Kenmore Square North
Update
01/28/18
Proposed Kenmore Square North development would preserve Citgo sign
Related Beal, who acquired nine adjacent buildings in the heart of Kenmore Square atop which stands the legendary Citgo sign for nearly $134 million in Fall 2016, has revealed preliminary development plans for the property. The proposed project, dubbed Kenmore Square North, calls for six of the buildings to be retained and improved, and three of the buildings to be demolished and replaced with new construction.
Modest improvements are proposed to two four-to-six-story buildings at 11-19 Deerfield Street and 642-648 Beacon Street at either end of the portfolio, which extends east along Beacon Street from Deerfield Street overlooking the Kenmore MBTA station. Four six-story buildings at 650, 652-654, 656 and 660 Beacon Street would be fully renovated to contain office space and creative workspace, with retail on ground floors. Related Beal hopes to keep the Boston University Bookstore as a tenant of 660 Beacon Street, the building on top of which the Citgo sign stands.
Three buildings ranging from two to six stories at 533, 535-539 and 541 Commonwealth Avenue, located at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Deerfield Street, would be demolished, and replaced with a new eight-story, 165,000-square-foot building containing office space and ground-floor restaurant/retail space that will preserve views of the Citgo sign from west of Boston. An architect has not yet been decided upon for the proposed development, which is now under review by the City of Boston.
The development would create a total of approximately 400,000 square feet of office space in the Fenway neighborhood, which is fast becoming a desirable office location. Samuels & Associates recently shifted the focus of its’ 401 Park development from residences to offices, and the 237,000-square-foot Van Ness office building, also developed by Samuels, is fully leased. Kenmore Square itself is seeing significant development, with the first phase of the $600 million, 1.1-million-square-foot Fenway Center development now underway and two hotel towers containing a total of 763 rooms proposed as well. Later phases of Fenway Center will include an additional 160,000 square feet of office space.
