The Harlo (née Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King))| 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Tombstoner said:
I love the Formica™ look
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I feel similarly. I find that materials that are unabashedly synthetic are aesthetically more interesting and vibrant than synthetic materials trying to look unsynthetic. In other words, I'd take this over most of the pretending-not-to-be-fake cladding going up these days. Not everything can be 50 Liberty's real marble...and if it's gonna be fake, let's celebrate!
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Time for another kz-compliments-ADD post..

Granted I haven't seen this in person yet, but going off pictures and being in love with ADD/Stantec's playful style, I'll have to say this is yet another improbable success like they've been doing for a solid five years now. And I say improbable because they're using the same low-grade facade materials as everyone else in the game and yet somehow they usually turn out something just a little bit better, a little more special than the others. Can't wait to see this (for its facade) and Pierce (for its girth) in person.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Elevator dismantled completely today

uygrrXah.jpg
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Hmm in a weird way I like this.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

KZ - I completely agree with you on Skanska Burger as well as The Pierce and many other projects. Although we have the luxury of watching Tower Verre, 56 Leonard, Hudson Yards, etc. going up, I am looking forward to my visit to Boston next month to see all these projects in real life. I am itching to see the Fenway and the Seaport.


kz1000ps said:
Time for another kz-compliments-ADD post..

Granted I haven't seen this in person yet, but going off pictures and being in love with ADD/Stantec's playful style, I'll have to say this is yet another improbable success like they've been doing for a solid five years now. And I say improbable because they're using the same low-grade facade materials as everyone else in the game and yet somehow they usually turn out something just a little bit better, a little more special than the others. Can't wait to see this (for its facade) and Pierce (for its girth) in person.
Click to expand...
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Last night
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

^^thank you 02124. Awesome work, as always.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Does Samuels own the Tasty Burger lot? Can't imagine that has much lifeline left on it.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Tasty burger, it's been real. Please vacate and make way for about 10-15 stories of glass and alucobond. We promise to give you favorable lease terms on "prime ground level retail" space.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

meddlepal said:
Does Samuels own the Tasty Burger lot? Can't imagine that has much lifeline left on it.
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If I remember correctly the "Tasty Burger" block between Boylston, Van Ness, Yawkey and Ross is owned by three different groups including the Red Sox and USPS. I don't think we'd see any development until the block is owned by a single entity, since it likely wouldn't be profitable to build something smaller than the whole block.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

That Tasty Burger picture is one hell of a shot. You've beautifully captured the juxtaposition of the old and the gritty alongside the shiny and new of an area in transition. That's a keeper.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

It has been said that everyone has their price. This area is a proven winner for development. I would not be surprised if in a year or so, that plot will be boarded up.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

FenwayResident said:
If I remember correctly the "Tasty Burger" block between Boylston, Van Ness, Yawkey and Ross is owned by three different groups including the Red Sox and USPS. I don't think we'd see any development until the block is owned by a single entity, since it likely wouldn't be profitable to build something smaller than the whole block.
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Per the city's assessing, it is the Red Sox for the parking lot, Samuels for Tasty Burger, and the Jara Realty Trust w/ Richard B Ross as Trustee for the USPS sorting facility. I'm assuming that is the same Richard B Ross who the street next to it is named after who I believe passed away on September 11.

It appears the successors in the Trust have worked with Samuels in the past selling them the land that became Richard B Ross Way, so they are at least on speaking terms. I would not be surprised if they're all able to work together in the future. Maybe they've even talked so the USPS lease and Tasty Burger lease end at the same time and they can file plans together at the appropriate time.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

The Landmark Center is next on Samuels' docket (after Pierce), so I'd say Tasty Burger will survive at least until that's finished.

Also, crucially, Tasty Burger in its current form is way cooler than any of the other single story retail that Samuels cleared out along this stretch. It (and the Verb) are frequently cited as representative of the "hip new Fenway". Take it from Samuels himself:

NY Times said:
The Fenway neighborhood is most closely associated with Fenway Park, the Red Sox and baseball-themed taverns.

But according to Steve Samuels, the chairman of Samuels & Associates, a Boston development firm, the neighborhood character is better represented at the Tasty Burger walk-up window on Boylston Street around 2 a.m. on weekend nights.

“There you have the kids who’ve been drinking at the nightclubs on Lansdowne Street, medical residents in their scrubs who just got off their shifts, and the transvestites from the gay bar up the street — all standing in line for a burger,” Mr. Samuels said. “That is the Fenway. It’s a unique and funky area, and it’s got great personality.”

[...]

At the same time, Samuels has sought to distinguish the Fenway from the many other Boston neighborhoods with fancy new apartment buildings by playing up its grittier side and catering to a young demographic.

For example, the company fixed up an old gas station to make a bright red, retro home for the popular Tasty Burger. And last year, a former Howard Johnson hotel just outside the ballpark’s walls was converted into a playful, rock-’n’-roll-themed hotel called the Verb.
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That's reason for those parcels to have more staying power than the others.

I'm more interested in what, if anything, the Sox will do with their vast holdings in the area (such as the parking lot behind Tasty Burger). They've made reference in recent months to developing more food/drink/entertainment venues around the park, and to building new space for their front and back office operations outside of the park's confines.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

I assume anything on the Red Sox properties will have severe restrictions on sight lines into Fenway.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

RandomWalk said:
I assume anything on the Red Sox properties will have severe restrictions on sight lines into Fenway.
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I'm not a lawyer so this may be a dumb question, but would a restriction on the Red Sox's land apply to the entire project? Let's say they sold the land with a stipulation that nothing taller than five stories gets built on it. Could Samuels then just build a tower on the Tasty Burger land instead and put its podium on the Red Sox land?
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

FenwayResident said:
I'm not a lawyer so this may be a dumb question, but would a restriction on the Red Sox's land apply to the entire project? Let's say they sold the land with a stipulation that nothing taller than five stories gets built on it. Could Samuels then just build a tower on the Tasty Burger land instead and put its podium on the Red Sox land?
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It all depends on how the contracts are written.

That being said, the Red Sox are:
a) not looking to sell their properties
- and -
b) not nearly as opposed to Fenway development as this board makes them out to be.

If the Tasty Burger and USPS parcels got a skinny tower as tall as Van Ness, I doubt the Sox would care at all. They've been happy with everything Samuels has done so far, and the Tasty Burger lot is on the "backside" of the Park anyway.
 
Re: Skanska Fenway Project (Burger King) | 1350 Boylston Street | Fenway

Tasty Burger will be moving in the near future, that's for sure. Their departure/relocation was not unexpected and has been delayed...more than once. I wouldn't be surprised if they end of as part of the smaller food hall concept taking over former Best Buy spot.
 
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