Boston’s New Urban Gem: The Adaptive Reuse of the Boston Globe Headquarters into Southline Boston

The 2024 MIT World Real Estate Forum’s Alumni Lightning Showcase featured presentations on recent innovative building projects led by MSRED Alumni. In her presentation, Zoya Puri (MSRED ’17), Senior Vice President, Beacon Capital Partners, shared knowledge earned from her experience working on the Southline Boston project.

In a dynamic reimagining of a Boston landmark, Beacon with Nordblom Company and a fantastic AEC team led by design architects – Stantec transformed the former Boston Globe headquarters into Southline Boston, a vibrant urban campus. The adaptive reuse of this 750,000-square-foot facility in Dorchester’s Savin Hill neighborhood marks a significant shift from its previous life as a bustling newspaper printing plant to a modern hub of innovation. “Three core principles guided the project: to preserve the building’s heritage, make the space more accessible to the larger community; and foster a new, diverse ecosystem of innovators and local businesses,” Puri explained.

User Experience & Sustainability at the Core of Southline Boston’s Redevelopment

The development team aimed to make Southline Boston not only just a place to work but also a community hub. The design promotes both collaboration and privacy, with amenities such as a conference center, food hall, fitness center, roof deck, and courtyard, all contributing to a vibrant atmosphere. The reimagined property now supports a mix of creative office and life-science tenants, a pivot enabled by strategic early investment in versatile amenities and building infrastructure that could sustain a variety of scientific uses.

“The result is a truly vibrant ecosystem anchored by some remarkable innovators,” Puri remarked. Some of the valuable partnerships are with impactful organizations such as Mass Bio and InnerCity Weightlifting. While MassBio runs a 25,000-square-foot training facility at Southline, InnerCity Weightlifting, with a core mission of helping previously incarcerated individuals reintegrate into society, serves as the fitness center operator.

Certified Excellence: Southline Boston’s Commitment to Sustainability and Health

Sustainability has been a key focus of the redevelopment. “Sustainability is key to Beacon,” Puri said. “As well as end user experience and living quality of the space are critical in rethinking design and programming.”

The original heart of the building—the printing hall where thousands of Boston Globe newspapers were produced daily—became the focal point for the transformation. “It was this hall that became the genesis of a re-imagination of the project,” Puri noted, highlighting the blend of innovation and preservation at the heart of the redevelopment effort. “This was a publicly accessible, fully permeable space that formed a main street for all the tenants within, and so also allowed a place for all the tenants to interact with each other while maintaining their brand identity and private entrances on the exterior of the built facade.” Puri elaborated.

The project has achieved LEED Certified Gold status and has been recognized with the ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year award by the EPA for 11 consecutive years. It is the recipient of the 9 Foundations Healthy Buildings Optimization Program, as well as Fitwel and WiredScore certifications, emphasizing the building’s commitment to health, well-being, and digital connectivity.

The transformation is a premier example of adaptive reuse in creating spaces that honor the past while looking toward the future. “The thoughtful collaboration by the team has resulted in taking a building that could have ended up being demolished and creating a space that’s fostering a new community in Boston,” Puri concluded. With its mix of history, innovation, and sustainability, Southline Boston sets a new standard for urban redevelopment in the heart of Boston.

For more information, visit: https://beaconcapital.com/property/southline-boston