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Banker & Tradesman
Developers Scale Back Fenway Dorm Plan
By Thomas GrilloReporter

Developers of a dormitory in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood will downsize their proposed 34-story tower by 10 floors to win neighborhood approval, Banker & Tradesman has learned.
In response to community opposition, the Phoenix Property Co. and Lincoln Property Co. expect to file revised plans next month with the Boston Redevelopment Authority for GrandMarc. The private, $170 million residence hall will offer about 800 beds for students to be built near the YMCA on Huntington Avenue.

The project would be the first of its kind in Boston, where dorms typically are operated by colleges and universities. In the case of GrandMarc, the company would lease the one- to four-bedroom units directly to students. But the firm is willing to consider a provision that would guarantee a certain number of beds to schools based in the Fenway.

“We heard the [Boston Redevelopment Authority] and the neighborhood’s concerns and devised a plan that is significantly less than what we proposed,” Jason P. Runnels, Phoenix’s executive vice president, told B&T on Wednesday. “We were happy to build more than 1,000 beds in that location to meet the demand, but the community and BRA said it was way too much for the neighborhood and we heard them.”

Last year, the pair of Dallas-based real estate developers proposed a building that would have reached 34 stories in one section and 12 stories in another. The original plan would have included 1,140 beds as well as a cafe, recreation room and lounge on the ground floor.
But neighbors said the complex was too big and the concentration of more than a 1,000 students would overwhelm the neighborhood. Residents argued the skyscraper would be the largest building in the Fenway and would not fit the scale of the other properties. In addition, neighbors worried that GrandMarc, coupled with Northeastern University’s plans to build more than 3,000 units of student housing, would concentrate too many students in the area.

Questions were also raised about how alcohol use and underage drinking would be controlled, whether the dorm would provide police details on weekends, what consequences would result for students who misbehave and how the building will handle disposal of party-related trash. The developer’s history of selling its properties after a few years also was flagged as a concern.
In response, Runnels said he will reduce the size of the tallest tower to about 24 stories and increase the other section of the building to about 15 stories. He also has hired a local company and a consulting firm that will help resolve security questions. In addition, while Runnels acknowledged that his company holds its buildings for about seven years, he said Phoenix has a partner, Behringer Harvard Real Estate Investment Trust, which typically keeps properties for the long-term.

Jane Hartmann, a member of the Impact Advisory Group, an eight-member panel appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to advise the city on the development, said she has not heard from the developer about the revised plans.

“We haven’t received any notice for a redesign,” she said. “But many of the concerns are around the governance and the security and we didn’t like the idea that this is a firm that wants to build something and sell it in five years. The neighborhood has spent two years negotiating with Northeastern University and we already have said we will support student housing on two sites, so neighbors are concerned that this new project would put too many students in a small section of the Fenway.”

In a prepared statement, Jessica Shumaker, a spokeswoman for the BRA, said, “We’re happy to hear that the developers are responding to our concerns and the concerns from the community. Ultimately, the public review process results in a better project, and we look forward to reviewing their new submission with the community soon.”