The Bruins and Celtics won’t be the only ones calling North Station home in the near future.
Developers and MassDOT announced yesterday that a 12-story apartment and retail complex will be built at One Canal Street near the TD Garden, the Boston Herald reports.
Trinity Building and Management Corporation will pay $13 million up front for a 99-year property lease. Denver-based Aimco will cover the property tax.
The $190 million project includes 22,000 square-feet of space for a supermarket in the complex, underscoring the potential for North Station to develop into the City’s next “It” neighborhood.
Last month, BostInno interviewed Colliers representatives to discuss what Boston neighborhood could emerge as a residential and commercial haven. The nod went to North Station.
“North Station is the urban core of Boston,” Colliers VP and financial analyst Jeff Black told BostInno, adding that the neighborhood was about to look “radically different.”
“A couple of projects in North Station will act as a catalyst and really start to transform the neighborhood,” added Colliers’ Jonathan Martin.
One of those catalysts could be Trinity’s development, scheduled for completion in 27-months.
With 1,100 new homes possible near North Station, a list of must-haves includes a supermarket, which the Canal Street tower will reportedly include.
In 2012, Mayor Tom Menino made it clear Trinity would have to provide area residents with certain necessities.
“Part of the agreement Trinity had with us on the development is they would deliver a supermarket and I’m not going to allow them to renege on that commitment,” Menino said.
The developers’ project manager told the BBJ that the team is in discussion with two supermarkets that could occupy the space.
For two years, Trinity had worked with Stop & Shop until the chain withdrew. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have already passed on the opportunity. So which chain could move in?
Currently there are eight Shaw’s in the city, but there is no guarantee that the chain could set up on Canal Street. Wellesley-based Roche Brothers is another potential option.
Last month, a deal was finalized to bring a 30,000 square-foot gourmet Roche Bros. supermarket to the Financial District, included in the $630 million Millennium Tower project. It will be the supermarket chain’s first downtown location.
The BRA approved $7.8 million in tax breaks for the project with hopes of drawing office and retail tenants.
“The start of construction (on the Millennium Tower Project) celebrates the beginning of a new chapter in the history of this historic building and highlights the promising future that is in store for this neighborhood,” Menino said.
A supermarket and new residential space at this prime parcel — in addition to what’s coming to Lovejoy Wharf and the TD Garden — could signal the same for North Station.
