Vacant Lincoln Street 'telecom hotel' now up for sale

BostonHerald.com - Real Estate News: Vacant Allston 'telecom hotel' now up for sale
The shiny but vacant building has for years hulked over the Massachusetts Turnpike in Allston, the only sign of life a rotating series of banners advertising its availability.

But the development that once aspired to become Boston Internet City is finally poised to retire an embarrassing title as the real estate market’s biggest - and longest reigning - white elephant.

After years of struggling to find a telecom and then a lab company to rent the 450,000 square-foot building, owner Cabot, Cabot & Forbes of New England is shifting gears.

Instead of renting, the firm has put the striking but empty complex on the market.

And the $21 million asking price - which comes after the developer sunk at least $65 million into the would-be tech mecca - has sparked a flurry of bids from buyers sensing a bargain.

“We would probably bring it (the sales process) to a head by the end of the month,” said Ed Maher, executive director at Cushman & Wakefield, the commercial real estate firm marketing the property.