HUDSON GROUP ANNOUNCES PARTICIPATION IN COMPREHENSIVE AND DIVERSE BID TO DEVELOP WINTHROP SQUARE GARAGE SITE

Proposal Includes Significant Arts Component, Community Engagement and Affordable Housing Creation

BOSTON, April 21, 2016 -- Hudson Group North America, jointly with Lendlease Development, Inc. and Eagle Development Partners (MBE), today submitted their response to the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Request for Proposals for 115 Winthrop Square. Believing this unique site represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Boston, the team’s plan offers a mixed-use vision that includes significant partnerships with the arts community, forward-thinking design, as well as meaningful opportunities to partner with non-profit, neighborhood-based social service organizations to ensure that the entire City of Boston benefits from the redevelopment of this city-owned parcel.

The partnership pairs Lendlease’s global experience in the construction and development of complex sites with the proven success of Hudson’s community-focused approach. Eagle Development Partners (MBE) brings extensive local, multifamily experience to round out this diverse team. The proposed plan delivers world-class office, residential and retail opportunities, as well as a unique pavilion for the arts contemplated to fill a void in the cultural vacuum of the Financial District. The team will also partner with a Chinatown-based CDC, the Chinese Economic Development Council (CEDC), to develop affordable housing within walking distance of the site.

“Unlocking the full potential of this site will reinvigorate the core of a globally competitive downtown that catalyzes new economic growth,” said Ori Ron of Hudson Group. “Our concept focuses on combining the intimacy, connectivity and charm of this small-scale urban fabric with the power and elegance of iconic modern verticality.”

Winthrop Square begins with two levels of independent retail clustered around a dramatic concourse consisting of five distinct, yet intertwined urban experiences:

The Cultural Pavilion – An unprecedented cultural destination, this stand-alone, iconic structure will benefit from long-term funding, year-round programming and a partnership with the Fort Point Art Community (FPAC)

Winthrop Square Park – Reimagined and enhanced as a flexible, programmable gathering and exhibition space

The Steps – A series of meandering, grand steps and ramps on Devonshire Street to serve as both a connection through and a respite from the surrounding network of streets and alleyways

The Experimental Theater/Education Center – Community space tucked beneath the Devonshire steps designed to accommodate performances and lectures, spur experimentation and showcase Boston’s innovation economy

Observation Deck/Learning Hub – Featuring expansive 360 degree views, a vertical extension of the public realm will reside on the 38th floor of the tower. While there, visitors will be invited to learn about and experience the technology and systems that drive a LEED Platinum building (“Energy in Action”).

This vibrant, diverse ground plane will give rise to a mix of more conventional uses in a tower that is anything but conventional: ten stories of office and innovation space (approximately 200,000 sq. ft.), potentially anchored by WeWork, will help drive the interest and excitement of the ground plane up the tower and vice versa. Residential uses will comprise the remaining 51 stories of the tower, with 315 apartments over 25 floors, topped by a 26-story condominium component with 221 units.

“This significant site presents the ideal opportunity to create a truly mixed-use destination that continues to support the evolution of the Financial District into an active 18 hour-a-day neighborhood,” said Nicholas Iselin, General Manager for Lendlease Development. “Our plan combines an active pubic realm, community benefits and a nod to our innovation economy that we feel serves the entire city, not just the interests of a small section of Boston.”

The group is proposing partnerships with multiple community-based social service agencies. The three inspirational neighborhood organizations include:

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester,

The South Boston Community Health Center and

Ladies Involved in Putting a Stop to Inner City Killing (“LIPSTICK”)

These non-profits would benefit from monies that flow from the project, ensuring that their essential services will continue to reshape our city for many years to come.

They also seek to team with the Fort Point Arts Community (FPAC) to drive the City’s dialogue around the arts both at the site and across our neighborhoods. Additionally, in alignment with Mayor Walsh’s Imagine 2030 goals, significant funds generated by this project will be used for the actual creation of affordable housing, spearheaded by the Chinese Economic Development Council (CEDC), and realized within walking distance of the site.

The project team is built from both global strength and local sensitivity. Lendlease brings an international reach, a proven record of innovative and sustainable urban regeneration projects and unparalleled expertise in constructing the world’s tallest occupied structures. Hudson Group and Eagle Development deliver on grassroots community engagement, creative project mitigation and local multifamily expertise. Toronto, Canada based Graziani + Corazza Architects will fuse their trademark, bold tower architecture with Boston-style invention and sensibility in association with the Boston offices of Perkins Eastman and RODE.

About Hudson Group (www.hudsongroupna.com – Twitter: @HudsonGroupNA)

Hudson Group is a boutique, privately-owned real estate development firm, active in urban development across select markets. The family-owned company played an integral role in enhancing the Leather District and Chinatown neighborhoods of Boston by developing nearly 300 units in the area including residences, offices and retail.

Their reputation for creative economic development strategies is best exemplified by their commitment to affordable housing creation on Oxford Street as a direct result of the Radian project at 120 Kingston Street. With a particular passion for retail, Hudson recently ushered an award-winning, chef-driven restaurant (Townsman by Kate & Matt Jennings) and a world-class coffee shop (Gracenote Coffee) to the local Boston food scene. Hudson is well schooled in the creative class economy and the tech sector, having converted, owned and managed creative office space in the Leather District for over 20 years to a variety of tenants at all stages of growth. They are collaborating with the Rose Kennedy Greenway on the implementation of public realm improvements and the creation of a multi-year public art program in Chinatown Park.

About Eagle Development Partners (MBE) – Twitter: @Eagle_Dev

Eagle Development Partners is a dynamic real estate operating company that specializes in the acquisition, development and construction management of high-quality real estate assets. We look for investment opportunities that are strategically located in smart-growth, mixed-use neighborhoods that offer convenient access to mass transit, popular amenities and employment.

In 2014, Eagle Development Partners was certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) by both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Boston.

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CONTACT:

Wendy Goldstein Pierce

Solomon McCown & Company

617-933-5024

wpierce@solomonmccown.com