Lafayette Garage Sale | 1 Avenue De Lafayette | Downtown

[Equilibria]

I know we had a thread on this, but it was a pretty short one.

City of Boston issues request for proposals for Lafayette parking garage

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the City of Boston have released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Lafayette Parking Garage, a 159,123 square foot parking garage in the downtown neighborhood of Boston, as a means to generate millions of dollars for the creation and preservation of affordable...

www.boston.gov

As discussed in January, the options here are pretty limited - maybe a private entity would just buy the garage and keep operating it.

That said, it creates an interesting loop: sell a garage, promise to put the money toward affordable housing, payments don't come through so... sell another garage!

 

[Life Coach Mike]

Maybe I'm not getting this...how does an underground garage get redeveloped when there are several stories of buildings already built over it? Or is the Hyatt, et. al getting torn down first? Talk about a failed location from the very beginning, starting with the ridiculous, dark, rat-trap mall first built on the site.

 

[Cortes]

This building should be 680 feet. Or there should be 2 at 680 feet given the footprint. Anything less is a massive waste. Actually it should be the tallest in Boston, but FAA.

 

[Equilibria]

Maybe I'm not getting this...how does an underground garage get redeveloped when there are several stories of buildings already built over it? Or is the Hyatt, et. al getting torn down first? Talk about a failed location from the very beginning, starting with the ridiculous, dark, rat-trap mall first built on the site.

I have no idea, and the materials I've seen don't explain it. That's why I feel like this is just asset divestment and the new owner will keep/operate the garage.

 

[stellarfun]

The RFP is available by email request. I didn't bother.

However, the garage is presently leased to a private party who operates the garage. The annual lease payment to the city may be fixed, or be a percentage of gross revenue, or a combination. The lease expires in 2022.

The city intends that the garage continue to operate as a garage; there is no re-development of the existing building above the garage, or development of any air rights above the existing building..

The RFP ought to state what gross operating revenue was for the past several years. With that, one could crudely calculate how much to offer to buy it.. The current operator may have even approached the city about whether the city would be interested in selling. The city is basically exchanging a steady revenue stream for the next X years for a one-shot infusion of cash.

Reluctant as I am to raise the Harbor Garage, but there are posters who believe that the Harbor Garage was a cash cow for Chiofaro and Prudential in the pre-COVID era, even after their paying $150+ million for the property. Lafayette Garage has 75% of the spaces of Harbor Garage, and apparently is in better condition.

 

[HelloBostonHi]

Honestly, somewhat against this. A city owned parking garage can A) provide a sustainable continuous revenue source and B) be used to offset reductions in on-street parking. I have lived in previous cities where that's used as a bargaining chip in the planning process for bike lanes or bus lanes, you offer people with resident permits a really fair rate at a city owned garage instead. The fact that garage parking is so insanely more expensive than on street parking contributes so much to the reluctance to get rid of on street parking. You can pay $2 an hour for an on-street spot, or $16 an hour at Lafayette.

 

[DZH22]

This building should be 680 feet. Or there should be 2 at 680 feet given the footprint. Anything less is a massive waste. Actually it should be the tallest in Boston, but FAA.

I think it runs into issues with shadows on the Common well before the FAA restrictions even kick in. It probably couldn't surpass around 400' here because of that. All the more reason I scream my head off about pushing for height in the few places where it's actually possible. This isn't one of them.

 

[stefal]

Honestly, somewhat against this. A city owned parking garage can A) provide a sustainable continuous revenue source and B) be used to offset reductions in on-street parking. I have lived in previous cities where that's used as a bargaining chip in the planning process for bike lanes or bus lanes, you offer people with resident permits a really fair rate at a city owned garage instead. The fact that garage parking is so insanely more expensive than on street parking contributes so much to the reluctance to get rid of on street parking. You can pay $2 an hour for an on-street spot, or $16 an hour at Lafayette.

Yeah, this seems like a strapped-for-cash type move, especially when they say the sale will go toward affordable housing. Holding on for a steady cash flow seems to be the obvious answer, but I imagine they are hurting in the promised funds for affordable developments, especially after the changes at Winthrop Square.

 

[JumboBuc]

Honestly, somewhat against this. A city owned parking garage can A) provide a sustainable continuous revenue source and B) be used to offset reductions in on-street parking. I have lived in previous cities where that's used as a bargaining chip in the planning process for bike lanes or bus lanes, you offer people with resident permits a really fair rate at a city owned garage instead. The fact that garage parking is so insanely more expensive than on street parking contributes so much to the reluctance to get rid of on street parking. You can pay $2 an hour for an on-street spot, or $16 an hour at Lafayette.

Yeah, this seems like a strapped-for-cash type move, especially when they say the sale will go toward affordable housing. Holding on for a steady cash flow seems to be the obvious answer, but I imagine they are hurting in the promised funds for affordable developments, especially after the changes at Winthrop Square.

If the City didn't own the garage would you support them purchasing it? That's the way a financial transaction such as this (upfront capital versus future cash flow) should be evaluated. Neglecting to sell a city-owned garage at a given price is no different from the city purchasing the garage for the same price, from a decision making point-of-view.

 

[HelloBostonHi]

If the City didn't own the garage would you support them purchasing it? That's the way a financial transaction such as this (upfront capital versus future cash flow) should be evaluated. Neglecting to sell a city-owned garage at a given price is no different from the city purchasing the garage for the same price, from a decision making point-of-view.

If the plan was to use it for the stated purpose in my post? Yes.

 

[shmessy]

This building should be 680 feet. Or there should be 2 at 680 feet given the footprint. Anything less is a massive waste. Actually it should be the tallest in Boston, but FAA.

Odurandina, I missed you!!!!!

 

[Massachoicetts]

Quick question why is everything in this vicinity 680-685ft? What cortes just mentioned, Winthrop Square. Millennium Tower. All in that 680 range.

Shadow Laws? FAA?

But anyway, as long as the street level is the best it can be I'm okay with it!

 

[DZH22]

Quick question why is everything in this vicinity 680-685ft? What cortes just mentioned, Winthrop Square. Millennium Tower. All in that 680 range.

Shadow Laws? FAA?

But anyway, as long as the street level is the best it can be I'm okay with it!

Here's the FAA map. You'll have to zoom it all the way in using the plus sign in the lower right. Note this is based on sea level and not ground level, so whatever is able to be built will be slightly shorter than the map shows.

http://www.massport.com/media/1545/boston-logan-airspace-map.pdf

 

[DBM]

so whatever is able to be built

As has been posted upthread, nothing whatsoever can be built here, practically speaking, at a cost that is real-world.

Whoever buys the garage would have to buy the Hyatt parcel and the Lafayette City Center parcel, at minimum. Even at 'rona-reduced asset prices (and by the time such hypothetical negotiations might commence, don't assume asset prices won't have recovered back to pre-pandemic levels). So let's say, oh, $1 billion there--$700 million for LCC, $300 million for the hotel.

But what are you going to do about the Macy's/Markley Data Center parcel? Markley might sue over concerns, so you'd really want to buy them out too, just to cover yourself. Markely Data Center is beautifully 'rona-proof, as a data center. Another $1 billion. (Seriously.)

You're $2 billion in and you haven't hired architects, engineers, attorneys, PR firm, GC, anything. Demolition and construction costs for a building big enough to recoup the $2 billion sunk in? Something like Winthrop Sq. tower, another $1 billion, easy.... nope. never. not happening. ever.

 

[Cortes]

I think it runs into issues with shadows on the Common well before the FAA restrictions even kick in. It probably couldn't surpass around 400' here because of that. All the more reason I scream my head off about pushing for height in the few places where it's actually possible. This isn't one of them.

It is different than

Odurandina, I missed you!!!!!

I really think this is zoned the same as the rest of downtown, and this is the exact center of that loveable mess. I'm calling for the 6th tallest structure in the city, one that from many angles won't even be noticed. That said, I will never fill Orandina's shoes, but if now's my chance Nashua St. should go 900.

 

[stellarfun]

If one looks at the RFP, and I haven't, I bet there is language within it that precludes ambitious development of the site on the scale that some are proposing.

The amount of money someone will pay for this garage depends on whether the site will remain a garage, or is potentially developable as the base of a 600 foot skyscraper. The sale is further complicated by the city being the seller, as the city has ultimate authority and jurisdiction over what, if anything, is developed. (This is different than the HT garage where the seller was a private company which held no development rights for the property.)