Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

Suffolk University won't be expanding into the neighborhood because it has agreed to a ten year moratorium on growth (at least when it comes to the number of undergrads).

A question that isn't answered in any of the articles on the neighborhood is, how many students from Emerson live in the neighborhood and how does this compare to 1, 3, 5, and ten years ago? How many lived on the flat of Beacon Hill when they were on Beacon Street, etc.?

The visibility of students may be more a result of them being comfortable "hanging out" in the neighborhood compared to in the past. This is nothing but a win-win for everyone involved.
 
Davis and Central are more than just retail districts. People live there and use their services every day. DTC and neighborhoods in New York like SoHo (which is getting gap-toothed these days) depend on people making specific trips and spending discretionary income.

And then, yeah, there's the rent issue.

I'm a bit wary of Scott's eminent domain solution because having one landlord might up the temptation to sell off all the little properties to one retailer or developer, sacrificing a more recession-proof string of stores for one large one that could bust, like the late B&N - or leading to a Filene's-style fiasco.

The visibility of students may be more a result of them being comfortable "hanging out" in the neighborhood compared to in the past. This is nothing but a win-win for everyone involved.
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I think it's a bit of a deterrent for older people, who might be put off by some of the harmless but crazy hooliganism that's going down on Tremont at night - and older people are the ones with money to invest in the area. A couple decades ago, older people and students coexisted in places like Newbury St. and Kenmore, creating more lively neighborhoods for the former and instilling the latter with what seemed like more maturity. Now, it seems like these two demographics live in different worlds.

Maybe it has to do with the concentration (via dorms) of urban students, who used to spread out in apartments across the city - and get a taste of more mellow "real life" much faster. This isn't just a Boston phenomenon - I see the same behavior these kids display outside NYU residence halls - but Suffolk and Emerson dorms aren't integrated into established residential neighborhoods in the same way.
 
It's in my district. If you want my opinion, you'll have to wait for the position paper. I warn you, it starts, "... further study is needed ...".

I'm picking up the politics thing, quickly.
 
JohnAKeith said:
It's in my district. If you want my opinion, you'll have to wait for the position paper. I warn you, it starts, "... further study is needed ...".

I'm picking up the politics thing, quickly.
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You want us to sopport you with that attitude?
 
The area was very busy when I went Friday at 5pm.

The pictures dont do it justice

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The street must stay as a pedestrian way.


This however....


Why is all the sidewalk behind the filenes curtain?
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JohnAKeith said:
Suffolk University won't be expanding into the neighborhood because it has agreed to a ten year moratorium on growth (at least when it comes to the number of undergrads).
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According to this article, it appears that Suffolk disagrees.

From this week's Boston Courant:
The Boston Courant" said:
Suffolk Has Only Begun
In Downtown Crossing

by Jim Cronin
courant News Writer

Suffolk University will be a vital part of
Downtown Crossing's future, according to
school officials.

While details of its planned expansion
are still unclear, John Nucci, the college's
vice president of external affairs, said the
school will be expanding its presence in
the shopping district.

"Suffolk is excited about being a part of
Downtown Crossing." and sees it as an area
with tremendous potential, Nucci said.

Between the redevelopment of the
Modern Theatre and a new dorm and retail
space it opened at 10 West Street, Suffolk
has invested $80 million in the neighborhood,
and does not plan to stop there.

"It's certainly an area we are looking to
for future expansion," Nucci added. "We
want to integrate ourselves into the neighborhood."

Although the timeframe is unclear, the
expansion could include a new dormitory
or a student center with athletic facilities, a
club and meeting space or student services.

When stalled projects get back on track,
like the hotel and retail development that
was to replace Filene's old Washington
Street but had insufficient funding,
Downtown Crossing will be an exciting
place to live, work and be a student, Nucci
said.

"Students bring spending power and
more safety." he added, highlighting the
criminal activity, like shootings and stabbings
that have brought Downtown
Crossing into the media spotlight.

To bring students to the City, Margueriie
Dennis, Suffolk's vice president of enrollment and
international programs, was hired
in 1989, a time when only commuters
attended the university. Now, about 30 percent
of the student body lives in student
housing. Additionally, when Dennis started
at Suffolk, the school had 123 international
students. Now that number is more than
1,000.

"It all begins' with students," Dennis
said. "We hope [Downtown 'Crossing] will
become a home for our students and to
help improve the landscape of that area of
the city."
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jass said:
The area was very busy when I went Friday at 5pm.
Click to expand...

5pm on a Friday? Those people couldn't care less about DTX, they're just trying to get home.
 
ablarc, why are you suddenly so down on me? I guess I forgot to put the smiley after my comment, it was in jest.

I think DTX, being that it is in a commercial district, is a great place for Suffolk University and Emerson College to grow.

It's interesting about the Courant article; I misread earlier comments the school made about not expanding - they meant building in Beacon Hill only, I guess. They have agreed to keep enrollment steady, though, that much I think I got right.
 
The entire hullabaloo about Downtown Crossing is the most idiotic mountain out of a molehill issue that I can remember.

First off the language people use when discussing the neighborhood makes it seem like the area is generally dead. This is one of the most heavily trafficked neighborhoods in Boston on a daily basis.

People will reply that this is only during the day and that it is dead at night but the media and those who are overly worried are constantly talking beyond what their major complaint is. Be clear as to what you think the issue is.

Do want to see additions that will add to the neighborhood beyond 7pm? Or do you want an entirely new vibe for DTX that will reinvent the neighborhood?

A lot of people on here and especially in the Globe need to stop over-dramatizing this area as though it were some sort of wasteland that people avoid while at the same time grousing that the major issue is only the lack of a viable nightlife and or high rents. Though in all fairness I don't even think the Mayor knows what he wants out of this neighborhood.

The general improvement of DTX and the expanding of DTX into the night are two separate though interlocking though not mutually dependant issues.

Rent, housing, zoning, nightlife, demographics...these all need to discussed but please just stop criss-crossing them, creating some sort of histrionic, cataclysmic situation like it is downtown Detroit.

I am sorry if I sound pissed off but this thread is just one big mess with people on here just demanding way too much.

All these unrealistic and ahistoric visions just seem to ignore the fact that this is still a very busy neighborhood and that their is no general anathema against it by the citizens of Boston.
 
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I think rows of vacant storefronts are a problem that needs to be solved. Fix that, and get Filene's development going again, and everything else will fix itself.

And yes, it would make sense to put things here that are open after 7 pm, maybe even things that aren't allowed in any other zone (such as music clubs open past 2 am)
 
from the latest Downtown Crossing Newsletter
PUBLIC MEETING: The Continental Diner

On April 2nd at 5:30pm, Suffolk University will hold a public meeting regarding the space at 10 West Street. Downtown Crossing Partnership members are encouraged to attend. This meeting will be held at 73 Tremont Street in the 1st floor conference room. Please contact Elizabeth Leary from Suffolk University at 617.570.4862 if you have any questions about this meeting.
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SAVE THE DATE: Pedestrian Zone Workshops

On April 14th from 5:30pm-7:30pm at the Old South Meeting House, and April 16th from 8:00am-10:00am at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, the Downtown Crossing Partnership and the City of Boston will host Pedestrian Zone Workshops that are open to the public. At these meetings, plans will be formed to help improve the pedestrian zone to make it better suit the needs of neighborhood stakeholders. The same information will be discussed at both of these meetings. More information will follow in the coming weeks.
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40-46 Winter Street Facade Renovation

The facade of 40-46 Winter Street have been restored to closely match their original design from the building's construction in 1865. Morris Naggar of Manhattan Clothing put architects to work redesigning the facade of this historic structure. This is one of only buildings to have survived the Great Fire of 1872, so its significance to the neighborhood can not be forgotten.
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JohnAKeith said:
ablarc, why are you suddenly so down on me? I guess I forgot to put the smiley after my comment, it was in jest.

I think DTX, being that it is in a commercial district, is a great place for Suffolk University and Emerson College to grow.

It's interesting about the Courant article; I misread earlier comments the school made about not expanding - they meant building in Beacon Hill only, I guess. They have agreed to keep enrollment steady, though, that much I think I got right.
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I hope you don't mind my presumptiveness, but I suggest you read their IMP if you haven't.

Short story, they expanded enrollment to maximum they could carry in the current property (much to the dismay of the Beacon Hill elite!), with the intent to continue property development over the life of the master plan. At that time, it will be time for a new IMPNF, and an increase in enrollment.

Couple other random thoughts not specific to Mr. Keith:

1. Councillor Ross seems to think that students dispersed in neighborhoods is the equivalent of the plague. Yet here we see that a high concentration of students quickly changes the neighborhood dynamic.

2. Don't trust the Boston Courant, Beacon Hill Times, Back Bay Sun etc. on development. They may be well-intentioned, but too often push agendas and disguise it as a news story. I sit at these meetings, and when I read what's reported, I often wonder what meeting the writer attended, and in what alternate universe.

3. Eminent Domain is the worst idea. Look what it did to my favorite strip club......a big fat nothing.

4. I have to disagree with VanS (which is unusual for me). Yes, the economy shit all over the floor. But the rents are still overpriced in an area that offers very little. If Macy's wasn't entrenched, I wouldn't be surprised to see them flee (and wouldn't be that surprised if they do anyway.) All the lease tricks in the world (see below) don't erase the fact that the entire district is overpriced by 25% or more. The last 10 years have been a rapidly-increasing spiral.

5. Is it just me, or has Scott Van Voorhis *really* stepped up the quality of the writing? His reporting is a little weak, but his writing is getting much better!

6. On his reporting. I would have liked to see some of the lease tricks that are going on. 18 months free in a 5-year short-term lease to keep rents "at market rates" is a joke. Obviously the market rate is being kept artificially inflated. Everyone knows it, why do we all play along with it?
 
JohnAKeith said:
ablarc, why are you suddenly so down on me? I guess I forgot to put the smiley after my comment, it was in jest.
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I was also kidding; forgot the smiley face myself. Sorry. I'm not at all down on you.
 
Apologies for the laziness, but could someone repost the plans for the street renovations? Does anyone know if this is still in the works and if it has an actual date?

I agree that the empty storefronts are the main detractor here, but the streets themselves are not all that inviting. The 'street' really needs to be at the same level as the 'sidewalk' and some planters/trees/benches would help soften things up a little and perhaps persuade people to spend a little more time in the area instead of rushing through it.
 
Three no-so-easy steps to rehab DTX:

1. Reintroduce traffic
2. Reduce rents
3. Build 1 Franklin (preferably with condos intact)

Some better signage would work wonders as well.
 
Let's all just pretend this page never happened, shall we?

statler said:
Three no-so-easy steps to rehab DTX:

1. Reintroduce traffic
2. Reduce rents
3. Build 1 Franklin (preferably with condos intact)

Some better signage would work wonders as well.
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I don't see why "reintroduce traffic" would be any kind of improvement.
 
I think it's time to restore Washington Street to its natural condition: unrestricted traffic, asphalt roadway, concrete sidewalks with curbs, drop the idiotic "Downtown Crossing" moniker, lose the loitering police vehicles, build on the parking lots. Finally, make Macy's replace its building with one that respects its context with vertical articulation instead of horizontality.
 
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