UPDATE: A Shrine Lost As Development Looms

From Dave Brigham:

Back in July I wrote a lament for a long-gone religious shrine in Boston's Back Bay. I'd never seen the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal behind St. Cecilia Roman Catholic Church near Berklee College of Music, but I missed it nonetheless. Located on a small triangle of land boxed in by a building with a parking garage, bar and bowling emporium; busy Boylston Street; the back of the church; and a gap staring down at the Massachusetts Turnpike and commuter train tracks, the shrine site was slated for redevelopment (see July 7, 2019, "A Shrine Lost As Development Looms").

The shrine was located on the brick wall you see in the middle of the photo above. Behind that is the parking garage/bar/bowling alley. In the distance on the left of the photo is the Capital Grille restaurant, located in a corner of the Hynes Convention Center.

Below is a photo from the Digital Commonwealth web site showing a postcard of the site in all its glory:

In my July post I discussed the pending construction at this site of a project to be known as 1000 Boylston, which would feature approximately "23,000 square feet of new decking over the Turnpike, a base with 2 floors of retail and parking, and a single residential building with up to 108 condominiums," per the web site for developer Weiner Ventures.

There were issues, as there are in any such development. The Friends of the Public Garden were concerned about shadows the giant glass tower would cast over the Commonwealth Mall in Back Bay. And as often is the case, the timeline for building this complex stretched and stretched. The church sold this property more than a decade ago to an outfit called ADG Scotia LLC for $13.85 million. The cost of building decking over the Mass. Pike is high, which likely delayed progress on 1000 Boylston.

Well, the timeline continues to extend, with no end point in sight.

"Then on a Friday evening in August, in response to queries from the Globe for a story on another air rights project, a spokesperson for the development team issued a statement saying the project 'will not proceed,'" per this Boston Globe article from October 25. “A combination of factors led us to this decision,” it said. “While disappointing to have to make such a decision, we believe it is the correct one.”

And just like that, the project died. There is a lawsuit in process between Weiner Ventures and former partner John Fish, head of Suffolk Construction. Read the Globe article for the sordid details.

The team's development rights for the site expired and MassDOT did not renew them, per the Globe. "That condo tower was kaput, meaning the nearly $90 million both developers had spent over a decade on planning and preparation was down the drain. A MassDOT spokeswoman said Thursday that the agency has no plans to seek another developer," per the Globe.

Can't say I'm sad to see this project fall apart. Maybe somebody can bring back the shrine now?