The Zoning Board on Tuesday rejected plans for a 130-unit apartment building at the corner of Brighton Avenue and Linden Street that would have been aimed at keeping young professionals in the neighborhood.

The proposed six-story building would have replaced an old bicycle shop, a car and truck rental place and a house on Gardner Street. In addition to the apartments, developer Eden Properties was proposing a large "neighborhood cafe," a yoga studio and additional retail space on the first floor. The project had the approval of the BRA and the "strong support" of Mayor Walsh.

Board Chairwoman Christine Araujo expressed concern the apartments would become just another student slum. Other board members who voted against the proposal did not say why.

The developer, Eden Properties, said it would guard against this by limiting the apartments to no more than two bedrooms, by pricing them higher than what students would want to pay and by marketing only to professionals.

Eden's Noah Maslan said the market for the apartments would be young professionals making between $50,000 and $125,000 a year, whom he said now have few options if they want to stay in the neighborhood.

The project was backed by an executive from Allston Internet provider NetBlazr, who said he would love to have a place where the sort of people who might want to work at his company could live.

The Brighton Allston Improvement Association opposed the project because it called for just 69 parking spaces.

Maslan argued that already, 50% of Allston residents don't own cars and noted the property is on a T bus route and a short walk to the Green Line. Reducing the number of parking spaces also eliminates the need for digging an expensive garage, he said.

The proposal was backed by the Allston Brighton Community Development Corp., the Allston Board of , the Livable Streets Alliance and by City Councilors Mark Ciommo and Annissa Essaibi-George, as well as by Doug Bacon, owner of several nearby restaurants, including the White Horse tavern, who said the property has been "an eyesore for 25 years" and that Eden would provide much needed "professionally managed, high-quality housing."

Board member Anthony Pisani voted for the project. "It's a very nice project," one that the BRA had approved, he said.

A Linden Street resident noted the large number of variances the project needed and questioned why the developer should be allowed to get them just so it could make more money.

Eden's attorney, Peter Tamm, said part of the problem is that the proposed building would straddle two zoning districts, one of which would not require as many variances.

Watch the hearing (begins around 2:45:00).