Bulfinch Crossing | Congress Street Garage | West End

Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

Sounds great. Now where does the financing come from?
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

You know, I like this angle

IMG_8607.jpg

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But worst crossing ever
IMG_8608.jpg



And whats this?
IMG_8606.jpg
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

That used to be a Mobil gas station. I didn't realize it had closed.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

Mobil gas station closed in 2008, according to this article:

Market Woes Prevent Bulfinch Developer From Buying Station
By Thomas Grillo, Banker & Tradesman, August 4, 2008

The shuttering of the Mobil Station near Boston City Hall could boost one developer?s holdings in the Bulfinch Triangle. But with the financial markets in turmoil, the company is in no rush to buy.

Last month, Exxon Mobil Corp. said it is getting out of the U.S. retail gasoline market.

The world?s largest publicly-traded oil company is selling its 820 gas stations. Included in the number of stations already closed is 150-158 Friend St., across the street from the Government Center Garage.

Rosalind E. Gorin, president of HN Gorin, a real estate investment and development company that owns four parking lots on Friend Street totaling about 15,000 square feet of space, said she is not negotiating with Mobil to buy the small property. But Gorin said her firm is the logical buyer.

?I don?t know who else Mobil would sell it to since it can?t be developed on its own because it?s too small,? Gorin said. ?We are the only potential buyer, but we?re not in a hurry. We don?t think this is a great time to start a new project.?

Still, Gorin said she plans to build a 10-story office building on the parcels her firm owns, possibly including the triangular Mobil site when the financial markets improve.

?Everyone is very cautious now, there?s not much liquidity around and the economy is being squeezed,? she said. ?As a result, lenders are very cautious. You can?t get good financing for speculative development right now. If you could get financed, you?ll pay a premium and put much more equity than you would under normal circumstances.?

In Boston, projects including the South Station tower, Mayor Thomas M. Menino?s 1,000-foot skyscraper in Winthrop Square and Columbus Center are struggling to get financed.

Gorin declined to put a start date for the office building project.

?The financing market is one of the keys to the development business,? she said. ?I don?t know when this will turn around. If you can tell me when the Federal Reserve will act in a way that will provide liquidity to our economy, I?ll tell you when people will build again, because the two are linked.?
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http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=2338&highlight=mobil+gas+station&page=2
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

Banker and Tradesman said:
?The financing market is one of the keys to the development business,? she [Rosalind E. Gorin] said. ?I don?t know when this will turn around. If you can tell me when the Federal Reserve will act in a way that will provide liquidity to our economy, I?ll tell you when people will build again, because the two are linked.?
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She sounds like she wants you to believe she knows what the Fed should do. So how come she's not saying?
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

But worst crossing ever
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That's not a crosswalk. It's some sort of marking for the buses to follow when the leave the Haymarket busway.

The ramp parcel in the background is supposed to become a YMCA, but I haven't heard any recent updates on that project.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

Ron Newman said:
That's not a crosswalk. It's some sort of marking for the buses to follow when the leave the Haymarket busway.
.
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No ron, thats a crosswalk, the buses exit further on. Note the picture above it, it was taken from the same exact spot.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

That's a crosswalk?? I always assumed it was ornamental.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

kz1000ps said:
That's a crosswalk?? I always assumed it was ornamental.
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Well yes, its mostly ornamental, but it also implies a crosswalk. If you see it from further back its a continuous line, and the median even has an open space to walk through.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

i dont think it can be officially a crosswalk. don't all new cross walks need to have the tactile warning bumbs before they begin on each side of the street?
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

Look at the 'sidewalk' on the other side. Isn't corrugated to discourage people from walking there?
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

found5dollar said:
i dont think it can be officially a crosswalk. don't all new cross walks need to have the tactile warning bumbs before they begin on each side of the street?
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Yeah they do, although theres no incline either.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

That's not a crosswalk. It's some sort of decorative inlay. If it was a crosswalk, there would be curb cuts and an actual sidewalk on the other side.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

This enigmatic inlay leads nowhere...it forms a circle. Years ago there was a circular structure located there. My guess is that this is some sort of cryptic homage to that structure.

I'm sure someone more clever than I can dig up a photo of it and post it for all of us.
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

I took a walk around there just today and also saw the circle. Could it be an homage to the large rotary that Haymarket Square once was?
 
meeting reminder

I plan on attending, anyone else going?

The BRA is hosting a series of public meetings. The next meeting will be:

Impact Advisory Group (IAG) Meeting #3
Thursday, April 22 6:00 pm
Boston City Hall, BRA Board Room, Room 900.
Note that the Plaza entrance to City Hall is locked after hours; to enter, please use the Congress Street entrance.
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I'm not sure if the IAG #2 info had been posted before:
http://www.demolishthegarage.com/pdf/presentations/pres_2009_04_02.pdf
 
Re: Gov't Center Garage Redevelopment

File this under SSDD:

N. End group slams plan for 2 towers

By Thomas Grillo | Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
Fearing a second Big Dig, a neighborhood group opposes plans for a $2.3 billion mega-office development in Government Center.

In a letter to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the North End-Waterfront Residents? Association said it opposes the Raymond Property Co.?s plan for a 3 million-square-foot development next to the John F. Kennedy building.

?The North End only recently gained relief from the construction impacts of the Central Artery project, which lasted more than 20 years,? said the letter.

The 300-member group also said the project?s height and density are out of scale.

Raymond hopes to demolish the Government Center Garage and replace it with two skyscrapers - 42 and 52 stories tall. The proposed complex would include a hotel, condominiums and retailers.

The North End group is not the only organization lining up against the project. The Impact Advisory Group, a panel appointed by Mayor Thomas M. Menino to advise City Hall on the project, has raised questions about the height of the towers.

Stephen G. Kasnet, Raymond?s chief executive, declined comment. But a BRA spokeswoman said the letter was one of four dozen that will be considered by the city.
 
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