Exchange South End ( Boston Flower Exchange) | Albany Street | South End

Genius marketing....one of the best sites I've ever seen for a development.
The site and interactive renders are awesome. One flaw in the presentation of the location on the accessibility part was it stating it will be walking distance to transit lines- Red Silver and Orange. I am only competent in marketing and not an expert, but it's a stretch of the truth to say this development is accessible to transit when the two rapid transit lines are a mile away. The silver line being bus/BRT is kind of transit- and it's probably not that desirable to the new biotechnology company/worker eyeing this space - and its still a half mile walk to the Newton St Silver line stop.
 
The site and interactive renders are awesome. One flaw in the presentation of the location on the accessibility part was it stating it will be walking distance to transit lines- Red Silver and Orange. I am only competent in marketing and not an expert, but it's a stretch of the truth to say this development is accessible to transit when the two rapid transit lines are a mile away. The silver line being bus/BRT is kind of transit- and it's probably not that desirable to the new biotechnology company/worker eyeing this space - and its still a half mile walk to the Newton St Silver line stop.
As I said, Genius Marketing....to the uninitiated the transit propaganda may be a surprise, but with all the bus lines included it looks good on paper. I agree, it is a slog from there to just about anywhere close to transportation, especially in the winter! Maybe developers will include a shuttle service to and from the T during rush hours (wishful thinking!).
 
I don't think this website has been posted yet?

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Has an email address for anyone who wants to try to poke for concrete updates.

1.6 million sq feet of labs.
0 housing units

This region is going to have an even worse problem if it continues that development gap, unless the labs are going to be 100% robots.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to accommodate the opportunity Boston has for more labs, but we need the ENTIRE SYSTEM. Great car, where’s the fuel/battery?

Not to mention the debatable public transpo access there.
 
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1.6 million sq feet of labs.
0 housing units

This region is going to have an even worse problem if it continues that development gap, unless the labs are going to be 100% robots.

Don’t get me wrong, I want to accommodate the opportunity Boston has for more labs, but we need the ENTIRE SYSTEM. Great car, where’s the fuel/battery?

Not to mention the debatable public transpo access there.
I agree in general but... I live in the South End and there is pretty hard line at Albany St. regarding res/commercial industrial. Albany st is sketchy even during the day due to drug addiction, as there is the ER entrance, the morgue, Barbara Mginnis and a safe injection site a block away.There are zero res units on its south. This dev is also right next to the bio level 4 lab, and abuts a major highway interchange. Not a place right now most people would choose to live near.
 
I agree in general but... I live in the South End and there is pretty hard line at Albany St. regarding res/commercial industrial. Albany st is sketchy even during the day due to drug addiction, as there is the ER entrance, the morgue, Barbara Mginnis and a safe injection site a block away.There are zero res units on its south. This dev is also right next to the bio level 4 lab, and abuts a major highway interchange. Not a place right now most people would choose to live near.
I would also suggest that the neighborhood, such as it is, is designated for light industrial, not housing. There is a reason for that. Cities need places where it is OK to drive heavy trucks through at night and the NIMBYs don't complain. We need these industrial zones to run the rest of the city.

Yes, we need housing, but we need housing where it does not interfere with other essential uses.
 
I agree in general but... I live in the South End and there is pretty hard line at Albany St. regarding res/commercial industrial. Albany st is sketchy even during the day due to drug addiction, as there is the ER entrance, the morgue, Barbara Mginnis and a safe injection site a block away.There are zero res units on its south. This dev is also right next to the bio level 4 lab, and abuts a major highway interchange. Not a place right now most people would choose to live near.
More importantly, there's a zillion apartments going up between Harrison and Albany....

That stretch of Albany is busy with the hospital and not particularly rough or sketchy, but a very reasonable place for commercial.
 
More importantly, there's a zillion apartments going up between Harrison and Albany....

That stretch of Albany is busy with the hospital and not particularly rough or sketchy, but a very reasonable place for commercial.
I agree with you about the 1000's of apts. My point about Albany being sketchy is that if you lived south of it you'd be forced to navigate it regardless of time of day, whereas north of it you would never need to step foot on it if you didn't need the ER. Big change, because Albany is a hard line.
 
A bit of a heated meeting with the Developer and the IAG focused on the proposed access road to 93. Reading (or listening) between the lines, this project has been delayed quite a bit due to politically maneuvering with the City, the State, and Feds, and with abutters- BU and BMC. The IAG was very concerned the developer would turn around and sell the project before fulfilling its commitment to build (and lobby the Feds) as hard as they can to build an access road to I-93. As a result, no co-operation agreement has been issued yet.

Video here: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/b3dy39wce3qjcq3r7g2qwgov2opx8me4
 
The site and interactive renders are awesome. One flaw in the presentation of the location on the accessibility part was it stating it will be walking distance to transit lines- Red Silver and Orange. I am only competent in marketing and not an expert, but it's a stretch of the truth to say this development is accessible to transit when the two rapid transit lines are a mile away. The silver line being bus/BRT is kind of transit- and it's probably not that desirable to the new biotechnology company/worker eyeing this space - and its still a half mile walk to the Newton St Silver line stop.

To give them some credit, they did specifically show that only bus access was directly available at the site. I work a few blocks from there, and though I mostly bike commute, I don't find the walk from either Back Bay or Mass Ave. to be burdensome. It's definitely not for everybody, but a person inclined to use transit would consider this reasonably accessible.
 
To give them some credit, they did specifically show that only bus access was directly available at the site. I work a few blocks from there, and though I mostly bike commute, I don't find the walk from either Back Bay or Mass Ave. to be burdensome. It's definitely not for everybody, but a person inclined to use transit would consider this reasonably accessible.
WalkScore/TransitScore give the location a 78 rating for Transit, Excellent (the 87 is the WalkScore). Red Line 0.6 mi; Orange Line 0.8 mi; Silver Line 0.3 mi. Plus Commuter Rail, many Buses!
 
To give them some credit, they did specifically show that only bus access was directly available at the site. I work a few blocks from there, and though I mostly bike commute, I don't find the walk from either Back Bay or Mass Ave. to be burdensome. It's definitely not for everybody, but a person inclined to use transit would consider this reasonably accessible.
Bus access is on the 8, right? That route makes a big dogleg that the MBTA would love to remove...
 
Bus access is on the 8, right? That route makes a big dogleg that the MBTA would love to remove...
The 8 is a block away and does indeed make an awkward jog through the area. The closest bus is the 47, but in addition to that and the 8, there are the 10, CT3, and 1, all 1-2 blocks away. Some of those buses are fairly useful.
 
The 8 is a block away and does indeed make an awkward jog through the area. The closest bus is the 47, but in addition to that and the 8, there are the 10, CT3, and 1, all 1-2 blocks away. Some of those buses are fairly useful.
Interesting. Notable how the 47 could also using some ironing out. Maybe more frequency on the CT3 is the way to go? The 1 is more than 2 blocks away, but good point there.
 
Not to get anyone excited, but yesterday was the first time, in over a year, that I have noticed activity at this site. The only reason I noticed is that one of these trucks passed me as I was walking north on Albany. Down side is that they could be staging the trucks for road work which is in progress on Albany.
IMG_3765 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_3764 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_3766 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
 
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I walked by here the other day on the way to SOWA and noticed they have an office created for this development. Anyone know if the office is new or has it been there for a while?
 
I walked by here the other day on the way to SOWA and noticed they have an office created for this development. Anyone know if the office is new or has it been there for a while?
If it's this one it has been here for over a year.
IMG_1866 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
 
If it's this one it has been here for over a year.
IMG_1866 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr

Yup, that's the one. Been wondering when this one will start showing some activity again. With Lifesciences space in such high demand, I thought this one was going to start construction soon.
 

Update from IAG meeting 6/28. Sounds like the developer has been working over the past year to figure out the connection to 93. If I'm reading it correctly, there is only going to be a connection from 93, not both ways. This might lead to a reduction in the two buildings closest to the highway.
 

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