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Image courtesy of CBT Architects
Skanska USA Commercial Development is showing confidence in the future of office space in Boston, moving ahead with plans for a 625,000-square-foot office tower at a Back Bay property it acquired in December.
In the largest pure office development proposed in Boston since the pandemic, the developer submitted updated plans this week for the 380 Stuart St. tower.
“Skanska’s primary proposed changes are improvements driven by the prioritization of occupant wellness with access to outdoor space in a post-COVID-19 world,” Skanska wrote in a submission to the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Skanska indicated in December that it was considering a life science element for the 390-foot-tall tower, following the strategy of many of the new commercial projects moving forward in Boston including 401 Park Drive, 321 Harrison Ave., 401 Congress St. and 125 Lincoln St.
The Stuart Street tower was originally approved in 2015. But John Hancock never went ahead with construction and subsequently reorganized its office space in Boston, selling its 601 Congress St. office building in the Seaport District to BioMed Realty for a proposed lab conversion. Skanska bought the Stuart Street site in December for $177 million.
The updated plans by CBT Architects do not increase the building’s height or square-footage, and will not create any new shadow on Boston Common, the filing states. The changes include a new tapered roof line, widened pedestrian corridors and pocket park and a glass wall that runs along the building’s Stuart Street frontage.
