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Boston’s first Wegmans indefinitely on hold

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Blame parking

What would have been the first urban outpost of supermarket favorite Wegmans outside of its upstate New York base is indefinitely on hold.

Recall that the store was supposed to be part of a redeveloped Landmark Center in Fenway as part of plans that stretch back to at least 2013.

It turns out that that those plans—particularly in regard to parking—made a Wegmans untenable. Landmark Center owner and developer Samuels Associates and the supermarket chain have shelved the opening indefinitely (and now the first urban Wegmans outside of upstate New York will open in Brooklyn in 2019).

As the Globe’s Jon Chesto explains, the 2013 redevelopment plan condemned Landmark Center’s garage to demolition. Parking was supposed to go underground, and parking for Wegmans and other retail at street level, with hundreds of apartments upstairs.

Parking is at such a premium now in the neighborhood that Samuels did not want to do away with the garage. Retaining it means there isn’t enough room for a Wegmans.

As for the larger Landmark Center redo, that’s proceeding incrementally, with interior renovations and a 1.1-acre park.

Make no mistake: Wegmans still wants a Boston spot, Chesto. It will just take time.