Echelon Seaport $900M Back Bay-Inspired Development Breaks Ground

Despite the rain and thunderstorms, Cottonwood Management has officially started breaking ground on its M1M2 parcel. The developer has changed the name of the land to Echelon Seaport. It has over $900 million in budget and measures 1.3 million square feet.

The enormous land will be utilized for a mixed-use development which will have 125,000 square feet of retail, which will be managed by WS Development. The same project will also have over 730 condo units, apartments, and micro-units, which will all be distributed over the three towers involved in the construction.

Mayor Martin Walsh fully supports the project as he stated that the project is a way for people to view the Seaport neighborhood as a place for work and play as well as a location for individuals looking for a home.

The Project and the Groundbreaking Party

The site was prepared for the project back in March. It was also the time when Cottonwood Management opened their East Coast headquarters, which was located at 101 Seaport Boulevard. Regent Hotel Group, a Taiwan-based hotel management unit, will brand the condo part of the development. It is expected that the condo units will open starting 2019.

This particular project is one of the biggest developments in housing in the Seaport District. Along with the Mayor, Governor Charlie Baker was also present during the ceremonial groundbreaking of the Seaport.

According to the plan, it will consist of three towers with 1.3 million square feet for condos and apartments. Cottonwood Management is a California based developer that aims to provide a total of 733 units to the potential residents of the Echelon Seaport project. The proposed plan also shows that 448 units will be condominiums, which will be spread over two of the buildings.

As for the third tower, it is said that it will contain 285 apartments. It is possible that the towers could be as high as over 20 floors. The other parts of the space will be for the landscaped plaza, particularly 19,000 square feet of land. It will be made accessible to the public. Meanwhile, the 125,000 square feet will be used for restaurants and retail businesses, which will expand to two levels.

The project also includes hundreds of parking spaces. The whole project is on 3.5 acres of land which has been deemed highly valuable and stretches from B Street to Seaport Boulevard.

After the developers began the groundbreaking process, they hosted a party to celebrate their vision and their brand for the complex. Chef Ming Tsai from Blue Dragon Restaurant led the pouring of cocktails for the party.

Currently, this project is the second largest development to date in the Seaport Boulevard. It grabs the title as the biggest portion of for-sale accommodation in this booming community. Some of the condos may be available for lease in 2019, but the whole project is scheduled to be completed in 2020. Before the end of the year, the developers plan to open a sales office, which will be used for the condominiums.

There is still no information regarding the prices for the condos, but the surrounding properties may be an indication that they will certainly be hefty. For example, the Tishman Speyer project in the Seaport District, which has a total of 106 units for its Pier 4 condo development, priced the two bedrooms starting at $2 million. This project will be completed by 2018 before the Echelon Seaport.

Meanwhile, the three-tower project that will cover one million square feet will have an outdoor piazza, a bridge, and artwork. The residential towers will also have two outdoor pools as well as an indoor pool. There will also be a courtyard, private terraces, and sun decks. The project is designed by Kohn Pederson Fox Associates. The CBT Architects are the ones who drew the townhome architecture, which is inspired by the Back Bay area, although with a modern twist.

Collaborative Cos. will take care of the residential sales, while John Moriarty and Associates will be responsible for the building of the entire project.