Image courtesy DHK Architects and SGA

The developer of the St. Regis Residences Boston luxury condo tower is looking for opportunities to tap into the life science boom in South Boston’s marine park with plans for a 235,000-square-foot complex on Drydock Avenue.

Cronin Group submitted plans to redevelop the Boston Ship Repair property at 24 Drydock Ave., including 10,000 square feet of ground-floor space for the ship maintenance company’s offices and additional office-lab space in an eight-story building.

In 2019, the Boston Planning & Development Agency sought proposals for “flex industrial” projects on the publicly-owned site, incorporating remnants of the marine park’s industrial economy on the ground floor along with office and lab space that has been in recent demand on upper floors. As part of the evaluation criteria, developers were required to include space for Boston Ship Repair, which repairs vessels at a 1,150-foot-long drydock just east of the property, in the new development.

“The project ensures the crucial functions of the Boston Ship Repair thrive in the Marine Industrial Park, preserving the ship repair industry for future generations,” Cronin Group wrote in a project notification form to the BPDA.

The developers will include workforce training programs with three nonprofits within the building, and are partnering with the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority on a new shuttle service from Roxbury’s Nubian Square to the Seaport, the document states.

Developer Related Beal established a life science outpost in the marine park with the development of its Innovation Square complex on nearby Tide Street, including a new 269,000-square-foot research facility for the Seaport District’s initial life science anchor, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which moved its headquarters to the Fan Pier from Cambridge in 2014.

Cronin Group Pitches Lab Complex in Marine Park

by Steve Adams time to read: 1 min
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