South Station Tower is a
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 ...
under construction in
Boston, Massachusetts, the high-rise portion of a three-building development. Construction on Phase 1 of the project, a 51-story, 678-foot tower with offices and condominiums, started in January 2020 and is expected to take 4 years.
It will be built atop Boston's historic
South Station
South Station, officially The Governor Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center at South Station, is the largest railroad station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston and New England's second-largest transportation center after Logan In ...
complex, an example of
transit-oriented development
In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of urban development that maximizes the amount of residential, business and leisure space within walking distance of public transport. It promotes a symbiotic relationship between ...
. The overall project will include condominium units, office space, a parking structure, and possibly hotel space.
The property was initially proposed by
Hines Interests
Hines Interests Limited Partnership is a privately held company that invests in and develops real estate.
The company has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,450 properties, comprising over 485 million square feet. The company currently manage ...
and TUDC, a subsidiary of
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
.
Part of Phase I, an expanded bus station, will use a foundation put in place when the station was last renovated in the late 1980s. The high-rise tower will be supported by a new foundation constructed in the area between the existing station and the tracks. Foot traffic will be rerouted around construction areas.
History
![Arch construction for South Station Tower (1), December 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Arch_construction_for_South_Station_Tower_%281%29%2C_December_2022.jpg)
South Station Tower was planned to
break ground
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...
in 2008, with completion scheduled to occur in 2010, but the project stalled. Approval has been obtained for a project totaling . As of March 2016 the developer's website was updated stating the tower would begin construction early in 2017; the FAA had given approval in February for a tower reaching 677 feet.
The developer's rights to build on the site were scheduled to expire in April 2017, but the state extended them until the end of the year. Construction was halted due to MBTA concerns, but Hines did not stop the project.
![Silver Shore at South Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Silver_Shore_at_South_Station.agr.jpg)
Development of the airspace above the southbound tracks has been delayed several times. The building was conceived by Tufts president
Jean Mayer
Jean Mayer (19 April 1920 – 1 January 1993) was a French-American scientist best known for his research on the physiological bases of hunger and the metabolism of essential nutrients, and for his role in shaping policy on world hunger at bo ...
, who foresaw an "epicenter of high-profile medical research" in downtown Boston. In 1991, Tufts created a for-profit development subsidiary, TUDC LLC, and acquired the rights to the airspace. Development over the past decade has been complicated by Boston waterfront zoning restrictions, which require pedestrian access to the waterfront. In 1997, TUDC brought on Hines Interests LP as a development partner. In 2006, TUDC and Hines filed a Development Plan for the project.
Questions were raised in 2007 about the university's role in the project, and Tufts withdrew in 2009.
South Station Tower was originally designed with a height of 759 feet (231 m), which included a decorative spire.
However, the project was downscaled in 2006.
In July 2016, the developer filed a "Notice of Project Change" with the
Boston Planning and Development Agency
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is a Massachusetts public agency that serves as the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial de ...
(BPDA), proposing a number of changes in the project, including the addition of more residential space.
The notice included a timeline calling for construction of the project's first building, the high-rise tower, to begin in 2017. In December 2016, the board of the BPDA approved construction of the project. It was delayed to December 2017, then delayed again to 2018 due to MBTA rights. Construction officially began in February 2020, with a five year completion timeline.
Design
Preliminary design was done by architect
Cesar Pelli Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol
* ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt
* César Award, a French film award
Places
* Cesar, Portugal
* C ...
, whose designs are reminiscent of his
Wells Fargo Center Wells Fargo Center may refer to:
*Wells Fargo Center (Los Angeles), California
*Wells Fargo Center (Sacramento), California
* Wells Fargo Center (San Francisco), California
* Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, Santa Rosa, California
* Wells Fargo Cen ...
in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
. The structure has been
LEED
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 ...
pre-certified "silver" and won the
EPA's "Green design" award.
See also
*
List of tallest buildings in Boston
Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the largest city in New England, is home to 451 completed high-rises, 37 of which stand taller than . The majority of the city's skyscrapers and high-rises are clustered in the F ...
References
External links
Developer websiteArchitecture Boston on projectSouth Station Air Rights website
{{Coord, 42, 21, 05.7, N, 71, 03, 17.9, W, type:landmark_scale:3000, display=title
Proposed skyscrapers in the United States
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design basic silver certified buildings
Skyscrapers in Boston