From Edison's Era To A Mixed-Use Ecosystem: HRP's Transformation Of The Boston Edison Power Plant

In the late 19th century, as Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla battled over whether direct current or alternating current was the way of the future, the little-known Boston Electric Light Co., one of Edison’s Boston competitors at the time, built a state-of-the-art facility at 776 Summer St. 

The company sided with Tesla, and its new facility generated AC power, enabling electrical transmission over greater distances and perhaps contributing to Edison’s eventual change of heart on the subject. His Edison Electrical Illuminating Company of Boston acquired 776 Summer St. in 1902, absorbing its last major Boston competitor and spawning a new wave of innovation at the site that lasted decades and left behind some magnificent early industrial architecture and fascinating artifacts that still exist today. 

What later became known as the Edison Power Plant operated for more than a century before being decommissioned in 2006. This waterfront site with a rich history of entrepreneurship employed many Bostonians over the course of its life but has remained generally inaccessible to the public for 120 years. 

Today, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, or HRP, and Redgate are transforming this property into a 1.68M SF mixed-use development situated on 15.2 acres, preserving the site’s storied past while providing Boston residents with much-needed office, retail, residential, civic and lab space.

“We think the site is perfectly located at the threshold between the rapidly growing Seaport and the wonderful historic neighborhood of South Boston,” HRP Executive Vice President of Mixed-Use Development Melissa Schrock said. “We’re creating a space with a level of authenticity that you don’t find in a lot of redeveloped urban sites, and we are excited to work with the beautiful architecture that has been left behind and open the site up to the public.” 

The partnership purchased the site in 2016 and over the next several years will transform it into a new hub for the local community. HRP Vice President of Mixed-Use Construction Tom Kuczynski said that the overall goal for the project is to turn this abandoned site into a modern and sustainable new district that will create jobs, housing and community-friendly spaces within the South Boston neighborhood. 

He added that HRP is preserving and adaptively reusing the four historic turbine halls at the property that previously powered Boston.

“Instead of completely tearing down this historical site, we are breathing new life into it, so the new development remains anchored by the former power station’s century-old turbine halls,” Kuczynski said. “We think of them as the heart and soul of the development, and in the future, they will house retail, civic and other active spaces, including a gallery space built around one of Edison’s remaining turbines.” 

The team is also preserving many of the historical artifacts present on the site, including a large gantry crane on the waterfront and the gate wheel used to block stormwater, both of which will be incorporated into the landscape design.  

Kuczynski said that members of the community have stopped by the site to share stories of how the power plant impacted their lives. Several of them had memories of the architectural features inside the turbine halls, which are still finished with beautiful white and green Italian-glazed tile and brick. It was rare for an industrial building to have interior finishes like this, which is why it was special to those who had a personal history with the plant. 

Community members have also donated historic artifacts that originally lived in the Edison Power Plant. A collection of several original components was gifted by Ilene and Lia Zulalian, both daughters of the late Vaughn C. Zulalian, who worked at the power plant in the 1960s. The gifted artifacts will become a part of the historic display being incorporated into the design of the turbine halls. 

Kuczynski said that while historic preservation is important to the HRP team, so is finding ways to make this former power plant a cleaner, more sustainable property. 

“Making the old new again doesn’t mean we have to tear everything down and start from scratch,” he said. “Protecting the environment and creating economic opportunities don’t have to be mutually exclusive, either. We can create an enduring, positive impact by reintegrating sites into the community, bringing jobs, improving access to infrastructure and helping decrease pollution for residents.” 

Schrock added that the new sustainability-focused development will add approximately 5.7 acres of public open space to the area, creating a new extension of the Harborwalk. She said that the architecture of the turbine halls is very insular, and although they weren't built to house people, they have many beautiful design features inside. This is why HRP is focused on how to open up these halls in ways that are sensitive to their existing architecture but also make them functional for their future people-centric uses.

Along with creating more space for the public, it is estimated that the development will bring 2,500 construction jobs in a variety of trades and more than 1,500 permanent jobs related to commercial, hotel, retail, restaurant and residential uses. Additionally, 16% of the project’s approximately 630 housing units will be income-restricted, and the project will be making significant improvements to local streets, adding Blue Bike stations and dedicating $10M to the MBTA for capital and operating investments to improve transit service to the City Point neighborhood.

The project is in the deconstruction phase, which is expected to be completed early next year.

“As our vision for 776 comes to fruition, we will have helped catalyze a reimagined sense of identity for the neighborhood, giving people a better place to live, work and play that still preserves the site’s historical significance,” Kuczynski said. “Ultimately, we think the project will serve as a model for inclusive and sustainable redevelopment, creating a legacy of positive change for the Boston community.” 

This article was produced in collaboration between Hilco Redevelopment Partners – 776 Summer St. and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.