61 N. Beacon St

61 North Beacon Street

NOW LEASING!

14,000 - 28,000 Office/R&D/Flex Space

Completely renovated; delivering in 2018
Third & fourth floors available; 14,000 SF/floor
New tenant entrance with lobby
Passenger elevator
Heavy-duty freight elevator (8,500 lbs capacity)
12’ ceiling height
Heavy load‐bearing floor capacity

CONTACT:
Mark Reardon, 617-912-7046,  mark.reardon@cbre-ne.com
Alex Plaisted, 617-912-7057,  alex.plaisted@cbre-ne.com
Matt Furey, 617-912-6973,  matthew.furey@cbre-ne.com

2,200 SF Retail

Street level corner endcap
Over 50 feet of glass frontage
Potential outdoor patio

CONTACT:
Rob Robledo, 617-912-6869, rob.robledo@cbre-ne.com
Roberto Cordero, 617-912-6818, roberto.cordero@ cbre-ne.com

61 North Beacon Street is a 71,000 SF, 5-story brick building, built in 1925 as the New England regional headquarters for International Harvester - company that produced heavy vehicles and farm equipment. Beginning in the 1980’s, it also served as the world headquarters for New Balance, prior to their new headquarters located on Guest Street. 61 N. Beacon features an attractive, red brick facade with original architectural details such as stone lintels, cornice, and arched windows, but nonetheless, it is badly in need of upgrades. The building has a large parking lot on the eastern side, and is located just east of Boston Volvo at 75 N. Beacon.

Village Automotive Group is proposing an adaptive-reuse of 61 N. Beacon Street to create a mixed-use building which will house the relocated Boston Volvo dealership. The new location will include service write-up area on the basement level (accessed through the rear of the building), main showroom on street level with an additional showroom space on the second floor. The existing service facility at 75 N. Beacon Street will remain where it is currently. A space within the building’s first floor has been set aside for a neighborhood-scale, small retail area which we anticipate will house a small eatery or other local retail establishment. Floors 3 and 4 will continue to house tenants’ space for office or other commercial uses.

To maximize efficient access, the project will include the demolition of a single-story brick warehouse located directly behind and adjacent to 61 N. Beacon. This will result in a net reduction of 6,391 square feet of total building space on the lot.

Since the project entails relocating the existing dealership from the adjacent parcel, there are no anticipated changes in traffic patterns. We are looking forward to creating a modern, urban dealership that will allow us to upgrade a tired building with wonderful history, while also retaining the 89 jobs presently housed at Boston Volvo Village. Boston's Auto Mile is an important part of the area's legacy, a tradition Village Automotive has been proud to continue for the past 27 years.

Project Fact Sheet - click to enlarge.

Click images below to enlarge.

Public Process

Click titles below for more information.

Allston Civic Association Executive CoMmittee - 11/09/16

No
flyer
available.

Allston Civic Association
presentation from
11/09/16
(.PDF format)

Neighborhood Meeting - 11/15/16

Neighborhood Meeting
presentation from
11/15/16
(.PDF format)

Allston Civic Association - 11/16/16

Allston Civic Association
presentation from
11/16/16
(.PDF format)

Brighton-Allston Improvement Association - 12/01/16

Brighton-Allston Improvement Association presentation from
12/01/16
(.PDF format)

ISD-Board of Appeals - Jan/Feb 2017

ISD-Board of Appeals Flyer

01/24/17

ISD-Board of Appeals Decision

02/13/17
(.PDF format)

Construction Groundbreaking - 05/08/17

Groundbreaking
Invite

05/08/17

Historical Significance

The International Harvester building is important to Allston in many ways. It is architecturally and historically significant for its associations with the early twentieth-century development of Allston-Brighton. This area has significant, historical associations with Boston's early twentieth-century automobile industry and is part of its larger Auto-Mile heritage. The project will return this historic commercial building back to its original use - as an automobile showroom.

For context on the importance of Boston’s Auto-Mile, the Brighton-Allston Historical Society writes:

"The headquarters of the auto industry in Boston for over a half-century was the Auto-Mile. By 1929, no less than 117 automobile-related businesses flooded the area. Even at the depths of the economic turndown, the Auto-Mile was home to no less than 54 car dealerships. Truck dealerships also located in the general area, tending to cluster at the western end of the district. By 1932, some seven truck dealerships had taken up residence on North Beacon Street, west of Union Square, including the Mack Motor Truck Company, the General Motors Truck Company, and the International Harvester Company of America.

The Auto Mile went into rapid decline in the late 1970s as many dealers moved their establishments to more accessible suburban locations. While there were still 21 dealerships in the general area as late as 1975, by 1981 only 11 remained. The Packard Motor Company building has been converted to condominiums. The neighboring Oste Chevrolet building has become a Star Market. While a handful of auto dealerships still inhabit the Commonwealth and Brighton Avenue strip, they are but a pale reflection of the auto sales industry that once lined Boston’s thriving Auto-Mile."

The Wisconsin Historical Society has some great images of the building on their site, from the McCormick glass negative collection.

Click images below to visit their page & read more about each image.

Boston Branch House | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society
Exterior view of an International Harvester Company branch building. Large show windows line the first floor along the sidewalk. A large electric sign on the roof reads, "International Harvester Motor Trucks" and street railroad tracks run down the street. Residential houses are in the far background.

Snowy Street Under International Harvester Truck Sign | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society
Cars and houses along a snowy street as seen from under a neon "International Harvester Trucks" sign. Image ID: 10381 McCormick Glass Negative Series. This image is issued by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Division of Library-Archives.

IH Boston Branch House Showroom | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society
McCormick-Deering tractors, plows, and other agricultural implements are arranged on display in a showroom. A sign advertising cream separators hangs on the wall, reading "McCormick-Deering Primrose Separators. Good equipment makes a good farmer better." Image ID: 84232 This image is issued by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Boston General Line Branch | Photograph | Wisconsin Historical Society
Two well-dressed men are standing outdoors among Farmall tractors which are loaded on railroad cars. Original caption reads: "M.E. Merseran, manager, and H.W. Martin, assistant manager, Boston general line branch." Image ID: 58888 This image is issued by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Use of the image requires written permission from the staff of the Division of Library-Archives.

Click advertisements below to enlarge.