State Seeks Developer To Turn Government Center Buildings Into Housing
As part of the state's goals to build more housing, Gov. Maura Healey is looking for a company to redevelop a 6.5-acre office complex in Boston's Government Center.
The Healey-Driscoll administration released an offering memorandum for the redevelopment of the Erich Lindemann Mental Health Center and the Charles F. Hurley Building, the administration announced Wednesday. The OM will entail a multistep solicitation process and will piggyback off of the state's original redevelopment plans for the site.
"This site represents one of the most significant housing development opportunities in Boston," Healey said in a statement. "We're turning underutilized state property into new homes, preserving important parts of this historic site, and ensuring that critical mental health services continue uninterrupted."
Following the OM, the state's Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance will release a call for offers this summer, inviting developers to submit proposals. The state said historic preservation and adaptive reuse are "key considerations" in choosing developers for the project.
The project must be consistent with the city's affordability requirements, including the Inclusionary Development Policy.
The 347K SF Hurley Building has been entirely vacated, but the Lindemann building is still occupied by state departments, including the Department of Mental Health.
The state plans to ensure that the 115 existing beds at the Lindemann Center, which serves vulnerable populations, are maintained either on-site or nearby.
The buildings were constructed in the 1960s as part of an urban renewal project to revitalize Government Center. The buildings have since faced urban design, sustainability and preservation challenges.
The properties will need extensive capital improvements, with the Lindemann building estimated to cost more than $300M.
This isn't the first time the state has pushed redevelopment on the 5.5-acre site.
In 2022, then-Gov. Charlie Baker picked Leggat McCall Properties to redevelop the Hurley Building as part of a $1B mixed-use project. The project included 200 new housing units and lab development.
However, after the life sciences boom went bust, Healey scrapped the plan in 2024.
The property also fits into the administration's State Land For Homes inventory, a portfolio of state-owned properties aimed at redevelopment as new homes. The priority of the portfolio is to create substantial new housing across income levels.
Last June, Healey said she planned to make 17 state-owned sites across the state available for residential redevelopment to private developers. These sites are estimated to have the capacity to produce 3,500 housing units.
Other sites include the Lowell Superior Court, MCI-Concord and two state universities: Bridgewater State University and Middlesex Community College.
One such project ran into a roadblock earlier this week, with the town of Wellesley suing the state over plans to redevelop MassBay's parking lot into housing.
