Fenway Center (One Kenmore) | Turnpike Parcel 7, Beacon Street | Fenway

Construction of long-stalled Fenway Center could start soon
By Tim Logan GLOBE STAFF JUNE 23, 2016

Fourteen years after he began planning a major development in the air over the Massachusetts Turnpike at Kenmore Square, developer John Rosenthal says he’s finally ready to start work.

Construction would commence with the part of the project that would sit on firm ground.

On Wednesday, Rosenthal and his development partners said that they have raised $230 million in financing and expect to soon begin construction of two apartment buildings on parking lots near Fenway Park. That would be the first phase of the long-delayed Fenway Center, a nearly $600 million complex that’s to include three other structures over the turnpike between Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue, including a 27-story tower.

The project has long promised to accelerate the transformation of Kenmore Square. But for more than a decade it has struggled, largely because of the cost of constructing a massive deck over one of the busiest highways in Boston, as well as over a commuter rail line.

So Rosenthal and the Portland, Ore.-based development firm Gerding Edlen are breaking it in two. First, the apartment buildings — 313 units in all — on the corner of Beacon and Maitland streets. Rosenthal was adamant that he will still build the more difficult part over the turnpike. But splitting such a large endeavor into two is a way to make that happen, he said.
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continued ... http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...y-split-two/sVIvBAnmALuBBq2jRb8IUN/story.html
 
First off, I don't trust that he'll build the second phase any farther than I can throw him. Second, they buried the most important part:

stick n move said:
The plan hinges on state officials letting Rosenthal change course. The developer’s current longstanding deal with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation calls for a first phase that includes building over the turnpike. He’s been talking with the department about amending the agreement, which expires at the end of this month, to include the revised building plan. State officials have been receptive, he said.
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It's currently June 23rd, so apparently he's either nearly to a deal and feels comfortable sharing or his negotiations aren't going very well and he wants to put pressure on them with one week left.

Just like SST - nothing like a deadline to get a developer to get off his @$$ and build... something, anyway. Those parking lots are ugly and hurt the urbanity of the ballpark, so these buildings should be welcome.
 
Equilibria said:
It's currently June 23rd, so apparently he's either nearly to a deal and feels comfortable sharing or his negotiations aren't going very well and he wants to put pressure on them with one week left.
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Yup. You, sir, know how to read a newspaper properly....
 
This is outrageous. Mass DOT should not allow Rosenthal to build a partial project. He agreed to build over the Pike. If they let him go ahead with the land based buildings, he'll never build over the Pike and MassDOT will never be able to sell a Pike only complex on this land in the future. Mass DOT should let his option expire and rebid. Even in the article, he says he "hopes" these buildings will allow him to build over the Pike. All or nothing, I say.
 
navigator4 said:
This is outrageous. Mass DOT should not allow Rosenthal to build a partial project. He agreed to build over the Pike. If they let him go ahead with the land based buildings, he'll never build over the Pike and MassDOT will never be able to sell a Pike only complex on this land in the future. Mass DOT should let his option expire and rebid. Even in the article, he says he "hopes" these buildings will allow him to build over the Pike. All or nothing, I say.
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Disagree. The part over the pike probably won't happen. It's better to get something rather than nothing here.
 
cjbski said:
Disagree. The part over the pike probably won't happen. It's better to get something rather than nothing here.
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It's a gamble. Those parking lots are valuable land and I'm sure other developers would be willing to develop them if Rosenthal walked away. We might get something worse than the first phase that Rosenthal is proposing, though.
 
The nimby are out in force for just the next air-rights fantasy that is a crap shoot at best for completion.

Is he planning to build the 300' tower before he flees for the Bahamas?
 
I'll note again that it's sickly ironic that the center lanes of the pike here have been closed for years now and the median completely rebuilt while this languishes..
 
At some point the state needs to just build the platforms themselves, no?
 
^^beat me too it. Stop being so greedy. Build the platform and you get a multi-layered return on investment.
 
IMO, building the first phase on the parking lots kills phase 2. He loses his construction staging area, and that will make it too expensive to deck over the Pike.

IMO, he is getting to do phase 1 because most of the ownership interest is no longer his. No indication he will even do foundation work for phase 2 near the Pike while constructing phase 1.
 
This guy drives me up a wall. At least finally he invited some big kids to sit at the table with him. If a legitimate developer is saying that this phasing is the way it has to go, then it's easier for me to buy than if Rosenthal says so. And stepping back to look at the big picture for a moment: Those parking lots need to be disappeared the day before yesterday. Ultimately that's more important than decking the Pike.
 
FenwayResident said:
It's a gamble. Those parking lots are valuable land and I'm sure other developers would be willing to develop them if Rosenthal walked away. We might get something worse than the first phase that Rosenthal is proposing, though.
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Rosenthal should not be rewarded for being an incompetent developer. If MassDOT wants to only have the parking lots developed, they should rebid the project and see if they get more $. The land seems more valuable now that the commuter rail stop is complete.
 
I honestly don't give a shit about the build out over the pike. The most important part is the dead parcels right next to the park. If those get built out its still a huge plus. Even if they build over that one spot the pike still is open on both sides and still cuts the area in 2. Whatever, you have to go over a bridge, its not the end of the world. Building the parking lot parcels + no pike build > nothing.
 
CSTH said:
the center lanes of the pike here have been closed for years now and the median completely rebuilt .
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I moved my office out of downtown in August of 2014 (when the Pike lanes were first closed) for that very reason. Clients have never been happier.
 
Building on those parking lots will go a long way to improve Beacon st and Brookline ave by the Pike.

If we want air rights development, the government should be building the supports themselves. Then sell the rights over them.
 
stick n move said:
I honestly don't give a shit about the build out over the pike. The most important part is the dead parcels right next to the park. If those get built out its still a huge plus. Even if they build over that one spot the pike still is open on both sides and still cuts the area in 2. Whatever, you have to go over a bridge, its not the end of the world. Building the parking lot parcels + no pike build > nothing.
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Build parking lot parcels + no pike build + dramatically reduce the chances of the air rights being developed < nothing (in the short term).
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
Build parking lot parcels + no pike build + dramatically reduce the chances of the air rights being developed < nothing (in the short term).
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What's your definition of short-term, exactly? We've had no air rights development in Boston since 1983...
 
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