Oxford Properties completes repositioning of 125 Summer Street

125 Summer Street - Boston, MA

Boston, MA The number 125 shines large on the edge of the Rose Kennedy Greenway’s Dewey Sq. parcel, a visual representation of Oxford Properties’ repositioning of 125 Summer St. in downtown. Over the last year, Oxford has transformed the ground floor of 125 Summer, which until now had its back turned on the Greenway, one of the city’s most beautiful assets. Now that the redevelopment is complete, a grand front entrance welcomes all Bostonians, from office workers to commuters to pedestrians, to the 500,000 s/f building. The front entrance is just one part of the larger transformation, which also includes an evolution of amenity spaces and uses for tenants and the local community. Oxford has applied lessons learned from its 50 years of experience and its global portfolio to rethink the ways 125 Summer engages with its customers and neighborhood. The building has a variety of new spaces and amenities to fit the ways people want to work and live both today, and into the future.

Oxford seized the opportunity to embrace the Greenway, and collaborated with neighbors and partners including the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, the Downtown Boston Improvement District (BID) and many tenants and customers. The result of the collaboration is a vibrant and visible entrance for 125 Summer surrounded by a redesigned public plaza with tables and seasonal Adirondack chairs that will all serve as an extension of the Greenway.

125 Summer Street - Boston, MA

“The Rose Kennedy Greenway has changed the dynamic of our city in a powerful way, providing an opportunity for select front doors to open onto the park and a real community feeling to build. Working with our community partners at the Greenway and the Downtown Crossing BID, we have created a true third space for clients and guests with great light and air as well as direct access for pedestrians moving from South Station toward the park,” said Chad Remis, head of Oxford’s Boston office.

“The building has an incredible location, but it was hidden in plain sight.  With changes that were remnants of the ‘Big Dig’ impacting pedestrian and vehicular patterns, the decision to create a singular and clear entry fronting the existing plaza was obvious,” said Larry Grossman, senior principal in charge, Stantec.  “Our goal was to provide visibility and transparency to the lobby, making it welcoming and integrating the indoors and outdoors.”

With over 1 million people a day walking through the doors of Oxford building’s globally, the company understands that both employers and employees have evolved to want – and need – more flexible and dynamic work environments. Customer experience is more important than ever, and was a significant factor influencing the redevelopment of 125 Summer. The main entrance now houses bright and airy spaces with lounge areas for planned or impromptu meetings and collaboration. In addition, within the coming year, the ground floor will have additional retail and a new restaurant for the area.

Oxford entered the city’s market in 2014 and is now the second largest property owner-operator in the city with seven buildings totaling over 4 million s/f.

In addition to 125 Summer Street, Oxford’s other Boston assets include: 222 Berkeley Street, 500 Boylston Street, 60 State Street, 745 Atlantic Avenue and 225 Franklin Street, along with One Memorial Drive in Cambridge.

Oxford Properties Group is a global platform for real estate investment, development and management, with approximately 2,000 employees and over $40 billion of real estate assets that it manages for itself and on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners. Established in 1960, Oxford was acquired in 2001 by OMERS, one of Canada's largest pension funds with over $77 billion in assets. Oxford has multiple global regional offices, each with investment, development and management professionals who have deep real estate expertise and local market insight.