Boom Town

Do you think Boston is booming?

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When I first read this I laughed at the subject until I really thought about it more. I posted in another thread all the buildings in the last "boom" (if you want to call it that) that were 400 feet and above. Here's my post for those of you that missed it:

BostonSkyGuy said:
For reference, the last "boom" was from about 2001-2004. Buildings over 400 feet that were built in this cycle:


Millenium Place Tower I 475ft. 38 Floors (2001)
Millenium Place Tower II 445 ft. 36 Floors (2001)
111 Huntington 554 ft. 36 Floors (2002)
State Street Financial Center 503 ft. 36 (2003)
33 Arch Street 477 ft. 33 Floors (2004)

State Street was actually delayed after approval due to low office vacancy rates, so there's always cycles but if this one extends like it seems to be it will be a pretty big boom.
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That wasn't that bad of a boom for this city. When you concider the size of Boston in terms of land mass and then figure in how difficult it is to get through the building process--we ended up with some decent buildings. 111 Huntington and State Street FC are two of my favorite buildings in the city, the later because of how it looks at night especially.

When I listed those projects and said "if this one extends like it seems to be it will be a pretty big boom" meaning the current crop of projects like SST, Winthrop Sq., etc. I meant a big boom for Boston. When I read this subject line I was comparing it to other cities. The fact is you cannot compare Boston to cities like Vegas or New York because it's just not reasonable. Those cities need constant additions because of the businesses (New York) and hotels/casinos/etc. (Vegas) that are demanded by the amount of companies global HQ's and tourists needing places to stay and go.

I think the current cycle of projects has some interesting buildings that will certainly change the skyline of Boston. Think if SST, the Filene's Tower, and Trans National Place go up, the DT skyline will look totally different. Even if two of the three go up, the change will be noticable. I concider that a boom.
 
Boston Magazine story on Boston development

Boston magazine published a six-page spread on Boston development in their July issue.

Here are links to the pages.

I have no idea how they'll look when viewed - eh, I do the best I can.

http://www.bostonreb.com/blog/ximages/devel1.gif
http://www.bostonreb.com/blog/ximages/devel2.gif
http://www.bostonreb.com/blog/ximages/devel3.gif
http://www.bostonreb.com/blog/ximages/devel4.gif
http://www.bostonreb.com/blog/ximages/devel5.gif

Source: Boston Magazine (story not online)
 
Kudos to you JimboJones! Thanks for these documents! The second link makes me giddy :shock:
 
This is going to be a totally different city in 2012... impressive. Whether we are building more buildings than other cities or whatnot, I believe we are in the beginning of a major Boston 'boom.' And this will not be the last one, this boom only covers up 4-5 highway parcels, leaving a good dozen to develop over. Not to mention places like the Midtown Motel, etc, that can be razed to build more buildings.
 
Ideally, once a couple of these turnpike projects get completed the value and viability of such projects will become more widely recognized making it easier for future developments. It would be nice if Columbus Center gets built and people say "What was all the bitching and obstruction about? This is great for the city of Boston!" and they see all the benefits. Wishful thinking, I know. But I like to dream.
 
ngb_anim8 said:
Ideally, once a couple of these turnpike projects get completed the value and viability of such projects will become more widely recognized making it easier for future developments. It would be nice if Columbus Center gets built and people say "What was all the bitching and obstruction about? This is great for the city of Boston!" and they see all the benefits. Wishful thinking, I know. But I like to dream.
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I think you are on to something that people will wonder what all the bitching was about, but the whole bitching process will start again with the next proposed development in the area. People stopped bitching about the 800ft beauty we now have in the BackBay, but they decided to bitch about a new development that is half the height. By that logic, the NIMBYs will bitch about the next proposal that is only 200ft in height.
 
Nimby's are nimby's. They'll bitch about their neighbors' kids pitching a tent in the backyard with their friends because of the shadow. The developers just need to have the proposed height be twice as high as they actually want it to be so that they can bargain down to that middle ground.

Of course, if the freaking city's zoning restrictions on building heights were modernized to the 21st century, the NIMBYs wouldn't have the "law" on their side for height bargaining. ("but zoning in this part of the city only allows for a 5 story structure....")
 
Maybe one day they will bitch about their own shadows and move themselves out of the city.
 
If accurate, this article bodes well with actually having some groundbreakings soon.


Hub?s office market gets hot: Brokers predict space shortage as towers fill up
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Wednesday, July 18, 2007 - Updated: 12:07 AM EST

The Boston area?s office market is on a roll not seen since the late 1990s boom - a key sign the local economy is finally starting to heat up, experts say.

Local companies occupied more than 5 million square feet of previously empty space in the year ending June 30 - the most since the last office boom peaked back in 2000, Richards Barry Joyce and Partners reports.

The big appetite for more office space on the part of companies ranging from Cambridge tech outfits to downtown law firms reflects an increase in hiring, said John Bitner, chief economist at Eastern Bank.

Overall, the state?s unemployment rate is hovering around 5 percent, a little above the national average of 4.5 percent but much better than after the 2001 recession.

Developers are taking note and laying plans for new office towers in Boston amid predictions of an impending shortage of office space.

?When you occupy more space, you are doing so to put more people in,? Bitner said. ?I think that is a good indicator we are seeing more job growth.?

Leading the way are some of the area?s economic hot spots, such as Boston?s Financial District and Back Bay, East Cambridge with its constellation of tech and biotech firms near MIT, and major surburban office hubs like Waltham and Burlington.

These markets are so hot that, given the current pace of expansion, they will virtually run out of available space in the next two and a half years, according to Richards Barry.

The dearth of office space can be seen especially in downtown Boston towers.

There now is only one available block of office space in the 50,000-square-foot range - roughly two floors - above the 20th floor in Boston?s office towers, said Brendan Carroll, research director at Richards Barry.

Demand for office space is also soaring in Cambridge, where Microsoft Corp. recently inked a deal for 136,000 square feet at One Memorial Drive overlooking the Charles River near MIT.

Top East Cambridge corporate suites are now being marketed at nearly $70 a square foot - double what such offices rented out for just a year ago, Richards Barry reported.

?There is an impending space shortage,? said Carroll of Richards Barry.
 
Yes i do think Boston is experiencing a little boom. Every corner I turn in the city there's buildings going up, though the building are somewhat disappointing.
 
Bullish on Boston, developers pony up plans
By Scott Van Voorhis
Friday, March 28, 2008


Boston has seen a surge of developers unveiling plans for new projects over the past few months, even as the economy has faltered and home prices have plunged.

There have been 18 filings by private developers and local institutions looking to kick off the approval process at City Hall since the start of the year. That?s compared to just four during the same period last year, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The rise in activity is surprising given a serious credit crunch that is making it harder for some developers to borrow. But Boston?s office market boasts low vacancy rates and its luxury condo towers have fared better than those in other cities.

?The fundamentals of supply and demand are pretty good at a time when we have some economic uncertainty,? said Ted Oatis, a top executive at the Chiofaro Co.

The numbers appear to back up Mayor Thomas M. Menino?s contention that Boston is seeing an unprecented level of development interest, with 60 projects totaling 14 million square feet under construction.

The 18 new projects unveiled so far this year include two major proposals and several mid-sized ones.

The big projects are One Kenmore, a 752,000-square-foot air-rights project over the Turnpike near Fenway Park [map], and a proposal for a 47-story condo and retail complex at the Copley Place Mall.

There are also plans to build a 49,000-square-foot office building on Newbury Street, and a proposed beauty school and dorm by Elan Sassoon.

In many ways, the rise in project filings at City Hall reflects more of a long-term bet on Boston as a hot city than it reflects current market conditions.

Developers filing plans now with City Hall can probabaly expect an 18-month to two-year journey through the vagaries of municipal bureaucracy, followed by another two or three years of construction.

And by that time, builders are betting the current woes threatening the national and regional economy will be a thing of the past.

?Boston is still a very healthy and desirable community for high-end residential and, right now, for commercial office space and for hotels,? said Hub developer John Hynes.


Link
 
I think he is clearly ignoring the influence of NIMBYs. 18months-2years? Those are rare cases. Normally the NIMBYs will drag it from 3-10 years.
 
I dont think I have ever voted on one of these polls and yet it always says I have.. wtf
 
DarkFenX said:
I think he is clearly ignoring the influence of NIMBYs. 18months-2years? Those are rare cases. Normally the NIMBYs will drag it from 3-10 years.
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Absolutely. Great article, really gets me going... now only if they could follow through .... ::cough cough:: Columbus Center ::cough cough::

Everything is easier said than done in this city.
 
Building booms in Boston
60 projects, worth $4 billion, going up
By Scott Van Voorhis
Sunday, June 15, 2008


All those construction cranes on Boston?s skyline are pumping billions of badly needed cash into the local economy just as the nation?s economic picture darkens, experts say.

Despite the downturn in the economy, work is moving ahead in Boston on a pair of posh condo towers and an upscale rental high-rise near North Station. There is also one major office complex under way on the waterfront at the long-awaited Fan Pier project, while Boston Properties is building a new office tower nearby at Russia Wharf.

And that is just the tip of the development iceberg in Boston. There are a total of 60 projects worth $4 billion under construction across the city, with another 250 developments worth another $14 billion under review at City Hall, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

So why is Boston continuing to build, while in most of the rest of the country construction cranes stand idle? A diverse local economy that includes a large nonprofit hospital and university sector, in addition to a still tight downtown office market, is helping keep the new buildings coming, experts say.

?We are lucky we are diverse,? said John Palmieri, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. ?We have billions of dollars under construction.?

The bustling activity stands in stark contrast to many other parts of the country, where the housing crash has led to a bust in the construction business.

Boston has not been immune to these trends, with new condo projects facing a tougher challenge now nailing down financing. Some projects have been put on hold while others, like the Avenir near North Station, have switched from condos to rentals.

That said, the frames of two new condo high-rises are taking shape on the skyline. Developers of 45 Province St. near Downtown Crossing and the Clarendon, which is just around the corner from the Hancock tower, lined up their construcion financing before the current downturn deepened.

A still extremely low downtown office vacancy rate is stirring interest among office developers. Along with Fan Pier and Russia Wharf, longtime Hub developer John Hynes is preparing to build a new office and residential tower next to the old Filene?s building.

But balancing such market-driven sectors is rising demand for new facilities among Boston?s colleges, universities and hospitals.

The so-called institutional sector has another 6 million square feet of new dorms, labs and classrooms in the works, with Boston College, Suffolk University and Harvard University, among others, all planning major expansions.

Unlike the private sector, these nonprofit insitutions are likely to move ahead even if the local economy starts to slide.

All this construction activity couldn?t come at a better time, observers say, with the national economy stumbling and the Big Dig finally at an end.

In addition to the thousands of construction workers at work on various projects across the city, another 48,000 would be needed if all 250 pipeline projects were to move ahead, the BRA reports.

?I think construction workers who really want to work are working,? said John Fish, chief executive of Suffolk Construction Co. ?The demand is still relatively strong.?

Meanwhile, developers continue to come forward with new ideas. A partnership featuring Raymond Property Co. is planning a major, mixed-use redevelopment of the 1 Congress St. garage near Government Center, having recently bought the hulking structure for more than $242 million.

?We think Boston will do nothing but improve,? said Stephen Kasnet, Raymond?s president. ?There are a lot of growing businesses that need big slugs of space.?


Link
 
Two condo towers at Northstation? Is he referring to the towers planned for the parking lot in front of the Garden? I don't know exactly what Scott's definition of towers is since to him the Avenir can be consider a tower but it does give me hope that maybe those towers may be in the works.
 
Mike said:
Despite the downturn in the economy, work is moving ahead in Boston on a pair of posh condo towers and an upscale rental high-rise near North Station.

---------------------------------

Boston has not been immune to these trends, with new condo projects facing a tougher challenge now nailing down financing. Some projects have been put on hold while others, like the Avenir near North Station, have switched from condos to rentals.
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He is talking about the Avenir but because he a a fucking moron he called it a high-rise (he also called 45 Province a high-rise, which it is, but begs the question, how does Scott Van Voorhis define a high-rise?)
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
He is talking about the Avenir but because he a a fucking moron he called it a high-rise (he also called 45 Province a high-rise, which it is, but begs the question, how does Scott Van Voorhis define a high-rise?)
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How many stories is Avenir?

Massachusetts General Laws define a high-rise as being higher than 70 feet.

The general definition most people use, however, is around 75 ft. at least.
 
disturbanist said:
How many stories is Avenir?

Massachusetts General Laws define a high-rise as being higher than 70 feet.

The general definition most people use, however, is around 75 ft. at least.
Click to expand...

Avenir is 10 stories @ Causeway St.
 
What is the purpose of having 'high-rise' defined in the Mass. General Laws? What use is made of this definition?
 
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