Project Overview
In response to a call from the City Manager and in consultation with the City of Cambridge and the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority (CRA), BXP worked with the City and Eversource to provide an alternative site for the proposed Eversource substation, on the site of the Blue Garage in Parcel Two of the Kendall Square Urban Renewal Plan (KSURP), located between Binney Street, Galileo Galilei Way, and Broadway.
BXP completed the necessary permitting and enabling work in 2022 and finished demolition of the Blue Garage in early 2023. Slurry wall and foundations were installed through 2023 and 2024, and 290 Binney topped off steel and was enclosed by the end of 2024. 290 Binney will be completed in summer 2026.
The design review of the new public plaza was completed in November 2025, and construction will start in 2029. Eversource received regulatory approvals for the substation, and will continue to work through the challenging technical design of the substation and high voltage access routes. Construction of the ductbanks has begun in and around Kendall Square and Cambridge. Mass excavation for the substation is expected to be complete in early 2026.
The current project includes:
- Providing a site for the substation and needed distribution infrastructure
- Demolition and reconstruction of the Blue Garage below grade
- Completion of 420,000 SF of housing development maintaining the commitment to 25% below market rate housing
- Construction of two new 400,000 SF commercial buildings
- Creation of new open space and circulation connections
- Enhancements to onsite and nearby open spaces
Construction Updates:
- Mass excavation is substantially complete at the substation site.
- 290 Binney’s interior fitout is ongoing and the building will be completed in summer 2026
- The residential project will be topped off in 2026 and interior construction is ongoing.
