A conceptual rendering shows Center Court Partners' proposed 35-75 Morrissey Blvd. project in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. Image courtesy of Stantec
The first phase of a huge project planned for a series of commercial parcels by the JFK/UMass Red Line station won’t include the lab tower first envisioned by developer Center Court Partners.
In a letter to the Boston Planning Department dated Dec. 19, Chicago-based POB Capital and an affiliate of Boston-based Copper Mill Development say they plan to file plans for two mixed-use buildings totaling 750 units across 650,000 square feet for 75 Morrissey Blvd., the former WLVI-TV headquarters next to the Boston Globe’s former offices and printing plant.
The buildings will now form the first phase of the six-building 35-75 Morrissey Blvd. project proposed by Armonk, New York-based Center Court Partners. Center Court secured BPDA board approval in January for a planned development area covering the site, Copper Mill CEO Andrew Flynn wrote.
That PDA, however, envisioned the project’s first phase as one 245-unit multifamily tower and one 243,670-square-foot office-life science tower.
It’s unclear if the development team plans to reduce the project’s lab component amid that sector’s struggles. Thanks to a significant pullback in leasing by Boston-area biotech companies, 19.4 percent of the region’s lab space was vacant, according to CBRE research. Another 5.9 million largely speculative square feet of lab space is under construction, a little over half of which is rising in Boston itself including significant buildings in the Seaport District industry hub.
“The Proponent has proactively engaged with various neighborhood stakeholders in recent months; the stakeholders consistently identified an acute need for transit-oriented housing and redevelopment of the decommissioned building currently located at 75 Morrissey Boulevard as top priorities,” Flynn wrote.
Also unclear: Whether Center Court Partners was still involved in the project. The 35-75 Morrissey Blvd. parcels are all still owned by an LLC jointly controlled by executives from Center Court and POB, according to public records. Members of the development team could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
The project had been at the center of some controversy as Center Court sought buy-in from the nearby neighborhood group. Ultimately, the developer agreed to donate $750,000 to the Columbia Savin Hill Civic Association as part of a community benefits package, a move that later raised hackles in some quarters given the gift’s unprecedented size.
