Don't get me wrong--nothing is pre-ordained to succeed, just like nothing is pre-ordained to fail. But it just seems... lazy [for lack of better term] to air unsubstantiated speculation. If you're going to prognosticate, by all means do so--but back it up with data! "I think X project is going to fail because the loan size is Y per sq. ft. but that neighborhood's market can only support Y minus 1 rent per sq. ft., per sources A, B, and C." You know, something you can sink your teeth into.
For that matter, the phrase "the Boston development track record"--well, does our city suffer actually suffer from a disproportionate number of high-profile stalled or completely busted CRE redevelopment projects? If so, by what objective criteria, index, benchmark does one make the claim?
<For example, I would think a city like Las Vegas--notorious for attention-grabbing hucksters proposing mega-resort casinos just to gain media exposure--probably suffers from the worst "development track record"--if the criteria is merely number of projects pitched to the community vs. number actually built.>
thanks for indulging my crankiness...