(BOSTON) – Global real estate firm Hines and Gemdale Properties & Investment Corporation Limited (“Gemdale PI”), today announced a new joint venture to redevelop Boston’s South Station into a transportation hub and mixed-use complex. The first phase of this transformational project will include the tallest building in Boston’s financial district and fourth-tallest building in Massachusetts.
The project will become a part of, and rise above, South Station. Since first constructed in 1898, South Station has grown to be a vital multimodal transportation hub, serving over 152,000 passengers daily while providing access to the MBTA Red Line and Silver Line, MBTA Commuter Rail, AMTRAK, and multiple bus lines.
The first phase of this development consists of a 51-story, mixed-use office and residential tower. The first 26 floors of the tower, starting 9 stories above ground, will feature state-of-the-art commercial office space, while the upper 16 floors will feature residential condominium units offering panoramic views of the city and Boston Harbor. Phase one will also include 530 parking spaces, along with the expansion of the South Station bus terminal.
The redevelopment of the South Station Transportation Center, now known as the Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center, has been an ongoing effort of the federal, state and local governments since the 1970s. The restoration and expansion of the historic train station building and reconstruction of all tracks and platforms was completed in the mid-1980s. The first phase of construction of a bus terminal and parking structure was then completed in 1995.
The Hines/Gemdale PI project will include construction of the second phase of the bus terminal, increasing its capacity by approximately 50 percent and completing the intermodal transportation center as it was originally conceived by federal, state and local governments in the 1970s. In addition to additional capacity, the transportation infrastructure improvements included in the project will provide more convenient pedestrian connections between bus and subway and train, provide weather protection to train station platforms, create a new, recurring income stream to the MBTA through additional gate revenues, and facilitate and reduce the amount of public investment required to expand the train tracks and platforms on the adjacent U.S. Postal Service property. The project obtained approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in 2006.
Hines Senior Managing Director and longtime head of the firm’s Boston office David Perry commented, “The visibility of this corner location and the scale and dramatic styling of the tower, combined with the dignity of the station façade at its base, will serve to establish the project’s identity as the most prominent building in downtown Boston and reinforce the site’s strategic location at the intersection of Boston’s Seaport and Financial Districts.”
“Boston is experiencing a remarkable economic and physical transformation,” added Hines Founder and Chairman Gerald D. Hines. “Hines and Gemdale PI will make a significant investment in upgrading and expanding Boston’s transportation infrastructure at the regional transit hub. The project will also result in the creation of a world-class, architecturally significant, mixed-use community. We are thrilled and honored to participate in this critical public/private partnership with the MBTA to complete the redevelopment of the Dukakis Transportation Center.”
Michael Krupa, President of Gemdale USA, noted, “We are delighted to join in this venture with Hines to develop such an important and well-located project in a city which is exhibiting some of the strongest office and residential condominium market fundamentals in the U.S. Moreover, we are delighted to have the ability to participate in the redevelopment of one of the nation’s first, center-city, intermodal transit centers which successfully integrates Amtrak, the MBTA Commuter Rail System, the MBTA Red Line, which has the most ridership of all the city’s subway lines, and the Silver Line with direct service to the Seaport District and Logan International Airport.”
“Gemdale Corporation, a PRC company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the controlling shareholder of Gemdale PI, brings outstanding real estate development experience and community service to our joint venture in Boston. Together with Hines, and various governmental bodies with interests in South Station, we are committed to develop an outstanding project that Gemdale, Hines and the City of Boston will all be very proud of,” shared Jason Zhu, Chairman and CEO of Gemdale USA Corporation.
Hines’ noteworthy development projects in Boston include Two Twenty Two Berkeley and Five Hundred Boylston. To the South Station project, Hines brings its in-depth experience in developing above major transportation centers, having developed New York City’s one-million-square-foot 450 Lexington and 1.2 million-square-foot 383 Madison Avenue, both of which involved construction over operating train tracks serving Grand Central Station. Salesforce Tower, co-developed by Hines, is currently under construction above the Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 182 cities in 20 countries. Hines has $89.1 billion of assets under management, including $42.5 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $46.6 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. The firm has 109 developments currently underway around the world. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired 1,126 properties, totaling over 351 million square feet. The firm’s current property and asset management portfolio includes 457 properties, representing over 193 million square feet. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to sustainability, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
About Gemdale Properties and Investment
Gemdale Properties and Investment, a subsidiary of Gemdale Corporation, is a leading real estate developer and operator in the Greater China region. Gemdale PI is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (535.HK) and is principally engaged in residential and commercial property investment, development and management. Gemdale Corporation (600383.SH) was founded in 1988 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2001. Gemdale is renowned for being a large-scale national property developer in China with highly regarded projects throughout the country. While Gemdale’s roots are in the residential condominium sector, with over 45,000 residential condominium units built and sold in 29 major cities in China in 2015 alone, Gemdale has also embarked in recent years on commercial/mixed-use developments as well as real estate private equity funds management. Gemdale has received numerous real estate industry awards over the years, including “Top 10 China Listed Real Estate Companies in terms of Comprehensive Strength,” “Blue Chip Property Developers in China,” and the “Most Valuable Listed Real Estate Enterprise in China,” amongst other honors.
