The Boston Planning and Development Agency board on Thursday approved a $600 million project in the Fenway that could house the neighborhood’s first public library.
The 531,000-square-foot office and lab would be at 1400 Boylston St. in the Fenway, currently home to a Star Market and a shuttered gas station. Developer Samuels & Associates will relocate and expand the Star Market to another of their projects nearby.
As part of the Boylston Street development, the firm is also committing $12 million to design and build a 5,000 square-foot civic building that could serve as a neighborhood branch of the Boston Public Library, along with a new park that will connect to Samuels’ other green space in the neighborhood.
“We are grateful for more than two decades of partnership with the Fenway neighborhood in shaping the Boylston Street corridor,” said Samuels principal Peter Sougarides in a statement. “This is a marquee location at the gateway to one of the city’s most dynamic and historic neighborhoods.”
As part of the 1400 Boylston St. project, Samuels also committed $18 million to help fund Transom Real Estate’s planned 117-unit development at the nearby Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, which would include 48 affordable condominiums, along with $1.3 million to fund affordable housing in partnership with the Fenway Community Development Corp.
City Councilor Sharon Durkan spoke in support, as did several neighbors and civic groups. Timothy Horn, president of the Fenway Civic Association praised the library as “a huge benefit that will go on for generations” and also commended Samuels’ funding of workforce housing.
“It is something that we’ve wanted, and was the goal of the zoning process in the very first place, and for that I’m very happy,” Horn said.
While the civic space is intended to be operated by the Boston Public Library, actually placing a branch there requires a separate city process. A representative from the Boston Public Library did not speak at Thursday’s BPDA meeting, and library officials did not return messages seeking comment Friday.
David Manfredi of Elkus Manfredi Architects designed the 1400 Boylston project, and included six “step-backs” — each about 25 feet wide — to keep as much sunlight as possible on the adjacent Ramler Park. The project will be designed to be a net-zero carbon hybrid electric building.
The park, designed by Keith LeBlanc of LeBlanc Jones, is intended to be more of a passive space with access to the future library, Manfredi said.
“The intention is really to be a destination,” he said.
The project received almost universal praise from neighbors, though some did express concerns over possible shadows cast by the building over the nearby Emerald Necklace.
“Public parks are a public trust that were created by our ancestors to improve and maintain our physical and mental health,” said Katherine Greenough, a board member of the Audubon Circle Neighborhood Association. “They really should not be violated in any way.”
Catherine Carlock can be reached at catherine.carlock@globe.com. Follow her @bycathcarlock.