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Mayor Menino Celebrates Groundbreaking at InkBlock in the South End

Apr 11, 2013

Today Mayor Thomas M. Menino celebrated groundbreaking on Ink Block, a new mixed use development in the New York Streets area of the South End. The first phase of the $200 million project will include 315 rental housing units, including 41 affordable units across 3 buildings. The project also includes 85,000 square feet of retail space, including a flagship 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market that will be the chain’s largest location in Boston and the first-ever full-size grocery store in the South End. Phase Two, anticipated to break ground in late 2013, will add 160 more units of housing bringing the total number of units in the project to 475.  [box] “This Ink Block site has reinvented itself many times throughout Boston’s history,” said Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. “As part of the ongoing transformation of the South End, this project will grow the neighborhood’s vitality with its diverse housing mix, new pedestrian activity and retail energy.”[/box] Ink Block is the first project in the Harrison Albany Corridor to break ground following the adoption of progressive new zoning that encourages mixed use development, density and growth in the New York Streets area of the South End. Mayor Menino celebrated the groundbreaking alongside BRA Director Peter Meade, National Development representatives, public officials and long-time Boston Herald columnist Joe Fitzgerald. [box] “We are thrilled to officially begin construction on what we are proud to say will become the new center of gravity for life in the South End,” said Ted Tye, Managing Partner, National Development. “INK BLOCK will transform this currently underutilized block by adding stylish neighborhood-focused, trend-setting housing, restaurants, exciting shops and entertainment options, making this the newest location for 18-hour living in Boston.”[/box] Ink Block is located at the corner of Harrison and Traveler Streets and will replace the former Boston Herald headquarters. The project creates 400 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs.  The development team includes developer National Development, Cranshaw Construction is the general contractor, Elkus Manfredi Architects is the architect, and The Dartmouth Company is the retail leasing broker. The project is slated for occupancy in early 2015. Ink Block Details
  • Units ranging from studios to three-bedrooms located above retail space and underground parking in three separate buildings.
  • 1 INK will be  an eight-story building comprised of 91 apartments, a management office on the mezzanine level and 11,000 square feet of best-in-class amenity space.
  • 2 INK will include 134 units, consisting mostly of studios and one-bedroom apartments in a five-story building with a rooftop pool, the 50,000-square-foot flagship Whole Foods Market, and approximately 5,500 square feet of retail space
  • 3 INK will face Harrison Avenue and provide for 90 apartment units and approximately 11,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space
  • An additional residential and retail building at the corner of Harrison and Traveler Streets, have not been announced, but construction on the building is scheduled to start in late 2013. 
  [caption id="attachment_10561" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Ink Block rendering_Apr2013 Ink Block Rendering[/caption]

Related Tags

Cranshaw Construction Dartmouth Company Elkus Manfredi Architects Ink Block National Development 

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