Zoning board approves a new triple decker, in Dorchester

Triple decker rendering and details by Stack Architecture

The Zoning Board of Appeal today approved a developer's plan to build a three decker on a vacant lot on a Dorchester street lined with them.

The board unanimously approved Taj Development's plan for 49 Alpha Rd., off Park Street, approving numerous variances to zoning requirements that date back decades in an attempt to block further construction of the still ubiquitous Boston housing type. In recent months, Boston officials have begun discussing ways to make it easier to build triple deckers again as a way to deal with the city's ongoing housing crisis.

Taj's plans technically show a four decker because one unit would sit in the basement. Because of the slope of the 2,450-square-foot lot, which has been vacant since the late 196