The owner of Boston’s One Lincoln St. plans a major repositioning of the 36-story office tower following the departure of State Street Corp.’s headquarters, including a new 25,000-square-foot terrace in the sky with basketball and tennis courts and outdoor dining.
Fortis Property Group of Brooklyn, New York expects to have up to 800,000 square feet of office space available in 2023. It’s preparing to add common area perks that have become must-have elements of new class A buildings.
“It’s really special and serves what today’s office tenants are looking for. Density levels are pretty significant within the class A [workspaces] and it’s important to highly amenitize the building,” Fortis Property Group CEO Jonathan Landau said.
The seventh floor of the 1.1 million-square-foot tower will be converted into amenity space connecting to the terrace, which is currently occupied by HVAC and electrical equipment. And a ground-floor transformation would include a new lobby and restaurant with beer garden-style outdoor dining, Landau said.
Plans for a food hall are in the early stages, and Fortis plans to begin talks with potential operators by the end of the year, he said.
The updates are prompted by the pending loss of anchor tenant State Street to HYM Investment Group’s new One Congress office tower at Government Center, scheduled for completion in 2023. WeWork also leases 11 floors at One Lincoln.
Following the lead of multifamily developers, office landlords started to place a high priority on outdoor amenities such as roof decks and terraces even before COVID-19 raised the stakes in demand for open-air spaces. One Congress’s office space will open onto a roof deck above the Government Center garage.
Verizon’s office building nearing completion at The Hub on Causeway includes a 31st-floor roof deck, a pair of outdoor terraces and seven balconies. And One Post Office Square is undergoing a $300 million makeover that includes the addition of three outdoor terraces for tenants along with a new facade and parking structure.
Fortis Property Group bought One Lincoln, also known as the State Street Financial Center, in 2007 for $889 million.
One Lincoln will have ample competition for tenants in an uncertain environment for office leasing and robust construction pipeline in Boston’s central business district. Half of the 1 million-square-foot One Congress is available, and another 812,000 square feet of office space is under construction at Millennium Partners’ Winthrop Center. Hines’ South Station tower will include 768,000 square feet office space.
