Tishman Speyer, the development partner that is building an Enterprise Research Campus (ERC) in Allston on property leased from Harvard, took the first step toward construction of the second phase (phase B) of that project on April 16. With the submission of a letter of intent to the Boston Planning and Development Agency, the firm signaled that it would soon initiate the regulatory approval process for an additional 720,000 square feet of laboratory/research and development and office space, and approximately 320,000 square feet of residential housing (including affordable units) with a mixture of ground floor retail and community uses. The second phase is proposed on 4.8 acres of University-owned land at 100 Western Avenue, across from Harvard Business School. Tishman Speyer first previewed its plans for this second phase of development in 2021.
A groundbreaking to celebrate the first phase (phase A, now well underway), which includes 900,000 square feet of commercial development, including lab space for life sciences companies, 343 rental apartments (a quarter of them affordable), a 246-room hotel, street-level shops and restaurants, and more than 2 acres of public outdoor space took place on November 1, 2023.