Boylston Place - 1252-1270 Boylston Street

Demo Permit Apps Filed to Make Way for Scape's First Fenway Project

Applications have been filed to demolish the commercial buildings at 1252-1268 & 1270 Boylston Street in Fenway. Scape won approval for a 225,000 square foot mixed-use project on this site in January. The upcoming development will include 451 rental units above a ground-floor retail podium designed for a broad range of neighborhood-oriented culinary, lifestyle, and experiential tenants. The rental units will range in size from studios through 3 bedrooms with 15% of units, 68 designated affordable. The project also includes the Boylston Black Box, a 10,000-square-foot LGBTQ-centric venue for the performing arts.

451 Unit Residential Project Approved in Fenway

Scape's plans for a 451 unit residential project along Boylston Street in Fenway have won approval from the BPDA.  Along with the rental units the project will also include a 156 seat Black Box Theater in recognition of the project site’s important heritage and affiliation with the LGBTQ community. Units will range in size from studios through 3 bedrooms and 15% of rentals, 68 in total will be designated affordable. 

451 Unit Residential Project Approved in Fenway

Scape's plans for a 451 unit residential project along Boylston Street in Fenway have won approval from the BPDA.  Along with the rental units the project will also include a 156 seat Black Box Theater in recognition of the project site’s important heritage and affiliation with the LGBTQ community. Units will range in size from studios through 3 bedrooms and 15% of rentals, 68 in total will be designated affordable. 

Scape Plans Would Bring 1357 Units of New Housing to Fenway

Earlier this week, Scape submitted a Draft Impact Project report to the BPDA which includes significant changes to their 1252-1270 Boylston Street project plus a glimpse at what they are planning for 2 other Fenway sites, 2 Charlesgate West & 819 Beacon St. All three projects in total would bring 1357 units of housing to the neighborhood.

After engaging with the Fenway community throughout the past 6 months, Scape has decided to adjust their original plans which called for 500 units of student housing to a residential use to address the need for housing in Fenway. The new plans for 1252-1270 Boylston, Boylston Place call for 477 fully-furnished apartments above around 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The updated proposal also includes a significant reduction in building height, down 30 feet, and material setbacks on the western and southern portions of the building. 

As part of the project, a new home for the Black Box Theater will also be built, to now include 10,000 square feet up from the original 6,000 in the first proposal. This 156 seat theater would be operated on a not-for-profit basis.

Updated rendering of 1252-1270 Boylston Street

As part of this new submission, the development team also mentions 2 upcoming projects, The Beacon at 819 Beacon Street and The Ipswich at 2 Charlesgate West. The Beacon which is currently permitted by Children's Hospital office development would now include 445 residential units, 50 of which would be set aside for families of patients at the hospital. This project would also include 215 below-grade parking spaces.

Affordability requirements at Boylston Place and The Beacon would be satisfied at The Ipswich which would include 220 units, all affordable along with an Urban Causeway to connect Boylston & Ipswich streets.  Scape plans to submit Letters of Intent for these two projects in the 4th quarter of this year. 

Rendering of The Ipswich at 2 Charlesgate West

Rendering of The Beacon, 819 Beacon Street

1252-1270 Boylston Street Under Official Review

The proposed project at 1252-1270 Boylston Street is under official review.

The plans call for a 205,500-square-foot, 15-story mixed-use building on Boylston Street in the Fenway, replacing a row of low-slung storefronts along a stretch of the road that has otherwise been transformed by new development over the last decade.

Mixed-Use Student Housing Proposed on Boylston Street

London-based, Scape, a developer of student housing across the world, has proposed a new mixed-use student housing building at 1252-1268 Boylston Street in the Fenway.

The proposed project calls for a 205,500-square-foot, 15-story building that would replace a row of low-slung storefronts along a stretch of the road that has otherwise been transformed by new development over the last decade. The building would hold about 500 units with ground floor retail.