The magical year of 2004 changed so much about Fenway—and not just an end to 86 years of Red Sox-related misery. It’s also the year that zoning restrictions along Fenway’s Boylston Street began to be lifted, allowing for a string of taller buildings to pop up. Goodbye, Burger King and D’Angelo. Hello, new apartments, condos—and even a Target.

The latest building to open its doors, Pierce Boston sits at the triangular intersection of Boylston and Brookline Streets and offers as much of an iconic welcome to the neighborhood as the nearly 90-year-old Landmark Center. Samuels & Associates is the development company behind the proposed 14-story expansion of Landmark and the construction of Pierce. It’s also the same team that created the 576-unit Triangle Trilogy luxury apartment building and the Verb Hotel, both down the street.

But the area’s development isn’t solely from Samuels. The Red Sox are reportedly looking to build on six parcels near the park, along Lansdowne and Ipswich Streets as well as the building that currently houses Tony C’s Sports Bar & Grill. Also in the works is a proposed 184-room hotel where a gas station currently sits at 1241 Boylston St. as well as the mammoth Fenway Center project that recently began its first phase near Yawkey Station.

“Once a week, I’ll overhear someone on the street telling their friend how much the neighborhood has changed,” says Joel Sklar, president of Samuels & Associates. “It’s my favorite thing.”

A Closer Look

The sharply angled, 30-story Pierce Boston looks different from every angle. At one sidewalk vantage point, it almost resembles a massive box cutter—appropriate, because as the first wave of residents unpacks this month inside its 109 condos and 240 rental apartments, the Pierce is moving a new approach to luxury living into one of the Hub’s most rapidly evolving areas.

The building is the first Boston property designed by the international architecture firm Arquitectonica, whose portfolio includes the Bronx Museum of Art and Microsoft’s European headquarters. According to Joel Sklar, the Pierce has the same dimensions as the Flatiron Building in New York, though Arquitectonica’s glimmering glass curtain walls and more dramatic design put a twist on a traditional triangle shape.

“When you think of the skyline of Boston, it sort of ends at Back Bay,” Sklar says. “We’re adding to the skyline of Boston in a new way.”

The inside marries the perks and aesthetics of traditional high-end style with flourishes of millennial-chic whimsy (like a pinball-equipped, retro-inspired arcade game room). Units range from regal one, two and three-bedroom spreads with three sides of floor-to-ceiling windows—standing at a vertex brings on blissful vertigo.

Outdoor design elements start at the street-level plaza, anchored by concrete sculptures from contemporary artist Alexandre da Cunha, and stretch to the skyscraping Levity Lounge, a sleek marble-swathed sanctuary with a rooftop pool that practically peers into Fenway Park. This is also where you’ll find a handful of sky cabanas, where condo owners can entertain al fresco.

Photo Credit: Joyelle West

The classically stylish condos occupy the 10 highest floors and boast quartz countertops, glass tile-lined showers and wide plank floors of European oak. Studio options take a more modern approach: Think lemon-yellow accents in hallways covered with abstract designs inspired by topographical maps of the Fenway.

“We really wanted to build on connections between the inside and the outside,” says Lois Goodell, director of interior design at CBT, the West End-based firm behind the Pierce’s posh interior, who says the nearby Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was an inspiration for its art-filled indoor/outdoor spaces.

In the ’Hood

Real Estate
Sale information in the 02215 ZIP code from mid-Sept. till mid-March:

Total Sales
29 condos

Most Expensive
$2.2 million

Least Expensive
$349,000

Average Price Per Square Foot
$933

Food/Drink
•  One of the first U.S. locations of Time Out Market is slated to open in 2019 and will be filled with local chef-driven food stalls and bars.
•  The Pierce’s restaurant space will host Nathálie, a wine bar from the Haley.Henry team opening this summer.

Public Space
•  The first phase of the Muddy River restoration helped fixed a languishing part of the Emerald Necklace, but a second phase is proposed to further restore the park.
•  The Landmark Center’s proposed expansion will include a 1-acre park for neighbors to enjoy.
•  Fenway Center’s first phase will feature a pedestrian plaza near Yawkey Station.

Nearby Projects
•  A proposed new project in the shadow of the Buckminster Hotel is under review and would include a new 382-room hotel at 560-574 Comm. Ave. and a new 295-room hotel at 651 Beacon St.
•  A total of 400 residential units in two buildings have been proposed for the former Boston Cab garage on Kilmarnock and Queensberry Streets.

MLS stats courtesy of Marsha MacLean / Coldwell Banker