Hines, Gemdale Properties Launch Joint Venture in Redevelopment of South Station Transportation Center

First Phase of Reimagined Transportation Hub and Mixed-Use Development to Consist of 51-Story Office/Multifamily Tower

By Esmeralda McKie

May 16, 2016

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Houston-based global real estate investment firm Hines and Gemdale Properties & Investment Corp., a subsidiary of Gemdale Corp., one of the largest real estate developers in China, have formed a partnership to redevelop the historic South Station in downtown Boston into a signature transportation hub and mixed-use complex.

One of the first center-city intermodal transit centers in the U.S., South Station - now named the Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center - incorporates Amtrak, the MBTA Commuter Rail System, the MBTA Red Line and the Silver Line with direct service to the Seaport District and Logan International Airport.

The first phase of the redevelopment will consist of a 51-story office and residential high-rise atop the Michael S. Dukakis Transportation Center that upon completion will register as the tallest building in Boston's Financial District and the fourth tallest in Massachusetts.

The tower will consist of 26 floors of commercial office space - starting on the ninth floor - with the upper 16 floors housing residential condominiums. Phase one will also include the addition of 530 parking spaces and the extension of the South Station bus terminal.

“Boston is experiencing a remarkable economic and physical transformation,” noted 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.”

Hines and Glendale will also continue the second phase of the bus terminal construction, a project launched in the mid-1980's that involved the expansion of the historic train station building and reconstruction of all tracks and platforms, and plan to increase the bus terminal capacity by 50 percent, which has been an ongoing effort of the federal, state and local governments since the 1970's.

Additionally, other improvements for the transportation infrastructure include more convenient pedestrian connections between the bus, subway and train, weather protection for train station platforms and additional gate revenues for more income stream.

The partnership would also facilitate and reduce the amount of public investment to expand train tracks and platforms on the adjacent U.S. Postal Service property. The Boston Redevelopment Authority and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection approved the project in 2006.