Southline is the repositioning of a three-story office and industrial building – the 16.6-acre former Boston Globe headquarters at 125 Morrissey Boulevard. TThe 700,000 square meter renovation is now a modern center for creative offices. Laboratory and retail applications.
It includes 360,000 square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of flex/industrial space, retail, 100,000 square feet of laboratory space, a 10,000 square foot fitness center, a 100-seat restaurant and a microbrewery with an outdoor beer garden. There are also 868 parking spaces and more than 200 bicycle parking spaces available on site. A multi-story atrium creates a central meeting point with a food hall and communal meeting/gathering spaces. Southline aims to attract tenants that will spur growth in the life sciences, high-tech manufacturing and technology sectors.
The project's biggest challenge was that the 700,000 square foot building is sandwiched between major highways, requiring the team to exceed the project budget and planning to create a sustainable and welcoming community. Southline Boston has reached LEED Core and Shell Silver certification, with a significant part of points created by diverting over 90% of the building structure and mass from waste streams. Pattens Cove also contributed to certification through improvements to its location and connectivity, including improved multimodal pathways connecting neighborhoods and transit lines, as well as management of neighboring parkland.
beacon remains is committed to Southline Fitwel Certification, supporting local businesses such as Craft Food Hall, an emerging restaurant concept offering healthy foods, and Downtown Weightlifting, a fitness operator with a social justice and inclusion-based business that supports those re-entering society.
A healthy indoor climate quality is a high priority. Real-time IAQ monitoring shows that Southline Boston's air pollutant levels were 17% and 45% lower than typical commercial office buildings in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Annual water sampling based on Harvard University's 9 Foundations research framework shows Southline Boston performing nine points above the average Healthy Building Benchmark of over 1,000 buildings.
In the construction team:
Owner/Developer: Nordblom Company, Beacon Capital Partners
Architect: Stantec
Structural engineer: McNamara | Salvia
Civil engineering: Howard Stein Hudson
MEP English: BR+A Consulting Engineers
Landscape architect: Copley Wolff
General contractor: John Moriarty + Associates