280-Unit Residential High Rise Planned for Kendall Square

The Ames Street Residences is a 200,000 square foot residential high rise with 280 apartment units and 16,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. The  project, designed by FX/Fowle, will be a slender 22-story tower by rising in front of the Kendall Center East Garage, overlooking the Cambridge Center rooftop garden. 

There will be a mix of unit types at 88 Ames Street, including micro-units, studios, one-bedrooms, and two-bedrooms. Developer Boston Properties will set aside 36 apartments in the new building as affordable housing units.

The residential development has been debated for more than a decade, and was originally planned for the site now occupied by the Broad Institute’s new building at 75 Ames Street, located across the street from the site.

The project will now stand on a vacant lot on the south side of Ames Street, between 4 and 5 Kendall Center.

Boston Properties aims to transform Ames Street, between Main Street and Broadway, from a service street to a more active, pedestrian friendly streetscape with active ground floor use on both sides of the street.

The project includes a significant commitment to bicycle transportation with the addition of 296 secure, on-site, weather protected spaces accessible by residents and retail employees.

There will also be an additional 38 short-term bicycle parking spaces along Pioneer Way.

The city had initially asked Boston Properties to subsidize half the cost of a monthly bus and subway CharlieCard for the first 12 months of residence for all tenants, and also to fund $50,000 for Kendall Square transit improvements.

The developer’s counter-offer was for one month of CharlieCards.

After month of wrangling, both side agreed that for each resident, Boston Properties will provide three months of a subsidized CharlieCard and one year of Hubway membership.

The developer will also contribute $50,000 towards transit improvements, construct a Hubway station and install two electric vehicle charging stations.

Major Transformation Planned for Congress St, Quaker Lane

A development firm is preparing to transform a drab cluster of office buildings and retail space in Boston’s financial district into the mixed-use Congress Square. Related Beal has big plans for the 458,300-square-foot development, which spans an entire city block along Water, Devonshire and Congress streets. The project calls for two building additions, a new 13-story boutique hotel on Devonshire Street and a mix of offices, residential units, and retail and restaurant spaces.

The developer plans to renovate the six Financial District office buildings in the existing Block on Congress to bring 24-hour activity to an area historically dominated by financial institutions.

Plans includes 92,700 square feet of new construction: a cantilevered glass, five-story condominium addition above 15 Congress Street ; a three-story office addition to 40 Water Street; and the new 133-room hotel tower on what’s currently a vacant lot used for parking.

The hotel tower would be connected to the building at 68 Devonshire Street.

The ground floors of the buildings would include new lobby entrances and glass-fronted shops and restaurants that open up to outdoor dining areas on Quaker Lane. Quaker Lane would be converted into a European-style pedestrian area with suspended cable lighting between buildings, cobblestone pavers, sculptural seating and landscaping.

Buildings at 40 Water Street, 82 Devonshire Street and 33-35 Congress Street would be combined for innovation/¬economy office space and capped with a three-story office addition.

A new mid-rise building would be constructed at 54 Devonshire and a multistory addition will be built on top of 15 Congress, which is will likely be converted into a boutique-style residential building.

One of the most important changes to the block will be the development and activation of Quaker Lane, essentially an alley that runs through the middle of the property, which will link the Post Office Square and the high-traffic Faneuil Hall.

“For the last 40 years, these buildings have been restricted to private use and turned inward, cut off from the surrounding neighborhood and streets.

The design for Congress Square restores these buildings and Quaker Lane to a destination within the heart of downtown Boston.”

Related Beal has tapped integrated design firm Arrowstreet to spearhead the makeover of the buildings, the oldest of which was developed in 1899. Ultimately three of the structures will be marketed to specialized developers for conversion.

The company acquired what’s now about 343,000 square feet of primarily office space from Fidelity Investments for $87.25 million.

Related Beal hopes to start construction this fall and complete it in spring 2017.
 

$75M Mixed-Use Development Planned for Dorchester

The construction boom that is transforming Boston’s skyline and restructuring neighborhoods like South Boston is now rolling into Dorchester. The latest development is DotBlock, a $75 million mix of condos, apartments, shops and restaurants by Atlas Investment Group that would rise on what is now a 3 1/2-acre patch of run-down warehouses and industrial buildings on Dorchester Avenue.

The phased development would include up to 259 units of for-rent and for-sale housing, a 20,000-square-foot landscaped roof deck, a 400-space central parking garage and 40,000 square feet of retail at 1207 Dorchester Avenue, near the Savin Hill Station.

The 3.5-acre project site stretches almost a full city block and is roughly bounded by Dorchester Avenue, and  Greenmount and Hancock streets. Existing properties on the site include a mix of underutilized industrial buildings, including single-story warehouses.

The condos, totaling 64 in all, will be priced at around $400,000 in a bid to appeal to those middle-class buyers priced out of Boston amid an explosion of luxury housing. The two-bedroom, two-bath units will have 1,150 square feet of space.

Three apartment buildings are planned as well, with units averaging about 950 square feet a piece.

A five-story apartment building with 50 units is planned for DotBlock’s first phase. The second phase includes a pair of six-story buildings totaling 145 more units.

A total of 40,000 square feet of neighborhood style retail is planned for the ground floor of the two six-story buildings, with a mix of coffee shops, restaurants and a grocery store.

Demetrios Dasco of Atlas Investment Group LLC is spearheading the project's development, and RODE Architects is handling design work.

The DotBlock plan follows on the heels of a proposal by development giant Edens to expand the South Bay shopping center in Dorchester.

That plan calls for 500 apartments, a 65,000-square-foot cinema, 115,000 square feet of shops and restaurants, and a 150 to 200-room hotel.

The developer hopes to nail down all the necessary permits over the next few months, clear the site by the summer, and begin construction in the fall.
  

Massive 3-Tower Project Set to Rise at Boston Garden

A 1.87-million-square-foot, mixed-use project, with a price tag estimated at $950 million, will soon begin to rise over Causeway Street and the Zakim Bridge. The Boston Garden Towers will be constructed on a 2.8-acre parking lot located next to TD Garden, where the old Boston Garden once stood. The three tower project would connect 497 residential units, 668,000 square feet of office space and 235,000 square feet of retail to the sports venue and North Station.

The massive development located at 80 Causeway Street will dramatically alter the face of the TD Garden.

The new complex, designed by architect Elkus Manfredi, will rise over Causeway Street in three new towers: two of them 20 stories high and one 45-story tower reaching 600 feet, built above a three- to five-story retail base.

A modern glass atrium will connect to a new entrance into TD Garden and to the MBTA's North Station.

Below ground, a four-level parking garage will be constructed to accommodate about 800 vehicles.

“We are creating a new front door to North Station, a new portal to the city,” said David Manfredi, of Elkus Manfredi Architects.

“We don’t want to create a mall; we don’t want to create privatized space. We want to create space that is inviting to the public.”

The $950 million development will include:

•     40,000 square foot expansion of TD Garden
•     560,000 square feet of residential with 497 units
•     200,000 square foot hotel with 306 rooms
•     668,000 square feet of office space
•     142,000 square feet of flexible office space
•     235,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space
•     25,000 square foot glass atrium hall

Prior to leaving office, Mayor Menino had agreed to provide $7.8 million in tax breaks to help the developers lure the Star Market and build the underground parking spaces for the TD Garden.

The tax agreement will spread the relief over 15 years.

During that same period, the development is expected to produce $32.2 million in new tax revenue for the city.

Developer Boston Properties said the tax agreement was crucial to attracting a supermarket to the property and asserted the project will help enliven the area around the arena.

The massive project will be built in stages, with the first phase to include the multi-story retail base, a supermarket, a cinema, a 306-room hotel, and the 4-story underground parking garage.

Construction is expected to begin this Spring.

Trans National Group Plans 740-ft Financial District Tower

A developer has plans to build one of Boston’s tallest buildings in downtown’s Financial District. The 740-foot glass tower will include a 300-room hotel, offices, retail space, a restaurant and 150 luxury condominium units.  Costing as much as $900 million to build, the 900,000-SF skyscraper will add a new showpiece to Boston’s rapidly changing skyline.

The building would be the tallest building in the downtown area and will include a 300-room hotel, retail space, offices, and up to 150 condominiums on the upper floors.

The tower proposal comes during one of the most dynamic periods of construction in the city’s history, as numerous skyscrapers aim to alter the Boston skyline.

At 740 feet, the angular skyscraper would be Boston’s third-tallest structure, behind the 750-foot Prudential building and the 790-foot John Hancock Tower.

An office building at 133 Federal Street would be combined with the new tower at ground level to create a 72,000-square-foot lobby with restaurants and shops.

The complex, called 111 Federal Street will rise on one of the Financial District’s last major development sites, replacing the city-owned Winthrop Square parking garage presently on the site.

Before work can proceed, developer Steve Belkin must negotiate a deal to buy the property from the city.

The dilapidated garage at 111-115 Federal Street will be demolished and replaced with glass storefronts and modern lobbies for the offices and a luxury hotel.

Former Mayor Thomas Menino selected Steve Belkin to redevelop the property in 2006, but the project failed to attract enough tenants amid the economic downturn.

The original plan called for a 1,000-foot office tower, but that proposal was rejected because it would have interfered with air traffic. The new proposal calls for a tower 260 feet shorter.

The building will be one of only a few towers built in the densely packed Financial District since the 1980s. In recent years, tech companies, restaurants and retailers have brought new life to the area.

The project, designed by Boston-based CBT Architects, is expected to begin construction in the fall of 2015.

Five Boston Mega-Projects to Watch in 2015

If you have ever been stuck in rush hour traffic, you know Greater Boston is in the midst of a major building boom. The signs are everywhere, from exposed steel for super tall skyscrapers such as the Millennium Tower to large cranes for massive apartment complexes on the waterfront.
 

But some of the Boston’s largest projects are still waiting to get underway, including the Fenway Center mega-project and the big-time redevelopment of the Harbor Garage.

Large developments such as the Residences @ Malden Station and the Roxbury Innovation Center show us how widely the real estate boom is reverberating.

Here’s a list of five Big Projects to watch in 2015:

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1. Fenway Center

     Commonwealth & Brookline Avenues
     Boston, MA 02215

This much delayed mega-project, with its five buildings and several hundred apartments plus commercial space, may, in fact, finally get under way this year. Developer John Rosenthal is in the midst of a partnership deal that could jumpstart development.

[see ElectricWeb-Boston | June 16, 2014]

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2. One Seaport Square 

     1 Seaport Lane      
     Boston, MA 02210

The 1.1 million-square-foot project broke ground in mid-November and will include two 22-story towers, called the Benjamin and VIA, with 832 apartments total. It is the first residential phase of the larger Seaport Square project.

[see ElectricWeb-Boston | Sept 15, 2014]

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3. Harbor Garage Towers

     70 East India Row
     Boston, MA 02110

Plans for this long-delayed redevelopment call for two towers, rising up to 650 and 550 feet. The complex will host hundreds of condos and hotel rooms, 700,000 square feet of office space and amenities such as an all-seasons plaza for the public.

[see ElectricWeb-Boston | Aug 28, 2014]

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4. Assembly Row

     Artisan Way 
     Somerville, MA 02145

Somerville's mega-mixed-use project is already slated to include more than 2,000 housing units and dozens of retail stores and a new Orange Line stop.

Plans, however, emerged toward the tail end of 2014 to basically double the size of Assembly Row and basically add more of everything.

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5. Six New Street 

     6 New Street   
     Boston, MA 02128 

This 4-acre complex broke ground in late December and is slated to create 259 new apartments along the Eastie waterfront with a ton of extras, including a water taxi dock. It's a big win for the waterfront and an indication that more development will follow.

  

Government Center Redevelopment: 6 Buildings, $1 Billion +

Developers plan to construct a huge 528-foot glass skyscraper at the corner of Congress and New Sudbury streets. The curvy 47-story tower would be the centerpiece of a Government Center redevelopment project, where builders are preparing to construct a cluster of high-rises to replace portions of the Government Center Garage.

The project, estimated to cost well over $1 billion, will include construction of three high-rises and three smaller buildings containing more than 2.3 million square feet of commercial and residential space.

The project will begin with a 42-story residential tower with 450 rental and condominium units, followed by removal of the part of the garage that hangs over Congress Street and the construction of the 47-story office building. The developer wants to begin construction later this year.

The new office tower, designed by architect Cesar Pelli, would be an unusually dramatic building for Boston, a city that has shied away from the kind of eye-popping architecture that defines the skylines of other major cities.

In all, the project would result in six buildings containing 2.3 million square feet of commercial and residential space.

Three high-rises would be built on the western portion of the site, and three smaller buildings would be built along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

 A retail plaza would create a new connection between the Greenway and Canal Street.

While the portion of the garage above the street would be demolished, the core of the building at Congress and New Sudbury would remain, preserving 1,100 parking spaces. That part of the garage would be hidden behind the new high-rises.

The development has received approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, but plans for each building must also be approved by the agency’s design commission. BRA director Brian Golden has offered strong support for the project.

“The redevelopment of the Government Center Garage site will reshape the downtown skyline in a way that few projects can,” he said. “We welcome a creative approach to its design and look forward to working with the architecture team to review their proposal more carefully.”

Developer Tom O’Brien, a principal of HYM Investment Group, said the project’s architecture is meant to call attention to the vast change it would bring to the city’s downtown.

He noted that it would remove one of the area’s worst eyesores, a relic of the Urban Renewal Era, and reconnect the Bulfinch Triangle to the North End and Beacon Hill.

Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects of New Haven is collaborating on the design with CBT Architects of Boston.

The project's primary investor is the National Electrical Benefit Fund.

Boston is experiencing a burst of real estate development, transforming much of its downtown and outlying neighborhoods. A retail and condominium tower is under construction at the former Filene’s site in Downtown Crossing. Additional towers are being proposed at Winthrop Square in the Financial District and at the site of the Harbor Garage on Atlantic Avenue.

In the Bulfinch Triangle, Related Beal is building a new headquarters for Converse Inc., and Boston Properties plans to construct a series of towers in front of the TD Garden.