401 Park Drive (née Landmark Center) | Fenway

The city saved Fenway Park by saying no to stupid ideas like the Megaplex or building on the literal Fens and double dog daring them to go elsewhere many times in the last half century plus. At one point these stable geniuses suggested a 600 car parking structure where Fenway is now
 
Man the folks at the Globe really have a lot to say on this one (third article in three days). Though buried in this one....I'm interested to see what the mayor/city are trying to pull together on this. Could be nothing more than "we've chatted with folks and are deeply saddened" or maybe there's some pressure going on to find another operator quick.

www.bostonglobe.com

Is a food hall in Fenway worth saving? There’s only one answer. - The Boston Globe

We know that food halls can succeed in Boston because they already do, from High Street Place in the Financial District to Hub Hall by TD Garden.
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But that’s where I’m hoping Mayor Michelle Wu and any number of civic-minded business leaders enter the picture. I’m looking at you Steve Samuels, whose firm Samuels & Associates developed the 401 Park/Landmark Center complex and brought in Time Out Market before selling the building to Alexandria for $1.52 billion in 2021.

Samuels is best known for turning Fenway into one of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods filling it with restaurants, apartments, offices, and more recently lab space. These days it’s a lot more than just the place where the Red Sox play.

I’m hoping Samuels will step in because keeping a food hall open in Fenway is as much about protecting his own investments. A spokeswoman for Samuels declined comment. As for the mayor, I’m told she and her team are in touch with key stakeholders.
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So, is Phantom Gourmet actually doing this because the Facebook announcement sounded absolutely nuts, like AI making fun of North Shore Kiss 108 people. I mean I don't doubt it but Kowloon in the Fenway? Jim Sokolove and Ernie Boch Jr as bartenders?
 
Scott said:
So, is Phantom Gourmet actually doing this because the Facebook announcement sounded absolutely nuts, like AI making fun of North Shore Kiss 108 people. I mean I don't doubt it but Kowloon in the Fenway? Jim Sokolove and Ernie Boch Jr as bartenders?
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No, it was just a weird joke post
 
Scott said:
So, is Phantom Gourmet actually doing this because the Facebook announcement sounded absolutely nuts, like AI making fun of North Shore Kiss 108 people. I mean I don't doubt it but Kowloon in the Fenway? Jim Sokolove and Ernie Boch Jr as bartenders?
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Remember jokes?
 
I do remember funny ones. I struggle when people lack self awareness
 
www.bostonglobe.com

New operator steps in to keep Time Out Market open, one day before it was set to close - The Boston Globe

The Fenway food hall will be taken over by longtime Fenway developer Samuels and Associates.
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Longtime local real estate developer Samuels and Associates on Thursday announced an agreement to take over management of the Fenway food hall, just days before it was set to close. Citing sagging foot traffic and rising costs, operator Time Out Market had announced last week that it intended to shutter their massive venue in the 401 Park building on January 23.
Now, instead, Samuels will enter a partnership with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, which owns 401 Park, to manage the 27,000-square-foot venue, allowing the current mix of 15 vendors to stay open. Samuels will license the Time Out name from the brand, Steve Samuels told the Globe on Thursday, meaning the market’s signage and name will stay the same.
“It’s a critical piece of the neighborhood,” said Samuels, who acknowledged that market conditions have changed since the food hall opened in 2019. But, he added, “we all felt that with a little creativity and hard work, that this is definitely worth saving.”
Samuels said he was moved by the overwhelming response to the news of Time Out’s closing, and that Mayor Wu reached out soon after the announcement, encouraging him to step in. Samuels said he quickly began conversations with Alexandria about taking over operations, and said he plans to work collaboratively with the vendors to find ways to improve business.
“We’re going to take our cues from the people who know the business well, and put a lot of energy into new, exciting, creative ideas,” he said. “We’ll give it a good refresh.” In a statement, Wu said she welcomed Samuels stepping in to preserve a popular amenity in the neighborhood.
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I wonder how this felt from the employee and vendor standpoint. All small-ish operations. Like did they already layoff their staff and cut back / cancel deliveries and now need to somehow reestablish them ASAP?
 
Jeremi said:
We have to build a statue to Steve Samuels. Put him next to Bill Russell.
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Similar importance to Russel, perhaps, but given the location of where Samuels has worked his magic, I'd put the statue in front of the Pierce building, right on the intersection of Brookline and Boylston.
 
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nick said:
Driveway to underground parking. The path connection between Fenway Path and Park Drive is essentially complete, and has been for some time, pending final landscaping, etc.

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20211005 BCDC Landmark Center Presentation.pdf | Powered by Box

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In my opinion, it isn't close to being complete. Completion means the section labeled as "future shared use path" on slide 9 has been built and I can ride between Fenway and anywhere on the Emerald Necklace without needing to cross Park Drive at grade.
 
bigpicture7 said:
I hope it will live on, and that the problems are indeed less local...


I do get concerned about some troubling correlations with Alexandria as a landlord, though. There are some patterns in the Kendall Area of ground floor retail hollowing out in spaces where Alexandria is Landlord. Look at the whole One Kendall development: all that's left is Mamaleh's and State Park. It used to have: Friendly Toast, Flat Top Johnny's, Cambridge Brewing, Smokeshop, Bon Me, Blue Room, etc. etc. Further, they took over the former Pegasystems block on First Street, which had the Shabu on Mein restaurant and a Gracenote Coffee shop -- now a blank wall. And the former Facebook building used to have Lily P's, now vacant. Tell me if I'm off base, but this seems to be a trend with Alexandria...
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Flat Top was such a loss. I still haven’t been to their new space tho. But yeah - that whole tech square area used to be incredible new urbanism to me - so much life - mix of old and new buildings - a great success. Really sad it’s all gone.
 
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