If you are looking at Van Ness Fenway apartments and own a car, the single thing that shapes your year is the event calendar. A resident permit here is free and renters qualify for it, but it has never guaranteed anyone a space, and on game days the curb rules change around you.
Van Ness, a 172-unit apartment building at 1335 Boylston Street in Fenway, has its own garage that answers this, and the owner puts the figure at 500 spaces. That is a real but partial advantage. Here is what it removes, what it leaves exactly where it was, and three things the leasing page does not say.
What Van Ness is, in plain terms
Van Ness is a Samuels & Associates development on Boylston Street in Fenway, with a flagship 170,000-square-foot Target and a long row of other retail at street level. It is LEED Gold certified.
Units have oversized windows and stainless appliances, and select units have walk-in closets. Shared spaces include a 24/7 fitness center, a rooftop lounge with grilling stations, a conference room, a TV and game lounge, and a pet spa. It is pet friendly.
In-unit laundry is the feature people ask about first. The owner lists a washer and dryer in the units, which matches how our guide to living in Fenway describes the Boylston Street towers. Confirm it for the unit you are shown.
Why this building has two addresses
You will see Van Ness at two different street numbers, and both are correct.
The development address is 1325 Boylston Street, which Samuels & Associates lists for the property and the owner gives as its office address. The residential leasing address is 1335 Boylston Street. For a tour, use 1335 Boylston.
The garage, and what it actually solves
The owner's leasing page states 500 parking spaces in an on-site garage. In a neighborhood where the realistic alternative is circling for curbside space you are permitted to use but not promised, that changes a normal Tuesday and changes game days more.
What a Fenway resident permit does and doesn't do
A Fenway resident permit is free and open to renters, but it only lets you compete for curb space. Permit eligibility, the application window and event-day restrictions are all covered in our guide to parking in Fenway as a renter on event days.
If you have a garage space at Van Ness, most of those permit and event-day problems stop being yours. You are not hunting for a spot, moving the car ahead of a restriction window, or risking a ticket because a game ran long.
What the garage does not fix
Four things survive the garage.
Your visitors will not find free street parking. Boston does not issue visitor passes. The Van Ness garage is open to the public, so a friend driving in can pay to park there, but The Fenway's parking directory lists event rates of $60.
Access to the building. Having a space is not the same as reaching it easily. Crowds, temporary restrictions and traffic around the ballpark affect getting to and from the building on foot or by car regardless of where the car sleeps.
Deliveries and rideshare. Pickup and drop-off around a stadium on an event day is awkward for everyone, including you. Furniture deliveries and moving trucks need planning around the calendar as well as the garage.
Cost and availability, which are not stated. This is the biggest open question about the Van Ness garage.
The owner publishes the size of the garage, and The Fenway's parking directory lists it as a public garage with hourly, monthly and event rates. Neither says whether residents get reserved spaces, what a resident space costs per month, or whether there is a waitlist.
Those three answers decide whether the garage benefits you or the building's shoppers. Ask all three before you sign, and ask for the monthly figure in writing.
Here is the split between what the Van Ness garage fixes and what it does not.
| The garage fixes | The garage does not fix |
|---|---|
| Hunting for curbside space on a normal day | Free visitor street parking, which Boston has no mechanism for |
| Moving your car around event-day restrictions | Crowds and traffic on your street around events |
| Ticket risk from a restriction you misread | Rideshare and delivery access on event days |
| Needing a resident permit at all, if you have a space | Whatever a resident space costs, which is unpublished |
Living above a 170,000-square-foot Target
Van Ness sits above a 170,000-square-foot Target, which puts groceries and household shopping downstairs and also adds commercial activity around the building.
Having groceries in the building matters in a city where a serious supermarket run is often a bus ride. The rest of the ground floor holds a dense row of retail: bartaco, Eventide Oyster Co., Tasty Burger, Sephora, Blackbird Doughnuts, a TD Bank, Orangetheory, a barber shop and more.
The trade is that you live above a regional-draw store and a commercial block. That means delivery vehicles, loading activity and foot traffic that has nothing to do with your building. Whether that reaches your unit depends on which floor and which side you are on, so ask about the specific apartment.
What to ask before you sign
Before you sign a lease at Van Ness, ask six things: garage terms, waitlist, in-unit laundry, which way the unit faces, event-day entrance and package handling.
- Is a reserved resident garage space available with this unit, and what does it cost per month?
- Is there a waitlist for spaces, and how long is it right now?
- Does this specific unit have its own washer and dryer? Get it confirmed for the unit, not the building.
- Which side does the unit face, and what is directly below it? Retail loading areas and the Boylston frontage are different experiences.
- On event days, which entrance should residents use, and does building access change at all?
- How are packages handled, given the retail traffic through the block?
Getting around: Green Line, Longwood and walking
Fenway's transit case does not depend on this building, and it is good. The Green Line is the backbone, and Kenmore station and the Longwood Medical Area are both nearby.
The neighborhood picture, including which Fenway you are looking at and how the sub-areas differ, is in our guide to living in Fenway.
Is the premium worth it?
The Van Ness premium is worth it mainly if you own a car and the garage is open to residents at a reasonable monthly rate. New construction in Fenway costs more than an older walk-up in the same neighborhood, and the way to test the premium is to name what you are buying with it.
If you own a car and the garage turns out to be resident-accessible at a reasonable monthly rate, the premium buys you year-round relief from the neighborhood's worst recurring annoyance. That is worth real money and hard to get any other way here.
If you do not own a car, the garage is worth nothing to you, and you are paying a new-construction premium for finishes, amenities and the Target. That is a different purchase, and an older building nearby may serve you better per dollar.
Comparing Van Ness with an older Fenway building is much easier on Spot Easy, where you can see verified listings in Fenway, filter by laundry and pets, and request a tour.
What's verified, and by whom
Almost everything written about this building online traces back to either the owner or a listings aggregator. The table shows the source for each claim in this post.
| Claim | Figure | Source | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential units | 172 | Samuels & Associates | Owner's property page |
| Garage | 500 spaces | Owner's leasing page | Size only. Not stated: reserved resident spaces, price, waitlist |
| Target | 170,000 sq ft | Samuels & Associates | In-building, flagship |
| Certification | LEED Gold | Owner's leasing page | Stated |
| Development address | 1325 Boylston St | Samuels & Associates | Office address |
| Residential address | 1335 Boylston St | Owner's leasing page | Use this one for a tour |
| In-unit laundry | Washer/dryer listed | Owner leasing page | Confirm for your unit |
FAQ
Do I still need a resident parking permit if I have a garage space? If you have a space in the building, the permit stops being the thing you depend on. Our Fenway parking guide covers eligibility and the application timing if you want one anyway.
Can guests park at Van Ness? Guests can pay to park in the Van Ness garage, which is open to the public, and The Fenway's parking directory lists event rates of $60. Boston has no citywide visitor permit, so free guest parking near Fenway on an event day is hard to find.
Does the Target make Van Ness noisy? It depends on your floor and which way the unit faces, not on the building as a whole. This is a question to ask about the specific apartment on the tour.