Hatch Fenway, a startup launchpad in Fenway that counted Google Ventures-backed Toast as its anchor tenant, has shut down. But that was apparently part of the plan from when it first opened more than two years ago.
In a newsletter sent Dec. 21 and a subsequent blog post on LinkedIn from this week, Justin Mott, who was Hatch Fenway's director of business development, said, "the time has come for Hatch Fenway to make its graceful exit." On Wednesday, a representative for Samuels & Associates, Hatch Fenway's developer, confirmed the news and provided a statement from Peter Sougarides, a partner at Samuels & Associates, the next day.
“When we launched the Hatch Fenway concept in 2015, it was designed to be a 24-month experiment for both Samuels and our tenants as we ramped up to executing our vision for the evolution of the Landmark Center/401 Park Drive," Sougarides said in the statement. "Hatch has been a success for many of our start-up tenants, who found the inexpensive and flexible space they needed as they scaled. Having found a true home in The Fenway, several are now looking for other real estate within the community."
Mott's post on LinkedIn appears to have since been taken down.
Hatch Fenway opened in summer 2015 on the eighth floor of Landmark Center, an office and retail building owned by Samuels & Associates. At the time, the 110,000-square-foot space was pitched as a launchpad for fast-growing startups that were too big for a traditional co-working space but didn't want to deal with long leases or high rent.
While Hatch has shut down, some of its tenants still reside at Landmark Center, including Pulse@MassChallenge, which is now operating from the building's lobby-level floor. Toast, a restaurant software provider that raised a $101 million round last summer, is Hatch's largest success story, having announced last year that it was expanding from 37,500 square feet to 81,000 in the building.
Because of Hatch and other efforts, Samuels & Associates has been a driving force of Fenway becoming a new neighborhood for tech companies.
Beyond providing a flexible office space for startups, Hatch also served as a community space where a number of events have been held. The representative for Samuels & Associates said events are still happening in Hatch's community space for the time being.
Landmark Center is now undergoing a long-planned redevelopment project that will include more office and lab space, among other things.
“We are excited for the renovation of the historic building at 401 Park Drive and the creation of a new 1.1-acre public park that will link the neighborhood to the rest of the city through the Emerald Necklace," Sougarides said. "The opening of Time Out Market in 2019 will create new and unique dining experiences in the neighborhood.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Shoobx is still a tenant of Landmark Center. The company has since moved out.
