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

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Re: Filene's

"For his part, Roth need not feel all that bad, for he is in good company. In fact, he is just the latest in a long-line of big shot developers to come to Boston, only to find there is only room enough in town for one big cheese.

And he does business not out of the Hancock tower or some other glitzy high-rise, but from an office on the fifth floor at City Hall."

Sorry Menino, but you are beginning to look dumber and dumber...At first I thought you had the best interest of the collective city at heart, but it has become all too apparent what your true intentions have been all along. All hail.
 
Re: Filene's

Again, what should Boston have done for Vornado that they did not do that would have made this project a success? I just don't see where the city screwed up on this one.

You guys tend to see thing in stark B&W. Menino is always the Bad Guy, Developer X is always the Good Guy. The real world doesn't always work that way folks.

Edit: And yes, there are folks who see things the exact opposite way and they are equally wrong.
 
Re: Filene's

statler said:
Again, what should Boston have done for Vornado that they did not do that would have made this project a success? I just don't see where the city screwed up on this one.

You guys tend to see thing in stark B&W. Menino is always the Bad Guy, Developer X is always the Good Guy. The real world doesn't always work that way folks.

Edit: And yes, there are folks who see things the exact opposite way and they are equally wrong.
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Sorry Statler too much inconsistency from the BRA and Mayor. That is the problem. The major projects in the city have been poorly planned.
You can only blame the developers for so long.

Columbus Ave-- Fiasco
Filenes-- Fiasco
Tommy Tower
SST
Harbor Garage
Congress garage
W-Hotel 10 million dollar loan now facing default from the city
Liberty Mutual 46 Million in tax breaks
Kenningston St.
Greenway (shadow laws)
Big Dig
Seaport District
Fan Pier

Too much favoritism going on in the city and it seems the Mayor has his fat greedy fingers in every major development project.

This guy really needs to start worrying about the crime wave and the killings hitting Boston because it seems to be getting out of control on a daily basis.
 
Re: Filene's

While I agree things need to change in the way Boston does business, this article is crap. First off who really loves rich business men (besides republicans)? Most people kind of naturally dislike them b/c IN GENERAL they are smug, out-of-touch, and have consistantly and quietly fucked over the poor since Mesopotamia. His comment about his holding out on a property in NYC seems to proove it to me. He basically said I'm going to take some of your badly needed money (to run this city) and put it in my pocket. If he made that same comment at a civic meating in Harlem or Brownsville BK I'm sure people would have put two and two together and booed him off the stage (and hopefully more). And in this specific case the people of Boston have all the right in the world to hate this guy. You know as well as I he only cares about the money invovled in this investment and not what this creater has done to Boston.
 
Re: Filene's

TheRifleman said:
This guy really needs to start worrying about the crime wave and the killings hitting Boston because it seems to be getting out of control on a daily basis.
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100% agreed. Sadly I knew crime was going to spike back in sept of 08 when the economy came crashing down. It was only a matter of time before budget cuts were going to cripple the programs aimed at improving life in the inner city.
 
Re: Filene's

My point was that from everything I've read the city did everything they could to make this project a success and the it still failed. We can argue when it was due to the economy or developer greed, but I just can't find any evidence to pin this one on Mumbles.
 
Re: Filene's

You might be able to argue that when the city becomes too heavily invested itself, the developer winds up presuming success / profitability / lack of risk to the point of recklessness.
 
Re: Filene's

statler said:
My point was that from everything I've read the city did everything they could to make this project a success and the it still failed. We can argue when it was due to the economy or developer greed, but I just can't find any evidence to pin this one on Mumbles.
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The BRA rushed the project through their flawless development process.

My point on this development is the BRA is responsible since it should be their job to find out on any development that continues into the demo process, aka blowing a hole into the ground, wouldn't you want to make sure they have the financing or a lender commitiment to build at least the foundation of this project. We have two brick walls swaying back and forth on a windy day.

Finally, the developer realized he couldn't make any money on the project.

Basic economics.

You really have to wonder if HYNES knew the lenders bailed out before the demolition and he figured he could just get a interest free loan from the city & state to finish the project?
 
Re: Filene's

czsz said:
You might be able to argue that when the city becomes too heavily invested itself, the developer winds up presuming success / profitability / lack of risk to the point of recklessness.
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Invested how? As far as I know the cities only major involvement on this project was to expedite the permitting process, something people on this board are usually screaming should be shortened.
So the one time they did, it blew up in their face. Lesson learned.

The other thing we hear a lot on this board is that the city puts too many requirements on developers prior to permitting. Now on this project, everyone is arguing they didn't put enough requirements on the developer.
If we want consistency in this city, let's start here.
 
Re: Filene's

You're putting too much emphasis on formal legal process. The inconsistency with which the city administers these is an issue for projects Boston-wide. Filene's was a uniquely massive and surprising failure. Why? City Hall effectively let everyone know it considered the project "too big to fail" - it was at the heart of Downtown Crossing, a district it's been investing a lot of energy into revitalizing. The mayor - and we all know that, in Boston, the mayor IS the city, or at least its regulatory and permitting process - is personally passionate about the site and its potential. The developers might have been less than cautious, thinking the project was so prominent that city would easily have their backs in the case of some financial catastrophe. In other words, the project's context reassured the developers that there would probably be more help along the way.
 
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Re: Filene's

Ok, so on this project the city is too optimistic and supportive. On most other projects the city is too negative and restrictive.

So we sit around and wait for Goldilocks to sort this out? Find juuust the right amount of support/resistance for any given project.
 
Re: Filene's

I think the city should have a transparent, consistent and reasonable permitting process, based on law, not the whims of a single man. Part of that should be some kind of assurance that buildings aren't demolished without new construction being imminent.
 
Re: Filene's

From my point of view, the Mayor seems to be making friends with people that can't go through with it and spiting those that can. I definitely would not pin this fiasco on the Mayor. The only thing I find irritating is, like many people already said, the inconsistency on which project can sail right through and which one cannot. What basically happens then is that those that are favored fails to build and those that aren't cannot build. Fail all around. No wonder why developers see Boston the way they see it.
 
Re: Filene's

If the city had a consistent process and Roth completely ignored those actions then he should be held 100% accountable and by all means the city should try to force the undeveloped parcel out of his hands. The problem is the city really has no consistent process so it has dug itself into ROTHS hole.

Mark this post. Filenes will be bailed out by the next stimilus package from Washington. Frank, Patrick, and other morons will say its creating jobs.

So Roth will end up winning because the city has no consistent basis to force him to sell at a loss.
 
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Re: Filene's

It wasn't that the city was too "optimistic and supportive". It was that it was clear this project was crucially important to the city. Developers can't have the impression that any one corner of Boston is so important that City Hall will be desperate for it to be filled or functional, or they will know they can always hold such lots for ransom when their financial situation makes it more convenient to kick back and wait for government support.

Part of the problem is that Boston's comparatively small urban fabric is small in and of itself, and Menino knows this. But he compounds the problem by acting like a project like this is uniquely important to Boston's future, and desperate when it goes south.

It's part and parcel of the consistency problem, but it highlights the fact that consistency isn't just important in the regulatory process, but in terms of the city's less overt attitude as well.
 
Re: Filene's

Trying to fill a large Hub void
Filene?s site bidders line up for vetting
Vornado Realty Trust?s decision to halt construction because of a lack of funds left a large hole at the Downtown Crossing site.

By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / December 11, 2010

The owners of the Filene?s property will begin interviewing more than a half-dozen bidders Monday, a key step toward a sale of the controversial construction site in downtown Boston.
Tweet .0diggsdigg.Yahoo! Buzz ShareThis .RelatedPhotos History of Filene's Basement
The interviews are intended to give the owners a chance to closely vet the proposals the prospective developers have in mind for the site, which is perhaps Mayor Thomas M. Menino?s highest priority real estate project. The mayor is deeply frustrated by owner Vornado Realty Trust?s decision to leave a large hole on the site after halting construction because of a lack of funds. The city revoked Vornado?s building permit in October, leading to the effort to sell the property.

Many local and national developers view the Downtown Crossing site as an ideal location for an apartment tower with multiple levels of retail stores at the building?s base. But the biggest obstacle to the sale is agreeing on a price that will allow Vornado to exit without taking a huge loss, while giving the new owners a chance to make a profit.

Vornado led a team that purchased the property for $100 million before halting construction on a 39-story office and condominium tower in the summer of 2008, when the global credit crisis dried up financing for large real estate projects. The other partners are developer John B. Hynes III, JP Morgan, and Mack-Cali Realty Corp. The broker for the Vornado team said the interviews are intended to help winnow the field and move the sale process into its final stages.

?We want to see who has the most viable project,?? said Robert Griffin of the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield. ?It?s got to be an idea that will maximize the value of the property, but it?s also got to be an idea that will get approved by the city.??

Griffin said Vornado will give bidders more detail about the nuances involved in redeveloping the site, which sits at a critical intersection. The property is located in the middle of Boston?s downtown shopping district, an area Menino has been trying to revive through development projects and other initiatives. About 10 developers will be interviewed on Monday and Tuesday, including some of region?s most prominent. Among them are luxury builder Ronald Druker, former Hancock Tower owner Normandy Real Estate Partners, and the Related Companies of New York, which recently completed the Clarendon residences in the Back Bay. Also interested are several apartment builders, including Boston Residential and AvalonBay Communities Inc.
Real estate specialists said the biggest stumbling block for bidders is uncertainty over what the city will allow them to build. The Boston Redevelopment Authority approved a massive project for Vornado, but any new proposal would be subject to another public review process.

?The main concern is, how long will that process take??? said Mike Smith, a managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle, a real estate services firm. ?Boston is notorious for being a difficult place to get something permitted.??

The director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority said the city would move as quickly as possible with the review process and still wants a large development on the property.

?We want a project that can get built and will serve as a retail anchor for the district,?? said director John Palmieri.

City officials said several retailers have expressed interest in moving to the site, including Target, Whole Foods, Au Bon Pain, and Nordstrom Rack, the department chain?s discount outlet. Filene?s Basement has said it wants to reopen on the property.

Any new developer probably would seek to build hundreds of apartments, the only kind of property lenders have been willing to finance in recent months. The office market remains weak, with rents too low to justify construction, and demand for condominiums is also sluggish. The market for new hotels, however, is beginning to come back, an option some developers have said they would consider for the site.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.

? Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.boston.com/realestate/new...p_for_vetting/
 
Re: Filene's

Samuels eyes Filene?s site
By Thomas Grillo
Saturday, January 8, 2011 - Added 12 hours ago
+ Recent Articles


Steve Samuels, the force behind a nearly $1 billion revitalization of the Fenway neighborhood, is the latest developer to express an interest in Downtown Crossing?s former Filene?s site.

?Samuels (& Associates) believes that One Franklin is a terrific location and the project is certainly an important one for the city,? said Peter Sougarides, a company vice president, referring to the site by its address. He added that the company is working on projects in the Fenway area and is focused on those at the moment.

Samuels & Associates has earned praise from the city and Fenway residents for Trilogy, which opened in 2006 with 500 apartments and retail shops, and 1330 Boylston, another residential and retail building.

The company recently proposed replacing the former Goodyear Tire store and two adjacent properties with 150 apartments, retail shops and offices. The company is also in a joint venture to redevelop the nearby Howard Johnson hotel.

Samuels joins fewer than a dozen other developers who have looked at the Filene?s block, including Ronald Druker, who owns other property in Downtown Crossing; Curtis Kemeny, a principal of Boston Residential; Normandy Real Estate Partners; the Related Cos. of New York; and AvalonBay Communities Inc.

The original $700 million One Franklin project 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. Vornado Realty Trust and JPMorgan, the co-owners, hired commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield to sell all or a portion of the project.


http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1308033

Any Thoughts?
 
Re: Filene's

Considering the quality of their work and likelihood of putting forth a financable project I think most would agree that Related would be the ideal candidate.
 
Re: Filene's

I don't know if this has been brought up before


but why not extend the blue lin to DTX and hook it up with the red and orange lines? Build a new transportation intermodal there if you're not going to fill the giant hole with a 300ft bong (which is my secret dream asa developer...anyways)
 
Re: Filene's

Extending the Blue Line to Charles makes a lot more sense. If you're in DTX and want to take the Blue Line, State station is a short block away (at Milk street).
 
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