Image courtesy of CBT Architects
The Boston skyline may be getting a new signature office tower.
Developer Skanska USA pulled building permits late last week for a $363 million tower at 380 Stuart St. near Copley Square, less than three months after a Massachusetts Appeals Court dismissed a lawsuit by residents of a Back Bay condominium building seeking to block its construction.
The 26-story, 625,000-square-foot tower has been in the planning stages for a decade.
John Hancock Life Insurance originally proposed replacing its 9-story office building on the 380 Stuart St. site with a new office tower, but reconsidered its space needs after the onset of the COVID pandemic. The insurer sold the property to Skanska in December 2020 for $177 million.
”We are confident about the future of office in Boston and are encouraged by recent trends that reinforce the city as our region’s economic engine. In an evolving market, we are positioning ourselves to be ready to start at the appropriate time so that we can deliver a dynamic building to the Back Bay at 380 Stuart Street. At this time, we have not set a specific start date,” Skanska said in a statement.
In its application materials, the company said the project “should provide clear validation of its belief in the long-term vitality of Boston’s office market. The proposed project will bring jobs and people back to the city with a fresh perspective on what the office environment can and should be.”
Skanska had considered switching to a life science project during the first year of the COVID pandemic, before submitting an updated office design for review by Boston planning officials.
Skanska’s proposal for a 625,000-square-foot office tower was approved by the then-Boston Planning and Development Agency in March 2022, but was delayed in part by a lawsuit filed by condominium owners in the neighboring Clarendon tower at 400 Stuart St.
A lawsuit filed by a dozen neighbors argued the project was improperly approved. The lawsuit challenged the office tower’s height and cited potential adverse effects on the condominiums’ value, noting that the residents live in units below the office tower’s roof line and will experience diminished privacy.
The lawsuit also argued that the BPDA’s approval was motivated in part by the desire to ensure that John Hancock maintains its “substantial corporate presence” in Boston rather than relocating.
The state Appeals Court dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice on Sept. 30.
The 380 Stuart St. project is projected to create 1,500 construction jobs and 3,000 full-time jobs. The community and public benefits package includes $4.4 million in affordable housing linkage and a $100,000 contribution to the Friends of Copley Square.
The construction permit comes not quite two months after Boston Properties executives said they were putting their own office tower atop the MBTA’s Back Bay Station on hold indefinitely due to high construction costs outstripping rents being achieved elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Editor’s note: This report has been updated with comment from Skanska.
