Middlesex County Courthouse Redevelopment | 40 Thorndike St | East Cambridge

7.23.24:

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On my commute every day, standing on the Lechmere platforms, I love seeing the completed upper floors of this building peek above the brick streetwall. The deep red really does mix nicely, darker than the modern brick buildings but distinct from the historic Registry building. Now all we need is for CX Parcel V to be built, and IMO, Lechmere Square will be a really nice, placeworthy corner of Cambridge.
 
Hear, hear. And the landscaping is tastefully integrated into the surrounding environment.

Regarding CX: Although plans can change - Parcel U was developed earlier than expected and the now combined Parcel L/M was slated for completion by now - DivCo has repeatedly said that Parcel V could be completed after A, B, and C. I hope this is not the case, and that plans *do* change, as A/B/C have been pushed to ~2030 for completion (ref Dec 2023 presentation).

kdmc said:
On my commute every day, standing on the Lechmere platforms, I love seeing the completed upper floors of this building peek above the brick streetwall. The deep red really does mix nicely, darker than the modern brick buildings but distinct from the historic Registry building. Now all we need is for CX Parcel V to be built, and IMO, Lechmere Square will be a really nice, placeworthy corner of Cambridge.
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Emphatically not to valorize developers (nor their opponents), but, development can be a brutal game, in which some players get absolutely hosed by exquisitely poor luck/wretched timing... so much for "unlikely," eh?

September 2021:

"In the unlikely case Leggat’s 40 Thorndike is a flop despite Cambridge’s insatiable need for office space and gravity-defying real estate prices, “the bank gets their money first. And then the equity owner is in line behind the bank,” Sacco said. “In any kind of real estate transaction, the equity investor is important because they’re the ones who are taking the risk of the initial losses.”

(source)

August 2024:

"A brand-new office tower, 40 Thorndike, is hitting the market without any announced tenants. Leggat McCall Properties and Granite Properties redeveloped the former Edward J. Sullivan Courthouse near the Lechmere MBTA station into a 20-story mixed-use tower with 420,000 square feet of office space. The project, expected to be complete in September, “may be the first major office project in the Boston area to deliver vacant,” according to Colliers."

(source)
 
^ Oh wow I didnt even realize this was an office tower, I thought it was residential. Going back and looking apparently its only the base thats residential with 24 apartments, then 18 stories of office above. Thats disappointing, sure could have used the units a whole lot more than more office space.
 
stick n move said:
^ Oh wow I didnt even realize this was an office tower, I thought it was residential. Going back and looking apparently its only the base thats residential with 24 apartments, then 18 stories of office above. Thats disappointing, sure could have used the units a whole lot more than more office space.
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I didn't even know there was a resi component at all, so that's nice!
 
Yeah I thought this was all residential too. Bit of a bummer, but the building still looks nice
 
Its a pretty weird area to have an office tower right smack in the middle of a low rise residential area. Def would have made more sense imo as a residential tower. Cant be changed now though obviously but def a weird choice.
 
stick n move said:
Its a pretty weird area to have an office tower right smack in the middle of a low rise residential area. Def would have made more sense imo as a residential tower. Cant be changed now though obviously but def a weird choice.
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Don't get me wrong, I am very much pro-resi for this location, but this tower is definitely not smack in the middle of a low rise residential area....it is adjacent, for sure, on one side, but not the other side. It fronts government buildings and courthouses on its north side, and is a block away from all the CambridgeSide galleria redevelopment with several large commercial buildings in that direction. Moreover, it's 3 blocks from the Lechmere T. So there's nothing wrong with mixed use here. All of this said, given market conditions and needs, yes it would have been great to be all resi.

I also don't think it's out of the question for them to convert more of it to residential. AFAIK, floors 2 and 3 of the podium are all residential (and already fully fitted out...you an see kitchens with microwaves and refrigerators, etc, through the windows). If they get some cash from an office tenant who only takes a few floors, it might be a reasonable decision to then convert a few more to residential, given that all the commercial floors are hollow shells at this point.

(side note: I also find it a little odd that the Bos Business Journal article didn't even mention the bldg. has residential. Granted it's not much, but this is much more of a mixed use building than the article implied. I guess that didn't fit their narrative of a completely empty commercial building hitting the market)
 
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Not sure if this was clear but construction fencing has been largely removed so you can go check this out pretty close in person if you like. I also spotted an energy recovery ventilator in the building so looks like some high efficiency hvac going on which couldn’t have been cheap.
 
Longfellow said:
Not sure if this was clear but construction fencing has been largely removed so you can go check this out pretty close in person if you like. I also spotted an energy recovery ventilator in the building so looks like some high efficiency hvac going on which couldn’t have been cheap.
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I would assume, given the age of the building, there was nothing salvageable in the original mechanical systems, so might as well go high tech, energy efficient in a total rebuild.
 
Pretty good deep dive into the recent opening of this building. All the commercial space is vacant, but glad to see 48 income-restricted apartments included.

www.cambridgeday.com

Business tower 40 Thorndike opens with party, inclusionary homes, office vacancies and a plan

The opening of 40 Thorndike – the 475,000-square-foot, $300 million East Cambridge tower – was Wednesday, showing off a handsome remake of an unwanted former 1970s courthouse and jail once emptied by mold and asbestos.
www.cambridgeday.com www.cambridgeday.com
 
#bancars said:
Pretty good deep dive into the recent opening of this building. All the commercial space is vacant, but glad to see 48 income-restricted apartments included.

www.cambridgeday.com

Business tower 40 Thorndike opens with party, inclusionary homes, office vacancies and a plan

The opening of 40 Thorndike – the 475,000-square-foot, $300 million East Cambridge tower – was Wednesday, showing off a handsome remake of an unwanted former 1970s courthouse and jail once emptied by mold and asbestos.
www.cambridgeday.com www.cambridgeday.com
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Commercial conversion, when?
 
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