Dual-Branded Hotel Coming to Boston’s Seaport District

By Veronica Grecu

Marine Wharf – Boston

Boston—A local developer has big plans for a long-time vacant lot in the South Boston Seaport neighborhood. Just a few months after filing plans with the Boston Planning and Development Agency for a new hotel project, Harbinger Development received approval to build the 15-story building that will add 411 rooms to this part of the city.

Construction at Marine Wharf will begin in the spring of 2017, with an anticipated opening date set for early 2019. The 320,000-square-foot structure will be developed on a vacant industrial site located at 660 Summer St., between Drydock Avenue and the Reserved Channel. Harbinger was granted development rights for the 1.17-acre parcel by Boston’s Economic Development and Industrial Corp., and will lease the site for 99 years.

Designed by a team of Perkins + Will architects led by Robert Brown, the $156 million dual-branded hotel will include a 245-key Hampton Inn and a 166-key Homewood Suites that will add much-needed accommodation options for visitors bound for events in the convention district. The LEED-certifiable building will offer 3,500 of retail space, as well as approximately 19,300 square feet of amenities such as an outdoor terrace, fitness center a covered pool, 16,000 square feet of meeting areas, and a 500-seat restaurant.

The two hotels at Marine Wharf will share elevators, as well as check-in areas on the first floor and a lounge on the third floor. The hotel building will also include a 75 parking spaces located in a second-floor garage, accessed from the hotel courtyard.

With hotel rates in Boston floating at record highs and demand for rooms still strong, the Marina Wharf hotels are expected to collect more than $250 per room per night.

“We are thrilled to move our Marine Wharf project forward to the next phase and to construction,” said O’Marah, owner of Harbinger Development, in prepared remarks. “Marine Wharf will create a dynamic gateway development that complements the area, as we have achieved a beautiful plan evoking the Marine Park and Cruiseport Boston and strategically ties into Summer Street and the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.”