The Ipswich | 2 Charlesgate West | Fenway

Does anyone have any idea why Samuels would buy the property only to turn around and sell it barely two months later? Is there some fiscal acrobatics that make this financially advantageous for them, or did they have aspirations for the land that somehow fell apart quickly?
 
Jeremi said:
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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But, is it the worst from a resident's perspective? The neighborhood and the Red Sox all got exactly what they wanted:

No new construction, no height, no shadows on the Victory Garden and War Memorial (how shadows could even fall south here was asked and not answered in a public meeting a few years back), the Red Sox don't have to worry about people stealing signs from home plate from the tower, and there's no growth of ad hoc/unlicensed student (aka affordable) housing.
 
PrancingRaven said:
Does anyone have any idea why Samuels would buy the property only to turn around and sell it barely two months later? Is there some fiscal acrobatics that make this financially advantageous for them, or did they have aspirations for the land that somehow fell apart quickly?
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I was wondering that myself. Sold for the exact same amount of money too. Which also engenders the question of why Berkeley didn’t bid on it in the first place if it has been trying to acquire the land for decades.
 
Would Berklee be allowed to buy the property at auction? Could it possibly be Samuels bought the property "for cash" and then Berklee was able to take a more traditional financial approach? Maybe Samuels and Berklee had an agreement the whole time?

Presumably Berklee does not have the enrollment to build another dorm building on top of an expansion of the Conservatory. My first thought was they would now partner with Scape to build dorms (wasn't that initially what Scape wanted to build anyways?), but I just don't really see that being feasible unless Berklee is partnering with other small schools around them (BAC, NECO, etc) to provide a small amount of housing for those schools.

Ultimately, I think they plan an expansion of the Conservatory, but not for a long time.
 
CBCArch61 said:
Would Berklee be allowed to buy the property at auction? Could it possibly be Samuels bought the property "for cash" and then Berklee was able to take a more traditional financial approach? Maybe Samuels and Berklee had an agreement the whole time?

Presumably Berklee does not have the enrollment to build another dorm building on top of an expansion of the Conservatory. My first thought was they would now partner with Scape to build dorms (wasn't that initially what Scape wanted to build anyways?), but I just don't really see that being feasible unless Berklee is partnering with other small schools around them (BAC, NECO, etc) to provide a small amount of housing for those schools.

Ultimately, I think they plan an expansion of the Conservatory, but not for a long time.
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This (long term expansion) seems realistic and is essentially pointed to in what Berklee has made public. The rest of the article outlines that they have been looking at this property for 20+ years, and it fits in with the long range strategic plan, so any immediate capital investments don't really matter on that kind of time scale. In the meantime they will likely use the space for offices and rehearsals or lease it out.
 
Is Berklee still planning on its Berklee Crossroads project at the corner of Boylston & Mass Ave? Last I'd heard they didn't have the money for a major construction project, but if they need swing space to enable it?
 
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