DEVELOPMENT

Charlestown concert hall scrapped

Turns out, Charlestown won’t be a concert destination after all. The developers of Hood Park along Rutherford Avenue have withdrawn plans for a 4,000-seat concert venue in the complex, saying the timing and economics won’t work. They announced the decision Tuesday night during a community meeting on the project, according to a report in the Charlestown Patriot-Bridge, and said talks with a potential operator for the theater — which would be among Boston’s largest music venues — had recently fallen through. The developers want to start work soon on the garage where the concert venue would have been located, said Mark Rosenshein, of Trademark Partners, who is running the project for Hood Park LLC, and negotiations with a concert operator were dragging on. The concert venue proposal had also generated some concern in Charlestown from residents worried about noise and traffic impacts, which could have slowed city approvals. Now Hood Park will push ahead on the five-story garage, with a public hearing scheduled for next month before the Boston Planning & Development Agency Board. The developer aims to use the ground-floor space that would have been the concert hall for some other retail operation, and will put lab space on the second floor. After that, Rosenshein said, the developer wants to build a 350,000-square-foot office building next door. And, eventually, he said, the plan is to propose taller office buildings than what’s currently allowed on the site, potentially as high as 330 feet — about 30 stories. — TIM LOGAN

PHARMACEUTICALS

Charles River Laboratories to buy Michigan company for $800 million

Charles River Laboratories International Inc., a Wilmington company that contracts with drug and medical device makers to test products in mice and rats, said Tuesday that it will pay $800 million to buy a Michigan firm that does similar work. Charles River has entered into an agreement to acquire MPI Research of Mattawan, Mich. MPI is a “contract research organization’’ that helps pharmaceutical and medical device companies that outsource some research and development. It has become increasingly common for drug makers to outsource tasks like the testing of experimental medicines in clinical trials, in part to avoid having to lay off workers if those experiments end in failure, as many do in the high-risk industry. Both Charles River and MPI are “nonclinical CROs’’ that focus on the early testing of drugs on laboratory animals, not on humans. Many drug companies view that work as too costly to do themselves. James C. Foster (above), chairman and chief executive of Charles River Labs, said that MPI was “an exceptional strategic fit for Charles River’’ and the Michigan company’s 1-million-square-foot facility “will provide needed capacity to meet current and future demand.’’ — JONATHAN SALTZMAN

HOUSING

Project for veterans in Brighton to go forward, finally

After nearly four years in the works, a project that will bring housing for veterans to Brighton is ­finally ready to start construction. Brighton Marine Health Center and WinnCompanies closed on financing Wednesday for a $43 million apartment building at its campus along Commonwealth Avenue. They’ll start site work soon and plan to formally break ground this spring on a 102-unit building aimed at lower- and middle-income veterans. It’s on track to open by the fall of 2019. The beginning of construction is the end of a yearslong process to get a project launched that involved piecing together financing and clearing hurdles on Beacon Hill. Brighton Marine and Winn, a Boston housing developer that will manage the project, filed plans with the city in 2014. The project moved smoothly through Boston Planning & Development Agency permitting, with the strong support of Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who also directed $3.7 million in city housing funding to the project. It also was in line for financing from the Baker administration until Secretary of State William Galvin — who oversees the Massachusetts Historic Commission — stepped in, raising concerns about the demolition of several old officers’ barracks on the site. Galvin said the buildings were historic, and blocked state funding. That dispute stalled the project for months before Brighton Marine and Galvin reached an agreement: Brighton Marine had to keep two of the 75-year-old brick buildings on the site, and try to sell two more, for $1 each, to someone who would agree to move them to a new home. The sales process stretched well into 2017, but ultimately no buyer came forward. — TIM LOGAN

TECHNOLOGY

Could your E-ZPass transponder be used to buy gas or food?

Your E-ZPass transponder might get you through the toll booth in a hurry, but what if it could help you breeze through the line at the gas station or restaurant drive-through in the same way? A Massachusetts company is hoping to harness the more than 32 million transponders on the roads today to create a new payment system customers could use to buy goods and services without leaving their cars. Verdeva Inc. on Tuesday announced a deal with the 16-state group that runs E-ZPass, giving the relatively unknown startup a year to develop a pilot program to use the transponders for purchases beyond the toll booths. The company is developing a product called PayByCar, with which drivers would create separate payment accounts to use at businesses that accept payments via transponder, an arrangement it says would be the first of its kind. Chief executive Kevin Condon, who at 62 is leading his first startup after a career in transportation technology and publishing, said the idea came to him while sitting in traffic one day on the Southeast Expressway. At first, he thought he could use the devices to help people access other government services — perhaps renewing their registration while waiting at a gas pump, for instance. But he said he quickly realized that the “bigger, faster opportunity was in transactions.’’ Now, after working for two years to get the E-ZPass organization onboard, the company expects to launch a pilot at a handful of gas stations soon. Verdeva is also raising money. — ANDY ROSEN

TRANSPORTATION

Logan could get a space-age international terminal

The airport is about to begin its next round of major upgrades to the busy international Terminal E, and the contractors hired for the job have come up with a wild new look for the building that evokes early Space Age design. Multinational engineering firm AECOM, along with Madrid-based luis vidal + architects, was selected by the Massachusetts Port Authority to modernize the 44-year-old international flight terminal. The team submitted a suggested design for Terminal E that shows a striking swooping roof in lipstick red and skylights in the shape of “eyelashes.’’ The Massachusetts Port Authority, which operates Logan, cautions the design is preliminary and the actual building could look different. Other images submitted by the team show a vast, airy interior with curving banks of glass letting in daylight and offering views of downtown. The south side of the roof has two arched peaks that step down to the main, flatter layer that runs the length of the terminal. The Terminal E project is part of a multiyear, $750 million infrastructure improvement plan to update and expand the spaces and services as Logan experiences a surge in international travel. About 6 million international passengers used the terminal last year through September, according to the latest Massport figures. The terminal was originally built to accommodate 1.5 million passengers. — KATHELEEN CONTI