Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Equilibria said:
I bet the Massport parcel is one of the former "Massive Hotel" parcels that Baker killed off when he scrapped the BCEC expansion. Here's the latest on them:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...wns-bidders/DH0HLSkgoz1Q0tlW7QQpHN/story.html

I'm not sure where the other Summer St. parcel is, but it wouldn't surprise me if GE would go in either the block bounded by D, Summer, Pumphouse, and Haul Road, or the one across D. That's "near WTC Station".

No open parcels on Summer directly border Fort Point Channel. The parking lot you highlighted is owned by Gillette. Not sure if they'll sell...
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Equilib -- there's a story in a recent Banker and Tradesman that Massport received 11 submissions for the scaled-back hotel -- so those blocks across from the BCEC may be otherwise committed
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

I think GE Headquarters should get its own thread now (and we can put it in the official Project | Parcel | Neighborhood format when we know what that is, exactly)

When you think about it, Connecticut worked best when
- NYC was considered in need of urban renewal
- Car was king*
- Executives had only one house (and they wanted it in CT, not NYC)
- Transoceanic trips were rare

* and, as William Whyte, pointed out, the strongest predictor of new HQ sites after a "nationwide search" was that it was closer to the CEO's home than the old location.

Crystal City, in DC (Arlington VA), and Dulles (Fairfax Co. VA)have certainly made hay attracting HQs to be "across the street" from the airport. I'd notch this as a big win for having our FiDi across the river from Logan.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Awesome news from the panache standpoint.
Hopefully it brings more GE tech jobs and labs as well.
Sorry to the blue collar guys who recently lost their GE jobs, but it's hardtop turn the tide on manufacturing jobs in the northeast.

Here's hoping they're willing to spend some loot on a nice attractive headquarters that allows street level interaction as opposed to the previous suburban nightmare/bunker they currently occupy.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Arlington said:
I think GE Headquarters should get its own thread now (and we can put it in the official Project | Parcel | Neighborhood format when we know what that is, exactly)

When you think about it, Connecticut worked best when
- NYC was considered in need of urban renewal
- Car was king*
- Executives had only one house (and they wanted it in CT, not NYC)
- Transoceanic trips were rare

* and, as William Whyte, pointed out, the strongest predictor of new HQ sites after a "nationwide search" was that it was closer to the CEO's home than the old location.

Crystal City, in DC, and Dulles have certainly made hay attracting HQs to be "across the street" from the airport. I'd notch this as a big win for having our FiDi across the river from Logan.
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Arlington -- a bit Ironic in that ole legendary GE CEO "Neutron Jack Welch" was a 4X local boy:
  • 1 born November 19, 1935 Peabody, Massachusetts
  • 2 grew up in Salem
  • 3 BSc 1957, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • 4 current Residence Boston, Massachusetts
he did deviate to get his Ph.D. in 1960, University of Illinois
but then he returned to MA in Pittsfield with GE Plastics in 1960 and in 20 years he was the Chairman and CEO

in 2001 Jack retired from GE and now lives in Boston and teaches some at MIT

It's much like a homecoming for GE given all the other local links such as Edison [first patented invention developed @ 109 Court St.; Elihu Thomson [the origin of the GE Lynn operation and holder of 700+ patents]; Electrification of the T's Boston predecessor by Thomson-Houston Co.; etc.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

FenwayResident said:
As a commuter, the Summer Street location is much more preferable because it's a short walk from South Station. That would enable people to have a no-transfer commute from everywhere on the Red Line, South Shore and Metro West areas.

While the other parcel is on the Silver Line, that single transfer would add 5-10 minutes to the overall commute time on a good day. I guess it's still technically walkable from SS, but in the winter on a windy day that would be a miserable walk.
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Fenway -- after we see how the moving walkway between Terminal E and the Airport Blue Line Station works out -- the T and GE can jointly build a moving walkway across the Summer Street Bridge from South Station [after the Postal Relocation]
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Not sure if there is a northern ave bridge thread. If there is feel free to move this.

NorthernAveBridgePlan-711x366.png



Here's What Boston Might Do with the Northern Avenue Bridge

The agenda of a meeting held last February outlines some of the options the city is considering to replace the Northern Avenue Bridge. The bridge connects the Seaport with the Financial District and the downtown Boston waterfront. It's been pedestrian-only since the late 90s and it closed entirely in 2014 after it was deemed structurally unsafe. Now, in a push tied to its deal to bring GE's headquarters to the Seaport, Boston is moving ahead with a $100 million plan to replace the bridge. Those plans are moving forward quickly, after the U.S. Coast Guard warned the bridge might soon collapse into Fort Point Channel. Officials are planning to have the existing bridge removed by March, The Boston Globe reports. Options for rehabilitating the historic structure range from a movable "lite" bridge with sidewalks, costing $26 million to $31 million, up to a $70 million rehabilitated fixed bridge, raised above the waterway. They include replacing it entirely with a new, 60-foot-high fixed bridge, costing $60 million. A public process to decide is expected to begin in the spring.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2016/01/22/northern-ave-bridge-plans-draftkings-new-rules-boston-snow/
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

If theyre definitely demo-ing it they should just start over from scratch. Build something equally as high off the water as the rest of the bridges, maybe make it kind of shnazzy with lighting and some cables or something. One day the fort point is going to have a lot going on, especially once the post office leaves, might as well build for the future. This will be the gateway to whatever this area transforms into in the future.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Massport garage -- err, "Seaport Transportation Center" -- is moving along.

Boston Globe said:
The Massachusetts Port Authority has started designing a 1,500-space garage for the South Boston waterfront.

Just don’t call it a garage.

Massport officials recently decided to start calling this project the “Seaport Transportation Center ” — a nod to the facility’s broader potential use as a home for Zipcar vehicles and Hubway bikes.

The goal, chief executive Thomas Glynn said, is to reflect the wider services that Massport hopes to accommodate at the complex. Along with Zipcar and Hubway, there could be space for Seaport shuttles and information for people walking through the area. The name also acknowledges the fact that the garage, which would stretch from D Street to the World Trade Center Avenue viaduct, would go up next door to a Silver Line stop.

Glynn said Stephanie Pollack, the state’s transportation secretary, suggested the name change at a recent meeting.

“Calling it the Seaport Transportation Center, that really captured more of the ancillary services it can provide,” Glynn said. “We have the opportunity here to do more than just a garage.”

[...]

Glynn said construction could begin as soon as this fall, and could be complete by the end of 2017, depending on how long it takes to secure the remaining permits. The project could cost as much as $90 million.

[...]

Glynn said Massport will design the “transportation center” internally, and the staff will try to ensure the building doesn’t become another “gray cement box.” That could include planning for a cafe adjacent off World Trade Center Avenue, for example, or a tourist information center.

“We’re trying to do something that’s a little more interesting from a design point of view,” Glynn said, “something we can afford but at the same time livens up the appearance of the whole district.”
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$90 million / 1,500 spaces = $60k per spot

If they really want to call this the "Seaport Transportation Center" then the least they can do is include a tunnel under D as part of the project.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

BostonGlobe said:
“We’re trying to do something that’s a little more interesting from a design point of view,” Glynn said, “something we can afford but at the same time livens up the appearance of the whole district.”
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Jeezus, this is going to be like shooting fish in a barrel....it wouldn't be sporting to really unload on this, but it sure is tempting....
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Ground
Emoji-Smiley-122.png
floor
Emoji-Smiley-122.png
re-tail!
Emoji-Smiley-122.png
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

statler said:
Ground
Emoji-Smiley-122.png
floor
Emoji-Smiley-122.png
re-tail!
Emoji-Smiley-122.png
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Very little active street frontage on this property. One side will be abutting the Silver Line, the other long side will be abutting Massport Haul road, and part of the Pike on ramp. Two smaller sides of this parcel have some ground floor retail, on D street and world trade center ave, but are not ideal plots. The D street ground level is the beginning of a upramp to get to Summer Street. The World Trade Center Ave is an elevated street, so ground level retail would have to be on the second floor. This is actually a pretty good parcel to put a parking garage on.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

So this is going on the huge lot behind waterside place? If so that is a very good spot.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Okay, I'll bite, how is that a very good spot? b/c there's a need for parking? b/c it will be hidden when other projects are built?
 
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