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Large blocks of space in the heart of downtown Boston are hard to come by, but Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration wants to change that.
State officials announced Wednesday plans to put the Charles F. Hurley Building on the market as a partnership opportunity with private developers. The state would grant a ground lease to a developer, who would be expected to oversee planning and construction. The developer would also need to plan office space in the redevelopment for state employees.
The six-story complex is expensive to maintain, and there aren’t windows on three sides of the top floors. Bringing it up to modern office standards won’t come cheap, either. The Baker administration estimates renovations could cost as much as $200M.
Zoning for the site calls for 125-foot heights closer to New Chardon, Cambridge and Staniford streets and as high as 400 feet farther away.
The nearly 50-year-old, 327K SF government building is home to offices for the Department of Unemployment Assistance, MassHire Department of Career Services, Department of Labor Standards, Department of Labor Relations, LWD Shared Services Groups and other departments. Roughly 675 people currently work in the building.
Partnering with a developer could give the state a more appealing office complex and add to its coffers. The Hurley building is between the Hub on Causeway and Bulfinch Crossing mixed-use projects currently under construction.
Considering land sales like Millennium Partners’ $102M acquisition of the 1.1-acre Winthrop Square Garage property and Related Beal’s $218M, 6.5-acre Fort Point Channel waterfront acquisition, Perry Brokerage Director of Intelligence Brendan Carroll told Bisnow he estimates the Hurley deal could fetch somewhere around $230M.
The state aims to have a redevelopment partner by mid-2021 and begin construction by early 2023.
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