⚫ One Marina Park @ Fan Pier | One Marina Park Drive | Seaport

Re: Fan Pier

I am making a conjecture that he is trouble because:

- he has no construction financing lined up (according to that article)

- signed a full-building lease to a firm that has never made a profit and needs government hand-outs to get into the building, kind of a tenant-of-last-resort situation if you ask me

- actually was in serious talks with the FBI about locating here, far cry from the luxury destination of the original vision

- has construction going at a snail's pace to convince the public that this is real (groundbreaking was Sept, '07)

- isn't anywhere close to rolling out the whole "Fan Pier", just this one lonely office box in a landscape of parking lots. Resdiential, marina and hotel is on hold

- Has hinted he needs government money to make the deal with Vertex work

So "in trouble" could mean a lot of things, not necessarily "going bankrupt" or anything like that... but there's warning signs. If One Marina Park Drive doesn't fair well, it could doom the plans for Two Marina Park Drive and the Park Lane 2.0 resdiential.

Fan Pier is hugely disappointing to me on so many levels, and I really hope that everything goes well with this, I'm not throwing bombs just for fun. I do believe a built-out Fan Pier will be a real boon to our city if this can get pulled together and work. But building one squat, lonely office block isn't "Fan Pier" and he's having a tough time with just that. I know the financing markets are hell, and I'm praying he pulls through this and it sets up a domino effect for the rest of the buildings at Fan Pier.
 
Re: Fan Pier

well thought out conjecture. do you know what is going on with Batterywharf. i hear condos are "dead in the water"?
 
Re: Fan Pier

aug. 7th 2008 from 93 north
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Re: Fan Pier

From the ICA
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From the windows - the steel has reach ground level
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Re: Fan Pier

Nice progress. I thought they'd be pushing around dirt in that hole for months to come.
 
Re: Fan Pier

Yesterday:

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One more of the Harborwalk reconstruction down by the ICA:

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Storm clouds are coming!

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Re: Fan Pier

Here's a few camera phone shots from today.
One of these days, I'll remember my real camera and get some from the area on my walks.
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Re: Fan Pier

I didn't really know where to put this, but I thought that, since this is his most prominent current project, this would be the ideal place.

This isn't really news regarding Fan Pier, but it is an interesting article regarding one of the developers, Joe Fallon. Essentially, it talks about what Fallon has accomplished, and some of the impressive feats that he has managed to take on, including being the one to finally get the Fan Pier project off the ground. Call it a character profile, if you will.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Fallon draws kudos for keeping an even keel

Boston Business Journal - by Robert Celaschi Special to the Journal

A third-generation builder from Milton, Joe Fallon learned construction from the ground up. He started out as a laborer for developer Tom Flatley, going on to become a development manager at JMB Realty Corp. before starting The Fallon Co. in 1993.

Since then Fallon has developed more than $4 billion worth of real estate. Among his projects is the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel, where he?s scheduled to pick up an award in November on behalf of his company from the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Fallon is a former board member, and still serves on NAIOP?s advisory group.

The likely capstone of Fallon?s career is on the rise now in the form of Fan Pier, 21 acres of parking lot being transformed into 3 million square feet of offices, a hotel, luxury condominiums, a marina and retail space.

What makes the Fan Pier project notable, apart from its size and prominent location, is the fact that Fallon is the one who got it off the ground after a quarter century of stalled efforts by others. He purchased the land in 2005 along with his partner, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., for $115 million. A year ago he started turning dirt. By July this year he had a major tenant, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which signed a letter of intent to lease at least 500,000 square feet and possibly twice that much.

?Joe is a visionary. He is absolutely able to take a look into property and see the future. He clearly saw the future with the Fan Pier. No one could make sense of it, but he was able to put a deal together,? said David Begelfer, CEO of the state NAIOP chapter in Needham.

While the Fan Pier project is a major piece of land, it also ties into another significant aspect of Fallon?s life: water. Among the many boards he has sat on are Sail Boston, the Boston Harbor Association, the Boston Harbor Island Alliance, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, and the New England Aquarium.

In late August Fallon drove to Newport to take part in a send-off of the Puma team in the Volvo Ocean Race. The Fallon Co. is a sponsor of the team?s boat, Il Mostro, a sleek black-and-red craft designed to look like the Puma sneaker of the same name. Fallon also made sure that when actress Salma Hayek christened Il Mostro in May, the event took place at Fan Pier. The property also will be the only North American stopover during the race in the spring of 2009.

?When he gets involved in a project he always likes to bring to it something that is exciting. That?s really something we?ve seen with Fan Pier. He has the ability to draw attention in a very unique way,? Begelfer said. ?This is something that he knows well and has a great instinct for. He makes things happen. It?s not that you just have a vision, but that you are able to perform.?

At the same time, Fallon himself stays out of the limelight as much as possible, including not being available for interviews for this profile. Those who know him describe Fallon as dogged rather than flashy.

?He just keeps on moving. He doesn?t get overexcited or underexcited,? said Charles Tseckares, CEO of architecture and design firm CBT Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc. ?The ones who really get projects done are the ones who can keep a sense of calm. Everyone is throwing roadblocks at you, and you have to pull up every roadblock. Too many of them get exasperated by the process.

?I think he?s a very thoughtful guy, very strategic in his thinking.?

Fallon also gets credit as a good communicator.

?He?s focused. He doesn?t waste your time. He?s understands well -- not only understands but is able to articulate ? his objectives very well. Those folks trying to support those objectives, the entire development team are able to work effectively,? said David Manfredi of Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston, the architect who refined the Fan Pier master plan and designed its first office tower. ?He delivers on his promises, and for an architect that makes him a pleasure to work with.?

Real estate development covers a wide range of problems, from the beginning of an idea, to getting the entitlements, to building relationships, to securing the financing, to leasing.

?The individual who has expertise in each of those aspects is rare,? Manfredi said.
Click to expand...

LINK
 
Re: Fan Pier

Cool, it can finally be seen from the street.

In the second picture, is that wooden staircase leading up to some sort of observation platform for the construction site? I've never seen that before, a staircase from within the construction walls coming right down to the sidewalk.
 
Re: Fan Pier

Tim Jackson said:
Cool, it can finally be seen from the street.

In the second picture, is that wooden staircase leading up to some sort of observation platform for the construction site? I've never seen that before, a staircase from within the construction walls coming right down to the sidewalk.
Click to expand...

I think that's how you're supposed to 'find yourself' at Fan Pier.
 
Re: Fan Pier

Tim, yeah they put up an observation platform. Note in my pictures that most of them (such as those midway down the previous page in this thread) are taken from the same vantage point, at the southwest corner of the site and elevated by about a dozen feet.

Pic from May (on page 12):

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Re: Fan Pier

Thanks kz! From an architecture enthusiasts' standpoint, I wish there were more of those.
 
Re: Fan Pier

Looks like I got beat to the punch, but here are some from yesterday.

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From the Moakley Bridge

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And, from the Children's Museum.

Enjoy.
 
Re: Fan Pier

Wow, it's awesome to see steel already rising at the site. I am glad this project is moving along at a good pace.
 
Re: Fan Pier

The steel is also visible from the Mystic/Tobin Bridge.
 
Re: Fan Pier

thats pretty quick i guess. good to see some more construction round here.
 
Re: Fan Pier

I was driving by there today, this thing is rising fast.
 
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