WS Development and PSP Investments sign Amazon to 430,000 s/f in Seaport

Boston, MA WS Development, in partnership with PSP Investments, joined Amazon, mayor Martin Walsh, and governor Charlie Baker in announcing that a lease for 430,000 s/f of office space at the company’s 23-acre Seaport development has been signed with Amazon.

“We are proud to welcome Amazon to Boston’s Seaport, a neighborhood that has grown to serve forward-thinking employers, residents, and retailers and which has now become a global hub of innovation and talent” said Jeremy Sclar, president of WS Development.

“PSP Investments is pleased to join our partner WS Development in welcoming Amazon to Boston’s Seaport. Amazon’s presence will further strengthen the innovation ecosystem and creative economy in this burgeoning technology cluster” said Kristopher Wojtecki, managing director, real estate for PSP Investments.

Amazon will occupy all of the office space in the building to be constructed on Block L4 of the Seaport development, a 17-story mixed-use building designed by a collaboration of Gensler’s San Francisco and Boston offices. The building will house 2,000 Amazon employees once completed.

The 525,000 s/f building will also contain two levels of retail and will front on Harbor Sq. park, a 1.5-acre park designed by James Corner Field Operations, the landscape architect behind New York’s High Line.

WS Development expects the project to start construction later this year and be completed in 2021.

The development of the building housing Amazon’s new offices will also result in the construction of numerous district-wide transportation improvements, including new protected bicycle infrastructure, a new MBTA Silver Line headhouse at Courthouse Station, and numerous streetscape improvements throughout the Seaport that will improve district-wide mobility and the quality of the public realm in the Seaport neighborhood. The project will also fund $4.4 million dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in Boston, as well as $875,000 of funding for job training in the city, providing opportunities for Amazon to work with the city’s Workforce Development team to prepare local residents for jobs in the technology industry.

Currently the city’s single largest development project under construction, the Seaport development is transforming 23 acres of land with a y selected mix of 7.6 million s/f of residential, hotel, office, retail, entertainment, civic and cultural uses, as well as signature public open spaces. The Seaport development is already home to dozens of new retailers such as L.L. Bean, Bonobos, Warby Parker, Lululemon, Outdoor Voices, Filson, Peter Millar, and pop-up collective For Now, as well as a thriving culinary and entertainment culture. Combining the best of historic and modern-day, Seaport is becoming the national destination for technology and life sciences employers, fashion, culture, dining and entertainment, the arts, and innovation, expanding the city’s position as one of the top cities in the world. 

WS Development is a Massachusetts-based property developer and owner dedicated to the creation of places where people want to be. With more than 20 million square feet of existing space and an additional five million square feet under development, it is one of the largest privately-owned development firms in the country. In business since 1990, WS is a vertically-integrated company that develops, owns, operates, and leases over 90 properties, including urban buildings, lifestyle centers, community centers, and mixed-use developments. Its goal is to be a contributing member of each community it serves. 

The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is one of Canada's largest pension investment managers. It manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in public financial markets, private equity, real estate, infrastructure, natural resources and private debt. Established in 1999, PSP Investmentsmanages net contributions to the pension funds of the federal Public Service, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force. Headquartered in Ottawa, PSP Investments has its principal business office in Montréal and offices in New York and London.