Travel company owner Steve Belkin has an advantage in redeveloping the Winthrop Square garage – he owns 133 Federal St. (rear), a 13-story office building on an adjoining parcel.

As the city of Boston seeks suitors to build a signature skyscraper in the Financial District, Steve Belkin is widely perceived to have the inside track to be named the preferred developer.
But shifts in the political landscape and real estate markets could attract a crowded field of candidates aspiring to build the city’s next landmark.
Thomas O’Brien, managing director of Boston-based HYM Investments, confirmed his company is studying a proposal for Winthrop Square.
“Downtown has become way more residential and we’re going through an amazing change in Boston,” said O’Brien, whose company received permits in 2013 to build 812 residences, 196 hotel rooms and 1.1 million square feet of offices at the Government Center garage property on Congress Street.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority is seeking proposals for a mixed-use development at the city-owned 115 Winthrop Square garage, which was closed in 2013 because of concerns about its structural integrity.
“Steve Belkin would be a logical choice, given his integral piece next door and his interest the last time,” said William Gause, executive vice president and director of acquisitions at Leggat McCall Properties. “A lot of folks would look at Belkin as the odds-on favorite, given that he rounds out the block and could put together a (varied) program of uses.”
Belkin owns the 13-story office building next door at 133 Federal St. That would enable him to cantilever a 740-foot tower above it with 25,000-square-foot floor plates, according to a source familiar with Belkin’s plans.
Belkin was the first developer to publicly express interest during the latest go-round, despite seeing a previous proposal fall through during the recession.
A travel company executive with little development background, Belkin this month hired Justin Krebs as executive vice president. Until December, Krebs ran Normandy Real Estate Partners’ Boston office, and he has development experience on such projects as the Troy luxury apartment complex in the South End.
“It’s a complicated site and obviously Steve Belkin did the most legwork on it the last time around,” said Carlos Febres-Mazzei, a senior vice president for CBRE/New England capital markets. “Given that he owns one of the abutting buildings, he’s probably well-positioned once again.”
But the revival of high-rise condominium and apartment development downtown could give Belkin more competition.
The strong demand for the 60-story Millennium Tower Boston luxury condos – with 70 percent sold in four months at average prices of $1,500 a square foot – is expected to whet the appetite of multifamily developers looking for more high-rise condo sites.
“Eight or nine years ago, nobody in the development community thought the idea of building a 50- or 60-story residential tower was realistic, because it had never been done in Boston,” said one local commercial real estate executive. “Today, you could see another Millennium tower.”
In contrast with Belkin’s pre-recession proposal for 1.3 million square feet of office space, the city asked that a mix of uses be reflected in the new proposals.
Belkin’s plans call for condos, hotel rooms, office space and retail. Boston-based CBT Architects is working with Belkin on final designs.

Level Playing Field?
Since taking office in 2014, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh has touted a pro-development agenda that coincides with blistering demand for commercial and residential projects in Boston. The BRA has approved more than $3.6 billion in new projects during his administration. His choice of BRA director, former state representative Brian Golden, has disavowed the previous administration’s perceived favoritism and opacity when reviewing high-profile projects.
Part of that reputation stemmed from the previous Winthrop Square redevelopment process, which emerged from the late Mayor Thomas Menino’s 2006 goal of a creating a new landmark on the Boston skyline. Belkin was the only developer who submitted a proposal in 2007. The 1,000-foot-tall design hit turbulence with the departure of original architect Renzo Piano and objections from the Federal Aviation Administration before being dropped during the real estate collapse of 2008.
“The key is transparency,” one local developer said about the current process. “The last time, there was a perception in the marketplace that it was Belkin’s. The whole tenor of the discussion has changed.”
Here’s how the process is expected to work this time around. In February the city issued a request for interest from developers, who have until April 13 to submit proposals.
The five-page document asks proposals to achieve three major goals:
Demonstration of an innovative economic development strategy;
Dramatic enhancement of the downtown public realm; and
Achievement as a model of sustainable development.

Developers will also be required to submit details on the size of the project, proposed uses, a description of their technical know-how and ability to finance the project.
The proposals will be evaluated by asset management staff at the BRA’s sister agency, the Economic Development Industrial Corp., who will recommend which proposals should move forward, BRA spokesman Nick Martin said.
Golden will decide whether to designate a preferred developer or require a more formal request for proposals, Martin said.
The city has not decided whether to sell or lease the property. Whoever is selected would have to go through the BRA’s major project review.
“Because the site has been vacant for several years and there hasn’t been a discussion outside of the one Belkin’s group submitted under the prior administration, we’re looking to solicit as many ideas as possible,” Martin said. “The determination whether there is another bidding process will be guided by how many details and the level of detail they offer.”