Work is officially under way on The Longwood Center in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area.

At a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday, the center was hailed as a unique hub for life science innovation and collaboration.

"This week, Boston is welcoming 16,000 visitors to the 2012 BIO International Convention, and we’ve spent the week recruiting top-level national and international talent," Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said at the ceremony. "Longwood Center is a unique opportunity to make room for these new life science and biotech industry leaders in the Longwood Medical Area — leading to new jobs and new collaborations with our world-class institutions."

Located at the main intersection of Longwood and Brookline avenues, Longwood Center is expected to create up to 660 jobs.

Longwood Center’s 1.02-acre site includes a 414,000- square-foot, 11-story facility with flexible, modern laboratory and office settings, as well as a variety of state-of-the-art environments for translation and open innovation. The facility will also feature street-level amenities and an onsite parking garage. Dana-Farber will occupy about 154,000 square feet. The project is scheduled for completion in fall 2014.