Fenway Center secures ground lease and construction financing, groundbreaking planned mid-January

Fenway Center joint venture partners Gerding Edlen, TH Real Estate and Meredith Management have signed a $21 million long-term ground lease with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) for Phase I of the project and secured over $136.5 million in construction financing through The Union Labor Life Insurance Company, allowing construction of the project to begin after years of delays. Construction of the $240 million Phase I is scheduled to begin immediately, with a groundbreaking ceremony planned for mid-January. Starting the week of Monday December 11th, logistics for Phase I’s construction will begin to be put in place on site.

Phase I of Fenway Center will take two years to construct, with completion expected in early 2020. Phase I will feature two buildings with 312 apartments, 37,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and 200 underground parking spaces. A 12,000-square-foot air rights deck and landscaped pedestrian walkway will also be constructed over Yawkey Station as part of the project.

Fenway Center’s much-anticipated groundbreaking represents the culmination of years of work. The project was first proposed in 2002 by Meredith Management. “We are very pleased that this important project for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston will finally be realized,” said Kelly Saito, a Partner at Gerding Edlen, in a prepared statement. “Fenway Center’s phenomenal location, the vibrancy of the surrounding neighborhood and the continued demand for housing in the Boston market make this a great time to start construction.” “It is extremely gratifying to achieve this milestone for the project,” said co-developer John Rosenthal of Meredith Management in a prepared statement. “I could not have asked for better partners than Gerding Edlen and TH Real Estate to bring Fenway Center to life.” “Boston is thriving and remains a target for institutional investors around the globe,” said Pamela West, TH Real Estate’s Regional Head of Multifamily Transactions, Northeast, in a prepared statement. “The city’s live/work environment has attracted companies from the suburbs and increased demand for housing and mixed-use properties, and we are pleased to join our partners on this project.”

Upon full completion, Fenway Center will represent a $600 million investment in the Fenway neighborhood, generating $5.7 million in property taxes per year. The project will feature a total of approximately 550 residential units, 160,000 square feet of office space and over 50,000 square feet of retail, in addition to over 30,000 square feet of park and green space. Discussions are ongoing between Fenway Center's developers and MassDOT regarding the lease agreement for Phase II of the project. The developers are required to close the Phase II lease by December 2020.

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