Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Construction of a new roof terrace at International Place in Boston took place over the winter in full view of tenants in neighboring office towers in the Financial District.
As the 1.8 million-square-foot office tower’s new outdoor amenity opens to tenants just in time for this week’s heat wave, it already has paid off for The Chiofaro Company in attracting at least one new tenant: law firm McCarter & English, which is relocating across the street from 265 Franklin St.
“Part of what made their decision to come over here was they looked out the window at this being built, and they said, ‘I want to be over there,’” Donald Chiofaro Jr. said during a tour Monday.
The terrace overlooks the corner of Oliver and High streets and the primary entrance to International Place for foot traffic from the Financial District.
Following the departure of tenant Eaton Vance, International Place’s owners transformed 23,000 square feet of third-floor space into a new tenant amenity floor known as the Aries Club.
The $100 million project updates the nearly 40-year-old two-tower International Place complex designed by postmodernist architect Philip Johnston, which was distinguished by its large glass-roofed lobby and fountain.
The project was designed to attract the widest possible range of industry tenants, Chiofaro said, from tech to financial services and law firms. With a maroon-dominant color palette – even the fluffy, spray-on fireproofing left exposed on the ceiling of some spaces has been colored a deep raspberry – the designs lean toward the conservative side, and mesh with the current tenant demand in the marketplace.
In the past year, investment firm KKR leased 133,000 square feet at International Place, while TD Bank committed to 37,609 square feet in a deal announced this month. Additional signings not yet announced bring the total square footage “closer to 500,000,” Chiofaro said.
Chiofaro Company also is in talks with potential tenants for two ground-floor retail spaces, one of which is designed for a full-service bar and restaurant.
Architects Gensler designed the new hotel-style amenity spaces, ranging from boardrooms and a 130-person conference center, to a coffee and cocktail bar spilling out to the roof terrace.
Podcast studios, a racing simulator, and the now-obligatory golf simulator fill smaller rooms, along with small suites available for private meetings or wellness appointments.
“They were wizards on how you could use the nooks and crannies of the space in terms of getting the most out of it,” Chiofaro said.
The International Place project follows a $100 million amenity project at One Lincoln completed last fall, as office landlords compete for the tenant relocations that have comprised the bulk of major leases in recent years.
