Hines Moving Forward With 49-Story Green Tower

It's been a long time since New Haven, Old Colony, and Boston & Albany rolled their passenger trains through Boston's South Station back in January 1899.

The story of the century-old railroad hub, nestled on South Boston's Fort Point Channel, reads like a lesson in 20th Century American history. As one of the country's largest train stations, the terminal helped usher in 50 years of rail-dominated travel -- a forerunner of the nation's industrial revolution -- and provided a major gateway for returning World War II GIs, before sharing in the decline of the rail sector as auto and airline travel reshaped the industry.

But now, in an odd historical reversal, South Station finds itself at the center of the industry's green revolution, thanks to a new mixed-use project by Texas-based developer Hines and TUDC, a subsidiary of Tufts University.

Highlighted by a 49-story, 1 million-square-foot office tower designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects that will sit atop South Station's commuter rail platform, the project includes two additional towers comprised of 500,000 square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel and 150 residential condominiums.

The main tower was recently pre-certified at Silver status in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Core and Shell Development program, a standard for measuring green building development.

"This is a major milestone for us," said David Perry, the Hines senior vice president handling leasing at the tower. "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."

The project, which is expected to begin construction this year at a reported cost of around $800 million and deliver in 2010, was mired by permitting and zoning hurdles that kept it in the planning stage for nearly a decade. Ironically, its timing now coincides with a landmark zoning amendment passed by the city of Boston earlier this year requiring all development within city limits to adhere to green standards.

"LEED certification is a must nowadays because city officials, as well as tenants, are seeing the merit," says Tom Garden, a senior director of Tishman Speyer who oversees leasing at Boston's prominent High Street and Oliver Street office towers.

The Boston legislation, which is based on the LEED system and became effective in January, was the nation's first to require private developers to adhere to sustainable building practices. New construction of more than 50,000 square feet and rehab projects of more than 100,000 square feet must achieve at least 26 points on a 69-point scale for approval.

Additionally, Boston has adapted the system to include four credits in the areas of groundwater recharging, historic preservation, modern mobility (transportation) and modern grid (energy) to address city-specific areas of concern.

Washington, D.C. is phasing in a similar program over the next five years, and San Francisco said that it too is looking into blanket green standards.

Although Perry says Hines had planned to go green at South Station long before Boston's new measure, city officials could hardly ask for a better proposal.

The project includes about $40 million in private funds for a number of transportation-related improvements to the area, including increasing capacity at South Station's bus terminal by 40% and linking the existing commuter rail and bus terminals. Hines is also working to preserve the historic integrity of the main South Station Head House building.

Meanwhile, the main tower will feature energy efficient curtain-wall and HVAC systems, an air filtration system that will draw a higher proportion of outside air than other Boston buildings, and several water conservation measures.

According to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, whose Green Building Task Force was the major mover behind Boston's amendment, the presence of a nationally recognized green developer in Boston is proof that sustainable development makes good business sense.

"I am pleased to see Hines taking the lead on this issue," he said in a statement.

With four green projects currently under development and a new Green Development Fund formed last year in partnership with CalPERS, Hines is no stranger to building green.

Those current projects -- 300 N. LaSalle in Chicago; La Jolla Commons in San Diego; 2211 Michelson in Irvine, CA; and Tower 333 in Bellevue, WA -- along with completed green projects at 1180 Peachtree in Atlanta and One S. Dearborn in Chicago, total almost 4 million square feet. The green fund, which has $120 million in committed equity and a buying power of up to $500 million with leverage, made its initial investment last year in the Tower 333 development.

Hines' two Boston developments -- the 700,000-square-foot Five Hundred Boylston office tower and the 500,000-square-foot Two Twenty Two Berkeley tower -- are recipients of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star label.

From a leasing perspective, "the percentage of tenants that value green is going to be on a continual climb," according to Perry. And although security issues come into play when combining a downtown high-rise with a major transportation hub, Garden says those concerns will be offset by other factors.

"A location with that kind of proximity to a public transportation portal can be an ideal leasing advantage, and given the trend of positive net absorption in the Financial District, the new tower could be perfectly timed to accommodate the growth of Boston business," he said.