BOSTON — Skanska USA has received approval from the Boston Zoning Commission for the redevelopment of a 5.8-acre site in Boston that currently houses Simmons University’s residential campus into a 1.7 million-square-foot mixed-use destination. The Boston Planning and Development Agency approved Skanska’s plans for the overall development, named Longwood Place, earlier this year.
Global architecture firm Sasaki designed the transit-served development, which is slated to feature five buildings that will house life sciences, office, apartments, retail and restaurant space. In addition, Longwood Place will feature 2.6 acres of open green space and 15,000 square feet of indoor community space.
Located at 305 Brookline Ave. in Boston’s Longwood neighborhood, Longwood Place will be situated a half-mile from Fenway Park, home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox. Nearby institutions include Simmons University, Emmanuel College, Northeastern University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
“A focus on delivering diverse spaces inside and out that surround high-performing life sciences buildings and a vital residential program make Longwood Place a vibrant addition to one of Boston’s most innovative neighborhoods,” says Meredith McCarthy, senior associate architect at Sasaki.
As part of the master plan of Longwood Place, the development team plans to invest $12 million toward infrastructural improvements, including new bus stops; upgraded crosswalks; new signalized pedestrian crossing; two Bluebike stations; and a new, elevated bike lane along Brookline Avenue. With zoning approval secured, Skanska USA plans to commence building design later this year.
The Simmons University residential campus on the site will be folded into the school’s multi-phase One Simmons campus consolidation plan.
Skanska USA is the American arm of Skanska, a civic, infrastructural and commercial real estate developer founded in Stockholm in 1887. Skanska employs about 30,000 staffers and has projects underway in the United States and Europe.
— Taylor Williams and John Nelson