1M square-foot Tremont Crossing Proposed for Roxbury

The $300 million project would include 500,000 square feet of retail, 200,000 square feet of office space, an 11-story apartment building with 240 units, and a new museum for the National Center for Afro-American Artists. The development will also include a large public plaza and a multi-level parking garage with 1,700 spaces.

Elma Lewis Partners and Feldco Development have proposed "Tremont Crossing," a 1-million-square-foot, mixed-use development in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.

If approved by the city, the $300 million project would include 500,000 square feet of retail with smaller shops and boutiques along Tremont Street, 200,000 square feet of office space, an 11-story apartment building with 240 units, and a new museum for the National Center for Afro-American Artists. The development will also include a large public plaza and a multi-level parking garage with 1,700 spaces.

Tremont Crossing will be located on the 8-acre parcel bounded by Tremont, Whittier and Downing streets. 

According to the filing with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the project seeks to integrate a mix of uses in a “highly-functional, urban context; creating a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly environment that is conducive to the success of its commercial and cultural tenants, as well as enhancing the quality of life in the neighborhood of which it will become a part.”

The museum and cultural space will be at the center of the development with a public plaza to include sculptures and outdoor seating. The office tower will rise above the museum, but will maintain its pedestrian access on Tremont Street and offer unobstructed views of downtown Boston.

The Gund Partnership in collaboration with and Stull and Lee Inc., created the design for Tremont Crossing.
 

Epic Solar-Powered Fenway Project to Start: 5 Buildings, $450M

A court ruling has removed the most significant legal barrier standing in the way of the long-delayed Fenway Center development, a $450 million complex of apartments, stores, and offices to be built over the Massachusetts Turnpike.  Fenway Center calls for development of 550 apartments, retail stores, parking garages, and a 27-story office and residential building, to be built on parking lots near the ballpark.  A new commuter rail station is also slated to be built next to the site.

Massachusetts Land Court Judge Harry Grossman dismissed a zoning challenge that halted the project nearly three years ago. Grossman, in a ruling made public Tuesday, found that a project neighbor, HRPT Medical Buildings Realty Trust, failed to prove the project would improperly infringe on its property.
 

The ruling means that the $450 million Fenway Center project can now get under way. The first phase will involve a 102-unit apartment building along Brookline Avenue, a 750-space parking garage on a deck over the Mass. Pike, a pair of apartment building with 316 units total along Beacon Street, and retail that will include the organic grocer Harvest Co-op. Yup.

A lot going on right near the ballpark, and it all can move forward now that a judge has ruled that a neighboring property owner has no chance of winning its case over public street extensions.

The decision clears the way for one of the city’s largest and most transformative construction projects.

Fenway Center will be transformative in two ways. First, as we've seen, there's a lot of stuff going up, notable in itself even in a Boston that is seeing one of its busiest construction sprees in living memory (the project's next phase includes a 27-story tower over the Mass. Pike with additional retail, office space and apartments). Second, the five buildings total planned for the project are supposed to be powered electrically largely by solar panels. Fans on their way to a Sox game will see apartments, restaurants, stores, etc., humming with the same sunshine powering Bobby Valentine. How about that.

The five-building complex is designed to be unlike anything now standing in Boston, with solar panels to generate much of its electricity. Part of the development will straddle the turnpike between Brookline Avenue and Beacon Street, where many Red Sox fans now walk to the ballpark through crumbling parking lots.

State and city officials cheered the decision, noting that Fenway Center will result in hundreds of construction jobs and advance the redevelopment of the neighborhood around the ballpark.

“It is great news that this lawsuit has been decided,’’ Mayor Thomas M. Menino said. “I am pleased that the $450 million Fenway Center can now move forward and put 1,700 construction workers back on the job.’’
 

$500 million, 47-story Copley Tower Gets Go-Ahead

City officials have approved construction of what would be Boston’s tallest residential building, a 47-story tower at Copley Place with 318 condominiums above a retail base that houses an expanded Neiman Marcus store and other shops. Supporters said the tower will be a striking addition to the skyline and will create jobs and improve the neighborhood.

The board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority OK’d the $500 million project by Simon Property Group, of Indianapolis, after a long debate involving residents, union laborers, and public officials. Opponents argued it won’t provide enough affordable housing and will worsen traffic and cast shadows on nearby Copley Square. In the end, however, the board voted that the project should move forward.

Simon Property Group hopes to begin construction later this year.

The tower was just one of several large projects to win approval.

Others included a 404-unit apartment tower next to the Jacob Wirth Restaurant on Stuart Street near Boston’s Theatre District and a mixed use-project project on Boylston Street that will be developed by Abbey Group.  It will have 210 apartments, offices, and stores in a building that will replace a McDonald’s.

Union workers said the project would alleviate a 35 percent unemployment rate in the building trades in Massachusetts. Others said the project would bring $7 million a year in tax collections and upgrades of nearby public spaces.

Opponents, including Democratic state Representative Byron Rushing, argued the developer is shortchanging the city on affordable housing.

The tower, designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, would add nearly 800,000 square feet to the Copley Place complex. Currently the complex has 100 apartments, the Westin and Marriott hotels, four office buildings, a shopping mall, and a 1,400-space garage.

In addition to new residences, the project would include a renovation and expansion of Neiman Marcus.

A public winter garden would also be built, along with a redesign of the entry to Southwest Corridor Park and up to $1 million in public art displays.

Simon plans 10 apartments in the tower to be affordable housing and is negotiating to build another 35 units in the South End. It is seeking a location for another three units it needs to build to comply with city rules mandating affordable housing in such projects equal to 15 percent of the total residences.

Jailhouse Chic: Cambridge Courthouse Destined for Apartments

Seven suitors stepped forward for the chance to redevelop the old Edward J. Sullivan Middlesex Courthouse in East Cambridge into an apartment tower. However, the state has rejected all seven proposals to redevelop the 22-story, 595,000-square-foot tower on Thorndike Street. The state’s Department of Capital Asset Management determined that it was in the best interest of the commonwealth to issue a revised RFP.

Last month, seven commercial real estate firms filed competing plans with the state’s Department of Capital Asset Management (DCAM) to redevelop the 22-story Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse. Among the teams that met the deadline included Amerimar Acquisition, Boston Properties, The Congress Group, The Gutierrez Company., HYM Investmemnt Group, Leggat-McCall Properties and Trinity Financial. An eighth developer, Bulfinch Thorndike Investors LLC, was rejected early in the process.

Responding to a request for proposals, prominent developers in late February put forth plans that would have mixed rental apartments with thousands of new square feet of retail and green space as well as parking; and all swore off lab space. Still, the state said no a month later and returned deposits.

In a letter to the developers, Dana Harrell, acting deputy commissioner of real estate, read to a BBJ reporter by one of the recipients, said, “The commonwealth has elected to reject all proposals which were submitted in response to the RFP dated Nov. 2 for the Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse at 40 Thorndike St. in Cambridge.

DCAM has determined that it is in the best interest of the commonwealth to reissue a revised RFP and all interested parties are invited to submit proposals. This is an opportunity for your team to review and revise your proposal if you wish to do so. Within a few days, revised RFP information will be posted on the DCAM website.”

The state has now set a new date for bids, May 14, but the target date for closing a deal with a developer, July 1. The state, then, expects that this latest round of proposals will produce a developer willing to undertake the asbestos removal necessary to start any redevelopment and deal with community concerns surrounding the scope and size of any new project.

And, as for those in the community (who don't really have a say on which developer wins the bid as the state controls the courthouse's fate), they are still pushing the idea of housing coupled with green space and, of course, parking.

Also identical this time around: the moving day for the jailbirds. The state would commit to moving them by Dec. 31, 2013.

New Luxury Housing and Two-Story Chanel Planned for Back Bay

A new luxury building will soon get underway on Newbury Street, offering six condominiums and a new storefront for one of the street’s high fashion staples. The corner of Newbury and Arlington Streets is set to house two, new four-story 49,000-square-foot buildings, collectively called No. 6 Newbury. The project, will include construction of a 10,000 square foot ‘House of Chanel’, on the first two floors.

The new condos slated for 4-6 Newbury Street --two, two-bedroom duplexes and four, three- to four-bedroom units ranging from 3,000 to 4,500 square feet - and having floor to ceiling windows -- will be built where a garage currently stands, are expected to ask $3.5 million to $6 million each, depending on their sizes and design requests.

That would make them among the most expensive listings in Boston when they come online next winter.

News of the project, which its developers, including Irish investor Aidan Brooks, are calling No. 6 Newbury (which is actually being called Chanel No. 6 among those in the Boston real estate community), emerged last week after its approval by the city. The Chanel store will take up the first two floors.

Chanel's new 10,000 square foot home has been designed to resemble Coco Chanel’s famed Paris apartment with an exterior façade of French white limestone and black etched moldings designed by architects Peter Marino and Richard Bertman.

Construction of the building is expected to begin in late spring with units expected to be ready for February 2013. No date has been set for Chanel's move.

S+H Construction Receives LEED-Certification on Residential Project in Cambridge

S+H Construction, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the greater Boston area's premier residential renovation and custom home building companies, is pleased to announce a recently completed residential project in Cambridge received LEED-certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for achievement in green homebuilding and design.

The 6,435 square foot home, built by S+H Construction and designed by AndersonPorterDesign, took approximately six months to design and two years to construct. It incorporates durable construction details, sustainable landscaping, water-efficient plumbing fixtures, recycled materials, and enhanced indoor air quality features including HEPA filters, a heat-recovery ventilation system and Energy Star rated ventilation fans. It also includes the infrastructure to add solar voltaic panels in the future.

The project achieves a 61 HERS (home energy rating system) index score, meaning it is nearly 40% more energy efficient than a home designed to building code requirements. Helping to achieve this level was the use of Icynene foam insulation for the exterior walls and the roof and high efficiency and renewable energy measures such as a ground source heating and cooling system and a rooftop solar hot water heating system.

"The design and construction of an energy retrofit project like this renovation requires careful attention to detail and a well-coordinated team in order to successfully achieve LEED-certification," states Daniel Anderson, of AndersonPorterDesign. "I appreciated the skill and expertise brought to the project by S+H and am pleased that together we were able to meet the program's stringent requirements. This project is significant in being only the 6th gut-rehab project to achieve LEED for Homes certification in Massachusetts."

A multi-award winning firm, S+H Construction collaborates with architects and other design professionals to offer residential renovations, custom building, historic restorations, energy conservation, renewable energy, site work and landscaping solutions. Serving the greater Boston area for over 30 years, S+H provides a dedicated team who share a commitment to customer satisfaction. Their work is consistently seen in both regional and national home and design publications. Additionally the company recently received the 2012 Best of Boston Home Award which is the fifth "Best of" honor for S+H.

Construction Worker Injured in Hopkinton Fall

A electrical construction worker was flown by medical helicopter to a Worcester hospital today, after falling from a Hopkinton building he was helping to construct on Clinton Street.

The man was conscious and alert, but complained of back pain after he fell about 20 feet, Hopkinton Fire Lt. Carl Harris said. The man, whose identity was not available, was working with a construction crew at 135 Clinton St., Harris said.

A LifeFlight helicopter landed at the nearby New England Laborers Training Center on East Street and flew the man to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.

“It was a construction-type accident so we’re really not sure what happened,” Harris said. There was also a language barrier so it was difficult to get information, he said.

Police notified the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration Boston office who are investigating the incident.