Tag Archives: South End

A 1.6 million square-foot project in the South End wins key approval

The $1 billion development known as the “Exchange South End” received approval from the Boston Planning & Development Agency last week to build on the former site of the Boston Flower Exchange in the South End.

The development, which sits on more than 5 acres of land, will eventually be home to four new buildings that will sit between I-93 and Albany Street. When finished the new development is expected to have an estimated 7.000 technology and life science jobs.

According to this Curbed Boston article The Exchange will include:

• Buildings will total 1.4+ million square feet of commercial, technology, and life science research space.
• 42,500 square feet of ground-floor retail.
• 30,000 square feet of civic and business-incubator space.
• 30,000-square-foot, publicly accessible park.
• With an additional 14 surface spaces, the Exchange South End would contain a total of 1,159 parking spaces.

With all the construction happening in and around the Ink Block you may not have realized that a comparable residential development sitting upon 3+ acres of land between Harrison Avenue and Albany Street is shaping up just a few blocks away. The new residential complex will include approximately 650 apartments, 80,000 square-feet of office space and 20,000 square-feet of retail. The project has been scaled back slightly from its initial proposal of including 710 units, which had also included 65 affordable units, but it will still stretch (as its name indicates) from Albany Street to Harrison Avenue.

This is just one of a handful of projects that have taken city planners by surprise and is forcing Boston to re-evaluate their infrastructure plans for the neighborhood. The city expected more commercial building but due to a tight housing market and lack of housing developers are constructing more housing. Let’s see if these prove to be anymore affordable than the developments currently underway just a few blocks up the street.

Below is a recent photo shared on the Bldup.com.

Source: bldup.com

Last October I wrote about a new development that was proposed in the South End along Shawmut Avenue / Herald Street / Washington Street in my post 112 Shawmut Avenue.

The mixed use project which will include three buildings will have a combined total maximum of 660,000+ square feet with the new construction retaining the facade of the six-story brick building currently on the corner of Herald and Shawmut. If you are interested in learning more about this project the public is invited to provide feedback and ask questions at a public meeting on May 2nd.

The details and logistics surrounding that meeting are here: Shawmut Avenue / Washington Street Block Public Meeting.

FROM HIDDEN BOSTON BLOG: According to a Twitter post from restaurant critic and food/drinks writer MC Slim JB, Morse Fish Company in Boston’s South End is up for lease, with a note on Facebook telling us that a “For Lease” sign is indeed in the window of the Washington Street business.

It is not yet known how much longer the market will remain open. Morse Fish Company first opened in 1903, offering fresh seafood.

Outline roughly depicts 490 Harrison Ave. 16-unit expansion proposed by GTI Properties || Photo from Google Maps

Last month GTI Properties shared plans with the Old Dover Neighborhood Association to build a new 70′ residential building, extending the existing apartment building at 490 Harrison Avenue.

The proposed design includes plans for sixteen rental units as well as a ground level 5.000 sq ft retail space along with two smaller storefronts in the back of the building. Apartments will range from 1,200 – 1,300 sq ft. No information was provided on the exact number of parking spaces the new building would shrink the existing parking lot. Assuming the project receives the necessary approvals, GTI Properties would look to break ground starting January 2019.

Apartments at 490 Harrison Avenue currently rent for $2,400-$2,600 for one bedroom and $2,800-$4,250 for two bedrooms, begging the question will the neighborhood and city ask for affordable units to be included before approving the project?

Rendering of 112 Shawmut Avenue in the South End

A significant amount of new development in recent years has taken place in the northeast corner of the South End along Harrison Avenue and Albany Street, but a new development under review just a few blocks away along Herald Street and Shawmut Avenue show developers are now eyeing properties overlooking the sunken interstate, I-90 / Mass Pike, with interest.

Last month I wrote about new office space being proposed that would redesign and build on top of a 3-story parking garage at 321 Harrison Avenue. Last Wednesday a building one block further west at 112 Shawmut Avenue held a public meeting to discuss plans to dramatically change an existing six-story building and demolish a neighboring 3-story building to create a 13-story building that would include more than 150 residential units. Below is a photo of what the building currently looks like. 

More details about the project as well as an opportunity to submit comments is available online here, 112 Shawmut Avenue Project Description.

A new office building that would be constructed on top of an existing three-story parking garage (shown above) was recently approved. After construction the eleven story building will be approximately 150 feet tall, include 200,000+ square feet of office space and and approximately 240 parking spaces along with 2,500 square feet of retail or gallery space on the street level. Changes / enhancements will also be made to the shared lobby that connects to 1000 Washington Street (once known as the Teradyne building).

Something described as a glass curtainwall facade will have large Roman numerals III II I (3 2 1) incorporated into the side of the building facing the Massachusetts Turnpike, indicating its address 321 Harrison Avenue.

For more information you can visit the Boston Planning & Development Agency page dedicated to 321 Harrison Avenue.