Avalon Bay in Talks to Develop Housing at Fenway

BOSTON-Avalon Bay Communities is reportedly close to inking a deal to buy the development rights to build a block of apartments here, right near the site of the proposed new Fenway Park. The 16-story mixed-use development would be one of the largest residential developments here over the past two decades.

The Virginia-based development company already owns the nearby Prudential Center apartments. The company would be buying the rights from local developer Steve Samuels, who had originally proposed building a hotel on the site when he bought it two years ago from Harvard Pilgrim Health Care.

The difficulty he had financing that project, despite neighborhood support, convinced him to switch to a residential structure. In contrast, the proposed 44,000-seat ballpark, which was being decided around the time Samuels bought this property, has been hotly contested here.