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

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Re: Filene's

And I agree with that, but unless something else is also done differently, the result would be an intact but empty and shuttered Filene's block instead of what we see today.

Also, it means another hurdle to make developers jump over. Which works at cross-purposes with the desires of some people here to expedite development by streamlining the permitting process. Warning - you may get what you asked for.
 
Re: Filene's

Make sure the developer is fully financed before blowing a hole in the middle of the city.

BRA is a JOKE and is a waste of taxpayers money.

Except, as I tried to explain to Ned regarding Columbus Center, being fully financed isn't that hard to achieve in concept especially during boom times, as the commercial real estate market was when Filene's was proposed. You go to a potential lender and this is the dialogue.

John Hynes: I'm building mixed-use tower and I'm going to need construction financing.

Bob (Commercial Real Estate Lender): Good to here from you John, I can't believe the Birdie shot you hit on the 15th last week; you lucky bastard.

John: Hahahaha.....yeah, I always enjoy spending your hard earned money...haha.

Bob: Hahahaha, well, time to make some more, what's in the works for you?

John: Office, hotel, condos in Downtown Boston. I've got the site wrapped up and already have commitments on a big chunk of the space.

Bob: Sounds like a home run John. When are you guys breaking ground.

John: I don't know....whenever the assholes at the city sign off on it. I know a couple of people there that can maybe push it through in a couple months. I might need to show them I have financing lined up, though.

Bob: We can do that. Just send me over your pro forma, and I'll shoot a letter out to you
in a couple days.

John: Thanks Bob, tell Mary "Hi" and I'll see you at the mayor's thing tomorrow.

........

A couple of days later via email, a loan commitment letter arrives, and financing has been "secured". Of course the letter has a couple of key phrases such as "upon market review" or something of that nature. :)
 
Re: Filene's

I believe we need to build this project at all costs and forget my negative posts about Politics and Developers. There are a couple of options.
? Force the developer to sell the project or attract another equity partner to finish this project. If this option is even possible. Depends how deep their pockets run.
? Use city funds for a fixed rate loan from the city then sell the loan to the market to private investors.
I also believe Vornado and Hynes have Seaport Development rights. Either sell this project and move on. The entire problem here is HYNES & Vornado are very smart to blow a hole in the middle of downtown because they have the city by the Balls.

I would actually dismantle the BRA dept. They are corrupt and absolutely Inept to making a better city.
We already have a building dept and zoning dept. Do we really need the Mayor?s corrupt BRA dept running the city.

Anybody who actually says the BRA and the Mayor's office did the right thing fast tracking this project is an idiot. Most people saw this downturn in the credit markets coming fast. Now you have a developer that can demand whatever he wants from the cities taxpayers.
 
Re: Filene's

Boston Globe - April 2nd, 2009
Filene's Basement scrambles for cash
Bankruptcy possible as vendors pressure retailer for payment


By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | April 2, 2009

Filene's Basement, the famed Boston bargain merchant, is looking for money to pacify vendors who are threatening to push the company into bankruptcy because they have not been paid for months.

The latest move by the struggling retailer comes just weeks after Filene's Basement shuttered 11 of its 36 stores, including one in Framingham. The flagship Downtown Crossing location, which represented about 20 percent of the chain's sales, remains shuttered because of a stalled development project at the site.

Lawrence C. Gottlieb, chairman of the bankruptcy and restructuring practice at Cooley Godward Kronish in New York, and who represents more than a dozen vendors, said Filene's Basement had been unresponsive for months to requests seeking payment for merchandise.

Julie Davis, general counsel of Retail Ventures Inc., Filene's Basement's parent company, said yesterday the discount chain needs more liquidity. She would not rule out filing for bankruptcy protection or finding new buyers as options for the brand, known for its annual "Running of the Brides" wedding gown sale.

"We are considering all alternatives," Davis said. "We are continuing to aggressively pursue strategic alternatives for the benefit of our company and our valuable vendor partners."

In February, Retail Ventures put up an additional $7.5 million in cash collateral so Filene's Basement could borrow more money. But in a regulatory filing, the Columbus, Ohio, holding company said it believed Filene's Basement would need additional funds to satisfy its obligations.

This is the second shake-up in a decade for Filene's Basement, founded in Boston in 1908 by Edward A. Filene as a way to sell excess merchandise from his father's department store upstairs. The business expanded to nearly 56 stores by the mid-1990s but later scaled back after struggling in new markets. By 2000, the company shrunk to 14 stores and filed for bankruptcy protection.

In recent years, Filene's Basement tried to revamp its image, offering more upscale merchandise, upgrading the stores, and opening in prime locations, including Newbury Street in Boston. But the chain has been hurt by increasing competition from discounters such as Target and JCPenney, according to retail analysts. As economic conditions deteriorated, Filene's Basement decided to close one-third of the chain earlier this year after it failed to negotiate rent reductions with landlords.

Bernard Sands Credit Consultants, a New Jersey-based company that represents many of Filene's Basement's unpaid vendors, said the firm stopped supporting Filene's Basement in January after the discounter said it planned to close 11 stores, according to Bob Carbonell, Bernard's executive vice president and chief credit officer.

Carbonell said the retailer will have a difficult time attracting a buyer because it is too small and has been losing money for a long time. In the latest financial results available, Retail Ventures said Filene's Basement sales dropped more than 9 percent last year compared with 2007.

"The fact that Retail Ventures has not been putting money into the business in the form of capital expenditures - one could come to the conclusion that they are looking to dispose of Filene's Basement in some manner," Carbonell said. "But do you know anyone that wants to buy an apparel chain in this environment?"

Two years ago, the chain closed the Downtown Crossing store, which was known for its automatic markdowns. The company was hoping to reopen the store this year, but developers of the $700 million commercial and residential project it is part of have been unable to obtain necessary loans and the site remains a gaping excavation hole. It is unclear whether a bankruptcy protection filing by Filene's Basement will cause the project more problems. John B. Hynes III, one of the site's developers, did not return messages seeking comment.

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.
 
Re: Filene's

Another domino falls.

Another nail in Downtown's coffin?
 
Re: Filene's

FB was a grain of sand in the entirety of the One Franklin project. They were going to get their renovated space for a song. Mr. Mayor wanted them in there at all costs. Perhaps some of the "cut corners" in the regulatory process were the payback?
 
Re: Filene's

Filene's Basement was more than just an entry in a real estate pro forma. It was a lynchpin of the entire district's success. People literally traveled a thousand miles to shop there. I know; I was one of those people. (The Downtown Boston store wasn't the same as the branches; it was much better.)
 
Re: Filene's

The flagship Downtown Crossing location, which represented about 20 percent of the chain's sales, remains shuttered because of a stalled development project at the site.

It would be a crime against the entire city if Hynes' mismanagement of the One Franklin project killed this very successful and popular local chain.
 
Re: Filene's

When did they open the Back Bay location? It was around the same time that Downtown closed right? So Back must of absorbed some of that 20%.
I think FB would still be in a world of hurt even without the One Franklin disaster.
 
Re: Filene's

Back Bay doesn't have the automatic markdown system or the merchandise that came with that.
 
Re: Filene's

This project has become a NIGHTMARE. Call this bad luck or absolutely horrible TIMING.
 
Re: Filene's

Back Bay doesn't have the automatic markdown system or the merchandise that came with that.
That's what made it world class. That, and the disheveled surroundings. All those pipes sticking out of the ceiling, all those clothes spilling over onto the floor ... you just knew you were getting a world-class bargain in all that world-class decrepitude.
 
Re: Filene's

It would be particularly disturbing if the tower's slow development ends up driving the Basement out of business. However, saying that the Basement was or is the lynch pin of the neighborhood is a stretch, and to think that this signifies the final nail in the coffin (let alone even "a" nail in the coffin) is a stretch as well. We're talking about the middle of a major downtown area; not a strip mail in Charlotte.
 
Re: Filene's

Of all the retail stores in Downtown Crossing, Filene's Basement was the unique one, the one not duplicated anywhere else in the metro area. There are many other places where one can go to Macy's, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, H&M, or Borders. The same was true for Filene's department store and Barnes & Noble* when we still had these. But there was only one Filene's Automatic Markdown Bargain Basement.

* Not always true, though. Our downtown B&N was reportedly the first one to be opened outside of New York City.
 
Re: Filene's

Filene's Basement in DTX WAS a major tourist destination. I have worked in DTX for a decade and I have literally been asked hundreds of times by tourists (many of them international tourists) where to find Filene's Basement. Like it or not, it WAS the main draw of this part of town. No tourist, foreign or domestic, is trying to find Marshall's or TJ Max.
 
Re: Filene's

And how do the tourists react when you redirect them to Boylston street? Probably not very happily.
 
Re: Filene's

Filene's Basement in DTX WAS a major tourist destination. I have worked in DTX for a decade and I have literally been asked hundreds of times by tourists (many of them international tourists) where to find Filene's Basement. Like it or not, it WAS the main draw of this part of town. No tourist, foreign or domestic, is trying to find Marshall's or TJ Max.
World-class Filene's Basement.
 
Re: Filene's

The irony in all of this is when developers actually have the money to build their proposals the city and neighborhood groups make them go through so many hoops, a lot of times the cost becomes so much greater in that time period that it no longer becomes worth it to build. In this project the city seems to have gone through hoops to allow the developer to get started only to end up where we are now. The BRA should all get AIG-like bonuses for such great work.
 
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