John Hancock to Begin $350M Tower Next Year

BOSTON—With approvals in hand, officials with John Hancock say they hope to break ground on the insurer's $350-million office tower project sometime next year.

The John Hancock project was by far by the largest development project on the agenda of the Board of Directors of the Boston Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday evening. The Board approved the 26-story 625,000-square-foot John Hancock office tower to be built at 380 Stuart St. in the city's Back Bay. In addition, the authority's board also approved two small residential projects valued at $9.7 million in Roslindale and Jamaica Plain. The board also granted final approval to J.C. Cannistraro to rehab a 157,000-square-foot building in the Boston Marine Industrial Park for a new $15-million fabrication facility.

A spokesperson for John Hancock tells Globest.com that the company plans to begin construction sometime in 2016. The BRA in an announcement on the project's approval states that construction on the office tower will begin in the second half of 2016. The project would involve the replacement of an existing nine-story 140,000-square-foot office building at 380 Stuart St. Employees now housed in the nine-story office building will be relocated to other locations. John Hancock also owns 197 Clarendon and 200 Berkeley St. in the Back Bay.

John Hancock filed a letter of intent to pursue the project with the Boston Redevelopment Authority in early August of this year. The new office building, which will provide workspace for more than 3,000 employees, is expected to include a conference center, collaborative space, a fitness center, ground floor retail and restaurant space, and a roof deck. The project will contain approximately 175 underground parking spaces, as well as five loading bays that will be accessed off an adjacent alley. It is projected the project will create 474 construction jobs.

It is not believed that John Hancock will occupy the entire building. In a statement the company tells Globest.com, "It's too early to say definitively, but we anticipate occupying at least a portion of it in the immediate term as our business continues to grow." When it filed its letter of intent for the new office tower project, the company stated that other commercial tenants are expected to occupy the building as well when it is completed in 2019.

A team consisting of Skidmore Owings Merrill and CBT is serving as the architect, while Colliers International is the development manager for the venture.

In connection with the project John Hancock will contribute approximately $5.25 million over several years in linkage payments to support affordable housing creation and workforce development in Boston. The company will put $4.38 million into the Neighborhood Housing Trust and more than $876,000 into the Neighborhood Jobs Trust. The BRA reports that new pedestrian and bicycle accommodations are planned as part of the project, along with expansive sidewalks, street furnishings, landscaping, lighting and other amenities. John Hancock will also commit a total of $100,000 to the Friends of Copley Square to help maintain and improve the public park.