Headaches brew for developer

Gordon runs the Distillery, a former rum plant that houses studios where artists live and work. The studios are surrounded by two smaller buildings that once served the Distillery’s rum-making operations; now, they’re underused industrial spaces in a neighborhood that’s transitioning to residential use.

In these two parcels, Gordon saw the opportunity to expand his arts complex, and make a powerful environmental statement at the same time. He sought approvals to build the country’s largest, greenest apartment building - a super-insulated development so environmentally advanced that it would not need a central heating system and would use 12 percent of the energy a typical home uses. The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved Gordon’s 65-unit project two years ago. Then the lawsuit hit.

Every buyer in the condominium building across from the Distillery signed off on condo documents acknowledging the likelihood of future development in the neighborhood, including development that could impinge on their views of the city and make parking more difficult. Every buyer pledged not to oppose new development in the neighborhood. But John O’Connor 3d, one of the condo owners, is suing Gordon’s development firm and Boston’s zoning board.

O’Connor’s lawsuit claims the zoning body overstepped its bounds when it gave Gordon’s company permits to double the size of the Distillery. It alleges harm based on height and density, increased parking, and traffic. And it says the new six-story Distillery development would diminish views from O’Connor’s fourth-floor unit.

O’Connor’s attorney says the non-opposition pledge was written for the benefit of would-be developers next door, not for the Distillery, so it shouldn’t be enforceable in court. The case is before a Suffolk County judge.

The Distillery lawsuit raises objections that are commonly cited in local development fights. And the case comes at an interesting time for people on both sides of those fights.