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South Station Earns LEED Pre-Certification
By Beverly Ford

South Station
BOSTON-A 49-story tower in 1.8-million-sf mixed-use South Station has become the city's first pre-certified LEED building. The designation for the shell and core construction comes just one month after Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced a new initiative to require developers of projects larger than 50,000 sf to adhere to green building standards.
Besides the one-million-sf tower, the estimated $800-million South Station includes a nine-story, 500,000-sf office building and 200-room hotel with 150 residential units set in a 13-story building. Houston-based Hines Interests LP is co-developing the project with TUDC LLC, a subsidiary of Tufts University. Construction on the first phase is expected to begin this year with completion set for 2010.

"As the city prepares to amend its zoning code to require green building, I am pleased to see Hines taking the lead on this issue," Menino says in a press release about the pre-certification. "They are proving what we've been saying: green makes sense--it's good for the environment and good for your wallet." If the green building article is ultimately approved, Boston would become the first major US city to require developers to secure LEED certifications.

Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects of New Haven, CT, the project also includes about $40 million in privately funded, transit-related improvements. When completed, the South Station terminal will end up with a 40% increase in capacity.
A spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority tells GlobeSt.com that although the project is the first to receive LEED pre-certification for its shell and core, it will receive other LEED certifications once it is completed. The Manulife Financial's building on the South Boston waterfront was the first building in the city to receive full LEED certification, she says. The 601 Congress St. building serves as the company's US headquarters.
 
It's nice to see this project going quite fast now even though it did take almost 10 years to start.
 
Are there any major tenants lined up yet? I was reading something today in the BBJ concerning eaton vance picking up two floors in international place contingent to Deutsche Bank vacating it. There are also several other major deals under the radar that I have heard about just being around the area, mainly law firms needing another floor or two.

This is a huge pipe dream, but having DB lease maybe five floors and pick up naming rights to the SST would be truly great. I know their operation here is their second or third largest in the US, so it would make some sense, they already have the golf tournament down at the TPC rather than a superior NY area club.
 
Whoa, I didn't even realize that the final plan was for 49 floors. That's gotta be at 700 feet. Considering that planes currently fly right through the current air space when it is windy, that is pretty impressive.

I have noticed for the last couple of weeks that helicopters have been hovering right over the train tracks at South Station. I wonder if this is any sort of prep or surveillance work.
 
type001 said:
I have noticed for the last couple of weeks that helicopters have been hovering right over the train tracks at South Station. I wonder if this is any sort of prep or surveillance work.
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I noticed that too. It's like something out of a movie. I thought it was for security or something like that.
 
Seriously though, is 700ft the final and definite height of the tower?
 
No. The "height" as defined in the Boston Zoning Code (i.e., to the top of the last occupied floor) is 621 feet, although the actual height is reportedly around 680 feet.
 
I think the 621' height was for 41 floors. Now information says it's going to be 49 floors which would make it around 735' high.
 
I think the reference to 49 stories is an error. The project was approved as a 40-story building for office use. The approval permits the tower to add a story for a total of 41 if the use is changed to residential, since the floor to ceiling height required for residential use is less than for office use. Here is the description of the project from the Hines website (http://www.hines.com/property/detail.aspx?id=144):

South Station
Boston, MA

The South Station development will consist of the completion of the South Station Transportation Center at the lower levels of the project, plus the addition of a 40-story, 920,000-square-foot office tower, a 200-room hotel, a 150-unit residential condominium building, a nine-story, 455,000-square-foot office building, and parking for approximately 900 cars.

Important considerations in the master plan were the preservation of the historic South Station Head House building; the linkage of the existing train station and bus terminal; and the ability to facilitate future pedestrian access to the waterfront. Hines is currently taking the project through the local and state environmental permitting process.

SUMMARY

Address
Boston, MA

Location
Boston

Hines' Role
Developer

Architect
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Elkus/Manfredi Architects

Net Rentable Area
Hotel:
220,000 sq. ft.
(20,438 sq. meters)

Office building:
1,375,000 sq. ft.
(127,738 sq. meters)

Residential:
170,000 sq. ft.
(15,793 sq. meters)
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^ but in the press release, from the hines site they cite it as 49 stories.

Hines' South Station Project the First Leed Pre-Certified Office Building in Boston

01/15/2007

(BOSTON, MA) ? The Boston office of Hines, the international real estate firm, along with co-developer TUDC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tufts University, announced today that the 49-story office tower in their planned mixed-use South Station project in downtown Boston is the first office building in the city to be pre-certified in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Core and Shell Development program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the nation?s leading authority for green building.

The one million-square-foot office tower was pre-certified at the Silver level based on the submission of documented plans to satisfy green performance and systems requirements. Upon building completion in 2010 and pending final documentation and review, the South Station office tower is poised to become Boston?s first LEED for Core and Shell-certified, high-rise office building.

Last month, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced a new green building zoning article ? an important move that would make Boston the first major city in the nation to require adherence to the U.S. Green Building Council?s LEED Certified standard as part of the private development review process. The announcement came after his Green Building Task Force conducted a comprehensive exploration of green building?s full range of opportunities and challenges. In his effort to promote and encourage new green buildings and development, as well as ?greening? Boston?s existing buildings, Menino said the city seeks to stimulate business growth and job creation for Boston.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) authorized the Director to petition the Boston Zoning Commission to adopt Article 37 of the Boston Zoning Code on December 21, 2006. Boston?s new Green Building zoning provision, the above mentioned Article 37, will require that projects over 50,000 square feet meet a basic level of certification, known as the level ?Certified,? according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building rating system, as defined by the Boston Interagency Green Building Committee. Using the LEED for New Construction standard requires earning 26 points to meet the certified level. In addition to the LEED points, four additional points that reflect priorities of the City are being proposed in the areas of modern mobility (transportation), modern grid (energy), historic preservation and groundwater.

Hines Senior Vice President David Perry said, ?This is a major milestone for us. We have worked diligently for many years to bring this project to fruition, and we are pleased to be doing so in a sustainable way. Energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity have been distinguishing features of our projects for decades, and we are excited about developing the first investment-grade, green office building in Boston.?

Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC president, CEO & founding chair said, ?USGBC is thrilled for the Hines South Station project. This office tower is a first in Boston and will serve as an important example and inspiration for the city and the entire Boston community.?

?As the City prepares to amend its zoning code to require green building, I am pleased to see Hines taking the lead on this issue.?Mayor Menino said. ?They are proving what we?ve been saying: green makes sense ?it?s good for the environment and good for your wallet.?

In addition to the 49-story office tower, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the South Station project includes a 500,000-square-foot, nine-story office building, and a 13-story building containing a 200-room hotel and 150 residential units. Also included in the project are approximately $40 million dollars in privately funded, transportation-related improvements for South Station, including increasing the bus terminal?s capacity by approximately 40 percent.

In addition to capitalizing on the site?s proximity to the several alternative modes of public transportation served by South Station, sustainable design features of the project include energy efficient curtain wall and HVAC systems and extensive water conservation measures. The HVAC system has also been designed to achieve higher indoor air quality by providing a higher proportion of outside air than other Boston office buildings. The outside air will be purified by a highly efficient filtration system and controlled by a carbon dioxide monitoring system.

Hines has long been a leader in the development of green office buildings: 1180 Peachtree in Atlanta was the first high-rise office building in the world to receive LEED Silver pre-certification, while One South Dearborn in Chicago was the first high-rise office building in Illinois to receive LEED Silver pre-certification. The projects were subsequently certified Gold and Silver, respectively. 300 North LaSalle, Hines? high-rise office building under development in Chicago, has also been pre-certified in the LEED for core and shell program. In addition, the firm?s speculative Tower 333 project in Bellevue, WA, was the first office project on the West Coast to receive LEED pre-certification, followed by 2211 Michelson in Orange County and La Jolla Commons in San Diego, both Hines projects currently under development.

Hines? other developments in Boston include Five Hundred Boylston, the Philip Johnson-designed 700,000-square-foot office building completed in 1988. In 1991, the firm completed Two Twenty Two Berkeley, a 500,000-square-foot office project designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. The firm also owns and manages Wellesley Gateway, the headquarters of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Both Five Hundred Boylston and Two Twenty Two Berkeley have been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency for their achievements in energy efficiency as recipients of the EPA?s ENERGY STAR label. In 2004, Hines became the only real estate company ever to have been recognized with the EPA?s ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award.

The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. LEED for Core and Shell is a USGBC-sponsored program for designers, builders, developers and new building owners who address sustainable design for new core and shell construction. The USGBC is the nation's leading coalition of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations working together to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. For more information visit www.usgbc.org.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 915 properties representing approximately 360 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 64 U.S. cities and 15 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $13.5 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
 
In addition to the 49-story office tower, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the South Station project includes a 500,000-square-foot, nine-story office building, and a 13-story building containing a 200-room hotel and 150 residential units.

Is it possible that this nine-story office building could contain 500,000 sq. feet of office space? That's a huge amount of space for such a low-rise building. That's a little less than half of office space in the Pru (1.2 million sq. feet) which is 52 stories.
 
atlantaden said:
Is it possible that this nine-story office building could contain 500,000 sq. feet of office space? That's a huge amount of space for such a low-rise building. That's a little less than half of office space in the Pru (1.2 million sq. feet) which is 52 stories.
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In Boston it is. Short, fat, and ugly. Are there renderings for the mid-rise portions?
 
^zenzen, thats not true. most of london's office buildings are low rise and have similar amounts of space. and im sure those buildings are not considered ugly. so it just depends on how nice of a job hines does with the architecture. elkus/manfredi is designing it.
 
Yes it will be 9 stories and 500k. Reposting some images here, you can see how huge its floor plate is in comparison to anything else.

bra6aj8.jpg


bra7xo4.jpg


For there to be 55.5k sf per floor, it has to be about 270 x 205 ft, and that unfortunately looks about right. All of the sudden the SST doesn't seem like such a fattie any more.
 
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) authorized the Director to petition the Boston Zoning Commission to adopt Article 37 of the Boston Zoning Code on December 21, 2006. Boston?s new Green Building zoning provision, the above mentioned Article 37, will require that projects over 50,000 square feet meet a basic level of certification, known as the level ?Certified,? according to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Building rating system, as defined by the Boston Interagency Green Building Committee.
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I think incorporating green features into new buildings is a great thing, but simply slapping on yet another -- and quite costly -- regulation may have a negative effect. Perhaps Boston should emulate Chicago's approach, which rewards new developments that achieve LEED certifications by substantially streamlining the permitting process.

Read more about Chicago's successful new program in this ArchRecord article.
 
When is construction of this tower supposed to start?
 
i'm pretty sure they count south station as an eight story building for some reason, put a 41 story tower on top of the station it then becomes 49 stories. i could be wrong tho.
 
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