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

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Re: Filene's

BosDevelop said:
The problem with your premise is that you are comparing a rather generic apartment building in a Chinatown alley near the city's only strip clubs with a development in one of the most prominent visible and central locations in the city. It is completely unrealistic to think that the lack of progress with Kennsington would garner a fraction of the attention that the Filenes development has.
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So you're saying that if a project is insignificant, it is allowed to demolish a building and then just leave sit on the lot for multiple years? Again, I agree with the current action taken against Filene's. All I'm calling for is that EVERY project should be subjected the same rule if the Mayor and BRA are so critical that EVERY project needs to follow the rules and guideline. If Filene's permits are revoked and the Aquarium Tower have to follow every guideline, then Kensington's permit should have been revoked as well. Else you'll end up having a Fan Pier in the middle of the city.
 
Re: Filene's

HenryAlan said:
I'm wondering this, too. So lacking permits, the plot is worth less than it would be. That is definitely a screw you to Vornado, but does it change the speed with which he can sell it? The price will now be discounted, of course, but would there have been a better chance of finding a buyer with permits already secured? If it takes longer to find a buyer, if the permitting process drags on... all of this will lead to more delay.
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I personally hope that Donald Trump becomes aware of this project, buys it, and build his tower here. He definitely have the money to build.
 
Re: Filene's

Good point. I imagine the property without permits is worth less, almost guaranteeing that Vornado will take an even bigger hit on this sale. However, the city has already played its hand stating that it doesn't have enough money to take the property by eminent domain, so what's to stop Vornado now from sitting on the property until it's value goes up a bit and the right buyer comes along?

This really conflicts me. As much as I dislike the fact that Vornado started demolition without having funding for construction and there's now a crater in what should be one of the most prominent corners in central Boston, I do like it when Menino and the BRA get a big "F*ck You" directed at them, which is what Vornado could do now that the City admitted to not being able to take the property even if they wanted to. Unfortunately, it's the city as a whole that ultimately gets screwed by being caught in the crossfire and, ultimately, I want what's best for the city.

I am gonna miss what could've been; I really liked that building.

"I personally hope that Donald Trump becomes aware of this project, buys it, and build his tower here. He definitely have the money to build."

I have wondered why The Donald has overlooked Boston in the past. He's built Trump towers in partnership with developers in many cities. He even had a plan for one in New Orleans but I know that's been on-hold at least since Hurricane Katrina. Not sure if he's ever considered building in Boston. Maybe he knows he wouldn't be able to build a signature tower in this city. Even if he were to build on Filene's, he probably wouldn't get much more in terms of height than the initial project, which was 495 ft. Even 100 additional feet would make a dent on the skyline, but it wouldn't really stand out the way other Trump projects do.
 
Re: Filene's

I think the bottom line is nothing of quality or significance will ever be built under the Menino Regime. It's just too much of a hassle to make a buck in this city. To many political handouts and puts a risk on your development.
Boston has so much potential because of the Universities and Hospitals it's a shame that this fat clown treats Boston like Sim city.
I have a tough time seeing Trump actually building a project like this without knowing the politics that goes into this city. I would probably expect him first to buy real estate before building in the city of Boston.
I hope the Mayor with his peanut brain does not run for office again.
 
Re: Filene's

Rifleman, if you tell someone they can't get permits without a construction loan signed an delivered, nothing will ever get built. What bank would give a construction loan without knowing that construction is approved?
The process typically goes:
1. Developer get's an LOI for financing and applies for permits.
2. City approves project.
3. Developer and bank execute the LOI and construction begins.
Obviously the lender got cold feet after permitting, but that's hardly the BRA's fault (particularly given the economic meltdown). Members of this board have suggested performance bonds in the past, which is an interesting solution but only adds to the cost of development in Boston.
 
Re: Filene's

The design was pretty terrible anyway. I find the current state of the site depressing, but the proposal just looked cheap and would have been dated almost instantly - and not in a good way.
 
Re: Filene's

I'm still having difficulty seeing what the city should have done differently in this case.
 
Re: Filene's

Shouldn't have permitted the demolition without evidence of sufficient financing for the new development -- or, required a performance bond to ensure completion.
 
Re: Filene's

AmericanFolkLegend said:
Rifleman, if you tell someone they can't get permits without a construction loan signed an delivered, nothing will ever get built. What bank would give a construction loan without knowing that construction is approved?
The process typically goes:
1. Developer get's an LOI for financing and applies for permits.
2. City approves project.
3. Developer and bank execute the LOI and construction begins.
Obviously the lender got cold feet after permitting, but that's hardly the BRA's fault (particularly given the economic meltdown). Members of this board have suggested performance bonds in the past, which is an interesting solution but only adds to the cost of development in Boston.
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Okay........So your telling me once Hynes blew a hole into the heart of Downtown the Lender said we are not paying a dime for construction?
Who was the lender Dr. Suess? Where is the accountability? Wouldn't the lender actually say I want more equity to cut our risk or we will not fund the remaining project?

The city should have had sometype of clause about moving forward into the demo process, that sometype of structure needs to follow at all costs or the city has the right to sue the company.

#1 HYNES never had any financing for the project in the first place.
#2 Wouldn't the BRA investigate the lender to make sure that Hynes had sometype of iron clad agreement for even a small percent of financing before demo? Thats what doesn't make sense.
#3 Does the BRA look at the type of equity or investments that are going into these projects to understand the risk of a situation like this happening?

So what does the BRA actually do?
 
Re: Filene's

Ron Newman said:
Shouldn't have permitted the demolition without evidence of sufficient financing for the new development -- or, required a performance bond to ensure completion.
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Thank you. You just answered what I was trying to say .

Even a 30% of the loan would have been fine to know that Hynes had a lender committed to the project. I can't believe that the BRA lets developers do whatever they want not knowing if the developer actually have Lenders.

This is crazy
 
Re: Filene's

I actually agree with you (and Ron) I'm just not sure that the folks who are actually building these things do. I'd like to think the rewards of building in Boston far outweigh the risk associated with complying with this type of regulation, but I'm not sure it does. I'd be afraid a lot (most?) developers might just take a pass rather than comply.
 
Re: Filene's

Someone on this board should pull these stats up. How many buildings built in BOSTON needed taxpayers assistance?

I personally don't know this question.
 
Re: Filene's

DZH22 said:
I think at this point the most pressing question is going to be: how long until one of those walls falls over and kills someone?
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I went by on a windy day last month and was wondering the same thing.
 
Re: Filene's

BostonUrbEx said:
I went by on a windy day last month and was wondering the same thing.
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I can assure you, MILLIONS were spent on the design and construction on the steel support system for the 1905 Facade. Noone really understood the Architectural significance of that facade, but, the city said it HAD to be maintained, and so it was at great cost. It's probably stronger now than it was when it was attached to the decrepit building that was torn down behind it. This is one of the many "hoops" I mentioned that Vornado as made to jump through. It really is a pretty fancy piece of engineering that MacSal designed and Suffolk somehow installed BEFORE the building was torn down.
 
Re: Filene's

Noone really understood the Architectural significance of that facade
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Really? They honestly didn't see the value in preserving that facade?

This is why developer get such bad reps. They only do the right thing when forced.
 
Re: Filene's

Let's get a few things straight: Part of the building's significance lies in the fact that it was designed by Daniel Burnham. It was attached to one structure that was built in 1952, and another constructed in 1971. Neither building was decrepit.
 
Re: Filene's

He said "1905 facade". This is not the main Filene's building on Summer and Washington streets, but rather the other older building at Hawley and Franklin streets.
 
Re: Filene's

^^Which may not not have the historical significance of the Burnham building, but to me, at least, is equally valuable.
 
Re: Filene's

And I agree with that, but just wanted to set the record straight.
 
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