odurandina
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i would be shocked if so much as a sliver of that building were to be razed for something tall or tallish.
Unrelated to the post above, after walking through Downtown Crossing the last few years, the whole excuse that the crater before MT is the reason that has been causing a decay in retail in the surrounding area is a LIE.
It's been about 4 years since the tower was complete and Primark moved in and we still have 10 or so storefronts lining Washington St as well as branching street such as Washington and Bromfeld Street that sits completely empty or being replaced by crowd-killing storefronts such as a Chase Bank (taking the place of what used to be a Bath and Body Works.)
What gives? This pedestrian only area should be a shopping mecca but the empty storefronts absolutely kills the energy here.
What gives? This pedestrian only area should be a shopping mecca but the empty storefronts absolutely kills the energy here.
It doesn't help that we're in the twilight of retail stores. The future of that area is banks and dead zones between generic chain restaurants.
The State needs to fix the liquor license situation in Boston and reduce the cost across the board to make restaurant ownership more attractive. But they won't because The State is run by greedy corrupt fucks that refuse to cede power to Boston to control liquor licenses.
It doesn't help that we're in the twilight of retail stores.
Unrelated to the post above, after walking through Downtown Crossing the last few years, the whole excuse that the crater before MT is the reason that has been causing a decay in retail in the surrounding area is a LIE.
It's been about 4 years since the tower was complete and Primark moved in and we still have 10 or so storefronts lining Washington St as well as branching street such as Washington and Bromfeld Street that sits completely empty or being replaced by crowd-killing storefronts such as a Chase Bank (taking the place of what used to be a Bath and Body Works.)
What gives? This pedestrian only area should be a shopping mecca but the empty storefronts absolutely kills the energy here.
I'm not. Having traveled to several cities where there is a massive retail presence at their core (NYC, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Vancouver, granted the latter two are the only ones comparable to Boston) the whole retail is dying, like the other posters have mentioned, really only pertains to the suburb. The amount of pedestrian activity in those shopping areas is at an entirely higher level and puts Boston's downtown crossing to shame. The only area in Boston that gives even a semblance of that activity is the Prudential Mall+Newbury Street which by the way, is another example that refutes the idea that retail is dying in urban settings.As other folks have noted above, this is an extremely misleading argument, but I have to add in as well. Taking the statements individually:
1.) Retail in DTX went into a steady decline as early as, oh 1965-70, as suburbanization & attendant shopping malls arose. The Filene's pit of 2008-2012 had absolutely nothing to do with the massive, nationwide socioeconomic forces involved with that trend.
The Filene's pit of 2008-2012 was a symbol of the harrowing commercial real estate crash of that phase, period. To read anymore into it is just grossly misinformed.
2.) As others have noted, of those vacancies you're seeing, none have to do with MTower/solving of the Filene's Pit disaster. The even-numbered side of Bromfield St. are Druker Co. vacancies that were all vacant before the Filene's Pit. The odd-numbered side are Midwood Co. vacancies that wrap around the corner to the Jewelers Bldg. and they (as noted by many) were deliberately created when they thought they could get their project going. The old Barnes & Nobles site is being renovated, as is 1 Milk St. That covers it.
3.) What on earth is "crowd-killing" about a Chase Bank in place of a completely lackluster and boring Bath & Body Works? Really, that's about the least compelling example you could possibly cite in favor of this misguided argument. Nobody cared about that Bath & Body Works.
There is always massive pedestrian foot traffic in DTX for reasons that have nothing to do with the disappearance of retail as trivial and irrelevant as a tiny tiny Bath & Body Works. It takes a true "game-changer" like Roche Bros./Primark to really influence the massive preexisting pedestrian traffic in DTX in any measurable way.
4.) Nitpick: MTower was completed only 2 years ago. Also, frankly, the opening of Primark, Forever 21, GAP, Old Navy, demonstrate that retail in DTX is at minimum stabilized. Also, look how quickly H&M got snapped up to become a HomeGoods too. So how is the "energy killed", exactly?
It's great that you're passionate about DTX, as everyone should be about such an iconic, historic gem of a cultural/civic space. But it looks like your passion is getting in the way of clear-eyed analysis, bigly.
I'm not. Having traveled to several cities where there is a massive retail presence at their core (NYC, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Melbourne, Vancouver, granted the latter two are the only ones comparable to Boston) the whole retail is dying, like the other posters have mentioned, really only pertains to the suburb. The amount of pedestrian activity in those shopping areas is at an entirely higher level and puts Boston's downtown crossing to shame. The only area in Boston that gives even a semblance of that activity is the Prudential Mall+Newbury Street which by the way, is another example that refutes the idea that retail is dying in urban settings.
Also Chase bank is a crowd killer because it attracts only people looking to make a deposit/withdrawal or opening an account. You count the number of people going in and out of a bank and compare it to a retail clothing store and I can guarantee you, you'd get more people in and out at a clothing store.
In addition, several storefronts became empty after they demolished filene's (children's place, Wendy's, the two At&t storefronts, city sport, Eddie Bauer, wet seal which currently has a temp holiday store) all of which have not had a permanent tenant for at least a year if not years and honestly being in the middle of the city, none of them have an excuse to be.
But maybe I am making an unfair comparison. Regardless I still believe downtown crossing is drastically underperforming it's true potential
No, they don't much disagree.
Also, the liquor license issue really does need to be addressed. It's so typical of MA/Boston. The situation will continue to get worse and worse (a la housing) while the private parties who benefit from the current state of affairs (existing restauranteurs/bar owners/home owners/landlords) stand in the way of solutions, and the politicians sit on their dead asses doing nothing out of some combination of fear, laziness, stupidity, and corruption.
Is there currently a finite number of liquor licenses in the city of Boston? Or does the city issue a set number of new licenses every year?