Boston Properties marked the beginning of construction of 888 Boylston St., a 17-story tower in the Prudential Center complex that will be anchored by Natixis Global Asset Management, with a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday.

Natixis leased 150,000 square feet in the new tower scheduled to open in 2017. Natixis will move from 399 Boylston St., which was recently sold by Shorenstein Properties to an affiliate of Blackstone Real Estate Partners for $117 million.

888 Boylston St. is designed as a LEED Platinum-certified building and is projected to use 45 percent less energy and 37 percent less water than a typical office building. Electricity consumption will be minimized by daylight penetration extending to 95 percent of the floor area and rooftop wind turbine that will power exterior lighting. The building contains a rain harvesting and recycling system.