Hotter than Tabasco sauce: the Boston RE market

I figured this is the best place to put this article:

Suffolk’s John Fish expects construction slowdown in ’14

When it comes to commercial construction in the Hub, 2013 could set a record with $5.7 billion worth of projects coming out of the ground in the city’s downtown neighborhoods. But next year it could be a whole different story.

John Fish, Suffolk Construction’s CEO, said he expects approvals to ground to a halt next year as the city swears in a new mayor, five new city councilors and a new Boston Redevelopment Authority director takes over from Peter Meade.

“All these changes mean one thing: lots of paralysis,” Fish told the Boston Business Journal. “There will be a void in leadership in the city come January with all new people coming into office. We had a strong mayor for 20 years and that job is overwhelming, certainly for first six months as the new mayor gets their sea legs. We need to be sensitive to the fact that we may have a substantial slow down when you don’t have leadership.”

Fish has stake in construction. As we reported last week in “The Suffolk Juggernaut,” of the city’s 53 major projects from South Boston to the Longwood Medical Area in the Hub’s $5.7 billion pipeline, Suffolk Construction is building 13 of them totaling nearly $3 billion.

Suffolk has topped the list of the region’s largest general contractors in annual surveys by the Boston Business Journal for the last 10 years. In 2012, the Boston-based company led work on $1.5 billion worth of construction projects. The company is on pace to reach $2.1 billion in volume this year, a 40 percent increase.
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Boston Business Journal

It sounds like he agrees with what many people here believe...Menino's impending departure has developers racing to get their projects through the approvals process. It'll be interesting to see how significant a slow down there actually is come the new year.
 
I don't think there is going to be a construction slowdown at all. In fact, I think we will finally see a pick-up in terms of actual significant projects breaking ground.

The slowdown will be in the proposal/approval process. However, as far as I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong), if projects get approved before then, they're good to go. The level of construction in the next few years should keep even the most ardent fans of height appeased until, say, 2025.
 
How will the change in power affect development? I think the majority of candidates (11 out of 12) aren't sophisticated enough to know what's good or bad for the city.

Of course, this could be good or bad if the BRA assumes more control over development approvals.
 
Out of curiosity, whom do you think is sophisticated enough?
 
Who's the 1 candidate who is sufficiently sophisticated?
 
BosDevelop said:
I am going to take a guess that he was referring to Michael Ross, by far the most pro-development of the candidates.
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Interesting that you keep throwing that around because I have found that to not be very true based on the project meetings that I go to. I think the Northeastern IMP minutes are a great example. He showed up without notice, mandated that he have as much of the floor as the appointed community delegates and then completely thwarted the agenda with misinformation that was discussed weeks beforehand.
 
From the Globe: This should be interesting. Hopefully this can enable more pro-development voices to be heard and not just the nimbys that have nothing to do on tuesday afternoons. I hope everyone that comments has to put their name and address and that it is check out so that we can get a true picture of the residents of Boston. An enterprising mayor or developer should then get young people and urbanists to sign up. Then we can change the development tone.

(Boston Redevelopment Authority)
A sample page of the new website design.
By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

The Boston Redevelopment Authority plans to launch a new website this fall that will allow residents to more closely track and comment on planning initiatives and proposed projects.

At a recent authority board meeting, Andrew Grace, a senior planner for the agency told the board that the new site, expected to launch in mid-October, will have a “beautiful design.”

“The look and feel is radically different,” he told the board. The site will be “easy to use with a graphic emphasis and focus … It will improve the user experience.”

At the July 14 meeting, the board unanimously approved a request for another $50,000 to fund the new website, bringing the total budget for the effort to $290,000.

“We’re making great progress,” Grace said at the time.

The authority formally announced the new site’s upcoming launch last week, saying that the project is in the “final stages.”

“The new site will feature an engaging contemporary design and user-friendly navigation to give constituents quick access to a variety of documents and interactive elements,” the announcement said.

New features will allow users to buy copies of maps and other documents, including requests for bids, requests for proposals and requests for quotations.

Users will also be able to submit comments on planning initiatives and proposed projects and to track the status of planning initiatives and proposed projects.

Scanned copies of archived paper documents will be uploaded to the site.

“More public documents will be accessible online, offering visitors easy navigation to BRA Board agendas and videos, zoning maps, Article 80 filings, planning documents, and research reports,” the authority said. “All of these efforts will make the BRA even more accessible and transparent.”

At the meeting in mid-July, Grace also said the new site will also allow users to sign up for event alerts and other notifications. And, he said, the site will have a glossary that will define certain words and terms for users.

The project is being led by Charlestown-based Boston Interactive, which the authority picked through a public request for proposals process.

The authority said the company has based much of the new design on feedback collected from constituents who expect to use the new site.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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choo said:
From the Globe: This should be interesting. Hopefully this can enable more pro-development voices to be heard and not just the nimbys that have nothing to do on tuesday afternoons. I hope everyone that comments has to put their name and address and that it is check out so that we can get a true picture of the residents of Boston. An enterprising mayor or developer should then get young people and urbanists to sign up. Then we can change the development tone.
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Wow, that is awfully optimistic don't you think? I believe very few people who have anything positive to say will bother posting and this will be a NIMBY playground. Trying to be a voice of reason on this site will be tougher than the Herald's online comments. We'll be drowned out by the hysteria.

Its great for development geeks like us to have better access to plans and proposal, but it is seriously bad news to give NIMBYs better access to each other.
 
I should have put more emphasis on 'Hopefully' but I agree it is a little dreamy for the world of internet comments. Hopefully a registration of people will limit abuse, and its accessibility should enable more pro-development people to have a voice, assuming they are underrepresented at meetings and normal comment periods.
 
There's nothing stopping you from writing an e-mail comment letter and having it incorporated into the public record currently.
 
kelleychri said:
Interesting that you keep throwing that around because I have found that to not be very true based on the project meetings that I go to. I think the Northeastern IMP minutes are a great example. He showed up without notice, mandated that he have as much of the floor as the appointed community delegates and then completely thwarted the agenda with misinformation that was discussed weeks beforehand.
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Not sure what you mean by "keep throwing that around." In the 7 years I have been a member of this forum, I have never once posted a single word about Ross.
 
In my opinion Ross would not be the most pro development of all the candidates. He's a decent, reasonable guy, but I'm not sure he is ready to change the way business is done in Boston. He is an appeaser. Marty Walsh is a union guy, which means he likes construction jobs. Ergo, he might approve every last skyscraper that crosses his desk. But for my money, John Connolly is the most sophisticated and sensible of the bunch. I think he understands the issues and the challenges. I spoke with Dan Conley about the issue. Nice guy, but he admitted that he doesn't know much about development.
 
Definitely not my good friend Mike Ross who I have never agreed with on anything he's ever said. He's been wrong on Mission Hill development, wrong on pushing back Northeastern, wrong on selling out the Boston Common, etc.

Unfortunately, I can't remember who I meant! I have been a strong Connolly supporter. He has reached out to downtown Boston neighborhoods and I think he listens. Even he will have a learning curve, though.

Marty Walsh should know his way around construction and development due to his work with the unions. I'm not a union guy though and fear he'll put jobs ahead of logic. (He supports the casino, of course, which is going to rape our city of jobs and safety.)

Bill Walczak is the guy to watch! He's run a business, he knows neighborhoods, and he's against the casino.
 
So you're against New York style improvements to the Common? Have you visited Bryant Park or Madison Square Park? I don't know how anybody could visit those spaces, then look at Boston Common and say, 'screw that, we don't need that here'
 
Sorry, by "selling out the Common" are you referring to the small, unobtrusive sandwich stand occupying a former unused, falling down bathroom?
 
Yes and Yes.

Due to the historic nature of the Boston Common, and its deed which forbids any permanent commercial ventures (without approval by the state legislature), it should remain clear of any of this sort of crap.

Charging for use of the Frog Pond is also wrong.
 
JohnAKeith said:
He supports the casino, of course, which is going to rape our city of jobs and safety.)
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LOL at a casino at Suffolk Downs having a significant impact on crime statistic in the City of Boston. That's just page 1 from the Anti-Casino handbook. A one off, high end, destination casino with $10 minimum blackjack tables during the week and $20 on the weekend does not bring with it a significant increase in violent crime. Will there be an uptick in prostitution and the occasional alcohol induced fight? Probably. But no more so than if you turned Suffolk Downs in a non-casino entertainment destination.
 
JohnAKeith said:
and he's against the casino.
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Perhaps because his mom and aunt were gambling addicts.

Hey, I had an uncle who was an alcoholic. No alcohol for anyone!!!

I also had a cousin who died from lung cancer. No cigarettes for anyone!!!

I had a friend who lost all his money in the stock market. Shut down the exchange!!!
 
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