City Officials Approve New Developments

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

One of the biggest real estate transactions in Boston’s history was secured last week, when the city’s Food and Drug Administration approved Vertex’s Pharmaceutical Inc.’s (Nasdaq: VRTX) treatment center for hepatitis C on Fan Pier. The center will consist of two buildings of more than one million square feet and the construction is scheduled to be completed in 2013 or 2014 at a total estimated cost of $800 million. With Vertex’s planning to move its headquarters and approximately 1,500 employees from Cambridge at its new treatment center, the city officials and business leaders hope that similar businesses will be attracted in this area as well. According to The Boston Globe, Greg Vasili, chief executive of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, said that Vertex will serve as an anchor for South Boston’s waterfront development. Joe Fallon, chief executive of Fallon Co., the company overseeing the project, added that Vertex’s relocation is a sing of growth in the area, not just for Boston but for the entire region.

Boston officials have also approved plans for three new buildings that the Berklee College of Music intends to construct on Massachusetts Ave. The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved the master development blueprint that will add some 500,000 square feet of space to the campus. The college can currently accommodate only 800 out of its 4,100 students. The expansion project includes new housing units for another 800 students, a state-of-the-art performance center and new administrative space. According to Berklee representatives the college’s footprint would increase by about 62 percent.

A 16-story mixed-use building is set to begin this fall at 168 Massachusetts Ave. at an estimated cost of $100 million. The 155,000 square feet building will house 370 students, as well as a two-story cafeteria, recording studios, a performance center and 4,500 square feet of street-level retail. The college also plans to build a 24-story state-of-the-art performance center at 130-136 Massachusetts Ave. which will house 450 students