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

Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

Suffolk 83 said:
the precedent has been set and everybody is in line with their hand out before Menino leaves office. This is infuriating that they are even asking and Menino should foot the bill himself if he grants this bullshit.
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If you give a mouse a cookie..
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

Unless he's got sweetheart deal after sweetheart deal already lined up and rubber-stamped for a Friday afternoon news dump on his last week in office, there isn't much time left for shennanigans of that sort. I would think by this point these developers have shifted to expending more energy lining Walsh's and Connolly's pockets for pole position on approvals when they take over.
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

Batmarch said:
something is not accurate about today's Globe article. No prudent investor would put equity into a speculative development like this for a 6% return.
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I thought the same thing. I'm wondering if it's not equity but debt.
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

Could be a takeout loan and not his construction loan. But I don't see why that would prevent him from starting construction...
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

PULL HIS PERMITS NOW
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

tobyjug said:
Isn't the developer mister uber-liberal? So it would be all about public handouts.
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Or...your typical Randian libertarian sociopath titan of industry. Or your typical radical centrist. Or your typical [insert anything here as long as it happens to have money to wield].

Does anyone with functioning brain cells actually think the ideological spectrum matters the least bit when the rich and powerful seek a handout sealed with a kiss by the rich and powerful? That's naive talk radio duckspeak. When it comes to developers landing bacon, they are all post-ideological about anything except landing their bacon. Stances and labels are something they do as a side hobby, not their day job moving capital around for their edifices.
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

Honestly, if a tax break is what it takes to get a quality air rights development finally built, then so be it. This comment applies to this project only, in regards to my opinion on tax breaks.
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

datadyne007 said:
Honestly, if a tax break is what it takes to get a quality air rights development finally built, then so be it. This comment applies to this project only, in regards to my opinion on tax breaks.
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Indeed. Considering these parcels have been the great white hope since the bloody decade the Pike Extension was constructed, a moderate overpay is a small price to pay for finally not having to wait for Godot on something half-useful covering up parts of that scar.
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

F-Line to Dudley said:
Or...your typical Randian libertarian sociopath titan of industry. Or your typical radical centrist. Or your typical [insert anything here as long as it happens to have money to wield].

Does anyone with functioning brain cells actually think the ideological spectrum matters the least bit when the rich and powerful seek a handout sealed with a kiss by the rich and powerful? That's naive talk radio duckspeak. When it comes to developers landing bacon, they are all post-ideological about anything except landing their bacon. Stances and labels are something they do as a side hobby, not their day job moving capital around for their edifices.
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Do I hear quacking^^^^?

The fact of the matter is that this developer is a "liberal luvvie" much beloved for his gun sign. He hasn't had the money from the start, but is ideologically sound, and has been allowed to stay in the game. For comparative treatment, see Chiafaro.

But I agree that a developer is a developer when it comes to trying to trim the margins.
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

Yup, that's it folks, we all know how this is gonna turn out.

(If you don't know, Columbus Center started out asking for tax breaks, then got them, then the project still fell apart, so yeah, there's about a 0.0% chance of this happening)
 
Re: Fenway Center (One Kenmore, Mass Turnpike PARCEL 7)

I agree with John here. Boot this clown already. Why does he still have control over these parcels? He brings absolutely nothing to this project. He's been acting like a middleman trying to peddle this project to a more capable "partner" for years.

Does anyone know if Rosenthal has actually paid the state anything for this lease yet or whether it has all been deferred?
 
Discussion of the developer's bona fides is a fair topic for discussion, and it was swept away by the censorship.

This guy doesn't have it, regardless of his ideology. It is a fair question to ask "why is he allowed to remain", but some people can't handle it, so I'll let it pass.

I agree, he ought to go. If subsidies are needed because of the decking, I'm ok with that. But not just to give a "middleman", as he was described above, some extra points on his pass through deal.
 
I agree that this developer should be booted. I do not agree with the talk that because the developer is an ultra liberal that it means handouts. If I'm not mistaken, Curt Schilling is a conservatives and he was asking for handouts. In addition, Big Businesses tend to lean on the conservatives side and they also ask for handouts. Thus both spectrum looks for handouts. It's just how business is.
 
His being allowed to maintain this project without funding is down to his ideology and connections.

As for handouts, you are right that Schilling is a great example of the "if its for free, its for me" mindset, which as Feline said, is non-ideological. (Loved him as a pitcher; as a political commentator he is a hypocrite.) So I stand corrected!
 
I think the only way personal politics enters into it is that they can garner public support/avoid public backlash when they fit in with the 'proper' local politics.
 
Appreciate the prevailing sentiment that the state push the developer toward getting something done. However, history tells us that these projects are not easy. Hines, arguably one of the best in the world, still hasn't done anything over South Station. Google "calpers loss on Columbus Center." And the 6% return is indeed the return on equity. Debt is much lower than that.
 
Whether or not this project ever takes place, which seems increasingly unlikely, I think it needs some serious re-design. It looks too much like a suburban office park.
 
KentXie said:
If I'm not mistaken, Curt Schilling is a conservative and he was asking for handouts.
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He also nearly brought Rhode Island to its knees when he bankrupted taxpayers. But because he was a conservative, people tended to look the other way. I do agree that this guy is dragging his feet. We all know how this is going to turn out.
 
John Rosenthal says Mayor Thomas M. Menino only provides tax breaks to his friends.

Dec 26, 2013, 11:07am EST Updated: Dec 26, 2013, 1:48pm EST
Rosenthal accuses Menino of playing favorites, wielding 'iron fist' at BRA (slide show)
Photo by Thomas Grillo.

Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor-
Boston Business Journal

A prominent Boston real estate developer is publicly complaining that his request for a tax break has been ignored by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

With candor that has been rare among Boston developers over the last 20 years, John Rosenthal alleges Menino has delayed his development by playing favorites with tax breaks. Menino, in turn, said Rosenthal has yet to officially ask for assistance. “Originally John said he didn’t want tax relief and now he is seeking one,” Menino said. “John needs to make up his mind.”

Rosenthal, president of Meredith Management Corp. of Newton, whose $550 million project is to be built on parking lots and a deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike in Kenmore Square, said he has been asking the Boston Redevelopment Authority since May for a $7.8 million 121A tax break. Such agreements provide property tax relief for developments in so-called “blighted” areas.

Rosenthal’s request is similar in size to the 121A granted to Millennium Partners for the Filene’s project ($7.8 million in tax breaks) and Boston Properties’ TD Garden project (also $7.8 million). The city also recently granted tax relief for Samuels & Associates’ Boylston West development in the Fenway, although the deal's details have not been disclosed by the BRA.

Rosenthal, who acknowledged that he originally pledged not to seek a tax break for the 1.3 million-square-foot development, said the savings are necessary given that construction costs have escalated by 25 percent since 2009. The tax deal, he said, would fill a gap in funding needed to satisfy his major investor, a real estate investment firm that wants a 6 percent return on the project. But his proposal has been ignored at City Hall, Rosenthal said.

“There are lots of good people at the BRA, but unfortunately it’s been run with an iron fist by the mayor to reward and enrich his friends and punish his perceived enemies,” said Rosenthal.

In an interview with the Boston Business Journal earlier this month, Menino said Rosenthal has not submitted a plan for tax relief.

“John hasn’t come to us with that, he just made an announcement, we haven’t seen a proposal,” Menino said. “It’s typical of John Rosenthal; he works through the press. That’s all he cares about.”

BRA spokeswoman Susan Elsbree, standing with Menino at the time of the Dec. 9 interview, backed Menino’s assertion, telling the BBJ: “I think John has talked about what he wants publicly,” Elsbree said.

In an Oct. 31 story published by the Boston Globe, Elsbree was quoted as saying the BRA was considering a tax-relief request by Rosenthal. “The BRA and the city have worked hand in hand with the developer and approved multiple changes over the years to make this project feasible,” Elsbree told the Globe. “But the project poses unique financing issues, and we’re hopeful we can help make it go forward.”

Rosenthal claims he had three meetings at City Hall to discuss the tax break. The first session, he said, took place on May 20, when he said he hand-delivered a tax relief request in a meeting that included BRA director Peter Meade and James Tierney, the agency’s chief of staff. Rosenthal said a second meeting was held on Aug. 8 that included Meade, Tierney and Ronald Rakow, the city’s assessing commissioner. A third meeting with Earl Smith, the city’s assistant assessor, was held Aug. 14, Rosenthal said.

Rosenthal claimed Meade told him at the May 20 meeting that there is “no appetite in this building (City Hall) to help you.”

Through a spokeswoman, Meade and Tierney did not respond to a request for comment. Elsbree did not dispute the meeting dates.

Under state law, the process of receiving 121A tax relief in the city of Boston begins with an application to the BRA and ultimately ends up on the mayor’s desk for approval.

Rosenthal says a formal 121A application does not exist. He said such financial agreements are prepared after the terms have been negotiated with the city, but Rosenthal never reached that stage, he said. “You can’t go to City Hall and pick up an 121A application, it does not exist,” he said.

Lawrence DiCara, a real estate attorney at Nixon Peabody who negotiated a $16 million tax credit from the city for construction of Liberty Mutual’s headquarters in Boston, confirmed that the 121A application is completed following negotiations between the city and the developer.

“Whenever I have been involved, it’s been a discussion followed by a document, as opposed to a document that initiates a discussion,” DiCara said.

The dispute between Menino and Rosenthal sheds light on a topic that has been quietly talked about in Boston’s development circles for years: While some projects win approval with Menino’s support, others, such as Rosenthal's plan and Donald Chiofaro’s proposed waterfront tower, go nowhere.

Rosenthal, who for years has garnered public attention for his prominent anti-gun violence billboard over the Mass Pike near Fenway Park, said he later learned from Henry G. Kara, a Boston real estate lawyer and Menino confidant, that the mayor is loathe to help him because Rosenthal gets “too much credit for homelessness and gun-violence prevention.”

Kara, who was hired by Rosenthal to guide the tax-proposal process, did not return a call seeking comment.

Rosenthal said he will again seek tax relief in January, once the incoming Walsh administration takes over at City Hall.

“Fenway Center will create 1,800 construction jobs, 750 permanent jobs and generate hundreds of millions in new real estate taxes,” he said. “This transit-oriented development will be transformative and the first air rights project in more than 30 years. All I want is fair treatment to get a tax agreement.”
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http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...hal-says-menino-plays-favorites.html?page=all
 
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