Boston Properties is drawing up plans for a large-scale development overlooking Back Bay Station consisting of two apartment buildings and an office building.
As part of a public-private partnership, the Boston-based developer also would become property manager of the train station and oversee a $25-million renovation project including an expansion of retail from 4,000 to 14,000 square feet.
“This is a very complicated deal but we’re committed to it. There is significant opportunity there to build development over a transit mode and we think we can make it work,” said Michael Cantalupa, senior vice president for Boston Properties.
Boston Properties offered no details on the size or height of the proposed offices and apartments. The structures also would contain ground-level retail space, Cantalupa said.
Boston Properties, owner of the Hancock Tower, approached the Massachusetts Department of Transportation months ago about building a project above the Hancock Tower parking garage, which it leases from the state. Officials asked Boston Properties to consider a public-private partnership also upgrading the train station, which is a hub for Amtrak, commuter rail and subway lines, said Jeffrey Simon, head of MassDOT’s real estate office.
The front of the station would be extended toward the sidewalk of Dartmouth Street, adding more retail space, and a central retail “arcade” through the center of the station would house more shops.
State officials have made a priority of privatizing property management of major transit hubs. Since last fall, Equity Office Properties has brought in four new retailers as the manager of South Station. Boston Properties could provide similar upgrades at Back Bay, Simon said.
“The standard that we are using for the retail really is what we think of as airport-quality retail. The Shops at the Prudential Center gives you the kind of idea of the standard this company is certainly capable of producing,” Simon said during a presentation to the MassDOT board of directors Wednesday.
The renovations also would address air quality problems that have plagued the station since it opened in 1987, Transportation Secretary Richard Davey said.
Funding for the station renovations would come through acceleration of Boston Properties’ lease payments for the state-owned Hancock Tower garage. The 99-year lease has 54 years left to run.
The project would also require negotiation of air rights for parts of the project that would be built above the Massachusetts Turnpike.
The office and residential buildings would require approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Email: sadams@thewarrengroup.com
