Boston developer Samuels & Associates intends to transform air-rights Parcel 12, located at the “critical” intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston and Newbury streets in the Back Bay, into a 545,000 square-foot, mixed-use development.
In the Letter of Intent filed with the Boston Planning and Development Agency, Douglas Husid, the applicant’s attorney, wrote that the proposed project would include 325,000 square feet of office space; 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; between 125,000 and 150,000 square feet of hotel or residential space; and approximately 150 below-grade parking spaces. Boston’s Elkus Manfredi Architects is the architect for the project.
“We have an opportunity to knit together the urban fabric between the South End, the Fenway, and Back Bay in a truly transformative way,” said Peter Sougarides, Samuels & Associates’ executive vice president of development. “The buildings’ ground-floor retail space, nearly 500 feet of continuous store frontage, will feel like an appropriate end cap for Newbury Street and give the entire street a needed face lift that’s representative of the Back Bay’s character.”
The proposal includes “public-realm improvements” that aim to make the area more accessible for pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and transit riders alike, Sougarides said, including “generous sidewalk space, a dedicated bike lane, a pull-in for MBTA buses and a new bus shelter for riders to wait” along Massachusetts Avenue. It also features plans to renovate and reopen the currently-shuttered MBTA pedestrian tunnel that links the Hynes Convention Center to the west side of Massachusetts Avenue, he said.
The Boston Planning & Development Agency is soliciting public comments on the project through Dec. 14. For more information and to submit comments, visit http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/parcel-12.