WS Development’s One Boston Wharf to achieve Net Zero Carbon status - 630,000 s/f of office space; leased to Amazon

Boston, MA According to WS Development, the company’s One Boston Wharf Rd. project will achieve Net Zero Carbon status for the operation of its 630,000 s/f of office space, making it the city’s largest Net Zero Carbon facility.

“We are proud to deliver a building for Amazon that we all hope will serve as a model for a more sustainable and verdant future for the city we love,” said Yanni Tsipis, senior vice president at WS Development, who leads the Seaport project. “This commitment speaks directly to the city of Boston’s and the Commonwealth’s carbon neutrality goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from this project by more than 90% below code requirements.”

The announcement follows January’s news of Amazon’s decision to lease the entirety of the office space within the building, creating a total footprint of more than 1 million s/f, within WS Development’s 33-acre Seaport development. WS Development will achieve the Net Zero Carbon status for the building’s operations by eliminating fossil fuel-fired heating and hot water systems and by sourcing all of its electric power, once completed, from newly developed renewable sources.

The steps taken by One Boston Wharf Rd. will reduce the overall building’s greenhouse gas emissions by 90.1% below the state’s already stringent Stretch Energy Code requirements and eliminate 5.1 million pounds of CO₂ emissions annually.

The project represents a commitment by Amazon to continue to grow its workforce in the area and create 3,000 tech and corporate jobs over the next several years, including growth in the Alexa, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon Robotics, and Amazon Pharmacy teams. One Boston Wharf Rd., is a 17-story, 707,000 s/f, mixed-use building designed by Henning Larsen architects of Copenhagen, Denmark.

One Boston Wharf Rd. is Amazon’s second full-building lease in the Seaport, joining 111 Harbor Way, a 525,000 s/f building now under construction by WS Development, which will be completed later this year and provide space for 2,000 Amazon corporate and tech employees. Both buildings are situated along Harbor Way, a new pedestrian pathway designed by James Corner Field Operations, that will connect Summer St. to the water’s edge as well as provide further public green space, including a 1.5 acre park that will open later this year.

One Boston Wharf Rd. will also contain ground floor retail space and a new performing arts center, comprising two live performance venues of 500 and 100 seats, respectively, which together will add significant capacity for the performing arts in the city.

Construction will commence later this year with completion in 2024.