From The Boston Globe:

The plan disclosed by Steve Samuels and city officials yesterday is the next step in transforming the gritty triangle between Park Drive and Yawkey Way, where residents and neighborhood planners have long sought to create an "urban village" in the shadows of the ballpark.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said plans for the new quarter-mile-long street, to run parallel to Yawkey Way, would ease traffic congestion and lay the groundwork for a shopping district where Fenway sausage vendors would intermingle with high-end boutiques.

"What we want to do is have a balance between residential, retail, and some office space," Menino said. "It will be a more walkable area, a more friendly area. Now all you see is auto repair shops and sub shops. That's not the future, that's the past."

Samuels is really going full speed ahead after just opening 1330 Boylston St. (picture above - 215 apartments plus retail and office space) and launching the Trilogy Apartments a couple years ago. This latest plan is in the preliminary stages but calls for more housing, retail shops, and a grocery store.

Between Steve Samuels, The Abbey Group (Landmark Center), and John Rosenthal (proposed One Kenmore project over the Mass Pike), the Fenway neighborhood is rapidly transforming into one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the city.  There are many more great options for where to live now than ever before (either renting an apartment or buying a condo).  Not only is it becoming a great place to live, but I believe there is some of the best long run investment potential in this area than any other in the city of Boston.