Air Rights Parcel No. 8, located behind the Green Monster of Fenway Park in Boston, is expected to be the first awarded under a new development bid system.
Development of the air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension in Boston is all about bringing the city back together, but as one of the first projects planned above the roadway begins to work its way through the approval process, it seems as though the neighborhood and developer could not be further apart.
“It’s not a very well-conceived plan,” said South End resident Marianne Abrams, whose home abuts so-called Parcels 16 and 17, located just past the Back Bay commuter rail station that parallels the Massachusetts Turnpike. “It’s never going to fly.”
Abrams is a member of the Ellis Neighborhood Association, a group that has rallied against the plan by Columbus Center Assoc. to construct a pair of mixed-use buildings on the adjoining sites. Under the original proposal, Winn would develop a 38-story building with 331 parking spaces on Parcel 16 and a 33-story structure with 394 parking spaces above Parcel 17.
Along with concerns over pollution and noise impacts, critics of the proposal claim it is much too large, in some cases more than double what is considered economically necessary to finance construction over the roadway. Columbus Center has responded by knocking down the Parcel 17 property to 25 stories, but Abrams charged the density of that building would remain essentially the same because the design was reconfigured to offer the same space in a squatter layout.
Thus far, opponents of the plan have relied heavily on a study conducted by 26 residents, businesspeople and development professionals appointed to a special task force by Mayor Thomas Menino. Headed up by veteran architect M. David Lee, the group spent months studying more than 20 air rights parcels stretching from Allston to downtown Boston to create a cohesive game plan for future activity. The group’s report, “A Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston” has received national accolades for providing a sensible concept for the undertaking.
In a recent letter to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the Ellis Neighborhood Association urged the BRA to reject the Columbus concept, charging that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Columbus Center have “offered no explanation or justification in their presentations … for such a radical departure from the master plan.”
Lee declined to comment on the imbroglio beyond saying that he has heard the Columbus plan is “an aggressive proposal,” but he did defend the committee’s economic conclusions for development, numbers that said Parcels 16 and 17 could be viable even if the building were as low as 15 stories.
The assumptions “just did not appear out of nowhere,” Lee said. “The economics were never very far from reality.”
Although the gap between concept and fiscal necessity can often be a wide one, Lee said he believes the committee’s report is a viable base to work from, adding that he feels “it is very important to follow the guidelines.”
“Anyone who proposes to depart substantially from the guidelines has to make the case as to why,” Lee said. “If they are convincing, the community might go for it, and if not, it’s back to the drawing boards.”
Public Process
Perhaps one of the more encouraging outgrowths of the Civic Vision effort was a change in the way the parcels are awarded, one that many believe will help curb concerns of back-door dealings that greeted the selection of Columbus Center for Parcels 16 and 17. Under the new system, a “request for qualifications” will be prepared by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and reviewed by the BRA before going out to bid.
Both Columbus Center and a massive development proposed by New York-based Millennium Partners near Massachusetts Avenue were awarded outright by the Turnpike Authority, but most observers seem to feel the Vision’s approach will be more acceptable to the community. Among them is John Rosenthal, a principal with Meredith Management of Newton. Rosenthal’s firm owns a garage abutting what is known as Air Rights Parcel No. 8. Located behind the Green Monster of Fenway Park, that parcel is expected to be the first awarded under the new system, with a designation anticipated sometime in 2001.
“It will be a very public process, and one that I am more than willing to participate in,” said Rosenthal.
Because his company owns 300 feet of land alongside Parcel 8, Rosenthal said he believes Meredith would have an advantage over its competitors because less of his development would have to be located on the air rights, leading to lower construction costs. “Having terra firma is going to be an advantage,” Rosenthal said.
Given the controversy surrounding both Millennium and Columbus Plaza, Rosenthal acknowledged that winning local support is not a definite, but he maintained the desire by residents of the Fenway and Kenmore Square to reconnect those areas should be a benefit to getting a project approved.
“I really think we can thread the needle and come up with a plan that satisfies [the neighborhoods],” Rosenthal said, adding that he is “anxious to get going” on the project.
As for Columbus Center, efforts to reach members of the development team by press deadline were unsuccessful. BRA spokeswoman Meredith Baumann said that the city is hoping to strike a compromise between the developers and their critics. A citizens advisory committee has been appointed to oversee the negotiations, with its next meeting slated for Thursday, May 3, at the Franklin Institute in Boston. Baumann said the city is encouraging Columbus Center principals Arthur Winn and Roger Cassin to respond to the issues.
“They are aware of the opposition, and I’m sure they will work with us to come up with some sort of resolution that everyone is happy with,” Baumann said.
