A rendering of the Van Ness development. Credit: Elkus | Manfredi

The evolution of Boston’s Fenway neighborhood reached a critical milestone on Wednesday with the steel topping event for Van Ness, a mixed use building slated to open in spring 2015. Van Ness is the third major project on Boylston Street for developer Samuels & Associates, which has been widely credited for creating a lively new urban village in the Fenway. 

Van Ness will include two buildings – one with 172 residential units and a second with 232,000 square feet of commercial office space – on top of a three-story retail base. Anchor retailer City Target will occupy approximately 170,000 square feet of space on the second and third floors, with local or independent retail and restaurants lining both Boylston and Van Ness Streets. 

The building, which will be LEED Gold certified, will also boast two rooftop gardens on the fourth floor for residential and office tenants. Echoing the nearby Olmstead-designed green space along the Back Bay Fens, the gardens will both support the building’s energy efficiency goals and create a respite for tenants. Other residential amenities include concierge service, a rooftop terrace, and a state of the art fitness center.

Boston Redevelopment Authority Acting Director Brian Golden (front) signs Van Ness’ final steel beam, with Samuels & Associates EVP of Development Peter Sougarides and Chairman Steve Samuels. Credit: Lee Hollenbeck

Samuels expects the building’s location, near several MBTA T stations and the Yawkey stop on the commuter rail, will also draw significant interest from commercial office tenants. The only “spec” office building currently being constructed in downtown Boston, Van Ness is attracting early interest from innovation and creative economy companies excited by constant energy of the Fenway’s lifestyle and entertainment, residential and entrepreneurial tenants.

Potential office tenants are drawn to the vibrant mix of uses in the neighborhood, including restaurants like Sweet Cheeks Q and Yard House and amenities like a fitness center, movie theater, shopping and entertainment at nearby Lansdowne Street and Fenway Park. 

The Van Ness office building will offer the ability to create the sought-after flexible, open floor plans in demand by so many of today’s entrepreneurial and growing companies.

In the past decade, Samuels & Associates has already brought a number of major residential, dining and retail options to the neighborhood, including 776 apartments, 60,000 square feet of shops and restaurants and Fenway Health. The team has also received approval for the Point (to begin construction in late 2014), a mixed residential and retail building, and an expansion of Landmark Center (to begin construction in early 2015) which will include the city’s first Wegmans supermarket, as well as additional residential.

Construction of Van Ness is being led by John Moriarty & Associates, Inc.; approximately 800 construction jobs will be created in the course of the project and 1200 new long term jobs are expected from retail and commercial tenants. The building was designed by David Manfredi of Elkus Manfredi.