue, while PreFlight’s traveler parking would move from the Eastern Avenue surface lot into the existing Central Avenue garage.

Two sites, different effects

For neighbors, the practical question is where vehicles will go. The applicant’s consultant projected about 3,000 additional daily trips at 111 Eastern Avenue, while trips at 270 Central Avenue would fall by about 34 percent. The consultant said most added traffic would occur outside commuting peaks. These are forecasts presented for the project, not observed traffic after construction.

The hearing report describes a proposed signal at Eastern Avenue and Bellingham Street, stormwater improvements, shoreline stabilization, raised grades and 75 new trees. Those elements matter alongside the garage’s size when residents consider how the development might affect the corridor.

Revenue and mitigation

The reported host agreement includes a $750,000 mitigation payment to Chelsea when the garage receives its certificate of occupancy. The applicant projected approximately $3 million a year in property-tax revenue. The occupancy milestone matters: the mitigation payment is tied to completion and authorization to use the building, while the tax figure remains a projection presented in support of the proposal.

City outreach preceded the September decision. The Chelsea Record’s August community-meeting notice identified InterPark’s proposal at both addresses and invited residents to discuss benefits and impacts. It also pointed residents toward city project materials.

What the approval does—and does not—settle

The applicant says consolidating parking could free roughly 12 acres on Eastern Avenue for other development. Those possibilities will depend on separate proposals and approvals. The waterfront’s designated-port-area restrictions also shape what can be built there, with the hearing coverage describing potential maritime and industrial uses for the land.

The hearing coverage lists conditions including the host agreement, design review, a security plan and construction-management planning. It also says the existing walkway and benches near the Chelsea Street Bridge would remain; the garage work itself does not establish new public shoreline access.

For Chelsea residents, this is a consequential land-use decision with both potential benefits and neighborhood costs to follow. The next updates worth watching are the construction schedule, final traffic and site arrangements, fulfillment of permit conditions and any actual proposal for the land the applicant says will be freed. Zoning approval should not be confused with an operating garage.