Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey has announced a new direction for the Charles F. Hurley and Erich Lindemann Buildings, known colloquially as Boston Government Service Center (BGSC). The Brutalist superblock in downtown Boston was completed in 1971 by Paul Rudolph.
Instead of state office space and life sciences laboratory facilities, as envisioned in the previous RFP from 2022, the Healey administration wants BGSC to be affordable housing. Governor Healey and the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) are currently seeking a private developer to partner with for the project.
BGSC is one of three projects by Rudolph in Boston. Its redevelopment comes after a long campaign by preservationists to save it from demolition. City officials first announced their interest in tearing the complex down in 2020. Chris Grimley, co-author of Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston, outlined the superblock’s significance for AN in 2022, and made the case for its salvation.
The recent decision was applauded by housing advocates such as Chrystal Kornegay, CEO of MassHousing. “This new planning process will address our state’s housing crisis, by delivering new partnerships that unlock housing production on a key state-owned parcel. We commend the Governor and her team for their leadership on this important issue,” Kornegay said.
Building a 24-Hour Neighborhood
Residential use is a better fit for the Charles F. Hurley and Erich Lindemann buildings, state officials believe, because demand for affordable housing is much higher than it is for office and labs space.
After Covid-19, demand for office space in Boston is at an all-time low. So much so, the city of Boston recently launched a pilot program that incentivizes developers to transform vacant office buildings into housing.
The injection of copious housing (and residents) into the Rudolph superblock could transform Government Center into a 24-hour neighborhood—something it hasn’t been since urban renewal and the demolition of Scollay Square in 1963 under Ed Logue.
In recent years, the city of Boston has done much to populate the neighborhood with activities and preserve its Brutalist heritage. Much to the delight of preservationists, Mayor Michelle Wu is an avowed fan of Brutalism. Under her reign, the plaza outside Boston City Hall—home to the internet-famous cop slide—was recently renovated.
Moving forward, the Governor’s office and city of Boston will release a new RFP for the Charles F. Hurley and Erich Lindemann Buildings redevelopment in the months ahead.
The Healey administration’s announcement comes not long after Rudolph’s Blue Cross – Blue Shield building, also in downtown Boston, was landmarked, rescuing it from demolition.
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