by Stephen Brophy
If all goes as planned, construction should get underway on the expansion of Yawkey Station, a stop on the Worcester commuter rail line, before summer ends. Developer John Rosenthal of Meredith Management and officials of the MBTA jointly announced the news at a community meeting at the Boston Arts Academy on April 27.

Yawkey Station, just outside of Kenmore Square, currently has only one short platform, so fewer than 10 commuter trains stop there on weekdays. Once the announced construction is completed, in 12-18 months according the the MBTA, two full-length platforms will allow up to 40 trains to stop at the station daily, making rail a much more attractive mode of transportation for many Longwood Medical Area employees who now drive to and from work.

Funded in part by money from the much-derided economic stimulus bill, the construction will also be the first step toward completion of Rosenthal’s ambitious Fenway Center, a multi-building development built partly over the Mass Turnpike west of Kenmore Square. The project has been in the works for several years and is widely supported by nearby residents, including members of the Audubon Circle Neighborhood Association.

Rosenthal has been a successful developer in Massachusetts for many years, but he is perhaps best known for the mammoth anti-gun billboards he regularly hangs next to the turnpike on a garage he owns. Besides being a supporter of rigorous gun control and other progressive issues, Rosenthal is also an enthusiastic proponent for “green” development. He is particularly proud of the plans for Yawkey Station, because with the solar panels used in its construction, it will actually generate more electricity than it uses.

When the Fenway Center is complete, it will include an array of approximately 1,200 solar panels that will generate as much as 650 kilowatts per hour. Rosenthal, a man who went to jail several times in the 1970s and ’80s for protesting the building of nuclear power plants, will now be the owner of the largest private solar facility in Massachusetts.
Construction of Yawkey Station is Phase One of Rosenthal’s plan. Phase Two, which involves building a deck over the turnpike near where Beacon Street crosses it, should begin well before Phase One is completed. This deck will support some of the five buildings erected in Phase Three, which will be primarily housing and offices. Rosenthal has worked with Boston officials and others to plan for some road changes and creation of a park that will connect Beacon Street and Brookline Avenue more effectively.

Audience reaction to the announcement at the April 27 meeting was generally positive. The day’s steady drizzle probably cut down on the number of local residents who attended, but representatives of many of the stakeholders, as well as of local elected officials, asked many interesting questions.

Perhaps most touching was the question of a union representative about parking spaces for construction workers who will work on the project underway. He said that he knows some of his union brothers can be less than cooperative when it comes to parking their trucks, but that most of them want to minimize their disruption of the neighborhood. What was most touching was not that declaration of good intent, but the almost palpable relief in his voice that good construction jobs would soon be available again.