Hotel Commonwealth
Redefining Boston's Grand Hotel Tradition
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The Hotel Commonwealth: Returning the Allure to Kenmore Square

BOSTON---Returning the splendor of a bygone era to Kenmore Square is the Hotel Commonwealth, a new four-star luxury hotel with a turn-of-the-century look designed to complement the architecture of its neighborhood.  The hotel, while projecting old world charm, will offer the latest in hospitality amenities to its guests.

Providing the economic and social cornerstone of the revitalization of Kenmore Square, the Hotel Commonwealth and its ancillary retail and culinary operations will create more than 200 jobs. The six-story, hotel is scheduled to open in September 2002.

"The Hotel Commonwealth is one of the hallmarks of the City's revitalization
efforts in Kenmore Square.  It will help return this neighborhood to its original splendor," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, during remarks at the topping-off ceremony for the property.


Developed by Great Bays Holdings, a partnership of Frank Keefe, Terrence J. Guiney and Dennis Callaghan, along with Boston University as a limited partner; the under-construction Hotel Commonwealth seeks to return the missing allure to the crossroads of Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

The Hotel Commonwealth is located in the heart of Kenmore Square, a once bustling transportation hub and former home to some of the city’s most stately hotels. These properties once provided luxury guest rooms for visiting sports teams and celebrities of the day and served as a business and fine dining destination for many Bostonians. The goal of the Hotel Commonwealth project is to redefine and reinvigorate Boston’s grand hotel tradition in the Back Bay following the clear and compelling antecedents such as the Vendome, the Somerset, the Kenmore and the Braemore Hotels along Commonwealth Avenue.

Upon completion the Hotel Commonwealth project will provide:

  • 150 European-style guest rooms and suites
  • Infrastructure upgrades to improve access to the T station while also improving pedestrian safety for everyone in Kenmore Square;
  • Aesthetic improvements to Kenmore Square will include an arching transparent glass and steel canopy that will replace the brick and concrete bunker of the current T station, over 80 tree plantings, brick sidewalks and promenades, and new street lights built in the turn-of-the-century gaslight style that adorn the Commonwealth Avenue Mall;
  • A fine dining room dedicated to serving the best in food and spirits;
  • An authentic French bistro providing outdoor dining in season;
  • A sidewalk shopping promenade featuring an eclectic retail operation with as many as eight stores;
  • Seven function rooms for private meetings and banquet receptions that will accommodate 10 to 150 guests;
  • State-of-the-art communications technology;
  • Full valet parking and concierge services;
  • In-house exercise salon;
  • Location...adjacent to the major medical and educational institutions of the city; minutes from the airport; bordered by the Massachusetts Turnpike; the property will provide direct access to the Kenmore Square Green Line and T Terminal; located on the sunny-side of Fenway Park’s Green Monster; next to Boston’s most vibrant nightlife options; a short walk to the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Frederick Law Olmstead’s Emerald Necklace.

Great Bays Holdings is pleased to announce the appointment of Timothy P. Kirwan to the position of managing director of the Hotel Commonwealth. A 27-year veteran of the hotel and hospitality industry, Mr. Kirwan is no stranger to Boston; he has been the guiding hand behind the openings of both the Cambridge Hyatt Regency and the Bostonian Hotel. Most recently he was the General Manager of the Westin Hotel in Providence, which he also opened.

I have been eager to find a new hotel project that would challenge me in Boston since leaving the Bostonian Hotel in 1989. This is the right project at a great time in the evolution of the lodging industry in Boston,” said Mr. Kirwan of his return to Boston. “I look forward to welcoming my old and new friends to our project and to becoming an integral part of the on-going rejuvenation of Kenmore Square.”

 
Hotel Commonwealth