Cabot, Cabot & Forbes officials took careful note of Brighton residents' objections to the density and types of tenants at its proposed St. Gabriel's project off Washington Street and said: Eh, we know better.

The company yesterday filed formal plans with the BRA that are pretty much identical to the ones company CEO Jay Doherty told the Brighton Allston Improvement Association last month he'd reconsider after residents complained 679 units on the 12-acre site were just too many off crowded Washington Street and the jammed Green Line - especially since another developer is proposing 287 apartments right next door. And after hearing residents say they wanted tenants - or even condo owners - more likely to stay in the neighborhood for the long term, Cabot, Cabot & Forbes said nah.

In its filing, CC&F writes:

The proposed Project serves as a unique opportunity to deliver much needed housing in the City. The development will be designed, built and marketed to serve a number of growing demographics, including but not limited to graduate students, young professionals, and other university affiliates such as residents, faculty and staff. ... The Project will provide a new development in Boston to house this demographic, at a scale that will free up local housing for permanent neighborhood residents. In addition to reducing housing pressures in the neighborhood, the Project will restore historic buildings on the site, and respectfully transform an underutilized parcel into an active and engaging development. The Project will preserve and enhance the existing landscaped spaces along the length of Washington Street and within the entire south and east sides of the Monastery, with the handsome stone wall at the edge and the many existing mature trees remaining amidst the open rolling lawn in the center. In addition to maintaining this existing landscaping, which has been neglected for decades, the Project will create a new, raised, publically accessible courtyard space that will provide vistas of Boston and Cambridge. In total, the Project will include approximately 7.3 acres of open space, representing 62% of the site.

The company says the site is ideal for researchers and workers at area hospitals and research labs:

From this location, residents are within a half-mile walk of the MBTA Washington Street subway stop and have access to multiple MBTA bus connections near the site. Important lines include the 65 bus on Washington Street which connects the site to Brighton Center and Kenmore Square, and the 501 bus at the corner of Washington Street and Cambridge Street that provides access to downtown Boston. In addition to these public transit options, the Project will explore including shuttle bus connections to nearby universities and research areas and will be a member of the recently formed Allston-Brighton Transport Management Association, which helps facilitate a number of alternative modes of transportation, including van pool subsidies, guaranteed ride home and transportation coordination with other members in the community. The Project site is also located along major bike routes, which has become an increasingly popular mode of transportation among students and young professionals in recent years.

Cabot, Cabot & Forbes says it hopes to begin the estimated two years of construction in mid-2017.

159-201 Washington St. project notification form (44M PDF).