BPDA Board Unanimously Approves Dana-Farber Cancer Hospital and BU Academic Tower

BOSTON -- June 12, 2025, The BPDA Board voted unanimously Thursday to approve two major institutional projects, clearing the path for a new 300-bed cancer hospital in the Longwood Medical Area and a 12-story mass timber academic building for Boston University. The One Jocelyn Place cancer hospital, a joint project of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will occupy approximately 450,000 square feet at 14 stories, include two pedestrian skybridge connectors linking the two campuses, reconstruct Jocelyn Park, and deliver just over $21 million in community mitigation benefits. Wendy Gettleman, Dana-Farber's vice president of facilities management, cited CDC projections showing a 49 percent rise in cancer cases by 2050, and multiple cancer survivors testified that bed shortages had already delayed their care. The BU Pardee School of Global Studies building at 250 Bay State Road, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, will convert a surface parking lot into a 70,000-square-foot LEED Gold-targeted tower with a construction start now planned for May 2027. Director Arthur Shen reported that all projects approved at the meeting carry a combined development cost of approximately $1.7 billion.