The massive life sciences building slated to replace the Fenway’s Star Market now plans to include a public library, something civic groups and neighborhood advocates have been seeking for years.
The updated plans for 1400 Boylston Street come in the form of a Draft Project Impact Report (DPIR) filed on Tuesday by development firm Samuels and Associates. 5,000 square feet formerly meant for a vague “cultural pavilion” is now reserved for a long-awaited public library.
Samuels directly cited advocacy from residents and representatives during public review as the reason for the change.
“Since the initial filing, we’ve worked diligently to listen and respond to the comments received from the community, city planners and elected officials. In response to these comments, the cultural pavilion that was planned has been reimagined as a standalone civic building intended to be operated as a neighborhood branch of the Boston Public Library,” wrote Peter Sougarides, a Samuels’ principal, in the DPIR.
While there hasn’t been enough time for neighborhood groups to properly parse through the updated filing and take an official position, the initial response from some of the community’s most active voices was positive.
“I’m very excited. The Fenway has no existing city supported resource like a library, youth center, or the like. This would be a first,” said Marie Fukuda, a longtime Fenway resident and board member of the Fenway Civic Association. “I hope to learn more, and need to read the filing, but I’m glad to see this. The last version of the project had an unidentified cultural component which left me worried it would be tethered to a limited cooperation agreement.”
It’s all but certain to be a popular move given the constant drive from Fenway advocates for more community services. While the neighborhood draws in plenty of visitors with ball games and concerts, the staples of a thriving urban fabric - libraries, schools, daycares - are lacking. Many families are hard-pressed to stay in the area.
The project will bring $18 million in linkage funding for housing a few streets away at 165 Park Drive, avoiding a loophole many projects have used that allows linkage funding to be spent outside the Fenway itself. Another $1.3 million will go toward the Fenway Community Development Corporation.
Life sciences and office space, which makes up the bulk of the project, has become something of a punching bag for politicians and community activists across Boston. Often much more lucrative the community necessities like housing, it’s made many places steadily less livable only to wind up abandoned as workers fled offices during the pandemic.
The lab space boom may also be slowing down. Chicago analysis firm JLL released its annual life sciences report on September 19 and predicted that many areas, Boston in particular, could be due for a “correction” as supply outpaces demand.
“A supply wave of lab space is hitting markets across the U.S., with higher concentration in Boston and the Bay Area. The pipeline for lab space has peaked, and completion of projects is expected to surpass new project starts in the coming years, thus reducing the pipeline. Downward pressure on base rents and occupancy is anticipated in top markets in the short run before supply begins to mediate at the end of 2024,” reads the report.
Note that this is far from a harbinger of the end for the life sciences industry. A correction isn’t a collapse like office space has seen, and Boston’s deep-seated infrastructure and personnel pipeline will be attracting life sciences projects for a long time to come.
There is one confusing note in the updated documents. The project initially required zoning relief in the form of a Planned Development Area (PDA) because it exceeded zoning height limits at the time by 60%.
The Fenway’s zoning has since been updated with the intent of eliminating the need for these kinds of spot zoning exceptions, and the project is now within the by right zoning limits, but recent filings still suggest it will still seek a PDA. The DPIR doesn’t specify what exactly it needs relief for, only saying a PDA would “provide the zoning requirements applicable to the project.”
The public comment period for the 1400 Boylston proposal will remain open until December 4. Those wanting to pitch in their two cents can do so online at the Boston Planning and Development Agency website.
