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The team that acquired the 19-acre Widett Circle property in Boston last year is leaning toward industrial uses for the redevelopment of the site near I-93, including a potential Amazon warehouse and other distribution tenants.
The food wholesalers’ property was eyed for an Olympic stadium in 2024 before Boston withdrew its bid, and has been considered one of the city’s top real estate opportunities because of its size and proximity to downtown Boston.
Developers are negotiating with three distribution tenants including Amazon as well as a biomanufacturing firm, The Boston Globe reported.
The new ownership group which includes construction giant Suffolk’s investment vehicle, paid $125 million for the property last year but has not released details of its future plans.
When receiving Boston Planning and Development Agency approval for the acquisition last year, developer William Keravouri said the nature and scope of the project would be determined following a “very inclusive and community-oriented development process.” He compared the Widett property’s potential to The Abbey Group’s planned redevelopment of the Boston Flower Exchange property in South End as 1.6 million square feet of office and lab space.
In a statement issued Friday, developers said they “have interest from and are considering a range of uses at Widett Circle including light industrial, life sciences and transit. We are currently studying what is feasible to achieve at the site, and we look forward to continuing to work with city and state decision-makers, elected officials and the local neighborhoods as our plans advance.”
While the Widett property has attracted speculation about its potential for a large mixed-use development, shifts in commercial real estate markets during the pandemic have increased the demand for e-commerce and biomanufacturing sites.
A mixed-use development would require infrastructure upgrades because of the limited road access to the site, which is surrounded by highway ramps and borders MBTA lines. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is negotiating with the owners to acquire a portion of the site for train storage, according to the Globe report.
The 26 food wholesalers are relocating by June from nine industrial buildings that occupy the site, according to plans announced last year when Widett REIT acquired the property.
Amazon’s largest distribution facility near Boston is the former Necco candy factory property in Revere, which was redeveloped into a 830,000-square-foot warehouse in 2019. The e-commerce giant failed to gain approval for a last-mile delivery station on Dorchester Avenue in South Boston last year.
