The MBTA and MassDOT have chosen a Florida-based group – proposing to build more apartments, condos and a new hotel – to develop a Back Bay air rights parcel, passing on two alternative projects, one of which would have added new student housing.
Chosen developer The Peebles Corporation plans to develop a “single, serpentine building,” standing no taller than 11 stories, stretching along Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street, a press release states. Plans would add 85 new rental and 88 new condo units; a 156-key hotel; 26,000 square feet of retail space; and the creation of 138 additional parking spots. The to-be-developed building will also be home to new and renovated Hynes Green Line station entrances, necessary to comply with Americans with Disability Act standards.
“This exciting project will deliver historic improvements for our Back Bay area customers and continue our commitment to making our services accessible to all riders,” said T General Manager Beverly Scott in the release. “Developing this prime parcel and Hynes Station together has the added benefit of reducing the costs of providing a new, accessible station.”
Peebles’s proposal was chosen in favor of alternatives pitched by Trinity Financial and Boston Residential Group, the latter of which proposed turning the Back Bay parcel into a 24/7 mixed-use college hotspot.
Parcel 13, as it’s been dubbed, is comprised of 54,000 square feet of air rights, stretching over the Mass. Turnpike, as well as portions of the Green Line tunnel across from Hynes Convention Center. “This unique development opportunity [with The Peebles Corporation] will continue the transformation of this critical Back Bay intersection along the Turnpike while providing a state-of-the art, accessible T station,” said MassDOT Acting Secretary and CEO Frank DePaola in the release.
Hynes Station is not compliant with current Americans With Disability Act standards. The project Requests for Proposal required developers interested in Parcel 13 to include plans for Hynes Station improvements in their plans.
Courtesy rendering via MassDOT.
