Back Bay/South End Gateway Gets Design Tweak
New designs for the Back Bay Station/South End Gateway project were revealed at Thursday night’s Citizens Advisory Committee meeting.
Boston Properties' Melissa Schrock walked members of the Back Bay and South End communities through changes to its mixed-use project. Plans for an extra level of retail above Back Bay Station have been eliminated in favor of allowing more natural light into the concourse. The size of the stacked box office tower is now dependent on whether MassDOT will close the on-ramp to I-90 from Clarendon Street. If the ramp is closed, the office building will be 618k SF. It would lose 12k SF if the ramp stays open.
Residential buildings have also been adjusted to allow balconies for future residents and more green space for the public. The two residential buildings will likely evolve in design and materials beyond what is seen in the Boston Planning & Development Agency filing, Arrowstreet principal Jim Batchelor confirmed to Bisnow after the meeting.
Boston Properties is already completing $32M in improvements to Back Bay Station before work on this project would begin. The comment period for the development will run through April 18.
