One Kenmore Square | 560 Commonwealth Avenue | Kenmore Square

Are they still planning on taking over part of the Com Ave sidewalk?
Looks like the new sidewalk will be narrower than the existing, judging from the renders. At least they're not taking the eastbound lanes of Comm Ave, which was in the original plan.
 
I liked how intimidating the original was. This new one is polite. It will be nice. Very nice.
 
This is the original one. I also liked it a lot, even though I like the current one more. It was also slightly shorter, I think just a touch below 300' whereas the current one is 315'.

As Odurandina brought up, whatever happened to the 2nd shorter tower across the street?

I have the same question, what happened to it? Its a pretty substantial building, just gone without a mention. Is it possibly its own separate development? That would make sense.

031218kenmore05.0.jpg


Curious: guess i missed something, but whatever became of the 2nd hotel tower,
re; the 19 story/ 242' mid-rise at the rear of the Hotel Buckminster,
called 655 Beacon St calling for 295 rooms/73 parking ???

(outlined in blue adjacent to the Fenway Ctr main tower in the image below from the earlier project pnf)
adfasdf-jpg.1831


Edit: Nope it was a part of this development, they were both included. What happened to it?
Link
 
Last edited:
It was two developers tho. One probably decided to pull the plug for whatever reason. Maybe they caught wind of Fenway Center next door and decided to redo their plans. Or financing never came through.
 
It was two developers tho. One probably decided to pull the plug for whatever reason. Maybe they caught wind of Fenway Center next door and decided to redo their plans. Or financing never came through.

Two different developers. Mark Development (the bigger tower) is a real developer. The Hotel Buckminster (the smaller tower) is a small family outfit that was in over their head. Not surprised it vanished. Doesn't impact Mark's tower at all.
 
Good afternoon everyone! I was curious as to the status of this project and so reached out directly to the developer. I received a response today and the news was good! Here is what they said:

Hi Robert,

We are still working through the permitting for the reconfiguration of the roads and the public plaza. We are still planning for development as presented and construction should commence in 2021!

Thanks,

Christine McMahon
617.270.8640
 
Kenmore Square Hotel advances in approval stage for the 660 Beacon Street parcel (Approved)- one step further to construction.

Hoping it commences this year! Big win today for the project and see little reason why it wouldnt start by December 2021.
 
Kenmore Square Hotel advances in approval stage for the 660 Beacon Street parcel (Approved)- one step further to construction.

Hoping it commences this year! Big win today for the project and see little reason why it wouldnt start by December 2021.

Here's the Bldup link:



Kenmore Square Hotel

Mark Development won approval for a demonstration project at 660 Beacon Street, crucial to move forward in development of the Kenmore Square Hotel. The developer and the City of Boston will be able to swap parcel square footage to move the project site eastward to accommodate the planned public improvements.

Kenmore_Hotel.png
 
Last edited:
It's really refreshing seeing this. They're risking a lot here, the unfortunate consequence of truly caring about the urban planning and architecture of your project. They got one of the top design firms in the U.S. to make a unique building, and a notable urban planner to redesign Kenmore Square, no easy task. Those are high design fees that most new developers won't dare put down for one of their first large-scale projects. Add on the fact that this is in a prominent parcel, they're local, and have continued to move forward mid-pandemic, it makes me want 100 more Mark Development LLC's around.
 
I’d like driver to actually see the results. I like the building but it should be built on the land they own. They’re afraid of a law suit from the condo building next door. Consultant's job is to draw rings around bullseyes
 
I’d like driver to actually see the results. I like the building but it should be built on the land they own. They’re afraid of a law suit from the condo building next door. Consultant's job is to draw rings around bullseyes

Is a lawsuit from the condo building speculation? This is an incredibly expensive alternative to a lawsuit.
 
Yes, speculation, but why else would the developer not build on thier own property.
It's part of a larger effort to unify the isolated park/pedestrian zones around that corner of the square by making it less car focused. The road rework is key to that.
I'm also skeptical of the new road layout, but I suppose it can't get much worse.
 

Back
Top