Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

I like "way" when it's attached to the word; it's a quirky and at least somewhat local touch. "Way" detached from the word is a far more suburban instance.

Storrow Drive is appropriate because it really is just that - a highway on which one drives, not a street with other functions/uses. And yes, I do think "Morrisey Boulevard" sounds hideous.

If Boston were to properly plan a new neighborhood I would argue for, perhaps, New England writers' names. Hawthorne, Emerson, Alcott and Thoreau are far more inspiring than these insipid, clearly corporate-spawned names. "Boulevard Thoreau" is perhaps one instance in which I could tolerate that term...his name does sound appropriately French, and Boston does have a precedent in the "Avenue Louis Pasteur".
 
That sounds like a great idea ^, and so simple too. I don't know what the though process developers take, but members of this board blow them away on idea's sometimes.

These street names sound so gimocky (sp?) its not even funny.
 
I would tend more toward blaming the front end of these names rather than the back...

Would "Liberty Street" make you feel any better, or maybe "Fan Pier Road?"

Even the developer using his own name in a show of ego would be better than this. Does every new construction project in the U.S. have to use "Liberty" in the naming scheme somewhere? Even the Big Dig was going to call the I-93 tunnels the "Liberty Tunnel." It's vaguely McCarthy-esque, or at least not particularly creative.

On the other hand, these names can always be changed, and its pretty easy right up until people move in.
 
The development itself it far more offensive than the street names. Anyways, I would assume all these streets will eventually be rechristened with more meaningful names as time goes on. How's Avenue des Menino sound?
 
There's a Liberty Avenue in West Somerville. It's a residential street that has probably had that name for a century or more.
 
How's Avenue des Menino sound?
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Or Corso di Menino, to keep it linguistically consistent...it can be thrashed through Hyde Park.

Does every new construction project in the U.S. have to use "Liberty" in the naming scheme somewhere?
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Yes, unless it uses the word "Freedom" (see the "Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Freedom Bridge" controversy). The exception is for residential developments, which only require excessive use of the suffix "-wood" (has Libertywood been taken yet?)
 
^^^^^^^^^

I've never heard this. I had no idea that Freedom was part of the Zakim/Bunker Hill Bridge name. This is true?
 
I'm not sure if it still is, but it was definitely (and seriously) considered for a time.
 
This was excerpted from an article titled "Moakley Courthouse takes on water" from this week's Boston Business Journal


While Dilks expects Fallon will face similar problems when constructing its planned 3 million square feet of office, residential and hotel uses on Fan Pier, developer Joseph Fallon says he is not worried.

"It's a matter of construction and who does the construction," said Fallon. "It just becomes a maintenance issue."

Fallon said another of his buildings, Park Lane Seaport, leaked when it was finished. Park Lane is a residential complex on Northern Avenue in South Boston. The leaks were plugged with grout and are no longer an issue.

"We're used to it in Boston," said Fallon. "Most of Boston is built on the water."

Even still, Dilks said he'd expect Fallon would face some of the same issues GSA has experienced at Moakley. Fallon said he plans to dig down until workers hit clay and build the foundation on clay rather than rock.

"I would assume he's going to watch it carefully," said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association. "It's hard to build on the water, no question about it."

Building on water is a costly and complicated endeavor that takes sophisticated engineering and construction methods. However, few sites are more complicated than Fan Pier, which consists of filled tidelands and is largely undeveloped except for the Moakley Courthouse. One of the main reasons Fan Pier went undeveloped was because of the tricky construction required to create underground parking. Rather than build a giant "bathtub" for parking underneath all of the buildings, Fallon decided to build the garages as each building was constructed.

"I don't think these are insurmountable problems," said Li. "I mean look at how many buildings we have on the waterfront."

Although Fallon is awaiting Chapter 91 approval for his first three buildings, the state Department of Environmental Protection relies on engineers' drawings and will only address concerns about the project if the public raises questions during the comment period.

"We rely on the professional engineers who design the building to address these issues," said the DEP's Andrea Langhauser.
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full article: http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/othercities/boston/stories/2007/07/30/story3.html?b=1185768000^1497331
 
I don't think there have ever been buildings on Fan Pier, other than possibly small shacks associated with the railroad. Anyone know for sure?
 
Fan Pier project nears start: Fallon to tackle tower first
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Thursday, August 16, 2007 - Updated: 12:46 AM EST

The long-awaited Fan Pier project will begin construction at the end of September, kicking off a $1 billion-plus development expected to transform South Boston?s fast developing waterfront.

Longtime Hub developer Joseph Fallon yesterday sent out invitations to a Sept. 26 groundbreaking for the first building in the planned, 21-acre mini-neighborhood next to Pier 4.

Fallon, who is backed by Cornerstone Financial Advisors, plans to start work on a 500,000-square-foot office tower near the Institute of Contemporary Art.

The groundbreaking will mark the end of 25 years of planning, debate and false starts surrounding the project, first proposed in the 1980s by a group headed by the legendary late waterfront restaurant owner, Anthony Athanas.

....

For Fallon, who has built a number of projects in South Boston?s Seaport District, the move to start construction with no office tenant lined up is not without risk.

But the move comes amid a scramble by a number of would-be office tower developers to get their projects into construction as soon as possible - with a general belief that the first movers will have an advantage in wooing corporate tenants.
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Ron Newman said:
I don't think there have ever been buildings on Fan Pier, other than possibly small shacks associated with the railroad. Anyone know for sure?
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I believe you're right Ron. The pier itself was originally built as a "turn around" for rail trains and after its usefulness, was simply ripped up and turned into parking.
 
For Fallon, who has built a number of projects in South Boston?s Seaport District, the move to start construction with no office tenant lined up is not without risk.
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He could defray the embarrassment of empty buildings by giving over a chunk of the property for the ICA to expand...
 
Padre Mike said:
I believe you're right Ron. The pier itself was originally built as a "turn around" for rail trains and after its usefulness, was simply ripped up and turned into parking.
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there was actually a sizable round-house/car-barn for servicing locomotives and rail-carriages on the site. There's a bronze marker with a small model of the "old-tyme" Fan Pier along the Harbor Walk.
 
After spending This past weekend in Baltimore for some Red Sox "home" games, something occured to me. Would it be appropriate to assume that 20 years down the road the South Boston Waterfront could possibly be as nice as the Inner Harbor. The Inner Harbor is served by Baltimore's light rail/subway line that is comprable to the Silver Line that runs through the SBW. The major attractions of the Inner Harbor include the city's convention center, Camden Yards, the aquarium, and a Faneuil Hallish type market area called Harbor Place. Although our SBW currently serves just our convention center, it is not impossible to forsee a new Fenway Park constructed in the SBW 20 years from now. The Inner Harbor also has many hotels in the 15-25 story range which more or less corelates to what is planned for the SBW. The Summer St/ Congress St area could develop a Fells Point type vibe with bars and pubs lined up next to each other.
 
I believe that is the hope. Things won't really seem to change until the Fan Pier development is finished and allowed time to mature, so 20 years sounds about right.
 
I don't think we'll see it in our lifetime. The current ownership have committed to keeping Fenway where it is, with gradual improvements and small expansions. Which is fine with me.
 
Given what the previous ownership faced when they tried to move Fenway (when it was still decrepit and obsolete before renovations), good luck ever moving it. Once the thing hits a hundred, the historical movement will be too intense to ever tear it down and redevelop the land, so the only reason to move would be sheer capacity and revenue.

Fenway Park is a brand name as much as a stadium, and has marketing potential unlike any other sporting complex in America (with the possible exception of Yankee Stadium). I don't know for sure, but I suspect revenue from the Fenway name covers the capacity shortfall, and Yankee Stadium demonstrates what happens when owners get to greedy and overextend their historic facilities.

The best chance SBW had was with Kraft and the Pats, and they blew it. Now they should start begging him for his soccer stadium to give some life to the district.

P.S. The Red Sox should never, in my opinion, leave Fenway Park.
 
give some life to the district.
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Stadia are not good choices for making an area vibrant, in general - especially rarely used football arenas. I'm not sure how often soccer is played, but even in the case of relatively oft-used Fenway Park, the vicinity is virtually deserted unless there's a game.
 
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