The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA) has selected Colliers International to market and sell the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center in Boston.
The sale of the Hynes will be a complex, high-profile transaction that the MCCA anticipates will draw global interest. The 5.8-acre site is in Boston’s historic Back Bay neighbourhood. Colliers has assembled an experienced team with a deep understanding of the Boston market. “We appreciated, and were impressed by, the talent and diversity of the team Colliers’ assembled for this project,” said David Gibbons, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.
“We are proud to be selected to advise the MCCA on the redevelopment of the Hynes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a new vision for this multi-dimensional asset in the Back Bay,” said Frank Petz, Colliers International, Managing Director of Investment Sales.
The sale of the Hynes, approved by the MCCA’s board of directors on 19 September, is designed to finance, in part, the expansion of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in South Boston, as well as transfer approximately 12 acres not needed for BCEC expansion back to the City of Boston.
A bill to approve the deal was filed on 21 October and is currently under consideration by the Massachusetts Legislature.
As a venue, the Hynes continues to underperform with annual occupancy rates of around 40% as customers choose the newer and larger BCEC for their Boston events.
It has been estimated that, to maintain the Hynes in its current condition, will cost the MCCA US$200m over the next decade to merely stand still, at a time when the convention marketplace is transitioning. The MCCA owns and oversees the operations of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center and the MassMutual Center in Springfield, MA.
