New life emerges atop Boston's South Station

"Plopping a new, modern building atop a cherished, historic one is not a novel concept. In New York, the Hearst Tower rises out of a six-story Art Deco building from 1928. The Antwerp Port House, designed by architect Zaha Hadid, delicately balances a glass structure above a fire station. And using air rights to develop skyscrapers over transit hubs to fund their improvements is nothing new, either."

"But erecting Boston's South Station Tower, a 690-foot, 51-story mixed-use skyscraper on top of one of the busiest transit hubs in the northeastern United States without disrupting its tens of thousands of daily commuters required an exceptional degree of engineering and coordination. The developers needed to work with Amtrak; the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, which owns the 126-year-old station; Keolis, which operates the commuter rail; and the Federal Aviation Administration. They had to navigate 13 active, surface-level rail tracks and create office and residential spaces that wouldn't feel as if they sat directly above a major transit hub."

""This is a really complicated project," said Steve Luthman, the global head of real estate at Hines, the developer and owner of the project. "Anytime you build over trains, it's incredibly challenging because you can't disrupt that vital infrastructure, but also you've got so many people that are there every single day." Construction often took place in the middle of the night, when there were fewer commuters."

Erecting a 690-foot, 51-story mixed-use tower atop Boston's 126-year-old South Station combines 166 high-end condominiums with office and transit improvements. The project required coordination with Amtrak, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (owner of the station), Keolis (commuter rail operator) and the Federal Aviation Administration. Engineers navigated 13 active surface-level rail tracks and scheduled much construction at night to avoid disrupting tens of thousands of daily commuters. Hines is the developer and owner, with Steve Luthman as global head of real estate. The project utilized air rights and follows precedents such as the Hearst Tower, Antwerp Port House, MetLife Building and Hudson Yards.

Read at Boston.com