The $300 million proposed project to improve Kenmore Square with a 29-story high rise has been postponed until the community and the developer agree on a design.
The developer, John Rosenthal of Meredith Management, first proposed the plan in the summer of 2003 and began the project with the hopes of a solid consensus from the Fenway neighborhood. Meredith Management created a first draft of the architectural design for the 1.1 million-square foot, six-building development called One Kenmore.
The draft was taken to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which rejected the design plans “based on comments we were hearing from the [Citizens Advisory Committee] and other groups regarding the problems with the height and density of the project,” said Meredith Baumann, spokeswoman for the BRA.
“We also would like to figure out the financial feasibility of the plans we have for Rosenthal,” Baumann said.
“While the CAC was concerned with the height and density of One Kenmore, the BRA was also concerned with it as well,” Baumann said.
The Red Sox also have a hand in the matter, because One Kenmore residents may be able to view Fenway Park from the upper floors.
But Red Sox spokesman Mark Rogoff said the Red Sox had no role in the withdrawal of plans for One Kenmore.
“The Red Sox are supportive of anything that makes the Fenway-Kenmore area more fan friendly,” Rogoff said.
“We imagine that it will be a similar situation” to the controversy over the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field, Rogoff said. The building overlooking Wrigley Field pays $2 million dollars in royalties to the Cubs.
“It’s the future of Kenmore Square, and we really want to get it right,” Rosenthal said. According to Rosenthal, as soon as a consensus is reached between the CAC and the BRA, the proposal will be resubmitted for approval.