New high rise for north station in Boston

[tocoto]

415 foot residential tower poposed for North Station area. This will probably make it through approvals since they got a deal when the big dig took some of their property for contruction.

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2:43 PM EDT Wednesday

High-rise residences at FleetCenter proposed

Bill Archambeault

Boston Business Journal

Boston Garden Development Corp. on Wednesday formally submitted its proposal to build a 37-story, 368-unit residential tower at North Station to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The $150 million proposal, called the Nashua Street Residences, seeks to build a 415-foot-tall tower on Nashua Street with a combination of market-rate apartments and condominiums adjacent to the FleetCenter, which Boston Garden Development's parent company, Delaware North Companies developed and owns. The parent company, which has $1 billion in revenues, also owns the Boston Bruins.

The 577,000-square-foot residential tower is part of Delaware North's master plan for a 2 million-square-foot development at its North Station site. The company is developing plans for two additional towers on the site that could include a mix of office, retail and hotel uses, said Charlie Jacobs, executive vice president of the FleetCenter and the Boston Bruins. But this tower is expected to be purely residential and available for occupancy in 2007.

The company has not yet established a price range for the units, but Jacobs said they would not be high-end units despite the commanding views they will offer. There will be a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

"We took an inventory of the market and realized that there was a lot of luxury out there," he said. "We felt this was more appropriate for market-rate. This whole area is going to have a radically different feel and look. We felt this tower would be best suited to the young professional who would use mass transit to commute to work."

Plans call for 244 parking spaces, but residents will have access to public transportation via a covered walkway to the FleetCenter.

The company filed a project notification form on Wednesday, setting the permitting process in motion.

"We're excited to get the process started," said BRA spokeswoman Meredith Baumann.

"Honestly, I think people are looking forward to having a high-rise tower here. A, I don't think we've had much resistance from the BRA, and B, I think it's appropriate," Jacobs said, noting that the BRA staff has been supportive of the concept.

"They've been very positive," he said. "The mayor wants more people living in Boston, living downtown, and they've been very supportive about this."

The development team includes New York City-based architecture firm Costas Kondylis and Partners LLP, Boston-based development consultant Meredith & Grew Inc., environmental permitting consultant Epsilon Associates and the Boston-based law firm Goodwin Procter LLP.