Kendall Capital has proposed converting the Brutalist office tower at 133 Federal Street in downtown Boston into 155 apartments, mostly studios, according to Bisnow and filings summarized by the Boston Planning Department. The 133 Federal Street conversion would join a growing pipeline of downtown office-to-housing projects under the city’s tax incentive program.
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133 Federal Street Conversion: The Proposal
Bisnow reported on Sept. 28, 2026, that the roughly 155,000-square-foot, 12-story building would be financed in part through historic tax credits. Kendall Capital manager Mai Luo bought the property for almost $16 million in December 2025 from Natick-based B.E. Realist LP, which had acquired it for $6 million in 1994, according to Bisnow’s account of public records. Luo estimates construction could take 16 to 24 months once underway, Banker & Tradesman reported via Bisnow.
Hoodline, citing the same reporting on Sept. 29, said the apartments would be largely studios with projected monthly rents between $2,500 and $4,500.
Landmark Status and Paul Rudolph Design
The Boston Landmarks Commission certified the former Blue Cross-Blue Shield Building as a landmark in 2024, Bisnow reported. The tower was completed in 1960 and designed by architect Paul Rudolph. Landmark status means exterior changes face stricter review even as the interior is reworked for housing.
Hoodline, citing Docomomo US, noted that Rudolph’s design moved structural supports to an exterior concrete frame, leaving floor plates relatively free of columns—an attribute developers often cite as helpful for residential layouts compared with deep office floor plates.
Boston’s Broader Office Conversion Pipeline
Bisnow reported the city’s conversion program has fielded 28 applications totaling about 2,420 proposed units and 2.1 million square feet of commercial space. As of August 2026, only one project had completed construction, Bisnow said—a 15-unit conversion at 281 Franklin Street that welcomed tenants in mid-2025, according to Hoodline’s summary of city figures.
Other large proposals Bisnow listed include Vanbarton Group’s 476-unit plan at 31 St. James Street in Back Bay, Synergy’s 258-unit plan at 294 Washington Street, and Mahoney Development’s 169-unit plan at 50 Congress Street.
Our Take: Conversion Ambition Meets Execution Gap
This section is The Boston Report’s analysis and opinion, separate from the sourced reporting above.
Our read is that 133 Federal Street is another data point in downtown’s shift from empty offices toward housing, but the city’s own pipeline numbers show how hard these deals are to finish. Landmark rules and tax-credit financing can help a Rudolph building pencil out—yet with only one completed conversion so far against dozens of applications, residents should treat unit counts and rent bands as plans, not guarantees. For related downtown real estate pressure, see our report on the 100 Summer Street foreclosure auction and city tools aimed at stalled housing such as targeted housing tax abatements.
Related coverage: Brutalist 133 Federal St. Apartment Conversion Goes to Landmarks Commission Oct. 27
Sources
Background: The Paul Rudolph-designed tower is 12 stories and about 155,000 square feet. Bisnow and Connect CRE reported that the plan calls for 118 studios and would rely on historic tax credits, with construction projected to take 16 to 24 months. The project is still a filed proposal and has not been approved.
Sources
- Bisnow: Downtown office building proposed for 155-unit conversion
- Boston Planning: 133 Federal Street project page
- Hoodline: Paul Rudolph's Brutalist tower set for 155 apartments
- Connect CRE: Plans filed for 155-unit conversion
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