Developer says work could finally begin on towers above South Station

Hines, which won approval in 2006 for a mixed-use development of four towers above the South Station train tracks, says work could finally begin on the project early next year.

In a new page on its Web site, first spotted by BLDUP.com, Hines says it's planning a 49-story, 970,000-square-foot office tower, a second office building about half that size, a 155-unit, 323-foot tall condo tower and a 200-room hotel, along with a garage with roughly 755 spaces, all fitting above the tracks and the bus terminal.

State and city officials first began talking about allowing towers to rise above the station in the 1970s - originally when the BRA won control of the station and proposed just knocking it down, a plan that Gov. Dukakis managed to nix.

Hines's 2006 plans, the most recent available on the BRA Web site, call for construction of the project in four phases, with the 49-story, 678-foot-tall office building going up first. Eventually, the plans call for a human hamster tube "sky street" along Atlantic Avenue to connect the buildings and the garage.

At the time, Hines estimated construction of the office tower would take three years - it originally proposed starting in 2007 - and construction of the residential tower two years, which would start after the office building was finished.

Hines also proposed paying to expand the South Station bus terminal and to make other improvements to the station, including making it easier for rail passengers to get to the bus station and improving ventilation along train platforms.

The Phase 1 Building has been designed to create a building of significant and lasting architectural merit which will be respectful of the South Station Head House Building. ...

The narrow, sculptural profile of the Phase I Building, as seen from Dewey Square facing the main entrance of South Station, minimizes obstruction of views and daylight. Material finishes for the exterior facade will be a taut glassy skin. Glass and metal canopies will identify entrances and provide pedestrian shelter along Atlantic Avenue.

The Phase 2 Building will have separate entrances for the residential component and the hotel component. The Phase 2 Building's two entrance lobbies will be located on Atlantic Avenne, between the Phase I Building entrance lobby and the Existing Bus Terminal bnilding, providing an activity generating function along Atlantic Avenue. The Phase 2 Building's hotel reception lobby and residential main lobby will be located one floor above on the Sky Street Level and accessed via shuttle elevators from the entrance lobbies. Most of the massing of the Phase 2 Building will be located above the Bus Terminal Expansion and the Project Parking Garage. The Phase 2 Building has been designed as two wings, one of which houses the residential component and one of which houses the hotel component. Exterior building materials for the Phase 2 Building will be determined during the course of the design review process.

Development outline for South Station towers (1.1M PDF).