Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Boston Herald: Garage will reduce pier pressure

Boston Herald said:
A parking garage with up to 900 spaces is in the works for the Boston Marine Industrial Park to free up surface lots for new construction, support existing and planned developments there, and help alleviate traffic caused by cruise passengers.

The Economic Development and Industrial Corporation is soliciting engineering design services for a four-story, mixed-use garage off Terminal Street that would replace two parking lots along the Reserved Channel.

The garage would take pressure off the 1,766-space EDIC garage at 12 Drydock Ave. in the BMIP that’s been expanded twice and is at full capacity, according to Larry Mammoli, director of engineering and facilities management.

[...]
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Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

JumboBuc said:
Boston Herald: Garage will reduce pier pressure
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How much does such a garage cost? I'm thinking $9m, which will get paid back, so I'm not quite ready to freak out and say "why isn't this being spent on transit?"

But I will say they don't seem to be including the Opportunity Cost of the garage. How much is the land underneath (not "free"), and how much would that land have returned to the City in employment and taxes if it had been developed as commercial space?(this is the part that the highway lobby never wants you to think about)

That's got to add about $20m to $40m if you consider the parcels and the taxes as a perpetuity. At that rate, couldn't a tunnel under D be built for the silver line for about the same $30m to $50m, and also reduce pier pressure (and increase foot traffic to retailers, rather than keep car commuters in their bubble?)
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

I have no problem with this. It allows the parking lots that are in front of the Design Center and near the Cruise Port (and thus closer to transit/SL) to be developed. This part of Boston is pretty much a lost cause. It's never going to be part of the Seaport.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

still a sea of cars still remain
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

timsox6 said:
Another big hitter may be coming to town: Boston Globe article about GE's possibly coming to the Seaport.
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If they were to build new, where would they go? I think the only office buildings left to be constructed in the Seaport are half of One Seaport Square and maybe Parcel G (the plan says Residential/Hotel, but I seem to remember that one being office).

I wonder if they end up taking 121 Seaport from Skanska. The fact that its already U/C probably makes it appealing to them, and it's going to be the most iconic building down there.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

kmp1284 said:
I'm pretty sure GE is just fucking with Connecticut on that one. They'll either stay in Fairfield or move over to Westchester.
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IF GE was smart they would move to MASS. The real talent is in this state (MIT)
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

IF GE was smart they would move to MASS. The real talent is in this state (MIT)
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GE is already heavily represented in this state. This is just the HQ so mostly back office, admin and executive functions.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

TheRifleman said:
IF GE was smart they would move to MASS. The real talent is in this state (MIT)
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Other than those who remain in academia, biotech or healthcare, most MIT/Harvard/Tufts grads gravitate to NY, SF, LA, etc.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Right on queue, and uninformed as usual.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

kmp1284 said:
Other than those who remain in academia, biotech or healthcare, most MIT/Harvard/Tufts grads gravitate to NY, SF, LA, etc.
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Well, that's quite a conditional statement there. I don't think any area keeps more than 50% of its graduates, but I think Boston does a fairly good job.

Back on topic, it seemed from the article that GE wants to be urban (hence Boston/NYC as the finalists) and wants to stay in the Northeast, so SF and LA are out. They have a lot of employees around Boston already, and rent here, whilst high, is probably lower than in Manhattan. South Boston offers them decent transit, fantastic airport and rail access (which Manhattan can't touch), and a location directly adjacent to a hotel and convention district, which is key for a company that markets a lot of trade show-type products.

What was telling to me, though, was that the Globe published the story so prominently, and that they had some quotes from "in-the-know" people endorsing Boston's chances. I don't think they're playing Fairfield. I've been reading about this slow-motion divorce for a while.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Equilibria said:
Well, that's quite a conditional statement there. I don't think any area keeps more than 50% of its graduates, but I think Boston does a fairly good job.

Back on topic, it seemed from the article that GE wants to be urban (hence Boston/NYC as the finalists) and wants to stay in the Northeast, so SF and LA are out. They have a lot of employees around Boston already, and rent here, whilst high, is probably lower than in Manhattan. South Boston offers them decent transit, fantastic airport and rail access (which Manhattan can't touch), and a location directly adjacent to a hotel and convention district, which is key for a company that markets a lot of trade show-type products.

What was telling to me, though, was that the Globe published the story so prominently, and that they had some quotes from "in-the-know" people endorsing Boston's chances. I don't think they're playing Fairfield. I've been reading about this slow-motion divorce for a while.
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I smell "Pier 4" office building, of which groundbreaking has been considered imminent for quite some time.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

kmp1284 said:
Other than those who remain in academia, biotech or healthcare, most MIT/Harvard/Tufts grads gravitate to NY, SF, LA, etc.
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Didn't the founders of Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook mostly all meet and work in Boston before the companies exploded. These corporations relocated out of state but the talent started here.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

TheRifleman said:
Didn't the founders of Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook mostly all meet and work in Boston before the companies exploded. These corporations relocated out of state but the talent started here.
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Microsoft: no, Paul Allen and Bill Gates grew up in Seattle together and were friends there, long before Bill went to Harvard or Paul moved to Boston to be a programmer. They discussed forming a company together when Bill was 13 and Paul was 16.

Apple: no idea where you're getting that from. Jobs moved to Cupertino, his first friend lived across the street from Wozniak, who he then became friends with. The third founder worked at Atari with Jobs in Los Gatos.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

Equilibria said:
Well, that's quite a conditional statement there. I don't think any area keeps more than 50% of its graduates, but I think Boston does a fairly good job.

Back on topic, it seemed from the article that GE wants to be urban (hence Boston/NYC as the finalists) and wants to stay in the Northeast, so SF and LA are out. They have a lot of employees around Boston already, and rent here, whilst high, is probably lower than in Manhattan. South Boston offers them decent transit, fantastic airport and rail access (which Manhattan can't touch), and a location directly adjacent to a hotel and convention district, which is key for a company that markets a lot of trade show-type products.

What was telling to me, though, was that the Globe published the story so prominently, and that they had some quotes from "in-the-know" people endorsing Boston's chances. I don't think they're playing Fairfield. I've been reading about this slow-motion divorce for a while.
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Equilib -- GE has re-invented itself in the past few years and Greater Boston is becoming the home of increasing parts of it: GE Healthcare in Marlborough; GE Energy & Lighting which is still looking for its home in Greater Boston -- but its hired a former IBM Watson Exec as a key member of the Management Team and IBM Watson has located IBM Watson Health in Kendall -- so Kendall for GE Energy might not be unexpected

Couple those with existing work in Lynn and some other Massachusetts operations and GE World HQ in the Boston Seaport Innovation District at the End of Fan Pier -- with a Giant GE visible from Logan -- sounds like a "no-brainer" -- er make that a More Brainer
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

I would imagine they have a lot of employees and given the height restrictions here would need at least two buildings, no? Maybe they could just consolidate everything into Bostons new tallest office tower...
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

stick n move said:
I would imagine they have a lot of employees and given the height restrictions here would need at least two buildings, no? Maybe they could just consolidate everything into Bostons new tallest office tower...
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Stick there is a lot of land just south? at the edge of the Marine Industrial Park

If they put the HQ on the end of Pier 4 for max visibility within a couple of blocks they could build a big footprint less fancy building to fulfill all the rest of their needs -- much as State Street has the Tower on Lincoln St for the name plate value while the rest of their in-town people are now on the other side of the Fort Point Channel
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

stick n move said:
I would imagine they have a lot of employees and given the height restrictions here would need at least two buildings, no? Maybe they could just consolidate everything into Bostons new tallest office tower...
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According to this...

https://www.sandiego.edu/pipeline/documents/EstimatingOfficeSpaceRequirementsMay12012.pdf

500 GE office workers in Boston consume 500 * 420 = 210,000 square feet. For comparison, the Office Tower at One Congress (the Pelli tower) is programmed approx. 1 million sf. The Goodwin Procter building is about 500k, and 101 and 121 Seaport are 400k each.

Remember this is HQ staff only. Different divisions are scattered around Eastern MA already. It's a PWC-like footprint - they would have their name on a tower, but probably wouldn't be the only tenant.
 
Re: Innovation Dist. / South Boston Seaport

GE HQ in Fairfield is nearly 500,000 sq ft.
 
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