Developers Win Air Parcel Rights to Build 32-Story Tower in the Back Bay

Samuels & Associations and Weiner Ventures won the rights to build a 32-story hotel, apartment and retail complex near the Hynes Convention Center stop in the Back Bay.

The state Department of Transportation announced Monday that it awarded the air rights parcels above and along Interstate 90 at the intersection of Boylston Street and Massachusetts Avenue for a mixed-use tower. The 99-year lease agreement is valued at $18.5 million in rent for the two parcels.

In one spot, the developers will build a 400-foot high-rise hotel and residential building, which will be set back from Boylston Street with a low-rise retail building along the street. 

In the other, they will construct a mid-rise residential building on Boylston Street and a two-floor retail building that will cross the Turnpike along Massachusetts Avenue.  

Altogether, the $360 million project will create a total of 230 residential units, a 270-room hotel, and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

“We believe the (developer's) proposal provides the best overall value and long-term benefit to the City of Boston by transforming this critical Back Bay intersection along the Turnpike,” MassDOT Secretary Richard Davey said. “The proposal’s rent offer also provides the best financial benefits to the citizens of the Commonwealth."

MassDOT judged the project on design, community benefits, community and city input, and on the developer’s financial proposal, capacity, and experience. The process began in 2008 but was put on hold during the financial crisis; it restarted in 2011.

The Samuel-Weiner team has developed several prominent properties in the Back Bay and Fenway area over the past several years, including the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Boylston Street and the Fenway Triangle Trilogy.