BOSTON | Projects & Construction

[desertpunk]

Boston Globe

Seaport District to get new office tower

State Street Corp. is in, sources say



By Casey Ross | GLOBE STAFF MAY 05, 2012

The developer of the massive Channel Center complex in Boston’s Seaport District is proposing construction of an 11-story office building, public parks, and a parking garage, adding to the rapid redevelopment of the waterfront in recent years.

No major office tenant was named in plans released by the city on Friday. But sources with knowledge of the project have said State Street Corp. is negotiating a deal to move into the office building, which would be located at One Channel Center.

A spokeswoman for State Street said in a prepared statement Friday that the company has several leases expiring soon and is “pursuing various options to meet our business and workplace needs.’’

The developer of Channel Center, Commonwealth Ventures, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The company filed plans with the Boston Redevelopment Authority calling for a 525,000-square-foot office building, a nine-story parking garage, and two public parks. The firm said it hopes to begin construction by the end of year.

The complex, located off A Street, already includes more than 200 residential units, restaurants, stores, and offices in a series of former Boston Wharf Co. warehouses. The development of a large new office building would be a major boost for the complex and for the neighborhood, which has been renamed the Innovation District by Boston’s mayor, Thomas M. Menino.

The area has attracted scores of new businesses in the past two years, and continues to generate interest from a broad range of companies that want to relocate there. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is building a pair of large office buildings nearby at Fan Pier, one of the largest privately funded construction projects in the country.

A new building for State Street would also add considerable momentum to the office construction market in Boston, which all but died out during the recent economic downturn.

[...]