Developer’s move nixes plan for Tommy’s Tower
By Thomas Grillo
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The 1,000-foot Tommy’s Tower is dead.
Steven Belkin, the developer of what would have been the city’s tallest skyscraper, is selling his 56,000-square-foot building in the Fenway and moving his Trans National Group travel agency to 133 Federal St., sources told the Herald.
The 12-story Financial District tower would have been demolished to make way for the 80-story glass tower that Mayor Thomas M. Menino hoped would be built. With TNT Vacations moving its staff to Federal Street, it is unlikely Belkin will raze the building anytime soon, sources said.
This is the latest in a series of missteps that doomed the “iconic tower.” First, Belkin and celebrated Italian architect Renzo Piano parted ways. Later, Belkin and the city could not agree on a price for the Winthrop Square parking garage, which would have been part of the project. Then financing for commercial development over $10 million dried up.
Robert Griffin, president of Cushman & Wakefield, the global commercial real estate company, is handling the sale of the Fenway property at 2 Charlesgate West near Fenway Park [map]. He said the six-story building’s location near the Longwood medical area makes it a valuable asset at a time when the vacancy rate in that area is zero. The building is assessed at $5.6 million.
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