Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

^^ Lurker, do BIDs have any kind of regulatory authority? Do they have any say in signage or retail storefront appearance?
 
It would depend on the covenants of the agreement the members sign. For my money, I hope so.
 
Sorta...

Some folks don't like the use of private security firms in BIDs. Some object to the privatization of public space. Some worry about small businesses being priced out of the market. And some feel there could be an impact on civil rights and freedom of expression.

These are real concerns...

I see an area that looks like hell and needs a facelift. Does anyone else have a better idea?
 
TheRifleman said:
Why would any of these Building Owners agree to this?
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Because it is in their interest that DTX is kept clean. This is really a no brainer as far as I'm concerned. I've seen BIDs work wonders in NYC. I know the word "tax" sends shivers up your spine but it does serve a purpose. Plus when the building owners pay they will have a say over what the money pays for (as opposed to a new hotel or some shit).
 
For those interested, Toronto started the trend of these - here they're called BIAs. There are now about 60 BIAs throughout the city. In fact, there is an umbrella association for the BIAs that explains a lot of what they do and how they function at this website ( http://www.toronto-bia.com ). But to answer some questions, yes, BIAs (or BIDs) do have signage in their respective districts. For instance, in the area of Toronto I'm in, the Danforth BIA ( http://thedanforth.ca/ ) has banners on every light post and the city of Toronto has started replacing the traditional street signs (that look remarkably like those in Brookline) with the new city standard that also features the Danforth logo on that website's homepage.

Overall, I have a pretty favourable opinion of BIAs. They often do good work since they know that if they make the streetscape attractive, it'll will result in good things for their businesses.
 
Lurker said:
The BID will raise funds through self imposed taxes to pay for all the streetscape improvements, security, and maintenance which the city neglects to do with regular tax revenue.
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In other words, private police and street sweepers.

Also probably, potted geraniums hanging from lamp posts.



More like a mall.
 
Boston Globe - May 8, 2010
Getting the Hub?s heart pumping again
Businesses push downtown plan

By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | May 8, 2010

In Downtown Crossing, the city?s long-languishing central shopping district, hundreds of business owners are coming together to clean its streets, hire guides to assist tourists, and lift an area that has for years felt gritty and worn.

Shopkeepers, colleges, and commercial landlords in the area are on the verge of forming Boston?s first business improvement district, a voluntary association that aims to raise $4 million a year for stepped-up services, landscaping, and security in hope of attracting a better mix of stores and the customers to fill them.

Beyond beautification, the effort is meant to reestablish a sense of place in a shopping area that has struggled to find a winning formula and is just beginning to climb back. Progress has been slowed by an economic downturn that has hurt sales and stalled the $700 million redevelopment of the former Filene?s property, leaving a hole in the heart of the district.

But recession or no, store owners say they are tired of waiting for a renaissance.

?We have to band together to make it happen,?? said Ken Gloss, whose family has operated the Brattle Book Shop in Downtown Crossing since the 1960s. ?I?ve seen things go down and up and back down again. We need to do something to move us in the right direction and not let the area slide back.??

Boston is one of the few major cities in the country without a business improvement district, a designated area in which commercial property owners vote to pay to supplement basic city services. Elsewhere, this has become a common method of transforming crime-ridden and blighted neighborhoods: Times Square in New York is a famous example. Once filled with seedy taverns and nightclubs, Times Square is now a vibrant shopping and dining destination.

Downtown Crossing was a shopping mecca in the 1960s and 70s, but over the years it has struggled with crime, empty storefronts, and changing consumer tastes that led to the departure of longtime magnet stores such as Filene?s and other standard-bearers.

The trend has begun to shift in recent years with the opening of several new restaurants on Temple Place and Washington Street and renovation of the once dilapidated Boston Opera House and the Modern and Paramount theatres.

Two previous efforts to establish a business improvement district in Downtown Crossing in the 1990s faltered because of legislative snags and lack of support among merchants. They also faced opposition from police union officials concerned that plans for private security forces would undermine their work in the area.

But this time there is no organized opposition to the plan, which is being advanced by a committee of downtown businesses. Private security has been dropped in favor of ?ambassadors,?? who will assist tourists and work with police to identify trouble spots.

Also included in the plan is a uniformed cleaning staff that will work from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. to pick up trash, remove graffiti, and powerwash the streets and sidewalks.

To satisfy city requirements, business leaders trying to form the new improvement district need 400, or 60 percent, of commercial property owners to join and agree to pay a special tax based on the value of their properties. Organizers of the effort said landowners would be taxed $1.10 per thousand dollars on the first $70 million in value. Any value above that would be taxed 50 cents per thousand dollars.

So far, about 200 owners in the 20-block area, tired of the area?s battered reputation, have signed up without public outreach. The effort has strong support from Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who says he is determined to make it succeed.

?The heart of Boston should be a special place,?? Menino said during a press conference Thursday to launch the final phase of signature gathering. ?A business improvement district will make people more proud and excited to work here, live here, and have fun here.??

Other supporters include a broad mix of property owners, from Wildie Ceccherini, a Haitian immigrant who owns Boston Hair Design on Kingston Street, to Ronald Druker, a developer who owns the Corner Mall and other properties totaling about 600,000 square feet. Also on board are neighborhood stalwarts such as Macy?s, E.B. Horn, Emerson College, and the Omni Parker House hotel.

?We are all banking on the business improvement district creating a new atmosphere,?? Druker said. ?It will enhance the maintenance, security, and promotion of this area.??

Suffolk University, one of the largest landowners, said it expects to pay $25,000 a year to fund the improvement district. ?It?s going to pay back tenfold in dividends,?? said John Nucci, director of external affairs for the university. ?Downtown Crossing used to be the place where all of Boston?s neighborhoods came together. And there?s no reason we can?t get back to that again.??

Even in the economic downturn, organizers said they are confident that they will get enough people to sign up. They said they expect to submit a petition to the City Council for final approval by the end of July.

?I think the question for most people has become, how can we afford not to do this??? said John Rattigan, a lawyer for the Boston firm DLA Piper LLP who cochairs a committee leading the effort. ?This is a way to take charge of the neighborhood and improve property values.??

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
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I'm predicting this now. FILENES will be a taxpayers bail out. And I will be OUTRAGED at bailing out billionaire ROSS.
THANKS HYNES
 
^ Of course, NOT.

Expect some positive announcements within the next sixty days.
 
I guess the lesson here is... become a developer, or tell your kids to. It is somewhat like being a weatherman, you can be constantly wrong and still have a paying job.
 
Why can't Boston innovation create a small fashion district downtown? This would be great if HYNES had a brain and could think outside the box.
 
Persuading and possibly catering to the needs of a Fashion company that would be willing to relocate for possible cheaper rents instead of NYC. Give them entire DTX area as their playground. It would be great to see photo shooting right near DTX crossing.
I honestly don?t know. But I?m also not a developer.
I?m just sick of the financial district that consists of LAW FIRMS and FINANCIAL FIRMS.

Cambridge did it right and lured the Biotechs with our Schools.
The real problem with our city is the Mayor and the BRA.
 
TheRifleman said:
I?m just sick of the financial district that consists of LAW FIRMS and FINANCIAL FIRMS.

Cambridge did it right and lured the Biotechs with our Schools.
The real problem with our city is the Mayor and the BRA.
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Law firms and financial firms are good tenants for downtown offices. They deal externally with clients, for which they demand central locations with ease of access (e.g. public transit), impressive architecture and facades, and a lively district with varied entertainment options. Biotech and engineering firms, on the other hand, are internally-oriented. They can locate anywhere their employees are willing to drive to, they need functional - not impressive - architecture and they are far less likely to go for hours-long wet lunches or boozy dinners (see: Kendall, route 128).

Even in the desolate Seaport, new nightlife is managing to keep pace with the glacial development, something I believe has a lot to do with the mix of finance and law firms that are locating there.
 
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Shepard said:
Law firms and financial firms are good tenants for downtown offices. They deal externally with clients, for which they demand central locations with ease of access e.g. public transit, impressive architecture and facades, and a lively district with varied entertainment options. Biotech and engineering firms, on the other hand, are internally-oriented. They can locate anywhere their employees are willing to drive to, they need functional - not impressive - architecture and they are far less likely to go for hours-long wet lunches or boozy dinners (see: Kendall, route 128).

Even in the desolate Seaport, new nightlife is managing to keep pace with the glacial development, something I believe has a lot to do with the mix of finance and law firms that are locating there.
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I understand Law firms and Financial firms are good tenants. The problem is every skyscraper in the city is full of law firms and financial firms. The city has no other core sectors of diversity. How can Boston really grow from just Law Firms and Financial firms? Somebody should ask this question at the next BRA meeting.

How many law firms and Banking firms in Boston?
 
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