Downtown/Financial district infill and small developments

[KCasiglio]

https://www.patriotledger.com/story/business/2025/10/17/uniqlo-opening-new-boston-store-in-vacant-downtown-crossing-building-washington-street/86703763007/

Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo will soon fill a long-vacant space in Boston's Downtown Crossing neighborhood.

The brand, which currently has five stores in Massachusetts, told business magazine "Fast Company" that it would open 11 new locations in the United States next year.

Uniqlo said it would open its new Boston store inside a commercial building that has sat empty since the first-floor tenant, Barnes & Noble, left the space in 2006.

 

[stick n move]

Link

 

[BeeLine]

International Place 11/22.

 

[stick n move]

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[BeeLine]

As of 3/15/2026.
Some new stores coming and some interesting additions.

 

[Longfellow]

110 Canal Street​

View attachment 49919

“110 Canal Owner LLC (the Proponent) is proposing the adaptive reuse and development of an existing building with vacant office and vacant restaurant space. The Proponent proposes to repurpose the building into a hotel with guestrooms on the upper floors and a ground-floor restaurant. The proposed project will include approximately 82 Hotel rooms, a restaurant, and surface parking in the existing adjacent parking lot. The proposed project does not contemplate any changes to the property footprint or building envelope. All work will be within the existing building.”


https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/110-canal-street

This project is dead. The building has been sold directly to an office tenant for a huge discount: https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/...lding-returns-to-offices-after-planned-s.html

 

[themissinglink]

Embrace Boston's next move? A cultural center in Downtown Crossing

Just steps from The Embrace monument on Boston Common, the nonprofit behind the statue is planning a 35,000-square-foot cultural center in Downtown Crossing with a cafe, theater space and more.

www.wbur.org

Three years after unveiling its monument on Boston Common, the nonprofit Embrace Boston is planning its next downtown landmark. And you won't have to walk far. The organization announced yesterday it bought a two-building Downtown Crossing property and plans to turn the bottom floors into a new 35,000-square-foot cultural hub. " We hope to be a part of the revitalization of Downtown Crossing," Embrace Boston CEO Imari Paris Jeffries told WBUR's Amy Sokolow.
[...]
The backstory: Jeffries said building a cultural center has been part of the organization's core business plan for years. Embrace Boston had been focusing on building it as part of the Parcel 3 redevelopment in Roxbury, until the city of Boston announced a new plan for the property this year. So, they turned their search to Downtown Crossing. Jeffries said the district's older buildings were "ripe with opportunity." The team eventually found the right space at 33-41 West St — only "185 steps" from the Embrace monument, according to Jeffries.
On the inside: The plans call for a gathering space, art gallery, cafe, podcast studio and theater at the new center. "There are so many amazing theater companies, like Company One or Front Porch, that do not have a permanent home, and to be able to partner with one of those amazing groups to give [them] a place to perform in a permanent way would be great," Jeffries said.
On the outside: Embrace Boston plans to redesign the building's facade and install a statue of Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist who settled in Massachusetts and repeatedly visited Boston. Jeffries said they also plan to "reimagine the Emancipation plinth as a new monument" in nearby Park Square, after the controversial statue was removed in 2020.

 

[Justbuildit]

Love that cheap real estate is being bought and put to good use but I kind of feel like these flex arts and public mixing spaces generally end up without enough programming and so are just dead most of the time. Power to the Embrace team for the deal but really hope it’s active and frequently in use.

Also yes Lincoln needs a statue back in Park Square whatever you think of the decision to remove the old one.