City favors apartments for Greenway site near Haymarket

City lauds $35M apartment plan for Haymarket
A Rose for Greenway
By Thomas Grillo | Friday, August 7, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate

A proposal for a five-story apartment building on a vacant lot owned by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has won praise from City Hall.

Eastat Realty Capital’s $35 million plan for residences with a ground-floor produce market is one of four plans under consideration for the 29,400-square-foot site at Haymarket along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

“The Boston Redevelopment Authority believes the Eastat proposal is the most responsive to 15 years of planning with the community,” said Peter Gori, a BRA senior manager.

In April, four developers responded to the turnpike’s request for Parcel 9 proposals. In addition to Eastat, the turnpike received submissions for a $120 million Boston Museum; a five-story building with art galleries or offices from DeNormandie Cos.; and a 137,000-square-foot office building on six floors from Gutierrez Co.

In a letter to the turnpike, the BRA said the 78-unit residential building meets several criteria set out in both its request for proposals and the guidelines for the city’s master plan. The 30-acre site was created by the demolition of the Central Artery. Still, the BRA said that building an apartment complex atop a food market could lead to conflicts between tenants and Haymarket vendors because of noise.

The BRA was critical of the plans for the Boston Museum, questioning its sustainability and expressing concerns that organizers will have difficulty raising the funds to build the project.

The city also raised questions about the DeNormandie Cos.’ proposal for a glass canopy to protect pushcart vendors, saying it may not meet Boston Landmarks Commission guidelines.

The turnpike is expected to make its final selection later this year.
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