New office and residential buildings crop up in Boston's waterfront district

Posted by IronPlanet on Sep 6, 2012 2:33:00 AM

Boston may be a small city, but it is still growing and building new neighborhoods such as Channel Center. The New England city's Seaport District, also known as the Innovation District, has been undergoing transformations in recent years to make it a more vibrant part of Boston, including the construction of many new business and residential buildings. State Street Corporation is planning to relocate its headquarters from various buildings around the downtown area to the Innovation District once its new home, One Channel Center, is completed, according to the Boston Herald.

The Suffolk Construction Company recently won the contract to build the 11-story, 525,000-square-foot office building, The Boston Business Journal reports. Not only will this structure feature a 10-level parking garage with enough room for 950 vehicles, but Suffolk will also be in charge of the surrounding area. This includes two parks - the 9,000-square-foot Iron Street Park and the 72,000-square-foot New Park - as well as streetscapes, sidewalks and outdoor lighting around the building. The entire project will cost around $125 million and should be completed sometime in 2014.

The Channel Center project consists of more than just office buildings, as there are plans for more than 200 residential units to be built in this area. As the Innovation District is still in its developmental stages, residents and visitors will likely see construction equipment, dump trucks, and workers throughout the area, as multiple projects are underway. The Boston Globe reports plans are being developed to construct a 15-story condominium building on the 21-acre Fan Pier property, the first of several residential towers being planned for this waterfront location.

"You can't get any closer to the water than this site," Joseph F. Fallon, CEO of The Fallon Company, the Fan Pier developer, told the news source. "We're building in one of the hottest areas in the country, and it's got unobstructable water views. That's a great combination."

Construction on the project is slated to begin in mid-2013, and the building will feature outdoor terraces for each of the 130 units that overlook the Boston Harbor as well as the Boston city skyline and Logan Airport. There will also be space on the ground floor for a restaurant and other retail businesses. This is the latest of many construction projects for Fallon's company, as two office buildings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. are currently being built at Fan Pier, according to The Globe. These structures should be finished by the end of 2013.

Topics: Construction, Industry Headlines