The Ipswich | 2 Charlesgate West | Fenway

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oh man, Scape. I lived in this exact dorm for a year in college and they would complain every week that our dorm was too dirty and that they would notify our school and charge us. (Scary!) Not a big fan of scape.
 

Developer that won city approval for 28-story Fenway apartment building loses site to foreclosure before even breaking ground​

Banker & Tradesman reports that an auctioneer has scheduled a foreclosure sale next month for the half-acre on Charlesgate West where a British developer had won approval - and even a change in city ordinances - for a 28-story, 400-unit apartment tower with 68 affordable units.

Scape, which initially entered the Boston market hoping to build large private dorms for area colleges, then realized how much everybody hated that idea, spent nearly six years working on its Charlesgate proposal - which it first proposed as a smaller 200-unit complex before filing plans for its tower.
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themissinglink said:

Developer that won city approval for 28-story Fenway apartment building loses site to foreclosure before even breaking ground​

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The last paragraph at least laves some hope:

“Whoever purchases the site could put up the same building proposed by Scape - and make the same $3 million in civic improvements, including rehabbing the Leif Erikson statue on the Comm. Ave. mall, which would not require any new city approvals. It could seek to make some changes, which, if they were deemed minor enough, could lead to quick Boston Planning Department approval through its "notice of project change" process. Or it could just throw out Scape's plans completely and propose something entirely different, which would require a new, and extensive approval process, including public meetings and hearings before the planning department and zoning board…..”
 
I don't know if this is related to development on this parcel (which I thought had been stalled), or is part of the overall Fens accessibility/drainage project, but it was really jarring to see this "park" cleared of trees. I used to live in one of the adjacent Feinberg tenements, and would walk though this all the time. It got sketchy in the early 2020s, but was a sort of pleasant place to sit at the tables before that (if you're like me and liked watching the traffic).
 

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Camberville said:
I don't know if this is related to development on this parcel (which I thought had been stalled), or is part of the overall Fens accessibility/drainage project, but it was really jarring to see this "park" cleared of trees. I used to live in one of the adjacent Feinberg tenements, and would walk though this all the time. It got sketchy in the early 2020s, but was a sort of pleasant place to sit at the tables before that (if you're like me and liked watching the traffic).
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It's the beginning of construction for the Bowker overpass replacement, the second bridge lands right around there. Full thread over here:

Bowker Overpass replacement?

In 2015, an engineering student at Northeastern and Prof. Peter Furth conducted a detailed analysis of the proposal to remove the Bowker overpass. The report has been shared here before, but it's worth sharing again.
archboston.com
 
HelloBostonHi said:
It's the beginning of construction for the Bowker overpass replacement, the second bridge lands right around there. Full thread over here:

Bowker Overpass replacement?

In 2015, an engineering student at Northeastern and Prof. Peter Furth conducted a detailed analysis of the proposal to remove the Bowker overpass. The report has been shared here before, but it's worth sharing again.
archboston.com
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Ohhhhh. I hadn't followed that thread for a while, I never thought it would actually happen. Interesting, thanks!
 
Has there been any information on who bought the property at the auction? I was able to see on Banker & Tradesman that it sold for $28 million but not a name for the buyer.

Regardless, if someone was willing to put the money down then hopefully we will see the ball get rolling again on something.
 
If they want to avoid going through a long drawn out process again its already approved and they can just build the same tower. Id have to imagine thats the better path.
 
In a letter to the Berklee community, college President Jim Lucchese did not specify just what the school would use the lot and the building for, but his letter sounded like plans do not include replicating Scapes proposed 400 "compact" apartments - which would have also required $3 million in community upgrades, including a large new outdoor staircase and renovations to the Leif Ericsson statue on Commonwealth Avenue.

Instead, Lucchese said the building, across Ipswich Street from Berklee's existing Boston Conservatory, would be "a critical piece of the ongoing development of a long-range, comprehensive plan that will enhance the student experience, support Berklee’s strategic plan, and help realize our vision of building the future of arts education."
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Yea if they arent planning on just building the same tower with the 400 compact apartments (which it basically says theyre not) then that would mean going through the entiiiire process all over again from square one. That means 10 years from now until it breaks ground at the earliest, and thats if they even want to build anything there at all vs just using the existing building as is.

Would have much rather had someone else come along and buy it and just put up the approved tower with 400 apartments. Thats a huge loss. Wonderful…
 
stick n move said:
Yea if they arent planning on just building the same tower with the 400 compact apartments (which it basically says theyre not) then that would mean going through the entiiiire process all over again from square one. That means 10 years from now until it breaks ground at the earliest, and thats if they even want to build anything there at all vs just using the existing building as is.

Would have much rather had someone else come along and buy it and just put up the approved tower with 400 apartments. Thats a huge loss. Wonderful…
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Yeah, this building falling into institutional hands is basically the worst possible outcome. This is going to landbanked for the foreseeable future.
 
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