Finito: The supermarket requirement for the Bulfinch Triangle's One Canal has been scratched. Recall that the would-be 12-story, 320-unit apartment complex had long been delayed precisely because it had not meant a requirement for its development: namely, an on-site supermarket in a North End-West End-Beacon Hill nexus that sorely needs one. Then, this past January, news dropped that two towers would go up at the old Boston Garden site nearby, with a supermarket in one of those towers. That was a game-changer. One Canal's developer, Trinity Financial, was able to exercise a clause in its agreement to build that said if another supermarket was going up in the immediate area, one need not be in One Canal.
Trinity acquired the development site from the state in 2010, and has had, because of the supermarket requirement, to sit out Boston's recent development frenzy. No more: One Canal has the support of myriad pols, including Mayor Menino, as well as numerous local residents, including members of the Downtown North Association. The developer says it will still try to bring a supermarket to the $175 million complex, but, for now, it appears that One Canal, the last great what-if in an anything-goes building climate in downtown Boston, is moving forward.
· Zoning Board Removes Supermarket Requirement for One Canal Project [Boston.com]
· Reckoning Coming for Long-Stalled One Canal [Curbed Boston]
· Old Garden Site to Sprout Supermarket, Target, Apartments [Curbed Boston]
· State to One Canal Developer: Produce Supermarket or Else [Curbed Boston]
· Our Updated Residential Heatmap: 66 Projects and Counting [Curbed Boston]