GrandMarc, the controversial 24-story dorm to be built in the Fenway, is facing continued opposition by the neighborhood and City Hall.
On the heels of stinging criticism by Mayor Thomas M. Menino that a proposed for-profit student resident tower in the Fenway is too tall, the developer said he is working to meet City Hall’s demands.
“We understand the issues,” said John Cappellano, senior vice president of Lincoln Property Co., co-developer for GrandMarc, a private, $170 million student dormitory. “We understand the concerns and we are addressing them.”
Last year, Lincoln and the Phoenix Property Co. proposed a 34-story dorm to be built on a YMCA parcel on Huntington Avenue. The complex would have featured 1,140 beds, as well as a café and recreation room on the ground floor. Following vocal opposition, the Texas-based developers downsized the 470,000-square-foot plan to 24 stories and 796 beds, hoping to win neighborhood support.
But in an interview with Banker & Tradesman last week, Menino said the building should be no taller than 10 stories and contain about 200 beds. He scolded the developers saying, “They just care about the bottom line, and when you’re a developer in this city it has to be about devising a plan that works for the neighborhood and the city as a whole.”
The project has been controversial from the start. In a series of public hearings, the developers faced questions about the number of dorm rooms, security, parking and traffic.
At press time, the BRA received 87 comment letters on GrandMarc. Of that number, 48 are opposed and 39 expressed support. Most of the supportive letters came from YMCA members looking forward to an improved Y that will be part of the project. Another 240 residents signed a petition to halt the project.
In a letter to the developers from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, questions were raised about how underage drinking would be controlled, whether the dorm would provide police details and what consequences would result for students who misbehaved.
Cappellano said they have addressed a major concern by changing the model of the project that they have used on several campuses nationwide, including the University of Virginia and Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C. While colleges and universities typically operate dorms, the development team directly leases the private apartments to students. But in Boston they are willing to lease a block of rooms to schools.
“The model we’ve used across the country is to lease directly to students and not have any school affiliations,” he said. “But in Boston we intend to lease blocks of rooms to several area colleges and universities who would have the responsibility for their students. The school staff would overlap with our building management and security. That’s the direction we have been nudged into and we are happy to do it.”
But Cappellano insists the development team cannot further trim the number of beds.
“If the project gets reduced any more, the YMCA won’t sell the property to us,” he said. “It would not be a financially viable project with any fewer beds.”
Under the terms of the purchase and sale agreement, the developers will pay a price based on the number of square feet that is approved for development. Cappellano declined to provide details of the financial agreement.
Still, Menino remains unconvinced. “This plan still does not make sense to me,” he said.
