In a vote taken after it closed its final public meeting, the Mass. Turnpike Authority board on Thursday revised a development agreement to speed the first phase of the Fenway Center, a large, mixed use project that also involves the creation of Yawkey Station, a full-service commuter rail stop, and a multi-modal center near Kenmore Square and the Longwood Medical Area.
Transportation officials, who earlier in the day promoted a press conference on the accord but declined to discuss details, said the board’s vote occurred in closed executive session, which was convened to discuss real estate negotiations after the board voted to end its last public session, forcing the media out.
The developers behind the $500 million, 1.3 million square foot project, which includes nearly 1,300 new parking spaces, are John Rosenthal and Meredith Kenmore (MK), New England Sports Ventures and the Boston Red Sox.
In an interview, Rosenthal said the agreement recognizes market conditions by deferring rent payments tied to a 99-year air rights development lease while requiring upfront payments tied to appraisal values of land involved in the 4.5-acre project. Rosenthal estimated air rights payments at more than $300 million over the lease period.
“I’m thrilled with the vote,” he said. “It’s a very smart way to jumpstart a major development project.”
The project depends upon low-income housing tax credits and so-called new markets tax credits and also includes conditional financing commitments from a host of entities, including the Mass. Housing Finance Agency, the Executive Office of Housing and Community Development, and the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust.
The first phase of the project involves construction of Yawkey Station, at a cost to the state of $12 million, with $12.5 million in state-funded roadway improvements around the station. The first phase of Fenway Center includes a pair of 100-unit housing developments and a 700-space garage with a large solar power component.
According to Boston Redevelopment Authority Director John Palmieri, the Yawkey Center project "will significantly transform the public realm between Kenmore Square, Fenway and the Audubon Circle."
State transportation officials said the new agreement, worked out over eight months, positions the state to receive "significant financial benefits" tied with the second phase of the project's development. Transportation officials were unable to estimate the value of upfront payments or future payments. Colin Durrant, spokesman for the state transportation secretariat, said the revised agreement was not available to review because it has not been finalized.
