Fan Pier Developments | Seaport

Vertex finalizes Fan Pier deal
Casey Ross, Globe Staff

Vertex Pharmaceuticals today finalized a deal to move its offices to the Fan Pier development on the South Boston waterfront.

A company spokesman said Vertex will pay an average of $72.5 million in rent for 1.1 million square feet of office and lab space during the next 15 years. Vertex will be housed in two buildings to be constructed as part of developer Joseph F. Fallon's $2.5 billion complex of offices, residences, stores and parks along Northern Avenue.

The deal is still contingent on a approval of Incivek, Vertex's blockbuster treatment for hepatitis C. A medical advisory committee unanimously recommended FDA approval of the drug last week, and the agency is scheduled to vote on the matter May 23.

The Boston City Council yesterday began weighing Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino's proposal to give Vertex a $12 million tax break to help pay for construction of its new headquarters at Fan Pier. The council referred the matter to its economic development committee without any discussion.

The tax break is part of a $72 million package of city and state incentives used to convince the company to move its headquarters to the waterfront from an array of buildings it currently occupies in Cambridge. Governor Deval Patrick?s administration is providing $50 million to pay for roads and other infrastructure to support the Fan Pier development, as well as up to $10 million in tax breaks to help Vertex hire 500 additional employees.

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/05/vertex_finalize.html?comments=all&csort=desc
 
from todays Herald
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Meh. The ribbon windows, tall version of an office park garbage on the left makes me pretty sick. The one on the right doesn't look so bad by comparison. Hopefully they make some use of those set-backs for say green roofs or out door terraces. Of course... that's where a lot of the green space everyone cries for should be going. More green roofs and less over sized, mis-placed parks.

I like parks, but not every 2 blocks, and directly across the street from... another park.
 
I agree they are for massing only.... but I'm pretty sure the one on the left is the big fatty that has always been planned for being right next to the courthouse. One Marina Park I believee is blanked out in the lot across from it.

Based on the site plan they have had on the fan pier website for a while now. There is a much fatter (yes it's possible) office building planned for between One Marina and the courthouse. This is One Fan Pier Boulevard, and is currently labeled as Office/Research.
 
Kendal Square East: only without the tenants, a pitiful excuse for a subway line, and LESS street life.

If the Tip O'Neal Federal Building was going to have a lovechild, this is the place!
 
I'm not sure what I'm missing here but that building at left looks to me like its on the site of One Marina Park Drive.

My guess is this is a very old rendering, and the only thing real is the massing.
 
Sicilian, One Marina Park Drive would be on the site of the empty lot in the rendering.

This rendering of the two buildings said to be Vertex's future home has been consistently used in recent months (including, as I remember, in the Fan Pier video on the previous page, though I can't get the plug-in to watch it now), so it seems to be up-to-date -- though whether it reflects massing only or the supposed end-product, I don't know.

As far as the architecture goes, the building on the right isn't great, but it's fairly innocuous and in line with what pretty much every similar building (high-end mid-rise office landscraper) that has gone up in the last 8 years or so looks like.

The ribbon-window building on the left is atrocious, however. I didn't think that buildings like this were found outside of places like Stamford, CT, or Rte. 128; nor did I think they'd been built -- in Stamford, or anywhere else -- since 1988.
 
Could they at least vary the height of each building so it doesn't form a plateau?
 
For this district it might be a good idea to try and imitate what the Longwood neighborhood has done, I mean there are no high-rise buildings, like fan pier, but the buildings are still interesting and architecturally sound. Of course the goal here is to maximize floor space, so i guess its a lot harder to not end up with essentially a cube shaped building
 
porter said:
For this district it might be a good idea to try and imitate what the Longwood neighborhood has done, I mean there are no high-rise buildings, like fan pier, but the buildings are still interesting and architecturally sound. Of course the goal here is to maximize floor space, so i guess its a lot harder to not end up with essentially a cube shaped building
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Gosh. Longwood seems so uninteresting. It's not that there aren't nice buildings here and there, but I don't think of it as a model for urban living. As a medical district, maybe it serves its purpose, but it's a far cry from what I think Fan Pier could be.
 
Tombstoner said:
Gosh. Longwood seems so uninteresting. It's not that there aren't nice buildings here and there, but I don't think of it as a model for urban living. As a medical district, maybe it serves its purpose, but it's a far cry from what I think Fan Pier could be.
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Fan Pier and the Seaport will never be what we should have had. Menino had his chance when Kraft wanted to put the stadium in the area. I think this would have been the best opportunity to make Boston economic engine continue booming.
This would have justified an extension of the underground T leading into the area.
Probably could have built 1 stadium for baseball, soccer, Football with Krafts Patriots place. Could have tried to design a Wrigley field neighborhood. This would have gave Boston so much more character. This is vision. The Seaport District would have known as the home of the PATRIOTS & RED SOX.

Keep the Biotechs in Cambridge where they belong let areas evolve without state or govt taxpayers help.
What the mayor is doing is swindling industries in other parts of Mass because Kraft's vision did not fit his own. It's like the Greenway right now. Chiofaro's vision does not fit the Mayor vision so we end up with a median strip.

What will be the downfall to Fan Pier and Seaport is not have underground T service going into the area. That is why we will end up seeing a massive rush back to the Financial district 10 years future.

If they want that area to be vibrant this should have been planned.

Think of this. Davis Sq, Kendall Square, Harvard Sq, Porter Sq are all so busy. All those squares are very vibrant, plenty of traffic, lots of action. Union Sq is coming along but it is missing the T which is not so much desirable than the other squares.
 
Probably could have built 1 stadium for baseball, soccer, Football
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No -- nearly every baseball and football team has turned away from the idea of a shared multipurpose stadium. They just don't work that well for either sport.
 
TheRifleman said:
Probably could have built 1 stadium for baseball, soccer, Football with Krafts Patriots place. Could have tried to design a Wrigley field neighborhood. This would have gave Boston so much more character. This is vision. The Seaport District would have known as the home of the PATRIOTS & RED SOX.
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Yup, tearing down Fenway Park to build a multipurpose monstrosity in the seaport would have given Boston some character. "This is vision." If no one else will give you credit, you may as well give it to yourself.
 
The multi-purpose shared baseball/football stadium is failed experiment from the 70's. Go to a game in Oakland or Miami or pre-Target Field Minneapolis. Mutli-purpose shared stadiums are horrendous and should be shelved right there next to "new" Coke as failed human achievements of the last 50 years.
 
The notion of a multipurpose stadium is laughable and a very poor idea.

The most ideal situation that could have been done is this:

a 70-75,000 seat retractable roof stadium in the SB waterfront. This way Boston would be a guarantee host for any future World Cups, and Boston could host both the Super Bowl and the Men's Final Four.

I however am not a big fan of roofs on stadiums, but have always felt Gillette was substandard.
 
We should get an archBoston drinking game going. Every time someone brings up the stadium in the SBW threads, we drink.
 
Justin7 said:
Yup, tearing down Fenway Park to build a multipurpose monstrosity in the seaport would have given Boston some character. "This is vision." If no one else will give you credit, you may as well give it to yourself.
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Actually ripping down Fenway would be a blessing. Going to the games is not even comfortable. The stadium is completely outdated. I like the proposal to rip down Fenway but leave the Ballpark for the public.

If a multpurpose stadium doesn't work. Then Build a new updated Fenway Park and a New England Patriots stadium connected to Patriots place a giant mall right next to each other near the Waterfront. Build a ton of brownstone residentials with roofdecks all around. The vision was Kraft's not mine.

Completely get rid of the Silverline and replace it with underground T infrastructure.

Instead of our politicans dumping Hundreds of millions in the convention center sell that to private developers to build hotels and the city could host most events in the new stadiums.
 
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