Real estate developer Trinity Financial has struck a deal to begin building a $190 million apartment project along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle, with construction likely to begin next week.
Boston-based Trinity and its partner Apartment Investment and Management Co. (Aimco) have reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to build the 12-story apartment property at One Canal St.
Under the terms of the agreement, Trinity will construct the building, which includes 310 housing units and about 21,000 square feet of retail space, and Aimco will own and operate it after completion. Denver, Colo.-based Aimco has secured a 99-year ground lease from MassDOT, according to information released today by the company. The development will be funded in part by a $114 million construction loan and in part by proceeds from the sales of lower-rated properties in less desirable submarkets.
While the MassDOT agreement was a necessary step, a city zoning board decision earlier this year opened the doors for the project to proceed. Before the Boston Zoning Board of Appeal voted to eliminate the stipulation in April, the developer was required to lease 20,000 square feet of the property to a supermarket before commencing construction.
Trinity was having a hard time securing a grocer to lease the space, which was keeping the project in limbo. According to a lawyer for the developer, the job of finding a tenant was made harder as the owner of the nearby TD Garden, Delaware North Cos., was moving forward with plans for new residential towers, retail and office space adjacent to the sports complex, the Boston Globe reported at the time.
Despite the issues finding an operator, Trinity is still working to secure a grocer for the site, according to Trinity officials.
"We are making a concerted effort to market the space to a supermarket as the community would like to see a supermarket in the neighborhood," Abby Goldenfarb, a Trinity vice president, wrote in an email.
And according to information the company released today, the project will include ground floor retail "that is designed to accommodate a supermarket." The supermarket would be the second one in downtown Boston after the city announced that Roche Bros. would move into Downtown Crossing in the now-under-construction Millennium Tower project.
The building will also house 147 parking spaces. Construction of the new greenway building will span the MBTA Orange and Green Lines and the Central Artery. The building was designed by ICON architecture and will be built by John Moriarty & Assoc. Goldenfarb said that they expect to see construction vehicles on the site by early next week. A formal groundbreaking event is being planned for later in the fall.
