An agreement is in place for the Red Sox to pay $7.34 million for permanent ownership and permitting rights for areas around Fenway Park, according to a Boston Business Journal Report.
In return for the property rights, the city will acquire a connecting road owned by the the team, which could play a vital role in the development of a Fenway neighborhood, the BBJ reports.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority board is expected to approve the deal by vote Thursday night, the Boston Globe reports.
The Red Sox would pay the BRA $4.8 million for the rights to close off Yawkey Way permanently, 120 times per year for city-permitted events. The team would pay another $2.5 million to permanently acquire “air rights” for stadium seating along the Green Monster, bodering Lansdowne Street.
The Red Sox first leased the public property in 2003; that agreement expires this year, the Boston Globe reports. This new agreement is a sale, rather than a lease.
The Red Sox have made $6 million in annual revenue generated from Yawkey Way and Lansdowne St., the Globe reports.
Red Sox owner Larry Lucchino said the club is no longer willing to grant the city permission to license independent vendors on Yawkey Way.
A source told the BBJ that the plan is not for increased seating.
As a part of the deal, the city will pay the Red Sox $2.6 million to acquire Richard Ross Way, a connecting road between Boylston St. and Brookline Ave, for possible commercial development.
In June, Boston.com reported that the State’s Department of Transportation directors approved a 4.5-acre land and air rights lease over the Mass Turnpike. The 99-year, $227 million lease is a part of the Fenway Center Development project. It was also vital to developer John Rosenthal’s mixed-use property development plans on Brookline avenue and Beacon street, Boston.com reports.
The BRA reports that $900 million in total scheduled projects could add 1,000 new housing units to the strip connecting the Fenway area streets, according to the BBJ.
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