To Russia with lease: Wellington eyes Wharf offices
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Thursday, August 16, 2007 - Updated: 12:33 AM EST
Boston Properties is in serious talks to lease most of its proposed Russia Wharf office and residential tower on the city?s waterfront to a major financial services firm.
Wellington Management, one of downtown?s top money management firms, is eyeing a deal to become the new tower?s marquee tenant. The firm is considering leasing practically all the office suites at the new 30-story-plus tower, or roughly 500,000 square feet, downtown real estate executives said.
For Boston Properties, owner of the Prudential Center and a nationwide portfolio of skyscrapers, such a deal would be a major coup.
With an A-list tenant like Wellington lined up as the tower?s anchor tenant, Boston Properties could push ahead with a rapid build-out of Russia Wharf, delivering the first major office tower in Boston since the last recession, real estate executives predicted.
Some are already comparing it to the landmark lease deal that led to the construction of State Street?s skyrise headquarters near South Station at the end of the last boom.
?It would be a great shot in the arm for the marketplace to have a prelease commitment like that,? said Jay Driscoll, a top downtown office leasing executive at Cushman & Wakefield.
Still, Boston Properties, chaired by media mogul Mortimer Zuckerman, faces stiff competition as it races to get its tower plans into construction, with a number of other would-be high-rise builders also scrambling for a first-mover advantage.
The proposed Russia Wharf tower would take shape at the corner of Congress and Atlantic avenues, rising over a collection of historic, 19th century wharf buildings not far from Rowes Wharf.
A spokeswoman for Wellington declined comment, while Boston Properties? media relations chief could not be reached for comment.
The move comes as Wellington looks for a new downtown location to consolidate a sprawling network of offices that includes corporate suites at three different State Street high-rises, including 200 State St. and 75 State.
Wellington has been checking out its options in the market over the last few months, looking at proposals for new towers, according to one real estate executive who met with representatives of the firm.
