Image courtesy of Stantec

Federal transportation officials continue to oppose a connection from the former Boston Flower Exchange property to Interstate 93, a requirement for full buildout of a 1.6 million-square-foot life science campus in Boston’s South End.

Elected officials and neighborhood residents pressed Boston-based developer The Abbey Group and the Boston Planning & Development Agency on the Exchange South End project’s timing and Abbey’s obligations to mitigate its traffic.

The development at 540 Albany St., when fully occupied, would create up to 7,000 full-time jobs on-site and more than 10,000 new vehicle trips per day, according to project filings.

Although The Abbey Group has yet to break ground pending a major lease commitment, South End neighborhood residents and local elected officials asked developers to provide an update and “make sure there was a clear understanding” about their obligations, BPDA Director Arthur Jemison said at last week’s meeting of an impact advisory group.

A cooperation agreement signed with the BPDA in August 2023 spells out The Abbey Group’s mitigation plans, including the I-93 access road, redesign of a section of Albany Street and creation of a 30,000-square-foot nonprofit cultural space.

The connector road would extend East Canton Street through the former Flower Exchange property to Biosquare Drive and southbound Frontage Road which connects to I-93.

“The access road was really required to make us feel comfortable. It remains as a huge element in the entire project process and if it doesn’t happen, it’s probably the linchpin in terms of our concerns about transportation for this project,” Steve Fox of the South End Forum community group said at an impact advisory group meeting last week.

Federal highway officials maintain their opposition to a new ramp connecting the site to the southbound I-93, part of the requirement for the full buildout of the four-building campus, said Tom Timlin, a principal at transportation consultants Howard Stein Hudson.

Construction of the access road is subject to negotiations of easements and leases with abutting land owners, including Boston University and Boston Medical Center. The plans also require approval by the Massachusetts Highway Department.

In an email, Abbey Group Co-CEO Audrey Epstein Reny said the firm has had “meaningful discussions” with abutter Boston University over an agreement on the road connection.

“We continue to monitor market conditions with the hopes that we can bring this transformative project to the South End, but do not have a committed timeline at this moment. Having our agreements and entitlements complete is important so we can jump on the opportunity as soon as it is viable and we look forward to working with the city, elected officials and the community to make it happen,” Reny said.

Currently, The Abbey Group has approval to build the first two of the four office-lab buildings on the site without completion of the highway ramp.

Developers estimate the community benefits package at $63 million, including the design and construction of the highway connection and linkage payments for affordable housing and job training.

But District 3 City Councilor John FitzGerald suggested that the community benefits agreement be renegotiated to reflect the size of the project, and ensure that obligations are met even if only the first two buildings are completed.

“It seems like a very generous package, but that’s stuff is baked in. There’s always something above and beyond that is always asked for,” FitzGerald said.

One of Boston’s most-watched development sites, the former Flower Exchange wholesalers property was approved for a 1.6 million-square-foot life science campus in 2018.

The BPDA has the discretion to require developers to submit a notice of project change if a significant amount of time passes after approval without progress, BPDA Deputy Director of Master Planning and Policy Nupoor Monani noted.

In its 2018 approval memo, the BPDA said the developer will be required to pay for additional shuttle bus or MBTA bus service to the Red and Orange lines and commuter rail until the highway connection is completed. Approximately 2,300 daily transit trips would be generated by the project, according to the developers’ transportation report.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated with a statement from The Abbey Group.