Millennium Tower (Filene's) | 426 Washington Street | Downtown

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Re: Filene's

Ron Newman said:
They did, but the landlord there didn't want to rent to them. I don't know why.
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Because FB was looking for a short term lease only until the new building was done, and the landlord wanted a longer term at more $$$.

Lose-lose result.
 
Re: Filene's

czsz said:
Let's hope it's future doesn't look like my former hometown's ped mall...
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I don't know how far along in the process they are, but they are in the process of opening it back up to cars. I eagerly await the results.
 
Re: Filene's

tobyjug said:
Because FB was looking for a short term lease only until the new building was done, and the landlord wanted a longer term at more $$$.

Lose-lose result.
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Hah, that landlord lost that bet
 
Re: Filene's

kz1000ps said:
I don't know how far along in the process they are, but they are in the process of opening it back up to cars. I eagerly await the results.
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Instant success I'm sure!
 
Re: Filene's

^^Did DSW move or are we talking about different spaces?
 
Re: Filene's

There is nothing in the b&n space right now, if that is the space we are talking about.
 
Re: Filene's

DSW is next door-- they were there for at least a few years before B&N closed
 
Re: Filene's

Hynes: Buyer interest in Filene?s site growing
By Thomas Grillo
Wednesday, October 6, 2010 - Added 10 hours ago
+ Recent Articles

E-mail Print (1) Comments Text size Share Buzz up!Hub developer John Hynes remains ?confident? a buyer or investor will surface to salvage the stalled Filene?s project in Downtown Crossing.

?There is a lot of interest out there,? Hynes said yesterday after a speech to the New England Women in Real Estate industry group. ?I?m very confident that we will find a solution well inside of 12 months.

?Up until six months ago, we couldn?t get people to talk to us about it,? added the CEO of Boston Global Investors. ?Now, entities are calling in wondering what?s going on with it, saying what can we do, we have ideas.?

Hynes declined to elaborate. But a source familiar with the situation said as many as three dozen developers, some who want to build housing and retail at the Washington Street site, have expressed an interest.

The original, $700 million One Franklin called for a 39-story tower with condos, hotel rooms, offices, stores and a new Filene?s Basement. Construction stalled in 2008 when financing dried up.

The owners of the blighted site, Vornado Realty Trust and JPMorgan, have hired commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield to try to jump-start the project. Hynes is the local developer.

Upset at the gaping hole, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Mayor Thomas M. Menino have threatened to pull the permits for One Franklin.

Hynes said he expects the project will likely be retail and apartments. He acknowledged that the developers will not be able to attract an investor to recoup the more than $150 million they?ve spent so far.

?But what we are going to be able to do is attract additional capital or a buyer that will come close to that number,? he said.

(1) Comments | Post / Read Comments

http://news.bostonherald.com/busine..._filenes_site_growing/srvc=home&position=also
 
Re: Filene's

Ya, it's basically a non-story, but still... Suffolk MIGHT be interested in Filene's as a site for a new dorm.

http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1287156&position=0

Suffolk University may be interested in Downtown Crossing?s former Filene?s site - put up for sale by Vornado Realty Trust - as a potential location for a new dorm, the Herald has learned.

?It?s certainly something that could be of interest to us,? said Suffolk University Vice President John Nucci. ?It?s in the general direction that Suffolk University?s campus is heading toward.?

Nucci said that, although the university?s 10-year master plan doesn?t call for student housing on that particular site, his priority is to relieve the housing crunch on campus. Suffolk currently houses only 24 percent of students, or 1,200 undergraduates

Nucci did not rule out placing a bid on the Vornado site, which recently was put on the market after city officials, angry at the stalled tower project, yanked their permits.

Vornado?s Hub partner, John Hynes, did not return calls.

Nucci said Suffolk?s master plan could be amended if a new dorm on the former Filene?s site passed muster with community groups. Because Suffolk has yet to approach Vornado about a potential sale or lease agreement, Nucci said it?s impossible to know what arrangements could take shape.

?We?re open to any kind of discussion that could perhaps lead to student housing on that site,? Nucci said.

Asked about increasing student housing in Downtown Crossing, Menino was upbeat.

?Suffolk is trying to solidify their campus in one location, the way Emerson College did on Washington Street and the Theater District,? Menino said. ?Suffolk can have the same positive impact on the Downtown Crossing neighborhood.?

City Councilor Sal Lamattina, said he wouldn?t support any student housing on the Filene?s site, which is in his district. But he could support a limited number elsewhere in Downtown Crossing.

?A mix is fine,? Lamattina said. ?But I don?t want to see it overwhelmed with students. That could be dangerous.?

David Begelfer, head of the commercial real estate association NAIOP Massachusetts, said he doubts a sale by Vornado would come to fruition - because developers would take a huge loss on the $150 million investment they?ve already made in the site. The property could fetch an estimated $30 million to $50 million on the market, Begelfer said.

?I just don?t see them walking away from that type of investment,? Begelfer said. ?And they can?t be forced to sell, that?s for sure.?
 
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Re: Filene's

HAHAHAHAHA.........If it wasn't for the colleges like I said BOSTON would look like DETRIOT.

The clown is looking to turn downtown shopping district into another college area. What a bunch a fucking uneducated morons.

Less taxes for the city
Menino and the BRA have no innovative skills to get development into the private sectors hands.

Now you know why this country is heading off a cliff financially
I also believe that this plan is very unlikely unless a very wealthy donor helps out the cause.
 
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Re: Filene's

I think Suffolk Debt load is a problem.


Suffolk University and the art of borrowing.

Suffolk University?s planned $66 million bond offering has received a BBB rating ? defined as a moderate credit risk ? from Fitch Ratings, which credited the Boston-based college for its experienced management team and conservatively structured debt portfolio. Never mind that, if the new bond issue goes through, the school?s debt load will have more than doubled in five years.

Suffolk, which already has $297 million in debt outstanding, plans to use the new funds to demolish and then build a new academic building at 20 Somerset St. The new facility will house the New England School of Art and Design, which falls under Suffolk?s umbrella of programs and curriculum offerings. The school is scheduled to lease space at 75 Arlington St., its current headquarters, through 2013.

As of June 30, Suffolk had $1.3 million in cash and land and property valued at just over $302 million on its books. Its debt load has increased 75 percent, from $168.9 million, since 2006.



Read more: Suffolk University and the art of borrowing - Boston Business Journal

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...folk_university_and_the_art_of_borrowing.html
 
Re: Filene's

The only way this Suffolk thing will be good is if there's plenty of retail. And so far, NONE of Suffolk's properties have anything to offer to people who are not students/faculty. Put 2 floors of some sort of "mall" underground, for smaller places, connected to DTX station at the Franklin St Headhouse stairs and to the Summer St Concourse. Put 3 floors above ground for larger places. Then put the dorms, classes, whatever, above that.



Also, here's a map of Suffolk properties and space rented that I made a while ago (I update once in a while, like now):

http://www.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...34766256038742.000478aa21cc370f83a34&t=h&z=15
 
Re: Filene's

BTW, what is "1.3 million in cash"?

I don't know how endowment works, but Suffolk has 75 mil or something like that, couldn't they dig some cash out of that?
 
Re: Filene's

I don't see this coming under suffolk ownership/development.

What if Suffolk was to just lease some of the floors for student housing though? It could potentially be cash neutral for Suffolk, while providing more housing for students, and a major tenant for the developer.

Surely the building could be designed in a way that the office/condo/hotel/whatever is insulated from the students.
 
Re: Filene's

Letting Suffolk take up this property would the biggest mistake in a long time. Instead of kowtowing to colleges which are loaded up on debt and government money; they need to zone these property sharks in...the occasional tit for tat is fine...like with the theater renovation but this city just doesn't have the room in it's prime districts to allow them to buy their way to making their school more relevant.
 
Re: Filene's

Vornado is not going to just give this property away. I just don't think Suffolk has this type of money to pull this type of deal off.

Even if Suffolk handed a swap to Vornado in Properties then pay the rest in cash. I just don't see this happening.

If this was BC or BU possibly.

I really can't believe Menino is promoting this solution. A disaster in the making.
 
Re: Filene's

Once Emerson was beated up by the Elks Club in Lawrence, it refocused and chose the downtown as its base. It liquidated its considerable Back Bay holdings to fund the shift.

One can debate whether Suffolk's Beacon Hill properties are as marketable, but what seems apparent is that unlike Emerson, Suffolk is up until now relying upon debt rather than property sale income to finance its plans.
 
Re: Filene's

BostonUrbEx said:
BTW, what is "1.3 million in cash"?

I don't know how endowment works, but Suffolk has 75 mil or something like that, couldn't they dig some cash out of that?
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No, the rules on endowments are pretty strict. They can spend about 5% of a rolling average, so if the endowment is $75 million, they might be able to spend $3.5 to $4 million annually. But endowments are funded by gifts, gifts that usually have strings attached. Of the total available for spending, I would guess 75% to 90% is restricted by the donor for a specific purpose (like funding a professorship, buying materials for the library, etc.).

There wouldn't be money available for real estate development without a specific gift for that purpose. Suffolk would need a building fund, not an endowment.
 
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