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A massing model shows an iteration of the Gateway Innovation Center Design proposed in 2020. Courtesy Image
A real estate investor that specializes in federal Opportunity Zone projects is proposing a 1.5 million-square-foot development called Gateway Innovation Center near Somerville’s budding Union Square life science cluster.
Capital Hall Partners seeks to redevelop a 3.3-acre site at 200 McGrath Highway with a pair of office-lab buildings and 330-room hotel. The triangular parcel is currently used for surface parking and a tow yard, along with the Hub Glass Services company and construction staging for the MBTA Green Line Extension project.
The Gateway Innovation Center would include a pair of 377- and 297-foot-tall office-lab buildings and a 254-foot-tall hotel, according to a notification form filed with the state Executive Office of Energy and Affairs. The project would be served by a 1,000-space underground parking garage, equating to a parking ratio of 0.64 spaces per 1,000 square feet.
During a virtual community meeting held last week, Johanna Schneider, attorney at Hemenway & Barnes, said a master plan special permit application will be submitted to the Somerville planning board by early 2021.
Capital Hall Partners has concentrated most of its development activity in California and Arizona before expanding into the Greater Boston market with a focus on urban infill life science and multifamily developments.
As the MBTA Green Line Extension nears its scheduled completion in 2021, developers are seeking to lure office and lab tenants to the Union Square and Boynton Yards area, offering proximity to East Cambridge’s global life science cluster and improved public transit.
Boston-based Leggat McCall Properties and DLJ Properties broke ground in December 2019 on 101 South St., a speculative office-lab tower, in the first phase of a proposed 1.1 million-square-foot development. The team also is seeking approval for a 384,331-square-foot office-lab building at 15 McGrath Highway.
Union Square master developer US2 has approval for a seven-story, 193,000-square-foot office-lab building at 10 Prospect St. in the initial commercial phase of its 2.4-million-square-foot project.
