Bulfinch Crossing (also known as the Government Center Garage Redevelopment) is a redevelopment project currently under construction in

Downtown Boston, Massachusetts Downtown Boston is the central business district of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Boston was founded in 1630. The largest of the city's commercial districts, Downtown is the location of many corporate or regional headquarters; city, c ...

, United States. It will consist of two

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

s, a smaller residential tower, a low-rise

office building An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific du ...

, a hotel, and a low-rise retail building. Site preparation began in late 2015, and construction officially commenced on January 24, 2017. Construction on the residential tower completed in 2020. The high-rise office tower, One Congress, commenced construction in 2019 and topped off in July 2021; after an announced plan to open in 2022, it officially opened in September 2023.

One Congress

The primary anchor of the Bulfinch Crossing development is One Congress, the 43-story office tower, which was completed in 2023. It was designed by renowned firms Pelli Clarke & Partners and CBT Architects. The building features a three-story

lobby Lobby may refer to: * Lobby (room), an entranceway or foyer in a building * Lobbying, the action or the group used to influence a viewpoint to politicians * Lobby (food), a thick stew made in Leigh, Greater Manchester and North Staffordshire, like ...

and high-end

amenities In property and land use planning, amenity (lat. ''amoenitās'' “pleasantness, delightfulness”) is something considered to benefit a location, contribute to its enjoyment, and thereby increase its value. Tangible amenities can include the ...

. The first floor of the building contains the triple-height lobby and retail space, as well as a coffee bar, lounge area, and collaborative workspaces. The remaining floors, with the exception of the 11th floor amenity center contain offices, and with the average floor plate measuring 29,800 SF. The 11th floor of the building is an amenity center for office customers. The amenities include a

fitness center A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, weight room and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness an ...

rooftop garden A roof garden is a garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, recreational oppo ...

, a 15,000 square foot outdoor terrace and several

conference rooms A conference hall, conference room, or meeting room is a room provided for singular events such as business conferences and meetings. Room It is commonly found at large hotels and convention centers though many other establishments, including even ...

and a conference facility. Parking is also available. The building earned a platinum level of certification through the

US Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a private 501(c)(3), membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of t ...

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a Green building certification systems, green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating ...

certification program, and also has a 2-Star Fitwel certification. In the summer of 2018, developers of One Congress & Bulfinch Crossing announced on Bulfinch Crossing's Twitter that construction on One Congress would begin in summer of 2019 and also announced that it will be opening in 2022. Ultimately, the building delivered in 2023. In January 2019,

State Street Corporation State Street Corporation is an American global financial services and bank holding company headquartered at One Congress Street in Boston with operations worldwide. The company is named after State Street in Boston, which was known as the "Gr ...

was announced to be the

anchor tenant In North American, Australian and New Zealand retail, an "anchor tenant", sometimes called an "anchor store", "draw tenant", or "key tenant", is a considerably larger tenant in a shopping mall, often a department store or retail chain. They are ...

in the new building, and in September 2023 they began operations from the location as their new global headquarters. Other tenants include

InterSystems InterSystems Corporation is a privately held vendor of software systems and technology for high-performance database management, rapid application development, integration, and healthcare information systems. The vendor's products includInter ...

and

K&L Gates K&L Gates LLP is an American multinational corporation law firm based in the United States, with international offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, the firm was formed in 2007 by the ...

Residential tower

The second largest building in the development is the larger residential tower (sometimes called ''Residential Tower I'' by the developer), which is planned to be at least tall. The tower was originally planned to consist of 486

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

s, but will now instead contain only 368 apartments and 55

condos A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

. This change was announced in July 2017 when the developer decided to convert 118 apartments into 55 condos due to a slowing demand for luxury housing in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The residential tower will contain a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

, clubroom, private kitchen and diner, yoga room,

golf simulator Indoor golf is an umbrella term for all activities in golf which can be carried out indoors. Venues include indoor driving ranges, chipping areas, putting greens, machines and home golf simulators. Many of these indoor facilities are businesses ...

, pet spa, concierge services and a sky lounge and terrace. On-site

parking Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and usually leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the bu ...

is also available.

Other buildings

Along with the two main towers of the development, four smaller buildings and a public square will be constructed. Along with these buildings, there will be nearly in the entire development.

Residential Tower II

A smaller residential tower (officially named ''Residential Tower II''), is being constructed alongside the rest of the development. It is planned to rise at least and contain 28 stories. The tower is planned to be primarily residential, with 291 units. At least of the building will be designated for retail use.

Boutique Office

In addition to the main office tower, a smaller office building (officially named ''Boutique Office'') is under construction; it is planned to contain at least of both office and retail space. The building will rise and will contain 11 stories. It is planned to have a private terrace for office workers.

Retail building

A retail building (officially named ''Iconic Retail'') is planned to be constructed as part of the development project; it is planned to be situated across the street from the

Boston Public Market The Boston Public Market is an indoor Market (place), public market that opened in July 2015 in downtown Boston, adjacent to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. The market houses more than 28 year-round vendor stalls, and is open seven days a ...

and will contain four floors. The building is intended to house a flagship store, and will include an entrance to the Haymarket Square subway station.

Hotel

A tall

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

building is being constructed at the northern edge of the site, and is planned to contain at least 200 hotel rooms. Although the main use for the building is a hotel, at least 57 condominiums and of retail space will be located inside the 14-story building.

Amenities

The hotel is planned to contain a

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called ''balls''. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially histori ...

, several meeting rooms, a rooftop bar, and a rooftop terrace.

Parking garage

In order to make room for the new development, the existing Government Center garage will be demolished. The garage was constructed in the 1960s as part of the Government Center

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

project; it contains 2,300

parking space A parking space, parking place or parking spot is a location that is designated for parking, either paved or unpaved. It can be in a parking garage, in a parking lot or on a city street. The space may be delineated by road surface markings. The ...

s. Due to the fact that the garage is entirely made out of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

, it is considered to be an eyesore by many, along with the nearby City Hall building. At least 1,160 parking spaces in the garage are to be preserved to accommodate the new development, the spaces are planned to be placed inside of the new office tower.

External links

Official website

References

{{Boston skyscrapers, state=collapsed Redevelopment projects in the United States Urban renewal Government Center, Boston Projects established in 2013