The One Kenmore project would contain a mix of office space, housing and parking above the Massachusetts Turnpike near Boston’s Kenmore Square.
After more than a year of delays, an advisory group has signaled its support for a $400 million air-rights project that would cover the Massachusetts Turnpike near Fenway Park with a mix of housing, shops and a rejuvenated commuter rail station.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity with loads of challenges,” said John Rosenthal, president of Meredith Management Corp., the Newton-based company that wants to turn an eyesore into a vibrant, mixed-use urban center called One Kenmore. “Hopefully we will work together and solve the challenges and realize the opportunities.”
Members of the Citizens Advisory Group (CAC) gathered late last week to hear the plan in Fenway Park’s EMC Club overlooking the ice-covered ballfield. The 11-member panel was appointed by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to advise the city and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority on the development. While the panel put off a vote on the project, members expressed enthusiasm for the project team and its goals.
Rosenthal’s proposal includes four buildings, bounded by Brookline Avenue and Maitland and Beacon streets, with 799,320 square feet of housing and 56,700 square feet of retail. The project would be built on 75,000 square feet of land, including the vast surface parking lot at Yawkey Station and 85,000 square feet of air rights. A steel deck would cover the turnpike where a portion of the development would sit, similar to Copley Place and the Prudential Center.
The project envisions 688 units of housing, most in a pair of high-rises totaling 17 and 20 stories with the rest in two 7-story buildings lining Beacon and Maitland streets. A parking garage for 496 vehicles would be wrapped by housing so that it is not seen from the street.
‘A Good Start’
Building height and the number of parking spaces appear to be the only contentious issues in what has been a remarkably friendly process. Unlike Columbus Center, the city’s other air-rights project in the South End that has been stalled by financial woes and community opposition, Rosenthal appears to have won over CAC members and many residents.
George Thrush, a CAC member and director of the School of Architecture at Northeastern University, said Rosenthal’s plan integrates well with transit and looks good on the ground. “I have great confidence in the team,” he said. “But the planning consequences of putting too much parking here could be very detrimental.”
Janet Hurwitz, another CAC member and architect, said parking and access to the lot on Brookline Avenue is a serious issue. Traffic studies are needed to figure out how the vehicular and pedestrian connections will work, she said. Still, she added that she is looking foward to working with Rosenthal.
Jack Creighton, who represents the nearby Audubon Circle Neighborhood Association at Beacon Street and Park Drive, said traffic congestion is a major concern to neighbors. He also noted that the parking garage could spell disaster for the tiny neighborhod. Still, he was supportive of much of the plan.
“At first glance, this project could reclaim an abandoned part of the city and it’s a good start, but it’s a question of how this will all go together,” he said.
Marc Laderman, another CAC member, raised questions about affordable housing and building height. “Is a 20-story building 200 feet or 240 feet? I’m not sure from the proposal. And we want to make sure that the affordable housing that gets built is affordable.”
Pamela G. Beale, the CAC chairwoman, said she was pleased that so many people have faith in Rosenthal. “We look forward to working with John,” she said. “As the process plays out, lots of these questions will be answered.”
The Turnpike Authority, which owns the land and controls the air rights above the toll road, issued a Request for Proposals, or RFP, for the 2.7-acre site known as Parcel 7 last year. Rosenthal was the only applicant.
Following competitive bidding in 2002, the MTA selected Rosenthal to develop Parcels 8, 9 and 10 and the air rights above the turnpike that are bordered by Brookline Avenue and Lansdowne, Newbury and Beacon streets. But those plans are on hold.
The project faced delays as Parcel 7 went out to bid and the Legislature debated how much money to allocate for infrastructure and public transportation improvements in Kenmore Square and the Longwood Medical area. But last year, the Legislature approved $55 million for infrastructure improvements including a redesigned Yawkey Commuter Rail MBTA Station.
The 2.5-mile Boston extension to the turnpike was built in the 1960s to improve traffic into the city. But in doing so, the road created a barrier between neighborhoods. Development of so-called air rights – the right to build on steel decking above the road – was devised to reconnect neighborhoods and provide economic benefits for the communities on the turnpike.
Ned Flaherty, co-founder of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods and a critic of air-rights projects, noted that most CAC members were not democratically elected by their community, but appointed by the mayor. “The Turnpike Authority and the [Boston Redevelopment Authority] are semi-government authorities that answer to no one,” he said. “Keep that in mind.”
Rosenthal reassured the more than 100 people who attended the meeting by saying the conversation about the project is just starting, and promising a “transparent process.”
“This will be an ongoing conversation about how much density, how much parking,” Rosenthal said. “But we must be realistic about how to pay for this. We think this is a balanced approach to a transit-oriented, smart-growth development that brings housing and retail to the neighborhood. I am fully aware that the elephant in the room is how many parking spaces and how high the buildings will be.”
