Photo by Steve Adams | Banker & Tradesman Staff
The 8-story brick block at 263 Summer St. long has provided a “Welcome to Fort Point” moment with its rooftop sign evoking the neighborhood’s industrial heritage.
Originally built as one of the Boston Wharf Co.’s warehouses that stored imports arriving by ship on the South Boston waterfront in the 19th century, it became home to artists’ lofts in the 1990s, and brick-and-beam offices for tech companies during the past decade.
Following an estimated $20 million adaptive reuse project, it’s now advertising 77 apartments with downtown skyline views and rents ranging from $3,100 to $5,400 per month.
Boston-based Balance Architects was tasked with turning the former office and retail space into 55,695 square feet of modern living quarters.
The building’s historic status provided both incentives – in the form of historic tax credits that offset the project cost – and highly specific guidelines to preserve the property’s original appearance.
Changes to the building exterior were essentially forbidden, and plans to replace the iconic Boston Wharf Co. rooftop sign’s neon bulbs with LED fixtures required Fort Point Channel Landmark District Commission review.
“The sign was big, because it’s almost second to the Citgo sign,” said Philip Sima, founder of Balance Architects. “That was a long review process where they really wanted to see how we were going to change it and match the same temperature.”
Historic protections affected design decisions in the interior, as well, including luxury vinyl tile floors designed to resemble the original concrete, and retaining exposed ductwork. Tenants will have access to a new roof deck steps from the Boston Wharf sign.
The irregular geometry of the triangular 8,970-square-foot site required architects to design more than a dozen different floor plans to ensure that each unit would have exterior windows and sufficient natural light.
Construction crews continued to snake new utility connections through the building and complete interior finishes during a tour last week, in preparation for the first tenant move-ins in September.
Developer Boston Pinnacle Properties participated in Boston’s office to residential conversion program for the project, after completing a downtown office conversion at 281 Franklin St. The Boston-based firm acquired the Fort Point building in 2024 for $17 million and received $29.5 million in financing from North Shore Bank.
Like all buildings in the conversion program, 263 Summer St. includes a 20-percent income-restricted component. Those units will rent for $1,175 to $4,070 per month, and be reserved for households with incomes ranging from 60 to 110 percent of area median income.
Sima’s firm has been active in the residential conversion program, previously designing the 281 Franklin St. and 15 Court Square projects in downtown Boston, and a recently-proposed project at 105 Beach St. in the Leather District.
Applications for the program are due in Dec. 31, enabling developers to qualify for a 29-year tax abatement equal to 75 percent of property taxes.
