Frederick Law Olmsted's Emerald Necklace were considered a chic alternative to Boston's Back Bay or Beacon Hill. Most of the retail stores closed, including a cobbler shop, a tailor, several drugs stores, and a host of corner stores. Apartment rents were among the city's lowest, attracting college students and low-income families.
Many owners let their buildings deteriorate.
Now, however, the residential blocks to the west and east of the Fens again are in demand. Several large apartment buildings have been refurbished in the last year, and rents are rising. Fenway, one of the city's smallest neighborhoods, now is well on its way to becoming one of its most expensive. Of the 13,000 housing units in the Fenway, about 11,000 are apartments, about 1,500 are condominiums that are being rented, and about 500 are owner-occupied condominiums, he said. In the last few years, many longtime residents with moderate or low incomes have been forced to move out of the neighborhood, Koechlin said.