MassDOT, the State’s transportation department, has approved the development of a 12-story building with a ground floor supermarket in the West End’s Bullfinch Triangle along Canal Street. The parcel is in the West End, but nearly abuts the North End, at the far end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway down to Causeway Street across from the TD Garden.
According to a Boston Herald article today by Thomas Grillo, Trinity Financial has been selected for the $150 million project with up to 275 units of luxury housing and construction starting as early as the Summer 2011. Trinity was also the developer of the adjacent Avenir apartment building which has entrances on Canal and Valenti Streets. Trinity sold the Avenir to Archstone which currently operates it as a rental apartment building.
The North End/West End/Beacon Hill Supermarket Committee, led by ABCD Director Lia Tota, has been advocating for an affordable supermarket in the area since the Stop & Shop closed on Cambridge Street in 2002. The Whole Foods at that location was welcomed by some, but does not carry many basic household items and is an expensive store. Residents are appropriately skeptical of the 2011 construction start timeframe having seen many of these types of announcements lead to nothing.
The start-stop nature of the project comes after the default by Hines Raymond LP, which previously proposed the “Greenway Center,” and could not obtain financing for an office tower concept on the parcel. Two months ago, Hines Raymond LP missed a $454,000 rent payment to the State.
Stop & Shop has signed up to lease the supermarket space and plans a full-service grocery. According to Banker & Tradesman, Trinity plans meetings with abutters and will initiate the City Hall development review process with hopes for a “shovel in the ground by the second or third quarter of 2011.”
News of the supermarket comes soon after the State’s proposal to award up to $10 million for a Public Food Market on Parcel 7, adjacent the Rose Kennedy Greenway over Haymarket T Station. The Public Food Market concept is for “Made in Massachusetts” products such as vegetables, breads and cheeses.
Up to 275 units of luxury housing? Look at Archstone Avenir – there wasn't enough interest or $ to sell the units as condos. So now it's 240 apartments. And if you look at Avenir's ground floor, in the entire year the building has been open, not one business has moved in. The ground floor is empty.
Who are they counting on to move into all these luxury units?
"Trinity was also the developer of the adjacent Avenir apartment building which has an entrance along Causeway Street."
There is no entrance on Causeway Street. The front entrance is on Canal, the back entrance is on Valenti, and there is a service entrance on Haverhill.
Just noticed The Globe's story on this, it's more complete:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/08/13/greenway_project_gets_new_builder/
Heather, Thanks for the correction. I walked by there and see while there are doors on Causeway, they point to entrances on the sides. I have edited the post. –Matt
Matt, you're welcome. Thanks for keeping us up to date on all the breaking news here.
Heather, you are so right on!. I use the North Station T all the time.
So I noticed the billboard going from condo to apartments. Even then they are not at 100% occuptancy. I'll be surprised if they are over 50%.
Also the building that houses The Exchange coffee house on the corner of N. Washington and The Causeway has had it's "reatail" bottom floor vacate for over 10 years(?).
Personally I like having that lot on the corner of Canal Street vacate. A 12 story building is way too high fo that area.