VHB

Site Clear for 7Ink by Ollie in the South End Demo has wrapped up and the site is now clear for 7Ink by Ollie. Located along Albany Street in the South End, 7Ink will offer 180 co-living units, all fully furnished and complete with cleaning service and other hotel-style amenities. The building will also provide a full suite of amenities plus unique opportunities for community engagement.

NPC Filed for Innovation Point With construction wrapping up on the renovations to the historic buildings at 5 Necco Court, Alexandria Real Estate Equities & National Development have filed a Notice of Project Change for the new construction building slated to be included in the Innovation Point Project. The updated plans call still call for a 12-story building however total square footage has increased to approximately 316,000 designed for multi-tenant office/life sciences/r&d uses. The building would also include active ground floor uses, such as retail and restaurant spaces. Because of the Project Site's proximity to public transit and nearby public parking facilities, the new building is not proposed to include any underground parking. Per the filing, the development team plans to begin construction on 15 Necco St. in the third quarter of 2020.

Conservatory Lab Charter School in Dorchester Tops Off The Conservatory Lab Charter School coming to Columbia Road in Dorchester has topped off. The 43,5000 square foot facility will serve both elementary and uppers school students (around 275 in total). Common resource spaces at the school would include a courtyard, a centralized dining commons, a gymnasium, a media library, a visual arts studio and a collection of small, medium and large acoustically-tuned ensemble spaces. Shared spaces such as the dining commons, gymnasium, and large ensemble would be located along the building’s ground floor to activate the streetscape and welcome the community. Photo: Commodore Builders

Harvard Narrows Development Field for Enterprise Research Campus to Three Finalists Harvard has narrowed down the field of development partners from nine to just three finalists. Remaining in the race to develop the 14+ acre site are HYM Investment Group; Alexandria Real Estate Equities and National Development; and Breakthrough Properties, owned by Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital.  In a recent Spotlight piece, Harvard Land CEO Thomas Glynn told BLDUP their goal is to have the developer selected before the end of this year.

Permit Issued for Phased Reno at 173-175 Ipswich St. in Association with Fenway Theater A permit has been pulled for the phased renovation of the laundry building at 173-175 Ipswich Street in association with the upcoming Fenway Theater project. This work will relocate the services within the existing building and also allow for some prep for the upcoming 180,000 square foot theater. The new performing arts venue will have a capacity of 400 people. 

Work Continues on Assembly Row Block 8 Construction is ongoing for Assembly Row Block 8 in Somerville. Assembly Row Block 8 is a 24-story building featuring 500 new apartments, and approximately 26,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. Multiple amenities will be located on site for residents, including a 4th floor courtyard with a pool & private patios, a rooftop terrace, almost 300 parking spaces and bike storage. 

Facade Install Underway at 60 Cross St. East Facade install is now underway at 60 Cross Street East in Somerville. The three-story building will feature 75 residential units just minutes from Sullivan and Union Squares. Units will range in size from studios through three bedrooms.  

Akamai Moves into New Headquarters at 145 Broadway in Kendall Square On November 1, Akamai Technologies held a ribbon-cutting celebration marking the grand opening of their new global headquarters at 145 Broadway in Kendall Square. The new headquarters consolidates six of the internet technology company’s local offices, allowing 2,000 employees in the area to work together under one roof.  The new lobby and office space designed by Sasaki is housed within a base building by architect Pickard Chilton and architect of record Stantec. Responding to Akamai’s most pressing need to unite teams across a new 480,000 square foot office, Sasaki’s design prioritizes connection within the company, articulated best by the project’s vision statement: “To connect the world, we must first connect to each other.” The colorful "Akamile" is a mile-long walking path created by Sasaki, the interior architect behind the office design. The connective pathway links all 19 floors of the new Akamai office, creating a band of social and collaborative space that connects teams across the 480,000 SF. The gradient runs between Akamai's brand colors of blue and orange, doubling as a fully integrated branding and wayfinding feature that sets this office apart as a beacon within Kendall Square. Inspiring productive collaboration across the building’s 19-floor interior posed a challenge, but the Sasaki design team saw opportunity for innovative design. Diverse destinations—including specialty coffee bar, ping pong arena, and an inviting gaming lair, among others—encourage movement across the entire building, and a walkable physical path between the top and bottom floors of the building guides employees through common spaces on each floor. The path, which spans approximately one mile, is cleverly dubbed the “Akamile.”   Diverse destinations along a single walking path get people to move between all 19 floors, ensuring the Akamai workforce is staying connected to one another and given the mix of social, focused, and collaborative spaces they need to do their best work.   Photos: Sasaki, Interior Architect. ©Anton Grassl

Framing Continues for 19 Unit Residential Project in South Boston Framing work continues for the upcoming 19 unit project along East 5th & 6th Streets in South Boston. The project features two new buildings, separated by a courtyard over underground parking with space for 33 cars. Units will range in size from 1 through 3 bedrooms.  

Window and Facade Install Ongoing for Phase III at The Hub on Causeway Window and Facade install continues for Phase III at the Hub on Causeway. The third and final phase of the project will consist of a 21-story 651,500 square foot office tower above the the podium building (Phase I) of the project. Upon completion, Verizon will occupy 440,000 square feet of the tower. Photo: Bowline Construction

Foundation Work Continues for The St. Regis Residences, Boston Foundation work continues on the complicated waterfront site, that will be home to The St. Regis Residences, Boston. A series of bright green tanks have popped up on site, containing slurry used for the foundation which will go down to bedrock. The luxury project will contain, 114 condo homes, a third of which have already been sold. The iconic tower will offer a range of units sizes from one-bedrooms through penthouse residences with four finish options.  Residents will have access to owner benefits, as well as the St. Regis brand’s legendary services, including bespoke and anticipatory butler and concierge assistance, and exclusive use of the tower’s entire floor of amenities including swimming pool and outdoor patio, spa, exercise room, library, sports simulator, St. Regis lounge, wine vault, media room and guest suites.

Interior Finishing Nearly Complete for First Units at NEMA Boston Interior finishing is wrapping up for the first units at NEMA Boston in the Seaport. The 414 unit apartment project will offer studios through three bedrooms currently ranging in price from around $2450 up through $8770 per month. NEMA will also feature around 2,500 square feet of retail, innovation, and lobby space on the ground floor along with parking for 144 cars.