JumboBuc
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Maybe this is a bit premature, but I'm worried about the retail in there. Obviously things will look different once a few places open up; but It's a dead zone right now (that shot with one guy might as well be taken at 9am- nobody passes through there) and I don't know that pedestrian foot traffic patterns will really entice a lot of businesses to open up (let alone remain in business) in those spaces.
It's not intuitive for most pedestrians or train passengers to find their way in there. Most foot traffic comes from along Causeway street or Canal Street. The pedestrian passage under Avalon dumps pedestrians from the Garden right out onto Nashua near the Lomosney Way intersection. It's a dead zone. You've got the least active (and that's saying a lot) side of the O'Neil, lined with FPS SUVs, a whole lot of road/driveways, and a hulking parking garage (and of course, the last tenement). It's not, and probably never will be, a big pedestrian corridor. I think that will be an issue.
It's beautiful (aesthetically), and I hope I'm wrong, but I don't feel great about it. I don't think the Hub will help much either since this will essentially be a disconnected appendage as far as shopping corridors go.
I 100% agree that not very many people will pass through this building towards Nashua. But thousands of people come in-and-out of the Garden/North Station on the O'Neil side every day, and those doors lead right into this building. Currently, practically all of those pedestrians bang a left as soon as they leave the Garden and walk down to Causeway. Once retail tenants move into this building there will be a reason for some of those people to take a right instead.
That being said, most of the retail in this area caters to the 120-or-so days a year when there's an event at the Garden. I expect that the tenants in this building will be no different. If Hub on Causeway's planned entertainment venues are successful, that'll add a few more days a year when this location is a draw.
In this light, I'm sure the Tasty Burger slated to move in here this spring will do fine. A few other fast-casual spots to grab a bite or drink before-or-after the game or show or train will also likely succeed.
The western part of the pass-through that aims towards the last tenement will probably amount to little more than an extended lobby for the apartments above.