$370M Filene's Expansion Moves Closer to Reality

BOSTON-One of the downtown’s most venerable landmarks is another step closer to a major renovation, as Suffolk Construction Co. has been tabbed to provide pre-construction services for the $370 million overhaul of the Filene’s Department Store complex. Vornado Realty Trust and Gale International are expanding the in-fill site anchored by 426 Washington St., upon which are three historic buildings that will be incorporated into the 1.5-million-sf project.

The age of the structures and location in the heart of the Downtown Crossing shopping district through which 100,000 people traipse daily present “exciting challenges,” Suffolk CEO John Fish acknowledges, but insists his firm is up to the task. “I am confident our pre-construction professionals have the expertise to quickly move this project into the construction phase,” says Fish, whose company has already done select demolition. The pre-construction group will now assess materials and processes, and conduct site analysis to identify issues and finalize cost assumptions.

The multi-faceted project is one of several buildings featuring class A office space that are angling to hit downtown Boston by the end of the decade by moving forward immediately. Anticipating a groundbreaking by early summer, August 2010 is the target for completion of the Filene’s expansion. Near South Station, the Russia Wharf redevelopment will yield 520,000 sf of office space, while Lincoln Property Co. is scrambling to launch Two Financial Center, a 12-story, 220,000-sf office building. The downtown sector has seen more than one million sf of office space added this decade at One Lincoln St. and 33 Arch St., Boston’s newest office tower, a 32-story, 600,000-sf building located just steps from Filene’s. Meredith & Grew reports a 10.4% vacancy rate for Boston’s office market in the first quarter, a survey tracking 56.3 million sf of space.