General Electric HQ (Necco Buildings Reno) | 5 Necco Street | Fort Point

Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

^ Great analysis - I agree completely. Thanks for writing it out.

I think the other thing this site says about the Seaport is that rail transit still matters. With all the vacant lots under consideration deeper in the "new" Seaport, Fort Point is still more attractive to GE - I'm guessing - in large part because it's a bridge away from the Red Line, CR, and Amtrak. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this could really be a wake-up call about the insufficiency of the Silver Line.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Shepard said:
^ Great analysis - I agree completely. Thanks for writing it out.

I think the other thing this site says about the Seaport is that rail transit still matters. With all the vacant lots under consideration deeper in the "new" Seaport, Fort Point is still more attractive to GE - I'm guessing - in large part because it's a bridge away from the Red Line, CR, and Amtrak. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this could really be a wake-up call about the insufficiency of the Silver Line.
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Shep -- I don't think its necessarily long distance rail that makes South Station an attractor -- remember that the now "olde GE HQe" was located near to Metro North

But I think both you and Shmessy are on to some key points about what GE is trying to achieve in re-inventing itself
see for example:
as Bill Ruh has said -- GE wants to create a "Digital Foundry" where GE and its "keiretsu" of technology partners can build "software prototypes" of full-scale industrial, health care and transportation systems

The location on the Fort Point Channel with the existing building and the vacant space behind it is the ideal location for the keiretsu's HQ building -- a nice curving glass tower sitting behind and atop the old building with a "big glass roofed barn-like space behind it

A key further element besides fixing Dorchester Ave for vehicles and pedestrians is to build an elegant pedestrian footbridge over the Fort Point Chanel to Dorchester Ave just behind GE

This should be a nice architectural statement ala the ped bridge over the tracks in Charlestown or the double helix in Singapore to reinforce the importance of the link across the channel to the newly expanding South Station Complex

Of course we are already hearing how the planners have promised this land for artists and housing in the already obsolete so-called "100 acre plan" -- typical planners -- fighting the war of two wars ago
 
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Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Shepard said:
^ Great analysis - I agree completely. Thanks for writing it out.

I think the other thing this site says about the Seaport is that rail transit still matters. With all the vacant lots under consideration deeper in the "new" Seaport, Fort Point is still more attractive to GE - I'm guessing - in large part because it's a bridge away from the Red Line, CR, and Amtrak. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but this could really be a wake-up call about the insufficiency of the Silver Line.
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I agree, the Silver Line is woefully insufficient.

I defer to F-Line and others to address that very important point (in other forums/threads where they are doing an excellent job of it) - - - along with the need for the North-South Stations link, etc.

That is the quandary that overhangs all of this. Boston/Cambridge is literally constructing a top-heavy house of cards (Building Boom) on a weak foundation (the overloaded, insufficient and in-the-red transportation system)) if the T is not fixed financially, upgraded and expanded.

Sadly, the finances don't seem to offer much hope in that way.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

shmessy said:
I agree, the Silver Line is woefully insufficient.

I defer to F-Line and others to address that very important point (in other forums/threads where they are doing an excellent job of it) - - - along with the need for the North-South Stations link, etc.

That is the quandary that overhangs all of this. Boston/Cambridge is literally constructing a top-heavy house of cards (Building Boom) on a weak foundation (the overloaded, insufficient and in-the-red transportation system)) if the T is not fixed financially, upgraded and expanded.

Sadly, the finances don't seem to offer much hope in that way.
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Shmessy -- not so much inadequate as mired in too much cross-purposes bureaucracy between the T, the rest of DOT and homeland security-types

some simple Fixes:
  • build the under D St.
  • add the direct connect to Ted Williams Tunnel
  • add the capability for a completely unimpeded by surface traffic loop between SL Way to South Station
and the core of the Silver Line will be much improved

Later more can be done in manner similar to SL in Chelsea to connect the area to future development in Widett Circle area and area around the Reserve Channel

All these are eminently doable without spending enormous amounts on digging and trying to link to existing Subway Tunnels
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

fattony said:
:confused:

Um, the post office is a blight where it is. Waterfront property in downtown...
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Sure, but you could say the same about the proposed new waterfront location. Either way it would be a monumental waste of taxpayer money to move it a few blocks just to improve GE's view. And there is no business case. It will happen when Feds want to print more money during the next recession to waste on busy work. Might be sooner than later.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

tangent said:
Sure, but you could say the same about the proposed new waterfront location. Either way it would be a monumental waste of taxpayer money to move it a few blocks just to improve GE's view. And there is no business case. It will happen when Feds want to print more money during the next recession to waste on busy work. Might be sooner than later.
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The reason to move the USPO is not improve GE's view. And there most certainly IS a business case for it - - - real estate taxes on highy appraised land that the Federal government is NOT right now paying to the City and State (Perhaps, they are on a PILOT - Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, but that is nowhere NEAR what the City could get from private industry on those parcels). This is a cold, hard economic case.

It is to

1) free up land for the expansion of South Station and its number of tracks which will aid the economic growth and competitiveness of all of New England, while at the same time reducing automobile traffic,

2) to add colloborator real estate capacity in close proximity to GE's headquarters

3) To paraphrase Randy Moss - - "Straight cash, homey". The above mentioned property tax revenue from what should be astronomically appraised land.

4) the "view" and other artistic/architectural/urban planning reasons are merely for us nerds on this forum.

There is so much potential for that Channel - - both economic and cultural. It could truly become one of the great spaces on earth.
 
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Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

No point in explaining it to tangent here. He's just trolling.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

shmessy said:
The reason to move the USPO is not improve GE's view. And there most certainly IS a business case for it - - - real estate taxes on highy appraised land that the Federal government is NOT right now paying to the City and State (Perhaps, they are on a PILOT - Payment in Lieu of Taxes program, but that is nowhere NEAR what the City could get from private industry on those parcels). This is a cold, hard economic case.

It is to

1) free up land for the expansion of South Station and its number of tracks which will aid the economic growth and competitiveness of all of New England, while at the same time reducing automobile traffic,

2) to add colloborator real estate capacity in close proximity to GE's headquarters

3) To paraphrase Randy Moss - - "Straight cash, homey". The above mentioned property tax revenue from what should be astronomically appraised land.

4) the "view" and other artistic/architectural/urban planning reasons are merely for us nerds on this forum.

There is so much potential for that Channel - - both economic and cultural. It could truly become one of the great spaces on earth.
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Shnessy -- Good summary of the benefits -- except that you left off the effects of "Freeing" up Dorchester Ave thereby allowing:
  • 1) vastly improved connectivity for both vehicles and pedestrians to / from the other side of the Fort Point Channel -- particularly with a new pedestrian bridge further down the channel than Summer St.
  • 2) providing another contact point to the South Station tracks for people loading / unloading from cars and private buses
  • 3) recreational & refreshment potential of an open and developed bank of the Fort Point Channel
  • 4) water transportation possibilities of a docking point down where the USPO trucks load today
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

whighlander said:
Shnessy -- Good summary of the benefits -- except that you left off the effects of "Freeing" up Dorchester Ave thereby allowing:
  • 1) vastly improved connectivity for both vehicles and pedestrians to / from the other side of the Fort Point Channel -- particularly with a new pedestrian bridge further down the channel than Summer St.
  • 2) providing another contact point to the South Station tracks for people loading / unloading from cars and private buses
  • 3) recreational & refreshment potential of an open and developed bank of the Fort Point Channel
  • 4) water transportation possibilities of a docking point down where the USPO trucks load today
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Very true, Westie. Dorchester Ave has a lot of potential.

Someone please remind me though, what's the latest and greatest thinking on what replaces the PO? Is it simply more SS tracks, or that multi-stump massing that was drawn a couple years back?
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Shepard said:
Very true, Westie. Dorchester Ave has a lot of potential.

Someone please remind me though, what's the latest and greatest thinking on what replaces the PO? Is it simply more SS tracks, or that multi-stump massing that was drawn a couple years back?
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Street-facing buildings. The extra tracks are only going to claim 2/3 of the 'depth' of the USPS complex. If the Dot Ave. redev comes with storefronts that go right up to the sidewalk, then you can probably go down the block with buildings reaching 100 ft. back, 6-10 stories tall.

Buildings themselves are out-of-scope for the SSX project, so still open to interpretation how the street will we parceled out. Depends on how dense you want the block to be. Built very dense, you could be talking a couple Channel Centers' worth of square footage. Space it out with plazas, mini-parks and stuff for the waterfront interface and obviously that trades some raw density for other complementary uses.


Any which way it's a LOT of mixed-use space.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

F-Line to Dudley said:
Street-facing buildings. The extra tracks are only going to claim 2/3 of the 'depth' of the USPS complex. If the Dot Ave. redev comes with storefronts that go right up to the sidewalk, then you can probably go down the block with buildings reaching 100 ft. back, 6-10 stories tall.

Buildings themselves are out-of-scope for the SSX project, so still open to interpretation how the street will we parceled out. Depends on how dense you want the block to be. Built very dense, you could be talking a couple Channel Centers' worth of square footage. Space it out with plazas, mini-parks and stuff for the waterfront interface and obviously that trades some raw density for other complementary uses.


Any which way it's a LOT of mixed-use space.
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FLine -- since the "Baker Way" is to partner with private developers -- I'm sure that the old South Station 2.0 is probably going to be re-viewed and I'd be surprised if higher density development didn't become part of the plan

Goals for the deal:
  • USPO gets a more efficient and better sited facility somewhere near to E St.
  • DOT gets the new tracks with some $ for the air rights
  • Boston get Dorchester Ave back for full use as a city street along with the edge of the Channel for recreation
  • some developer gets to build and lease 1M sq ft of mixed use space -- think about Fidelity as a key "Abutter"
  • Hopefully we all get a new pedestrian bridge about half way down the block to provide the "GE Connection"
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Globe article:

GE is huge, but its future headquarters will be anything but

Choice quotes:
When General Electric moves to Boston, it will instantly become the largest company by far based in Massachusetts.

But don’t expect a massive headquarters to match.
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“The C-suite types want to be in a big downtown urban location, but they don’t want to bring the entire corporate headquarters location because the real estate there is way more expensive,” said David Collis, a Harvard Business School professor. “It’s OK for Jeff Immelt, but he doesn’t want IT people sitting there.”
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“The days of ‘Mad Men’ with these downtown campuses with thousands of workers, those days are over,” said John Boyd, a relocation consultant based in Princeton, N.J. “GE wants to tap into the branding element of Boston, the high-tech nature of the workforce, and all the image benefits that Boston offers. [But] the economics mean that they’re going to take as few jobs to Boston as possible.”
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Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Statler -- thanks for the link -- unfortunately, we really didn't gain much more information about the GE HQ from that story -- we had already heard about the 200 Corporate types and the other 600 tech people and their temporary HQ on Farnsworth St., opening on June 1.

What is still missing is any details about the "Digital Foundry" -- though I suspect we'll know more after the April 'Dog and Pony Show"
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Equilibria said:
Going with the Fort Point site.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...eadquarters/rwR2ITmAiL1qnsBUdWd5YM/story.html
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The story has now added details. GE and the City are jointly purchasing the site from Proctor & Gamble (I assume the delay from last month was to finish the agreement) the City will own the older warehouses, while GE will directly own one new building, to be occupied in 2018.

I'm not sure whether GE is renting the older buildings from the City, or whether they're meant to become incubators or something. In any case, they aren't getting torn down.

Mod, can the title of the thready be updated to "|Necco St.|Fort Point" ?
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

I'm curious how much of the parking lot they're taking up. It would be much nicer IMO if they were taking up only a portion as opposed to the entire thing- we've already seen the impact that large parcels have had on the area.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Downburst said:
I'm curious how much of the parking lot they're taking up. It would be much nicer IMO if they were taking up only a portion as opposed to the entire thing- we've already seen the impact that large parcels have had on the area.
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Draw a line back from the Necco St. el - I bet that's the parcel they bought. They'll put a park/plaza along the Channel, a new building along Necco St, and incorporate the 2 warehouse buildings.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Good. prominent location on fort point. I think GE will build a statement/ showcase building. That was the whole point of the move, digital innovation branding. I am excited.

Plus will also hopefully push the post office out across the channel.
 
Re: General Electric HQ | TBD | Innovation District

Equilibria said:
Draw a line back from the Necco St. el - I bet that's the parcel they bought. They'll put a park/plaza along the Channel, a new building along Necco St, and incorporate the 2 warehouse buildings.
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That's the parcel size I'm hoping for, and what seems to be implied in the article. I'm sure details will become clearer soon, but if that's what happens I'll be very, very satisfied.
 
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