The Van Ness
Imagine living next to Fenway Park, hallowed ground for sports fans the world over. Now imagine having a spacious, beautiful residence that's bursting with convenient amenities. Well, the Van Ness Apartments complex brings both of those dreams to vivid life.
Located at 1325 Boylston Street, the Van Ness development opens its doors to tenants in May 2015. The Elkus Manfredi Architects firm created the designs for this project, and the company Samuels & Associates will manage it. There's nearly 123,000 square feet of residential space within this mixed-use complex, and the property has 521 parking spaces.
The Van Ness site features two distinct but connected towers: One is 10 stories tall and has 172 apartments, and the other has seven stories and contains office space. The two buildings share three floors that house more than 30,000 square feet of retail space, including stores and restaurants. Among the shops there, you'll find the only Target in Boston and an array of independent establishments that are owned by local businesspeople.
At Van Ness, maintenance and concierge services are obtainable 24 hours a day, and management professionals work on the premises as well. Further, all tenants are free to take advantage of a lounge for television viewing, a bar, poker and billiards rooms, a vast fitness center, a communal living room and kitchen, a conference area, and a lounge on the roof. That rooftop lounge has barbecues, and it lets people peer into Fenway Park. On the fifth floor, a landscaped terrace connects the apartment and office buildings; it's a relaxing place where workers and tenants can mingle and meet for lunch.
Studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments are available at this development, and each of them comes with a walk-in closet, garbage disposal, dishwasher, microwave, washer and dryer, tiled floors, and either a balcony or a patio. A furnished apartment is also an option. These residences provide spectacular views of Boston's Back Bay neighborhood, and they're remarkably well-lit. Plus, they have open floor layouts, which means that they provide large, unobstructed areas rather than a series of smaller, closed-off sections. What's more, an open floor plan can make a living space seem bigger than it really is.
The Van Ness buildings are smoke-free and accessible to people with disabilities. In addition, cats and dogs ― even large dogs ― are welcome to live there. Each month, a tenant must pay an extra $50 per cat or $100 per dog, and no apartment can have more than two pets at one time.
Not only do Van Ness residents have Fenway Park as a neighbor, but their homes are steps away from the Emerald Necklace, a network of parks that takes up 1,100 acres. Given all of that green space, it's appropriate that the Van Ness development has earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold rating. That designation means that the U.S. Green Building Council, a widely respected nonprofit, has certified that the complex's technologies and systems are friendly to the environment.