Low-rise offices with a facade resembling the old Boston Garden could kick off the first phase of a massive mixed-use project at Boston’s North Station.
A real estate entity controlled by Boston Properties paid $10.9 million to acquire 80 Causeway St. on Monday from Boston Garden Development Corp., a corporation affiliated with TD Garden owners Delaware North Cos and the Jacobs family.
Boston Properties plans to build 2 million square feet of development including a 306-room hotel, 497 residential units and retail shops on three acres in front of the TD Garden.
New renderings by Boston-based design firm Gensler show a pair of office buildings facing Causeway Street including one with oversized windows resembling the exterior of the old Boston Garden, which was demolished in 1998.
Boston Properties is partnering with the Jacobs family, owners of the TD Garden and Boston Bruins, on the mixed-use project.
A groundbreaking date for the project – approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in December 2013 – has not been announced. A source said Boston Properties could begin construction of the initial phase of office space during the first quarter of 2015. Boston Properties did not respond to messages seeking comment.
The North Station project would join a busy development pipeline in the neighborhood. Andover-based shoe manufacturer Converse will open its new 200,000-square-foot headquarters in May at nearby Lovejoy Wharf. AvalonBay Communities broke ground this fall on Avalon North Station, a 38-story luxury apartment tower on a site behind the Thomas P. O’Neill Federal Building that will become Boston’s tallest rental building.
Boston Properties has approximately $2.2 billion in its current development pipeline scheduled for delivery through 2017. The projects include the 17-story 888 Boylston St. in Boston, which will be anchored by Natixis Global Asset Management, and the 61-story Salesforce Tower, which will become San Francisco’s tallest building.
The North Station project is part of a $1 billion to $1.5 billion “shadow pipeline” that will follow, Boston Properties CEO Owen Thomas said during a roundtable discussion this month.
Thomas said Boston Properties is focusing on development projects rather than acquisitions because it can get higher returns through new construction. He estimated the capitalization rate at the current development pipeline at 7 percent.
Some of the new projects will be funded through Boston Properties’ recent partial sale of its ownership in three trophy office towers in Boston and New York for $1.5 billion. Norges Bank Investment Management, a Norwegian sovereign fund, acquired a 45-percent interest in 601 Lexington Ave. in New York, 100 Federal St. in Boston and Atlantic Wharf in Boston.
