By Thomas Grillo
Banker & Tradesman Reporter

Despite reducing the size of Boston’s first privately-owned dormitory by 10 stories, the student hall slated for the Fenway fails to earn a passing grade from Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Last year, Lincoln Property Co. and Phoenix Property Co. proposed GrandMarc, a 34-story tower to be built behind the YMCA on Huntington Avenue that would feature 1,140 beds. But the 470,000-square-foot plan was downsized to 24 stories and 796 beds following ferocious opposition.

In an interview with Banker & Tradesman Wednesday, Menino said even with a reduction in scale by nearly one-third, the building is still too tall. “It might work if they brought it down to 10 stories and reduced the number of beds to 200 or so,” he said. “But the developers just care about the bottom line, and when you’re a developer in this city it has to be about devising a plan that works for the neighborhood and the city as a whole.” 

John Cappellano, Lincoln’s senior vice president, said the development team has revised the plan for Boston by vowing to lease blocks of rooms to nearby schools.  But the number of beds cannot be reduced.

“It would not be a financially viable project with any fewer beds,” Cappellano said.

If approved, GrandMarc would offer first-of-its-kind, private student housing in the Northeast, complete with resident assistants. Under the proposed model, which the company said works at similar developments near Texas Christian University and the University of Maryland, the apartments are targeted to students but are not operated by the schools.