BPDA Approves 29-Story Kenmore Hotel, Harriet Tubman House Sale at Marathon Meeting

Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6129 · Meeting of July 22, 2026

Boston's planning board approved a 29-story, 391-room hotel in Kenmore Square and endorsed the sale of the Harriet Tubman House in the South End during a December 10, 2019 session that also advanced the Alston Yards mixed-use project and tabled two contested developments. The Kenmore Hotel, proposed by MARC Development at 560-574 Commonwealth Avenue and designed by Studio Gang, would demolish the existing Citizens Bank building and replace it with a roughly 234,000-square-foot building, a new 33,000-square-foot public plaza, and a reconfigured one-way traffic pattern — representing a $15 million public-realm investment, with no parking on site. The 566 Columbus Avenue vote authorizes New Boston Ventures to construct 66 condominiums, including 11 artist live-work units at 17 percent IDP, with 4,800 square feet of nonprofit space dedicated in perpetuity; Maisharia Wearlittle, president and CEO of United South End Settlements, told the board her organization "is at risk of closing its doors within the next six months" without proceeds from the sale.

The Alston Yards approval at 60 Everett Street clears the way for New England Development to replace the existing Stop and Shop with up to 1.23 million gross square feet across four phases, 860 units, and a $4 million Alston-Brighton homeownership fund. A 285-unit proposal at 17-25 Hyde Park Avenue in Readville was tabled after State Representative Angelo Scaccia argued the project would worsen already-gridlocked conditions on the Father Hart Bridge.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 6,735 words

Source: the Uncategorized 2026-07-22 clip6129 meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.