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BRA approves 31-story tower to replace old Fenway sub shop
By adamg on Fri, 02/27/2015 - 8:20am
Architect's rendering.
The BRA board yesterday approved a revised plan to build a $290-million tower of both condos and apartments at the intersection of Boylston Street and Brookline Avenue, replacing an old D'Angelo sub shop.
Samuels and Associates says its Point project will include a mix of condos and apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units and with two floors of retail space. Some 15 floors of apartments will be topped by 11 floors of condos. The BRA had already approved an earlier version of the plan, which had 30 fewer residential units.
The building will be topped with a rooftop pool. Residents with cars will park them in the existing Trilogy garage.
Samuels says it hopes to break ground this spring, with construction completed by the fall of 2017. It describes its proposed tower, designed by an architectural firm from Miami:
At both the retail and residential levels, glazed surfaces are maximized, while a solid band concept is utilized to relate to the material character of the neighborhood while simultaneously enhancing the Project’s unique architectural presence. At the sidewalk level retail and residential lobbies create a rich and varied streetscape, while the faceted treatment of the façade reduces the building to human scale and enhances pedestrian interaction and attraction along storefronts. Above the podium at the residential tower, the setback of the different masses and the faceted geometry lends itself to a slender and sleek look, creating a distinctive Fenway Neighborhood landmark.
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Comments
Yes, but will the first floor have a new D'Angelo's ....
to replace the old one?
Good riddance to D'Angelos.
Good riddance to D'Angelos. What an awful overpriced sub shop. A simple sub meal and drink costs you upwards of $12 plus tax. Always a shock to your wallet for what should really be cheap fast food. Meanwhile at Subway, you can get the same thing for like $7.
On a more serious note, there are actually quite a lot of retail spots and the renders show a furniture store modeled after Crate&Barrel on the ground floor at the point itself. Could just be a placeholder (common with renders), or they may actually have tenant interest.
I pulled these from the NPC:
D'Angelos
When I first came to Boston and was stupid about eating I'd go to a D'Angelos all the time. The old ones with the green logo. The #9 cheesesteak was great. I'd happily eat one for breakfast if someone handed me one right now.
I haven't been in one in at least 10 years and figured that when they tried to go upscale with the new logo that was the end. But still, the old subs made for a good lunch or dinner.
I'm vegetarian now...
...but I still have fond memories of D'Angelo's cheesesteaks I had 20 years ago. Mmmmmmmm. So horribly delicious.
I ate at that D'Angelos all
I ate at that D'Angelos all the time when I was practicing four nights a week at the rehearsal space next door. Haven't eaten at one in years but their steak subs, Italian subs, and even the cheeseburger sub are miles beyond anything you can get at Subway.
When is the expected
When is the expected completion date of the Muddy River bridge work? This new building will make a difficult traffic situation that much worse
How will this building make
How will this building make traffic worse when it is adding no additional parking? The required spaces for this project were already built into the existing Trilogy garage (why that garage is always half empty) a decade ago.
If you want to know the current status of the Muddy River project and traffic pattern changes read this website:
http://www.muddyrivermmoc.org/
You must be new here
A lot of people move into places like this - get a residential permit - and then park on the street (or try). Plus - I'll assume that if the spaces were "built into the Trilogy" there are empty spaces there now that will get filled when the new tenants move in causing even more traffic.
Traffic here is going to be a huge problem. There is very little transit. All these new buildings are going in on Boylston. The Rosenthal air-rights project which is massive should break ground at some point PLUS the hospitals are expanding to say nothing of the schools over on Huntington. Add a game at Fenway to this mix and a few years down the road it could become very difficult to navigate - especially for ambulances trying to get to the hospital.
Personally I don't think even at its worst Boston traffic is all that terrible. But here in particular there are at least 3-4 major bottlenecks I can think of.
Also, the obvious point that
Also, the obvious point that traffic =/= parking. Even if every single resident parks in the garage, having dozens (hundreds?) of new residents driving cars in that neighborhood isn't going to improve the traffic situation.
PLUS/PLUS
Cabs/Uber/Zip car/visiting friends, trucks moving people in/out, deliveries etc. etc. etc.
I tend to drive by there off hours - so usually not too bad - but rush hours are going to get tougher and tougher.
You are not stuck in traffic
you are traffic.
"There is very little transit"?
By my count, there are 9 bus lines within a block of this place, not to mention the D line right down the street and the C line around the corner from there. Heck, even the commuter rail is only a quarter mile away.
I also don't have as much confidence as you do that the Rosenthal project will be breaking ground any time soon.
Rich peeps on Buses?
Shudder the thought!
Seriously though - I don't see many people making the money it takes to afford these places taking many buses - that leaves the Green Line from Landmark or Kenmore.
I somewhat agree on the Rosenthal project - I figure he still has to come back and ask for a public subsidy for the decking. Nothing against him - that's just what everyone else has done.
Why should he get a subsidy
Why should he get a subsidy when he has already had a decade to build and other air rights developers just blocks away aren't begging for one?
Kick the deadbeat out and put the air rights back out to bid.
What other developers?
There hasn't been a single air rights project in Boston in at least three decades. Not saying he should get a subsidy, but the argument that could be made is that the decking is a unique expense, one that renders the project financially unviable. So, if we as a society want to cover the Turnpike trench, we might need to figure out a hybrid development model. Personally, I'd favor tax funded decking, with favorable lease terms covering the cost over a 99 year period. That's not a give away, it's a landlord/tenant arrangement, with the Commonwealth as landlord. I suspect anything less than that will mean no air rights development, anywhere.
The Mass Pike air rights
The Mass Pike air rights parcels around Mass Ave had competitive bids from multiple developers.
Rosenthal got his parcels as a no bid political giveaway and has been sitting on permits shopping for financing for the better part of a decade now. If his designated parcels went back out to bid there would be a half dozen developers from around the country putting their own money on the table rather than trying to stick their hands in taxpayer pockets like the current developer.
And the Yawkey commuter train station, too
This is one of the best-served neighborhoods in Boston for transit.
I read this differently
Two construction projects going on across the street from each other, with the resulting loss travel and parking lanes. If the Muddy River project wrap up before this begins, no more issues than when the rest of the Boylston Street canyon went up. If they are being done at the same time, jeez, stay away from there.
Or it's the parking thing.
Not designed by Elkus?
What is the world coming to?
Seriously
For some reason, they went with Arquitectonica.
A welcome change. I really
A welcome change. I really like Arquitectonica.
Where is the included parking
Where is the included parking garage?
It says all the cars will go in the existing trilogy garage, but more likely is that if the owners don't want to pay for that the cars will end up on the street.
Whats the law about parking included with new construction?
Isn't it more attractive and simpler to have a deeded space or two included with rent/mortgage, than to pay a company more for a space on a monthly basis? If it's not needed the condo/apt. owner can rent the space to someone else in the building, keeping it all neighborly.
It is the sister building to
It is the sister building to the Triology. When they built the Triology, they built enough parking for this building as well. Cheaper to do one big garage than 2 or 3 smaller ones each with their own access needs.
"Isn't it more attractive and simpler to have a deeded space or two included with rent/mortgage, than to pay a company more for a space on a monthly basis?"
Absolutely not. Should we bundle in weekly grocery deliveries with rent or mortgage? After all, why pay Shaws on a monthly basis for food? Should we also bundle electricity, meaning turning off the lights is pointless if you always pay the same?
Why force people to pay for something they may not want or need?
And bundling leads to abuse. With the electricity example "included" electric means zero incentive to save. With "included" parking, theres zero incentive to have less or no cars.
I think that rendering is missing some buildings...
... and conveniently cropping of course!
http://www.universalhub.com/2014/bra-consider-major-expansion-landmark-c...
Regarding parking, you should be advocating the city to charge MARKET RATE for parking on the streets. The potential revenue that could be generated by proper parking charges is huge.
The buildings are all owned
The buildings are all owned by the same person and the shape/dimensions of the site are not optimal for a garage when you start adding ramps and things needed for underground parking. So next best thing utilize a garage already built/owned by the same person that share an alley with the entry/exit of the garage.
parking
Yes new construction requires a certain amount of parking. However the Trilogy parking was over designed to take on parking for the future tenant next door in preparation for a new apt/condo building.
West Fenway
While there are a few cool spots that have come out of the overhaul (CPH being one), it's kind of sad to see the West Fenway turn into a neighborhood full of luxury high-rises. 6 years ago you could get a studio in the area for under a grand, and today the same places are going for $1500 and up. Not worth it to have to deal with the Red Sox foot traffic all summer.
I guess D'Angelo fans will have to make due with College Pizza or Hidyan Cafe (unless they're both high-rises now, too). Subway? GTFO.
Nothing new
Hell, I got priced out of my place on Queensbury Street in the early 1980s.
I suspected it for all these years...now I know!
you're one of the Bosstones!
Ha!
Back in the early 90's my friend asked me to let him off in an alley behind Queensbury and hen them shimmied through the window into his first floor apartment. He was 90 days late on rent and the locks were changed but his stuff was still there. He was a musician of course.
Amen to that
Used to be the best neighborhood in Boston. Now? It's a @#$%@#$% playground for tourists.
I'd rather have luxury high
I'd rather have luxury high rises with retail and restaurants at the base than the trash filled parking lots that used to be there and were empty 285 days of the year.
Prices have gone up from a lack of housing supply in general in the city. BUILD BABY BUILD!
And the fact people actually want to live in the neighborhood because its desirable now.
Hidyan is closing too :)
Hidyan is closing too :)
Not to Sound like an Old Fart...
But is anyone else sick of these soaring towers that stick out like sore thumbs? Do we really need 31 more floors of luxury condos in the city? I miss the days when you could afford to live closer to the heart of the city.
I'm really hoping the stores for normal people like Blick, Marshall's, Staples, etc. over there aren't going to get pushed out by landlords wanting to bring in higher-end retail tenants.
It's not affordable because
It's not affordable because we haven't built enough housing to keep up with demand. Blocking buildings like this won't help that at all.
Old days
Anyone remember Empire Deli at this location? It was one of our favored late-night eating spots when I was in college.
Raises hand
Best late-night Jewish deli in the city.
OK, only late-night Jewish deli in the city.
The Empire
The Empire was a favorite late night spot after hanging out at the late, lamented 1270 gay bar on Boylston. Down below the Empire (or very close thereabouts) was an old piano storage place where local bands rehearsed. Man, that area has changed. It used to have character. It's so touristy and bland now.
The rehearsal space is still
The rehearsal space is still there, AFAIK.
And was Deli-Haus not a Jewish deli?
who buys these condos???
Seriously. I want to know. If you own one of these places, please tell me what you do for a living and how much money you make. Also if you have one of the new "luxury" rentals. I want to meet the person who pays 4 grand a month for a one bedroom. It's like seeing a unicorn.
I know
I know a few executives of my company live in these types of high rises.
Of course they make well over six figures.
But how many of them can
But how many of them can their possibly be??
Are luxury condos at ALL in demand??
If you make under six figs, which even as a college-educated professional thirty-something is most of the people I know, you probably can't afford these, even if you are single, debt-free and putting 28 percent of your monthly income toward rent. Even an engineer making 85k in this city is limited to about $1300 in rent (after taxes) if s/he's limiting it to a third of their monthly income. So triple that salary to pay roughly $3900 or so for a one-bed. I guess I didn't realize there were so many people in that salary bracket living here?
Rule of thumb I always heard
Rule of thumb I always heard was up to 1/3 of your annual gross income for rent/mortgage. So someone making $85000 a year is actual maxing out around $2361, with around the $140s a year mark being being the territory for a 4k a month rent. That being said, this is a desirable city to live, so like other desirable places, people (wisely or not) are apt to go above the 1/3 gross rule, sometimes as high as 1/2. $120000 a year and up is pretty standard for good senior software engineers/developers, $85k would be someone transitioning from junior to mid level. All of that said, for a $4k payment a month I would rather just buy a 2/3 family further out in Roslindale, JP, or Dorchester.
This area has always been
This area has always been heavily populated by College students, who's buying these condo's you ask.. Well , since it's close by the medical area, medical personel to Red Sox employees, College professors to Daughter and sons of celebrities who are attending nearby universities. Gloria Estafan's daughter just recently bought a condo nearby.
If you remember S.S. Pierce,
If you remember S.S. Pierce, raise your hand.
Luxury living!
"Look out the window, honey! You can see gay sex in the reeds and a filthy Shaw's from here!"
"Sorry, Dan, I'm going to have to cancel our 5:30 squash match. Yeah, it's a Sox game day."
"Come on, darling. It's only about 90 days of the year when the A/C smells like burnt sausages."
That's all been rebranded
It's now referred to 'intimacy al fresco in the phragmites' now. Cause, you now, gentrification.
The Shaw's is a gritty throwback to the Boston of Robert B Parker and the Friends of Eddie Coyle.
Nice.
n/t
The Shaw's is now Star (again
The Shaw's is now Star (again) and has a Starbucks. Sure sign of the times in the Fenway!
I miss the Empire Deli...
...chopped liver sandwiches at 2am, starving actor servers, drag queens at adjacent tables. How the 'hood has changed in 30 years...