Search results

Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport My argument remains that the waterfront will not reach its potential in architecture, land use, civic engagement and ultimately its real estate value with a standard evident here, a standard that IMHO does not live up to $8 billion in public...

Re: 319 A Street Rear This project has been renamed 315 on A. Occasional walkthrough/tours have been offered over the past week, I'd guess more to come. Contact pillion@friendsfpc.org. Looks like photovoltaics are being installed.

Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport "Heavy traffic has planners scrambling." Planners don't scramble. It takes 5-10 years to plan funding of transportation upgrades, and 5-10 years to implement the upgrades. You don't wait until Silver Line buses must be lined up to begin a light rail...

Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown I think this assessment is spot on, but I don't think it's wise to fault Shen here. My sense is that when a developer doesn't like Shen's or any other BRA planner's position, he/she talks to the Mayor or upper management in the economic development...

Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport McMorrows piece should have been written in 2010, when the data was already knowable. It was clear that Fort Point's trajectory and that of the greater Seaport would never evolve to support a fledgling startup ecosystem. Yes, the buzz attracted...

As I recall this is PRECISELY what was recommended by the waterfront urban planning teams --public and private, involved in the Seaport public realm planning process in the two years prior to the BRA's publication of the Public Realm Plan. These firms included: Coopers & Robertson Partners...

With four subsidized innovation centers, subsidized conference rooms, subsidized accelerator space, publicly-financed hotels, $1 leases for office space on public property, a few hundred $mil in tax breaks, and an $8 billion trough of public investment in roads, ramps, MBTA, harbor improvements...

You originally stated "there are now 1000s of residential units being developed in the specifc are you do cite" referring to Fan Pier, Pier 4 and Seaport Square. You are now citing projects that have been approved, some for nearly 5 years, that have not broken ground. I'll stick with my...

As I've learned from talking to waterfront planners who have and continue to plan and work with progressive cities to develop the world's greatest waterfronts (names withheld but some of these folks are Boston-based, not hard to track down), ground floors are regulated in waterfronts to require...

At full build, when the Seaport is 30 million square feet of density? Please. No plans in advance for a school, library or community center in a district that may have 10,000-15,000 residents, or even 5-8,000 residents by the current BRA's projections? Seriously? I was describing ZERO...

First off, what DaveM said above is RIGHT ON TARGET. Regarding civic space -- just for starters, what neighborhood (no less one that is 5x larger than any other Boston district) has no long-term plan for schools, library, police, fire, community center? Look at any other Boston neighborhood...

Let's start with facts. Fallon didn't put a museum on Fan Pier. The Pritzker family, prior owners of Fan Pier, provided land for ICA as a component of State Chapter 91 obligations for filled tidelands, once Boston Harbor and now private property. I'd guess the current owner of Fan Pier (not...

I'd suggest that property values and rents would be higher citywide if the waterfront reflected a higher standard. Standards for architecture and planning in the Seaport District should reflect the highest standards in the USA, or even worldwide. This is Boston's jewel.

It matters because this isn't downtown Houston. It's downtown Boston, and the Seaport is the beneficiary of $8B public investment. So yes, people can be ecstatic about the quality and quantity of development that we're getting. Or we can recognize that the land is being undervalued relative to...

With respect, the scale of the so-called "Innovation District" matters. It's larger than 5 downtown Boston districts combined. To characterize a 1 x 1 mile swath of land in downtown Boston as a single district is immature, and does a disservice to Boston in terms of recognizing land value...

The community attended 60 public meetings drafting the 100 Acres Master Plan. A year after the public final draft was published it was discovered that the BRA had entered into a number of private agreements (MOAs and "Cooperation Agreements") with large property owners, providing rights never...

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/DevelopmentProjects/PipeDocs/One%20Channel%20Center/One%20Channel%20Center_Comments.pdf Once completed, park may be subject to some future trimming for planned widening of A Street in existing agreements between BRA and Gillette.

Jamie the salon guy is somewhat of a celebrity, drawing customers from across town and not at all dependent on walk-ins. Bob's Your Uncle has a successful mail order business. The retail space is somewhat a showroom and also supplemental to the business.

Channel Center street is increasing in activity, and this would have been a terrific opportunity to step things up. Beside George Foreman III's gym and existing retail spots (Mrs. B's, Bob's Your Uncle, hair salon), a wine bar named Internal Matter is opening at 35 Channel Center (across from...

Understood. I generally look at the whole package. The rear of this building faces a street with burgeoning retailers now facing an inactive backside. Among them, this fall George Foreman III is opening a massive gym and juice bar at 15 Channel Center. So the fact that this new building is...