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I can't take credit for the idea, but a long time ago someone on this site (I believe) proposed that the supply of liquor licensed be increased by duplicating the number of licenses. Think of it as a stock split, each owner of a liquor license would each have two after the split, the price for...

I think you raise important macro economic points. Personally, I have concerns for Boston these days. I feel Boston is at an great inflection - work from home changes have changed the economic playbook for Boston and we have very high housing costs. Boston should have more carrot and less...

A few points from the article: - New units cost 500 to 600k per unit to build, with high rises closer to Boston costing even more - Even with zoning reform, costs to build remain high, there is a limit to rents that the market will bear to recapture costs, eventually people leave the area for...

Interesting article comparing states success at creating housing, probably not a surprise to anyone here, but Massachusetts fares poorly relative to other states: https://www.boston.com/real-estate/real-estate-news/2023/11/28/where-in-america-are-we-actually-building-new-housing/?p1=hp_featurestack

I think Robert Campbell, architectural critic for the globe, once said something to the effect - it's like they licked off all the frosting on these buildings. I think that comment was referencing South Boston and the spread of aluminum/vinyl siding and the removal of decorative elements.

Costs, interest rates, are clobbering new housing construction in Greater Boston article behind the paywall: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/11/07/business/new-construction-greater-boston/ some excerpts: - The economics behind both residential and commercial buildings “are going to be under...

Doesn't Druker own much of Bromfield St.? While I support increased density, I don't think it's a worthwhile trade off if it means eliminating/destroying the small footprint human scaled commercial streets of Bromfield and the ladder district streets.

Regarding assessments, the city will not automatically reassess the building to market value upon a sale. Assessed values typically are set below market value, although that might not be the case currently with decreased values. It is likely that owners will increasingly be filing appeals on...

I appreciate your skepticism, but actions speak louder than words - think about the narrative the MBTA was selling with the whole Orange Line shutdown. If anything the press was giving them a pass back then. Full disclosure, I don't have any behind the scenes knowledge, but I work nearby and...

What caused the uptick of housing construction in Minneapolis? Zoning changes, elimination of parking mandates etc. and not so much eliminating exclusive single family zoning, according to this article...

Curious how much space Deloitte has at it's current location in Back Bay, wonder if they are downsizing by a little or a lot or keeping the same amount of space with the move to Winthrop Center?

I think the demolition of the Jobbers Canyon warehouse district was the largest destruction of a National Historic Register District to date. A bit of background to the events leading up to the destruction of the district - in the 1980s Omaha lost a major headquarters to Houston, TX, that...

Great pics of my hometown!

The Globe recently seems to be highlighting some economic warning signs for the Boston area, comparing what has unfolded in San Francisco and what it may mean for Boston...

^Agreed, great post, reminds me of one of the old-schoolers "Ablarc". He often posted years ago on this forum (or perhaps the predecessor forum to archboston). His posts contained detailed history and info and were always so informative.

Globe article about downtown Boston, vacancy issues, etc. Some interesting points in the article: - there are "90 to 100 empty storefronts scattered throughout the BID area [Downtown Crossing business improvement district] — three to four times as many as before COVID. That does not include...

The park in CX with the landscaped berms and water feature reminds me of my hometown's downtown centerpiece park Gene Leahy Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, street view here - https://goo.gl/maps/sgPYRh78gdmYd6Am8. Incidentally, the park in Omaha was completely redeveloped in 2022 to be completely at...

unfortunately the Fours on Canal st. is no more.

Looks like very little to no outdoor dining in the North End this summer: https://www.wcvb.com/article/boston-massachusetts-outdoor-dining-2023-north-end-changes/42943929 Further, "the permanent program requires businesses to submit professionally engineered site plans for outdoor dining...

I work nearby. From my layman's eye there is always some activity going on but I am unable to discern any substantial progress in the demo, including but not limited to this past week. On a side note, a bunch of construction workers from this project were smoking pot in front of my building...