BCEC expansion | Seaport

Isn't the big problem right now with SPID that several developers own the whole thing? The theory is, it's better to have a few owners than many, right? But, in this economy, having three / four landowners with control of the vast majority of space (five, if you include government entities), it's slowing down the slow roll-out of development.
 
JohnAKeith said:
Isn't the big problem right now with SPID that several developers own the whole thing? The theory is, it's better to have a few owners than many, right? But, in this economy, having three / four landowners with control of the vast majority of space (five, if you include government entities), it's slowing down the slow roll-out of development.
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John -- i guess it depends on what is the phase of the evolution of the SPID
1) raw land in need of the "bones" -- probably benefits from a few major players
2) rapid colonization of the "hot corners" -- probably need only a few big players -- to build the important buildings
3) first-gen fill in -- should be a free for all -- to see who will turn into the next-gen major players
4) first redo into 2nd gen -- goes back to a few players
5) 2nd gen fill in -- back to a bunch

I'm guessing that most of the SPID is in phase 1 and 2 with the Piers at Phase 4
 
Everyone is getting into the act.
http://bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1061116226&srvc=business&position=2
I wish we could take the pols out of the equation (naive I know) and get a bigger bang for the buck. Rooney should team with a casino developer and put a gaming/mega hotel/confrence complex on the west side of the BCEC. That way BCEC gets the hotel rooms it needs to expand and Boston gets a major attraction for convention goers, tourists, and locals built on top an transportation network.

Then the USPS could buy Sulfolk Downs and move out of our way. Oh, what a happy future that would be.
 
Time for Rooney to go. His one qualification for this job for life was his boyhood friendship with Bulger. He had no industry experience.
 
I'm defintely not sold on the idea for the Casino development. I do believe that the casino development should be developed down in the SPID area if any at all.

But like I have said before SPID never planned a great TRANSIT for accessibility in the area. Silver-Line Bus...........What a joke.

Any bets on how fast Fallon sells Fan Pier when its built? I say Fallon already has a deal on the table the first month Vertex moves into the second building. Wonder if he repays the taxpayers the 50 Million he used on his foundation?

This is why most developers build shitty developments in the city. In & out. No quality will ever be built because nobody is in it for the Long-term.
 
"Rooney, a Hub native whose 30 years in public service have included stints as MBTA general manager and the mayor’s chief of staff, said he may never be able to sell Boston as a tourist destination like Las Vegas, New Orleans or Orlando, so he has used a different strategy."

Sounds like this guy has had a very interesting career...
 
I can't remember ever waiting more than 5 minutes for a Silver Line bus between South Station and Silver Line Way. The frequency is quite sufficient for the neighborhood and beats most other parts of the metropolitan area.
 
Ron Newman said:
I can't remember ever waiting more than 5 minutes for a Silver Line bus between South Station and Silver Line Way. The frequency is quite sufficient for the neighborhood and beats most other parts of the metropolitan area.
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As the Seaport builds up so will endless amounts of traffic..............They needed to stretch the Redline into the area.
 
TheRifleman said:
As the Seaport builds up so will endless amounts of traffic..............They needed to stretch the Redline into the area.
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Riff -- there are some unique transportation features of the SPID - -some good some not so good:

I [ Good]
1) SL Tunnel to World Trade Center Station
2) Impressive highway access to both I-93 and I-90
3) Proximity to Logan

II [Bad]
1) No tunnel under D
2) no connection direct to Ted W from SL Way
3) no tracks directly from SPID to Back Bay
4) no W-bound exits from Pike until Alston
 
Ron Newman said:
I can't remember ever waiting more than 5 minutes for a Silver Line bus between South Station and Silver Line Way. The frequency is quite sufficient for the neighborhood and beats most other parts of the metropolitan area.
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Your observation today is fine, but the Seaport is at a tiny fraction of anticipated ridership.

Imagine 20 years from now, with a potential for 25+ million more square feet of development.

That is a potential that may never be realized, in part because of the lack of a substantive mass transit system.

In other words, without a spirited public campaign for better public transit, the Seaport is handicapped.

When Rooney advocates for a larger BCEC/MCCA, one has to ask if there are public works projects competing for public attention and funding that would have a higher purpose with the same benefits. The answer seems obvious -- a public transit system is exactly the type of public works project we should be talking about.
 
If the Larger Transit Grid was built in the first place. The 25+Million plus would have developed overtime. Probably could have justified a bigger BCEC in the future.

The more and more that is built lots more Traffic above ground will conjest the city.

What are our city planners thinking at this point?
 
TheRifleman said:
If the Larger Transit Grid was built in the first place. The 25+Million plus would have developed overtime. Probably could have justified a bigger BCEC in the future.

The more and more that is built lots more Traffic above ground will conjest the city.

What are our city planners thinking at this point?
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Riff -- the most expensive and capable transportation network on the planet is in the midst of the SPID

While a legitimate Red Line branch or Loop would have been preferable to the Silver Line -- the combination of the Silver Line and walking will connect the SPID to the Red Line and South Station
The big problem which is relatively easy to fix is digging the Silver Line under D St.

However -- much more critical and harder to fix is the need for West-bound entrance / exit from the Turnpike in the Back Bay as access to the Back Bay hotels

The rest of the on/off ramps to I-93 & I-90 which connect the SPID to Logan, Boston, North of Boston, South of Boston and West of Boston are already in place and carrying hundreds of thousand cars per day
 
Bio 2012 -- a big deal at the BCEC

Today I was involved in a very small way {part of a team with a very small booth} in a corner of a very very big show at the BCEC

This is the kind of event that the BCEC was built to house -- Big $$ flowing in from around the globe -- 15,000 attendees from 65 countries and representing more than 4000 entities. Several dozen countries exhibiting -- all promising to be the next Kendall2.

if you are interested here's the event website:
http://convention.bio.org/

However, now the event is bursting at the seams 1800 companies exhibiting -- you could probably shoehorn in 30 or so booths the size of ours -- but if you had just one more of the medium sized booths -- it would have to be outside

The other intersting observation -- people arrived at the BCEC mostly by
1) private bus contracted by the BIO 2012 organizers to take them from hotels (28)
2) private bus contracted by the MCCA (BCEC's owner) to take them from local parking behind the BCEC and other lots -- I'm guessing but I think it would be about a few thousand cars
3) smallish # came by foot from the Westin or other hotels in the SPID
4) not sure how many came via the Silver Line but I don't think it was a large number
 
I always see the same transportation phenomenon at Hynes - shuttle buses unloading conventioneers from (probably the non-Back Bay) hotels. I think it's pretty typical of conventions everywhere. In Copenhagen a convention I attended was bussed from the convention center to a restaurant for dinner. The ride was 20 minutes. The restaurant turned out to have been within walking distance.
 
Shepard said:
I always see the same transportation phenomenon at Hynes - shuttle buses unloading conventioneers from (probably the non-Back Bay) hotels. I think it's pretty typical of conventions everywhere. In Copenhagen a convention I attended was bussed from the convention center to a restaurant for dinner. The ride was 20 minutes. The restaurant turned out to have been within walking distance.
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Shep -- yes that's the modus of the generic convention organizer - -sign one contract for the busses and then go on to the next challenge

In Taipei the bus ride from the hotel to the Convention Center took over an hour -- I walked back in 15 minutes
 
^whighlander

Add:
5) Walking. Thousands of conventioneers are visible -- possibly a majority, walking down Summer Street to South Station, into Fort Point, to DTX and beyond.
 
Sicilian said:
^whighlander

Add:
5) Walking. Thousands of conventioneers are visible -- possibly a majority, walking down Summer Street to South Station, into Fort Point, to DTX and beyond.
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Sicil -- yes -- though it is unclear how many are walking to their residence (permanent or temporary) and how many are walking to restaurants, parties all over, etc.

I had to drive as I was carrying several bags of stuff for the booth -- I returned with 2 more bags of stuff that I collected from other booths. Since I had a car, I was able to givve a ride to North Station to a booth collegue who was heading to Billerica

We drove back at about 6:50 PM through Summer St. to Atlantic then Atlantic up to North Station along the Greenway -- I hate to disappoint the anti-Greenway crowd it was very busy from one end to the other
 
Wednesday Update

Back at the BCEC today for more booth-related

Once again parking in the big lot behind -- much closer to full today (not clear of its capacity but in the thousand range)

I believe that the so-called South Lot is the prime location for the expansion of both the BCEC and building hotels. In riding a bus from the South Lot to/from the BCEC I got a good opportunity to puruse the surroundings -- even outside the official boundaries of the BCEC special overlay zone -- there is a whole lot of quite low value warehouses and just lots used for heavy equipment storage.

If I was proposing the expansion -- I put the new Ballroom on top of the existing BCEC -- add more exhibition floor straight back and close to the back of the expanded hall -- build a 41 story hotel tower:
a) at the very top (41) a 'Top of the SPID" restaurant with view and private elevator and entrance
b) top 15 floors (25-40) with the good views -- a luxury botique hotel (100 rooms) with private elevators and entrance
c) floors 5 (just above the top of the BCEC roof) to 25 a mid-priced major hotel of about 750 rooms
d) Floors 1 through 4 views blocked by the BCEC are for extra meeting rooms, swimming pools, small shops for travelers and meeting attendees, food court
connections via gerbil tubes to BCEC
e) underground parking for automibiles an
f) underground SPID SilverLine Station
 
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