Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

Yeah man, all those rich folk need their nose candy! Menino should have known that when he wanted "New York style" condos. :lol:
 
Man, I gotta stop walking around the city with my rose-colored glasses on. Apparently, if I keep up my habit of walking through there 2-4 times a day I'm going to get killed! Or bored to death! And here I was stupidly enjoying my walks through downtown crossing. I feel like such a fool. :oops:
 
statler said:
Well, at least it adds to the street life, eh?
Click to expand...
Not exactly the kind you want. The reason this kind of street life is there is that the better kind has gone AWOL. Here's the reason why:

neighborhood activists point to City Hall?s increasingly muddled development strategy for the area.
The Ritz Carlton Towers alone can?t be a cure-all. Activists say more condo projects, which will attract residents committed to the area, are needed.
After all, asks Coorssen, how many drug deals do you see taking place on Marlborough Street in the Back Bay?
Click to expand...
Bottom line: Chianatown NIMBYs, eternal parking lots and pedestrian-unfriendly ground floors.
 
Speaking of street life, there were wooden benches being installed in front of Macy's on Summer St. this morning. Whether or not this will help the street life of the area is left completely to debate, however.
 
Ah yes, benches.....to replace the several rows of long-forgotten benches that used to be in front of Macy's and Filene's, along with attractive lighting? I believe they had been removed after less than a decade of use because???? Anyone know why? Nice to see them return.
 
^ Anything yet from these folks?

Time someoned did something. After all, this is the city's very core.
 
The Globe said:
Menino: Target looking at 4 sites
He also says Penney considering store in Downtown Crossing

By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | May 22, 2007

Popular discounter Target Corp. is looking at four new locations in Boston, including sites in Brighton, Charlestown, and West Roxbury, according to Mayor Thomas M. Menino , who is in Las Vegas drumming up business for the Hub at a retail convention.

Target is still considering Downtown Crossing, where the former Filene's building is scheduled for a massive redevelopment, but concerns about unloading merchandise remain, said city officials. Target spokeswoman Paula Thornton-Greear could not confirm specific sites, but said, "Boston continues to be a very important market for us. Right now we're trying to explore various sites. We love Boston, and we want to be there. "

Menino also met yesterday with executives from department store JC Penney Co. about locating its first Boston store in Downtown Crossing as part of a $625 million project to redevelop the former Filene's department store building that will include condominiums, a hotel, office space, and retail stores. JC Penney spokesman Tim Lyons could not confirm the specific site, but said, "Boston is an attractive market. It's one of the areas where we'd like to see some growth."

The department store has already laid out plans to open 50 stores a year across the country through 2011. Menino said interest in Downtown Crossing is strong as Vornado Realty Trust plans to break ground on its redevelopment project at the old Filene's building later this year. The proposal, which initially called for three floors of retail space, has already expanded to four floors to accommodate merchant demands. Boston officials said they also talked with preppy clothing chain J.Crew Group Inc. about the Vornado site.

Downtown Crossing is a top priority for city officials as key merchant Filene's Basement prepares to shutter for two years during Vornado's redevelopment. Other shops, including Barnes & Noble bookstore, have vacated the area and their spaces remain empty, leaving holes in one of the city's busiest retail districts. Menino is still trying to court a supermarket, possibly Fresh Market, and burrito maker Chipotle Mexican Grill is considering new restaurants in the area. Fresh Market, a North Caroli na specialty grocer, had previously expressed interest in the Boston area, possibly in Downtown Crossing or the waterfront. Chipotle opened its first Massachusetts location in Medford in December, and a company spokeswoman said downtown Boston is a focal point for the chain.

"Boston is the chosen city," Menino said in a phone interview from the International Council of Shopping Center's convention in Las Vegas. "The retailers see the buying power here and believe it's a good climate for them. There's a lot of excitement."

Meanwhile, Urban Brands Inc., a national merchant that recently opened one of its chain stores, Ashley Stewart , in Dudley Square, is looking to open up to six locations in Boston.

Company executives for the merchant, which caters to plus-size African-American women, are planning to visit Boston in several weeks and check out sites in Dorchester and Mattapan.

"The market is being underserved here," said Mike Parkhill , Urban Brand's director of real estate. "We're committed to the Boston market."

City officials also met with bakery and sandwich shop Panera Bread and Tavistock Restaurants, which runs Napa Valley Grille and other California-inspired dining concepts, to discuss opening in the Hynes Convention Center.

Last month, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority unveiled plans to spend about $18 million renovating the Hynes and adding an estimated 30,000 square feet of retail space.

Officials at Panera Bread and Tavistock could not be reached for comment.

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.
Click to expand...
Link
 
But ...

Would the Mayor lay-off the Target idea???????

Also, where's Vornado in this? Isn't in their best interest to find some tenants?

Is it going to be harder to find tenants for Downtown Crossing? For some reason, I'm thinking they'll have no problem filling Waterside Place ...

No?
 
honestly

How did we get to a place in time where the BRA and the mayor think it's their job to determine the proper tenant mix of developments? Wasn't it a few months ago when some fool from the BRA said that there might be too much retail planned for the seaport? Is this a centrally planned economy? These whack jobs from the politburo need to have their wings clipped.
 
Re: honestly

sidewalks said:
Is this a centrally planned economy? These whack jobs from the politburo need to have their wings clipped.
Click to expand...
Good point.
 
Re: honestly

ablarc said:
sidewalks said:
Is this a centrally planned economy? These whack jobs from the politburo need to have their wings clipped.
Click to expand...
Good point.
Click to expand...

Not politburo--philosopher king. I mean, think about it: J.C. Penney, J. Crew--it's genius. Menino wants to assemble a retailer museum in DTX. Tourists will come from far and wide to see stores long past their prime. If we can get a Montgomery Ward and Woolworth's, the success of this area is all but assured. He's a genius!

Actually, I'm guessing that J.C. Penney was simply the best party Menino could get an invite to out in Las Vegas this weekend.
 
Hey, I loved Woolworth's.
I'm sure none of you would like the idea, but I'm a kid at heart, so I'd like to see a Mega Toys 'R Us downtown (like in Times Square), or even a Jordans the way they did it in Wakefield/Reading. The Jordan's would just be a show-room...they'd have to ship from their other locations.
 
I wouldn't be against either one, but Toys 'R Us has been shrinking, not growing, of late. They closed their Fresh Pond store.
 
Re: honestly

chumbolly said:
... think about it: J.C. Penney, J. Crew--it's genius. Menino wants to assemble a retailer museum in DTX. Tourists will come from far and wide to see stores long past their prime. If we can get a Montgomery Ward and Woolworth's, the success of this area is all but assured. He's a genius!
Click to expand...
LOL!
 
Think the one one the Fellsway in Medford closed also. The Chain could perhaps use this time of desperation to re-invent itself my marketing towards young adults who would want/be able to buy big ticket items. You know, materialistic people like myself who grew up in the 80s watching BIG, and wanting nothing more than a Coke Machine and a trampoline in their apartment. DTX is the perfect place for something completely devoid of any substance whatsoever.
 
Exactly!

Funny you should mention toys and Big. The scene in the toy store actually took place in FAO Schwartz, and the toy store in Times Square was originally an FAO Schwartz, but became a Toys R Us after FAO Schwartz went bankrupt.

Which is where Toys R Us is headed, as well. I wouldn't hold out hope that we get one in DTX.
 
I thought FAO and Toys 'R' Us were two competing stores in Manhattan, both with very large and flashy flagships.

But if we want a toy store downtown, how about something local and unique, instead of a national chain? Like Construction Site, now on Moody Street in Waltham? Or Henry Bear's Park, now in Cambridge, Brookline, and Arlington?
 
Ron Newman said:
But if we want a toy store downtown, how about something local and unique, instead of a national chain? Like Construction Site, now on Moody Street in Waltham? Or Henry Bear's Park, now in Cambridge, Brookline, and Arlington?
Click to expand...

But Hizzonor wouldn't be able to take an expenses-paid-by-taxpayers trip to Vegas to woo these local tenants to a private development ......
 
I dunno ...

I think I was wrong about the whole thing.

FAO Schwartz is still on Fifth Avenue, I guess.

NM.
 
I think FAO closed all their stores everywhere after going bankrupt, but then reopened their NYC and Las Vegas locations only.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top