Fenway Center could finally get going next year

One of the biggest stalled developments in the Boston region is the proposed five-building, 1,300,000-square-foot Fenway Center project where Brookline and Commonwealth avenues meet in the Kenmore Square area.

Ages have passed—nearly 20 years, to be somewhat precise—since developer John Rosenthal first sought to build at the location, which would involve straddling the Mass. Pike. That infrastructural alchemy as well as financing challenges have delayed the project interminably.

But now it appears that Rosenthal’s Meredith Management will be ready to start construction in the spring of 2017. Rosenthal said last week that he had financing for the project’s two-building first phase, which would include 313 residential units.

All totaled, Fenway Center is expected to have around 550 housing units, 160,000 square feet of office space, 50,000 square feet of retail, 1,290 parking spaces, community space, a daycare center, bicycle storage, and a bike-share station. It already has the Yawkey commuter-rail stop.

Another sign of Fenway Center’s imminent arrival was a Boston Planning and Development Agency vote last week that tweaked certain aspects of the project’s design (including a 17-unit reduction in the number of residences). Stay tuned.

• Website: Fenway Center [Meredith Management]
• Oft-Stalled Fenway Center Could Start Construction Real Soon [Curbed Boston]
• Developer vows this time massive Fenway development ready to begin [Hub]