Bulfinch Triangle Infill & Small Projects

[Mike]

Avenir condo complex has shaky future
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Friday, October 13, 2006


A high-end condo project seen as a flagship for upgrading the North Station area has run aground.

The developers of the planned Avenir project are overhauling their marketing strategy amid a residential market that has seen prices and sales plunge.

Abby Goldenfarb, a spokeswoman for Trinity Financial, insists the developer still hopes to start work by the end of the year, and is now working to firm up financing and sign up a construction contractor.

?We are just re-evaluating our sales strategy,? Goldenfarb said.
But the announcement of the marketing shift comes after an anticipated September groundbreaking that never materialized.

Meanwhile, Trinity has been offering an unprecedented money-back guarantee to lure condo buyers worried about the cooling market.

The development firm has offered to reappraise units after construction is complete. If the value has dropped below what the buyer originally agreed to pay, the unit will be sold for the lower price.

?To me it?s code that the project is in trouble,? said John Keith, a Boston real estate broker who writes a blog on the local market.

Goldenfarb confirmed discussions with prospective buyers who have already put down deposits, but declined to detail them.

One possibility could be downward repricing of the condos, which had been offered in the $500,000 to $700,000 range, Keith said.

Auctions are also an option.

The developer of the new Folio condo high-rise on Broad Street in downtown Boston sold more than 30 units last weekend during a short auction, many at big markdowns.



Link

 

[briv]

Avenir condo complex has shaky future
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Friday, October 13, 2006

Link

Scotty got scooped on this one. It was written about two days ago on BREB.

Cant say Im disappointed since I wasnt a big fan of this project. I just hope this isnt the official beginning of another real estate bust is Boston. I wonder if this will have any effect on other projects nearing construction, like The Clarendon or Columbus Center.

 

[ablarc]

I just hope this isnt the official beginning of another real estate bust is Boston. I wonder if this will have any effect on other projects nearing construction, like The Clarendon or Columbus Center.

Government and NIMBYs put so many obstacles in the path of all these projects that potential customers got tired of waiting and moved to Charlotte. Now that the product is finally ready to go on line, there aren't any customers still around.

They'll do it again next cycle.

Boston is borderline moribund.

 

[chumbolly]

In this particular case, I don't think NIMBYs had much to do with it--all blame may be fairly placed on the shoulders of the ass-clowns that formerly ran the Turnpike.

 

[Ron Newman]

Where is Avenir? Is this the project behind the Strada building, between it and the Charles River dam?

 

[Joe_Schmoe]

Maybe this will give them a change to reconsider the design for something better.

 

[Waldorf]

They should start by changing the name.

 

[TGSwimFly]

^^ how ironic.

avenir: future (french)

 

[Mike]

Greenway to see first development project begin next month
Boston Business Journal - 4:50 PM EDT Thursday, June 28, 2007
by Michelle Hillman
Boston Business Journal


Trinity Financial and Archstone-Smith will break ground next month on a 241-unit luxury apartment building on the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

The residential building will be the first new construction project on the Greenway, according to Trinity, which announced it closed a deal to develop parcel 1A on Thursday. The parcel is located on the corner of Canal and Causeway streets in downtown Boston. The $150 million project will be next to North Station.

In addition to more than 200 apartments, the project, called Avenir, will contain 28,000 square feet of retail and 116 parking spaces.

The project -- originally approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in December of 2005 as a condo project -- was delayed in 2006 when the condo market went into a downturn and construction costs increased. The development plan shifted this year when Trinity decided it would not move ahead with condos due to a "market collapse" said Abby Goldenfarb, a project manager at Boston-based Trinity.

Trinity filed a Notice of Project Change, which the BRA approved in April. Trinity also replaced its original investment partner, Lehman Brothers Inc., with Archstone-Smith (NYSE: ASN), which will own and operate the apartment building, said Goldenfarb.

Trinity will develop the building, located in Boston's Bulfinch Triangle neighborhood, and expects it will open for occupancy in July of 2009, said Goldenfarb.

The architect for Avenir is Boston-based ICON architecture Inc. and the interiors were designed by Duffy Design Group. Dimeo Construction Co. will be the general contractor. Trinity Financial is a real estate development firm which specializes in urban residential and commercial development established in 1987.



Link

 

[stellarfun]

From the Globe.

Bill may stall Bullfinch Triangle project

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | August 1, 2007

Having overcome many delays and hurdles, the $140 million Avenir residential project in the Bulfinch Triangle in Boston appeared to be moving forward to an August groundbreaking under new owner Archstone Smith.

But now it may have hit another roadblock.

Massachusetts lawmakers remain at odds over creating a new system for regulating construction in filled, landlocked tidelands, such as the Avenir site on Canal Street, making it uncertain when it and other such projects can proceed to construction.

Yesterday, the Massachusetts Senate adopted legislation that is substantially different from a version passed last week by the House. The legislation is needed after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in February that state regulators did not have authority to exempt projects on landlocked filled tidelands -- those which do not front directly on water -- from review under a state law that mandates public benefits for developments along river and waterways.

The tidelands in question are wetlands that were long ago filled in to make dry, buildable land and which now do not abut water. The ruling concerns thousands of acres of land in downtown Boston and East Cambridge, and elsewhere along coasts and rivers.

The Senate bill passed yesterday would provide an automatic exemption for these projects from increased regulatory scrutiny. The House version would not exempt future projects; instead it would create a more involved review of such projects, including adding the position of state permitting director for tidelands.

With so many differences between them, House and Senate lawmakers may not be able to reconcile their versions soon, especially with the Legislature more or less on summer vacation after yesterday. That means a Sept. 6 deadline set by the court for a solution may pass.

Charles V. Reed is vice president of Raymond Property Co. LLC, which hopes to start a long-awaited supermarket in the Bulfinch Triangle this fall. "The idea that this is going to delay a supermarket on our Canal Street site is something that causes us huge heartburn," he said.

The current debate over how to remedy the situation pits developers against project opponents and private property rights advocates against those who favor more public access and accommodations.

Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association, said the Senate bill, which is almost identical to what Governor Deval Patrick proposed as a remedy in March, would do the trick.

"Our interest has been to deal with what the court was concerned with," said Li. "For us the status quo as it's been for 17 years has been fine."

The dispute began when a coalition of neighborhood groups challenged an exemption state regulators had granted to the NorthPoint project in East Cambridge. The state Department of Environmental Protection had exempted the 44-acre project from the so-called Chapter 91 review process.

The Cambridge opponents want NorthPoint developers to provide more public amenities. They are looking for an improved park and better drainage of an area in NorthPoint that was formerly the Millers River and is now filled in. They also would like to see compensation to the public for the elimination of the river, so the land could be used as a railroad yard.

The Supreme Judicial Court agreed with the Cambridge opponents that the DEP could not exempt NorthPoint.

Stash Horowitz, vice president of the Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods, said any new law should demand more of NorthPoint's developers and protect similar developable lands in the future.

"Any project over a certain size that has implications for storm water or groundwater should not be able to avoid the public process of Chapter 91 licensing," he said. "That's the only place where the public process intervenes for better projects."

What a statement that is!! That basically would extend Chapter 91 to any project in the state, like a new WalMart in Worcester.

 

[Merper]

yup.

"For us the status quo as it's been for 17 years has been fine."

good one vivien.

 

[BostonSkyGuy]

Re: yup.

"For us the status quo as it's been for 17 years has been fine."

good one vivien.

Vivien doesn't leave her house unless it's to speak to the media or to go to a town-hall type meeting where she can blindly oppose projects that she has ZERO clue about. Development to her is a four-letter word.

 

[ablarc]

Re: yup.

Vivien doesn't leave her house unless it's to speak to the media or to go to a town-hall type meeting where she can blindly oppose projects that she has ZERO clue about. Development to her is a four-letter word.

Except when it comes to wheelchair accessibility. Her proudest achievement: a wheelchair-acessible waterfront --even if it's lined with parking lots. World class.

 

[BostonSkyGuy]

Re: yup.

Except when it comes to wheelchair accessibility. Her proudest achievement: a wheelchair-acessible waterfront --even if it's lined with parking lots. World class.

Well if they build on the parking lots that would probably take away from the wheel chair accesibility. Vivien could never stand for this!

 

[czsz]

Well if they build on the parking lots that would probably take away from the wheel chair accesibility. Vivien could never stand for this!

Ha. Sic Vivien's thought process: development automatically = discrimination. Would explain a lot.

 

[TC]

I usual take issue with almost all of Vivien's positions on development, but isn't she really saying that the recent court ruling on Chapter 91 has gone to far?

"For us the status quo as it's been for 17 years has been fine."

I think she wants to keep the Chapter 91 interpretation as is, which is much better than the peoples republic savior (also known as Stash?) is quoted as saying ....

Stash Horowitz, vice president of the Association of Cambridge Neighborhoods, said any new law should demand more of NorthPoint's developers and protect similar developable lands in the future.

"Any project over a certain size that has implications for storm water or groundwater should not be able to avoid the public process of Chapter 91 licensing,"

 

[ablarc]

I usual take issue with almost all of Vivien's positions on development, but isn't she really saying that the recent court ruling on Chapter 91 has gone to far?

"For us the status quo as it's been for 17 years has been fine."

I think she wants to keep the Chapter 91 interpretation as is, which is much better than the peoples republic savior (also known as Stash?) is quoted as saying ....

Yeah, for once she makes sense. That's what's so striking.

 

[xec]

Bulfinch Triangle Parcel 1

There are no threads for the Bulfinch Triangle proposals currently under BRA review. I figured I might as well create them so they can be added to van's development map. This is the proposal for Parcel 1. The developer is Simpson Housing and the architect is ADD. The BRA site has no details on the proposal. The original 2005 proposal to the MTA was for ~210 rental units.

 

[xec]

Bulfinch Triangle Parcel 1B

Proposal for Parcel 1B. The developer is Boston Development Group. The architect is you-know-who. From BRA site: Phase 1 = Courtyard Marriott 125 units. Marriott Town Place Extended Stay 125 units. 214 Parking Spaces. Retail component. Phase 2 = Office Space

 

[xec]

Bulfinch Triangle Parcels 2A, B & C

Proposal for Parcel 2A,B&C. The developers are Hines and Raymond Properties. Once again, Boston's own Starbucks of architecture did the design. I think they did a good job on this one. Details from BRA: between 170 - 180 condominium units, 15,000sf of retail space, a 50,000sf supermarket and (233) parking spaces

As an added bonus the proposal includes restoring the ornate terra cotta lowrise on Canal St.