Category Archives: South Boston Real Estate

0 Multiple Winthrop Square Proposals Under Consideration

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Rendering of Winthrop square development

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

The Winthrop tower development site can take a couple of different paths, mixed use or all residential.

From Banker & Tradesman:

The two largest development proposals for Boston’s Winthrop Square have starkly different visions for an overlooked corner of the Financial District. Both developers Steve Belkin and Thomas O’Brien propose 725-foot-tall towers with a substantial allotment of luxury condominiums, reflecting the current market’s hottest category. But their approaches diverge in satisfying the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s requirements for an innovative economic development strategy and new downtown public spaces.

Six developers submitted mixed-use proposals for the 1-acre municipal garage site at 115 Federal St. The BRA will hear presentations from them in coming weeks with a goal of designating a developer by the end of June. That would set the stage for a review under the BRA’s Article 80 process for large developments later this year.

Related Property Listings
Current Winthrop Square Office Space for Lease

0 Seaport Transportation Center Defined

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South Boston Waterfront

Credit: Boston Globe

The new name is the Seaport Transportation Center.  No longer is it just a place to park your car, it will house Zipcar vehicles and Hubway bikes.

From the Boston Globe:

‘The goal, chief executive Thomas Glynn said, is to reflect the wider services that Massport hopes to accommodate at the complex. Along with Zipcar and Hubway, there could be space for Seaport shuttles and information for people walking through the area…Calling it the Seaport Transportation Center, that really captured more of the ancillary services it can provide,’ Glynn said. ‘We have the opportunity here to do more than just a garage.’

Construction could begin as soon as this fall, he said, and could be complete by the end of 2017, depending on how long it takes to secure permits. The project could cost as much as $90 million.

0 Real Estate Developments Planned for Boston Train Stations

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proposed developments at Boston train stations

Credit: Boston Globe

Train and towers will be the combination for three large-scale projects at prime Boston locations, including South Station, Back Bay Station and North Station.

Brief excerpts on each impending Boston train station development from the Boston Globe:

North Station
Boston Properties and Delaware North have already begun construction at North Station. That project will eventually include a 38-story residential tower, two shorter buildings, and a massive retail complex at the long-empty site of the old Boston Garden on Causeway Street.

Back Bay Station
Across town, Boston Properties recently unveiled an ambitious vision to remake Back Bay Station and a neighboring parking garage as the base of a trio of buildings that would join the Back Bay and the South End.

South Station
And at South Station, the Houston developer Hines is attempting to kickstart long-stalled plans to build what would be among the tallest buildings in the city.

According to the Boston Globe article, “all three projects are complex, in terms of engineering and economics. But for the cash-strapped Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, they bring deep-pocketed partners who could help pay for needed transit improvements…In return, the developers would get access to some of the best locations in a crowded city with a growing population, where getting around can be a challenge.”

0 Big Dig II?

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South station to north station rail servince Boston

Credit: Boston Globe

To dig or not to dig? Seth Moulton says ‘dig’ between North Station and South Station.

According to a Boston Globe article, “Moulton is increasingly convinced that connecting the two stations is the way to go. The link would finally bring uninterrupted service to the Northeast Corridor, which means a person who gets on in Washington could ride all the way to Portland, Maine, without switching trains. It also means people on the commuter rail could more easily travel to either North or South stations without needing to hop onto the T.”

You can read the full Globe article, here.

Related Office Space Listings
Office Space near North Station
Office Space by South Station for lease

0 GE Names Architect for Seaport HQ

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Seaport HQ Boston

Credit: BBJ

Well, now we know who to ask what GE’s new Seaport office will look like: Doug Gensler.

From the Boston Business Journal:

Some of Gensler’s notable local work includes the architecture for Boston Properties’ (NYSE: BXP) Hub on Causeway project, a 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use project at North Station that will include a retail podium, office tower and hotel and residential tower. In the fall, a Gensler architect had created a rendering of the Hub on Causeway office with the logo “Plum” as the city of Boston was courting GE to relocate its headquarters using a code name “Project Plum.”

GE said in a statement that it “asked important and challenging questions about employee inspiration and teaming, environmental sustainability, and integration into the Boston innovation ecosystem” when considering architects. The headquarters must have a global scale and feel, GE said, while still remaining rooted in Boston.

0 745 Atlantic Avenue Welcomes new Retail Tenant

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In the shadows of South Station there is a new spot to caffeinate your day, 745 Atlantic Avenue is now home to La Colombe’s.

La Colombe coffee shop in Boston

Credit: Boston Eater

Boston Eater quotes one of La Colombe’s co-founders, JP Iberti:

“When I select a space I like to go in places where I feel like the neighborhood is a little bit underserved so you can really start kind of a bond with the neighborhood,” Iberti said. “It’s important with a cafe; it takes time to build.”

“The way we design cafes is more of a linear way, rather than stamping them out. You’re not going to see this cafe if we open two more cafes in Boston, three more; you’re not going to see the same bar,” he said. “Maybe you’ll see a sense of flow and a sense of space, in terms of how light comes into the space, how we move people, how we want people to feel.”

“For us, every cafe is kind of a continuation of the design. We try to make sure that people don’t focus on how many stores we’re doing,” Iberti said.

0 Downtown Boston Parcel near I-93 is Available for Redevelopment

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Downtown Boston real estate for sale

Credit: Boston Business Journal

New development opportunities in the city of Boston are being offered up by the State.  Are you looking for 5.5 acres for your new corporate headquarters within walking distance of South Station?

From the BBJ:

A 5.5-acre state-owned parcel of land between Chinatown and South Station is being made available for redevelopment, creating as much as 2 million square feet of new construction, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced this morning.

The site is located at 185 and 165 Kneeland St., currently home to the District 6 headquarters for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy office and the Veolia Energy steam plant. The MassDOT district headquarters will be relocated or replaced, and a scaled-down version of the Veolia North America plant will be included as part of the redevelopment, state officials said.

0 Logan Airport Influenced GE’s Selection of Fort Point HQ

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logan airport with office space in the background

Credit: BBJ

Good enough for GE, good enough for me.  Boston is number one for  a major U.S. city with its international airport 3.5 miles from downtown.

A recent BBJ article notes, “access to transportation is one of the key reasons that General Electric Co. set its sights on Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood for its new headquarters, said Gov. Charlie Baker at a business luncheon in Waltham on Wednesday. Not necessarily public transportation, he said, but air transportation.

“The airport has dramatically expanded its domestic nonstop capacity and international nonstop capacity with all kinds of plans to continue to grow its international nonstop capacity over the course of the next decade,” he said at the Massachusetts High Technology Council’s annual meeting at Bentley University in Waltham on Wednesday. “That starts to look really special and that’s not necessarily something we think about when we think about why GE put Boston and Massachusetts on the map.”

What Cities Gain When Their Airports Are Close to Downtown. This is a piece that came out in 2012, interesting enough, we don’t move our airports or our city centers.

0 Seaport Growth Necessitates Transit Overhaul

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Silverline T in Boston

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

The fast growing market is the Seaport of Boston.  The growth has put a tremendous squeeze on all aspects that connect that part of the city to its surrounding areas and the city is looking at a variety of solutions to ease the commuter pain.  This would range from the haul road, ferry service and Silver line.  This by no means will happen overnight, but at least it is getting the attention it requires.

Banker and Tradesman outlines the immediate actions recommended within [the next] six months:

• Expand use of the Bypass Road to all vehicles from Richards Street to West Service Road full-time and from I-93 to Richards Street eastbound during the morning rush hour.
• Allow all vehicles to use the northbound HOV lane from I-93 to the Ted Williams Tunnel.
• Speed up the Silver Line by giving it signal priority at the D Street intersection and add real-time arrival information for passengers.
• Install new Hubway bike sharing stations at Thomson Place, the Gillette Co. and Channel Center.
• Consolidate corporate shuttle bus services along A Street.

You can read the full B&T article on its website, here.

0 Final Meeting for South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan

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South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation PlanIf we can’t get to and from our workplace in a reasonable amount of time, we will find a job that we can.  Boston continues to grow its daytime and bedtime population and we need to constantly improve transportation infrastructure.

From the Boston Business Journal:

“One of the central goals of the transportation plan is to improve access and mobility across multiple modes of transportation for residents, workers and tourists throughout the neighborhood, which in theory will maximize economic growth and vitality along the waterfront and, as the draft plan says, “enhance the public realm.” The draft plan also highlights expanding community connections within South Boston and the South Boston Waterfront and enhancing mobility inside the Waterfront itself.”