Bulfinch Crossing (also known as the Government Center Garage Redevelopment) is a redevelopment project currently under construction in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It will consist of two

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

s, a smaller

residential tower A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...

, a low-rise

office building An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

, a hotel, and a low-rise retail building. Site preparation began in late 2015, and construction officially commenced on January 24, 2017. Construction on the residential tower completed in 2020. The high-rise office tower, One Congress, commenced construction in 2019 and topped off in July 2021; it is planned to open in 2022.

One Congress

The primary building of the development is the 43-story office tower, which will feature a three-story

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians :* Lobbying in the United States, specific to the United States * Lobby (food), a thick stew ...

and high-end

amenities In property and land use planning, amenity (lat. ''amoenitās'' “pleasantness, delightfulness”) is something considered to benefit a location, contribute to its enjoyment, and thereby increase its value. Tangible amenities can include the ...

. The first four floors of the building will contain the lobby and a restaurant, with each floor containing 23,200 square feet. Floors five through ten will contain offices and parking, and each floor will contain 8,800 square feet. The remaining floors will contain offices, and each floor will contain 27,500 square feet. The building is planned to earn a gold level of certification through the

US Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

certification program. Some preliminary construction on the building is underway, but no major construction will begin until an

anchor tenant In retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are typically located at the ends of malls. Wit ...

is found. As in summer of 2018, developers of One Congress & Bulfinch Crossing have announced on Bulfinch Crossing's Twitter that construction will finally start One Congress in summer of 2019 and also announced that it will be opening in 2022. In January 2019,

State Street Corporation State Street Corporation is an American financial services and bank holding company headquartered at One Lincoln Street in Boston with operations worldwide. It is the second-oldest continually operating United States bank; its predecessor, Un ...

was announced to be the primary tenant in the new building. The building will contain a

fitness center A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness and health ser ...

basketball court In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor, with baskets at each end. Indoor basketball courts are almost always made of polished wood, usually maple, with -high rims on each basket. Outdoor sur ...

rooftop garden A roof garden is a garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational oppo ...

, and several

conference rooms A conference hall, conference room, or meeting room is a room provided for singular events such as business conferences and meetings. Room It is commonly found at large hotels and convention centers though many other establishments, including even ...

. On-site parking is also available.

Residential tower

The second largest building in the development is the larger

(sometimes called ''Residential Tower I'' by the developer), which is planned to be at least tall. The tower was originally planned to consist of 486

apartment An apartment (American English), or flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that occupies part of a building, generally on a single story. There are ma ...

s, but will now instead contain only 368 apartments and 55

condos A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

. This change was announced in July 2017 when the developer decided to convert 118 apartments into 55 condos due to a slowing demand for luxury housing in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The residential tower will contain a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

, clubroom, private kitchen and diner, yoga room,

golf simulator Indoor golf is an umbrella term for all activities in golf which can be carried out indoors. Venues include indoor driving ranges, chipping areas, putting greens, machines and home golf simulators. Many of these indoor facilities are businesses t ...

, pet spa, concierge services and a sky lounge and terrace. On-site

parking Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' ...

is also available.

Other buildings

Along with the two main towers of the development, four smaller buildings and a public square will be constructed. Along with these buildings, there will be nearly in the entire development.

Residential Tower II

A smaller residential tower (officially named ''Residential Tower II''), is being constructed alongside the rest of the development. It is planned to rise at least and contain 28 stories. The tower is planned to be primarily residential, with 291 units. At least of the building will be designated for retail use.

Boutique Office

In addition to the main office tower, a smaller office building (officially named ''Boutique Office'') is under construction; it is planned to contain at least of both office and retail space. The building will rise and will contain 11 stories. It is planned to have a private terrace for office workers.

Retail building

A retail building (officially named ''Iconic Retail'') is planned to be constructed as part of the development project; it is planned to be situated across the street from the

Boston Public Market The Boston Public Market is an indoor public market that opened in July 2015 in downtown Boston, adjacent to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The market houses more than 35 year-round vendor stalls, and is open seven days a week. An outdoor ...

and will contain four floors. The building is intended to house a flagship store, and will include an entrance to the Haymarket Square subway station.

Hotel

A tall

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

building is being constructed at the northern edge of the site, and is planned to contain at least 200 hotel rooms. Although the main use for the building is a hotel, at least 57 condominiums and of retail space will be located inside the 14-story building.

Amenities

The hotel is planned to contain a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

, several meeting rooms, a rooftop bar, and a rooftop terrace.

Parking garage

In order to make room for the new development, the existing Government Center garage will be demolished. The garage was constructed in the 1960s as part of the Government Center

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

project; it contains 2,300

parking space A parking space, parking place or parking spot is a location that is designated for parking, either paved or unpaved. It can be in a parking garage, in a parking lot or on a city street. The space may be delineated by road surface markings. ...

s. Due to the fact that the garage is entirely made out of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

, it is considered to be an eyesore by many, along with the nearby City Hall building. At least 1,160 parking spaces in the garage are to be preserved to accommodate the new development, the spaces are planned to be placed inside of the new office tower.

External links

Official website

References

{{Boston skyscrapers, state=collapsed Redevelopment projects in the United States Urban renewal Government Center, Boston Projects established in 2013