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Not sure how useful this is, but the Milken Institute publishes an Annual List of Best Performing Cities based on several economic criteria, including labor market performance, high tech impact (presence and growth of high tech), and access to economic opportunities. The way cities are...

This is Newburyport Crossing, a 160-unit multi-family residential development smack dab across from the Newburyport commuter rail station. The first phase is already open and the second is nearing completion. This development was created on former MBTA-owned land that housed an underutilized...

Waterfield Lot - Downtown Winchester, Mass - Four-story building planned on a one-acre lot adjacent to the Winchester commuter rail station with 60 residential units of which 40 will be affordable units https://www.winchester.us/919/Waterfield-Lot-Development The Town of Winchester deserves a...

It's hard to believe that the Silver Line has been part of the Boston landscape now for over 20 years and is now of legal drinking age, debuting in 2002. Not only that, but the service continues to expand. There are now five Silver Line 'lines' - more than there are heavy rail rapid transit...

I realize in the great expanse of challenges facing the MBTA that its station names probably does not rank particularly high, but some of the names have always bugged me. For example, 'Community College' on the Orange Line. Yes, there's a community college near the station. But there's a bunch...

This is a 40B proposal in Brookline (40 housing units with 25% affordable units) at the corner of Route 9 (Boylston) and Reservoir Road currently making its way through the process. Couldn't find a thread for it. The neighbors mostly hate it (the public comments are mostly depressing). It's a...

If you have followed GDP and population growth over the last 15-ish years, a pretty clear trend has emerged of Massachusetts, led by the Boston area, leading the New England region in economic growth. This has been really consistent in more recent years and Suffolk and Middlesex Counties have...

New Concord building to bring Friendly Toast, rooftop bar Dec. 27—A five-story, mixed-use building will bring a new vibe to downtown Concord with a rooftop bar and a patio on the ground level for pop-up restaurants. A Friendly Toast restaurant and patio along the sidewalk on South Main...

This is a topic I spend a fair amount of time thinking about since it seems like we have a pretty crappy track record of just general very basic station maintenance. I worry that the Government Center stations of today will look like the Alewife/Alewife garage do today in 20 years. Everytime I...

Sorry for the downer topic, but something pretty remarkable is happening in Boston this year in that overall crime is down, and murders are running significantly below average, while almost all other major cities are grappling with a surge in homicides and even breaking all-time records. In...

Arguably the least Gateway-ie of the Gateway Cities, Haverhill has a large geographic area that centers around the Merrimack River and a solid middle-class population. Home to about 64,000 people, Haverhill was a major shoe manufacturing hub. Today it has a well preserved healthy and mostly...

Been meaning to post these photos from this Spring and early Summer for a while now. If you're not familiar with it, Lawrence is an old mill city about 30 miles north of Boston right off 93 on the Merrimack River. Boasting 80,000 people in 7 square-miles, Lawrence is one of the densest places in...

I went to Downtown Lynn for the first time this week and it was interesting. Definitely a Gateway Cities vibe - lots of parking lots, vacant lots, and just weird uses (gas stations, etc.), and the sidewalks were pretty empty. But cool architecture, commuter rail is right in the middle of it...

Re: Lowell 2015 update $31.5M OK'd for Lowell Judicial Center LOWELL -- Finally. Construction is expected to begin this fall in the empty lot where the city's new $200 million judicial center is planned. http://www.lowellsun.com/news/ci_29917421/31-5m-okd-lowell-judicial-center

A couple years ago I posted this update on Lowell - http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=4639 This is just a quick update of some changes since then. Nothing earth-shattering, but a couple interesting things -- Most of the main streets in Downtown Lowell have been converted to...

Thanks to tax credit transparency reports released by the state, it's possible to see which cities in Massachusetts benefit most from the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program, which is capped at $50 million each year. These are the totals for 2011 and 2012 1.) Boston $19.7 million 2.)...

(The Hamilton and Counting House Mills) Lowell doesn't get a great deal of attention on this forum, in spite of some of the major renovation and construction projects occurring there. I have Thundertubs from Skyscraperpage to thank for supplying 2009 photos of parts of the city. I've included...

Thanks to its coastal location, historic charm, and some perhaps too fawning press - 'Portsmouth is Perfect' Chicago Tribune http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-06-11/travel/sc-trav-0611-portsmouth-new-hampshire-20130611_1_portsmouth-town-square-n-h - Portsmouth is enjoying a bit of a real...

Mill No. 5 brings transformation to Lowell http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/04/08/lowell-mill-built-with-fun-house-style/xUcT65ZyoIMR3e3az7sYXI/story.html LOWELL — The renovation of Mill No. 5 gives new meaning to the real estate term “mixed use project.” At heart an office...

Concord, New Hampshire, thanks largely to the work of a single, resourceful developer, has seen a fair amount of development in its downtown in recent years. I thought it was probably deserving of its own thread. Independent Bookseller will anchor downtown development The Orr & Reno law firm...