MassDOT & MBTA Select Developer for Turnpike Air Rights Parcel 13, Hynes Station

MassDOT and the MBTA have selected The Peebles Corporation as the developer for Turnpike Air Rights Parcel 13 at the corner of Boylston Street and Massachusetts Avenue in the Back Bay and the adjacent Hynes Convention Center Station on the Green Line.

The Peebles proposal calls for a 373,000-square-foot development to include 85 rental and 88 condominium residential units, a 156-key hotel, 26,000 square feet of retail space, and 138 accessory parking spaces. The conceptual project design proposes a single, serpentine building mass with a maximum height of 11-stories, within the height limits established by City zoning.

As required by the RFP, the project also will house new, state-of-the-art, fully accessible entrances to Hynes Station on Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street, as well as making accessibility and other improvements throughout the station and replacing aging Green Line electrical equipment. To ensure the full coordination of the air rights project and station improvements, the RFP required a single, integrated development team that includes not only the Parcel 13 developer but also the designer for the Hynes Station improvements. The Peebles team includes HDR, Inc., an architecture and engineering firm, as the station designer.

The Peebles proposal was one of three proposals received by MassDOT in November for the site. The other proposals were from Boston Residential Group, which proposed student housing, retail, and hotel uses, and Trinity Financial, which proposed residential and retail uses.

The three proposals were received by MassDOT and the MBTA in November. They were reviewed at three meetings of a Citizens Advisory Committee, by the BRA, and by both MassDOT and MBTA staff. The project must undergo a full state and municipal permitting process, as well as review and approval by MassDOT and MBTA.

Parcel 13 comprises approximately 54,500 square feet of air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike and portions of the MBTA Green Line tunnel across the street from the Hynes Convention Center. Hynes Station does not meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and is the busiest Green Line station not currently accessible to people with disabilities. An average of 8,950 customers each weekday enter Hynes Station, which is also an important transfer point for the busy MBTA Route 1 bus.

"This unique development opportunity will continue the transformation of this critical Back Bay intersection along the Turnpike while providing a state-of-the art, accessible T station," said MassDOT Acting Secretary and CEO Frank DePaola. "We thank the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Citizens Advisory Committee for their assistance and support in moving this project forward."

"This exciting project will deliver historic improvements for our Back Bay area customers and continue our commitment to making our services accessible to all riders," said MBTA General Manager Dr. Beverly Scott. "Developing this prime parcel and Hynes Station together has the added benefit of reducing the costs of providing a new, accessible station."

In 2009, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) was created to unify the state's various transportation agencies. MassDOT now includes the Highway Division, the MBTA and Rail Transit Division, the Aeronautics Division, and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. MassDOT is committed to providing a safe and reliable transportation system to all those who travel in the Commonwealth and works to deliver excellent customer service. MassDOT has been nationally recognized for its innovative approach to transportation, including the Accelerated Bridge Program, the "Where's My Bus and Train?" apps and "Fast 14" work. For more information, visit MassDOT at our website: www.mass.gov/massdot blog: http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/, or follow MassDOT on twitter at https://twitter.com/MassDOT and Facebook at www.facebook.com/massdotinfo.