A second large Seaport office commitment
A pandemic-era Boston City Properties account reported that Amazon agreed to lease 630,000 square feet at One Boston Wharf Road. The planned space would expand the company’s Seaport office presence and concentrate technology work in a new waterfront-district building.
The account described the lease against the disruption of office work after the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020. Many employers were reconsidering how much space they needed. Amazon’s commitment was presented as a significant counterpoint to that uncertainty, not proof that the wider office market had recovered.
The tower, park and performing arts plans
WS Development and Canada-based PSP Investments were identified as the partners developing a 17-story building designed by Henning Larsen. The source described 707,000 square feet of office space, ground-floor retail, innovation labs and shared working areas. It anticipated completion in 2024; that was a forecast in the earlier account, not a current construction update.
The plans connected the tower with a 1.5-acre Harbor Square Park and included a 500-seat theater and a 100-seat black box theater. The report also described a dog park and a $5.5 million affordable-housing contribution associated with the city agreement. These were elements of the reported development plans rather than promises of access for a particular worker or resident.
Part of a larger mixed-use district
The project was discussed within the 33-acre Boston Seaport development near Seaport Boulevard and Boston Wharf Road. The broader plan combined office, housing, hotel, retail, entertainment and civic or cultural space, with green areas and connecting paths. The tower’s office lease and the district’s housing were separate parts of that plan.
For someone comparing a home or workplace in the Seaport, the useful distinction is between the exact property and the surrounding district. Confirm the address, access, facilities and proposed transaction with the appropriate property team. A major employer’s historical expansion does not establish today’s available homes, office space or commute.
Original report: Boston City Properties