Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

Re: South Boston Seaport

The BCEC occupies the same footprint as everything between Hereford and Fairfield, Comm Ave and Boylston. That's 6 Back Bay blocks - no exaggeration.

Re: building on top of it...

HenryAlan said:
That would make too much sense
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Sometimes I wonder if people like us should open our mouths about these issues... maybe nobody's thought of it?
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Maybe one day they will build on it, but first things first, build around it. Also I think I read they were thinking about putting solar panels on it.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

If you're adding 5,000 new housing units it's hardly obscene to add 2,300 new parking spots.

And I think people who lament the BCEC's existence either forget or aren't aware of what was there before. It has been a catalyst for development, not an obstacle.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

It amazing how often the 'something is better than nothing' vs 'Boston deserves better' debate pops up on this forum.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

There certainly wasn't a "street grid" where BCEC is today.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Ha. I was going to make that exact same comment.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Ron Newman said:
There certainly wasn't a "street grid" where BCEC is today.
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Where the BCEC now is was a rail yard. Where Fan Pier is, was a rail yard. Where Seaport Square will be, was a rail yard.

Where the Prudential Center is, was a rail yard.

All those nostalgically favoring the preservation of largely empty or abandoned rail yards can throw themselves on the tracks and wait for a train, --the wait will be longer than the wait for Godot.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

statler said:
It amazing how often the 'something is better than nothing' vs 'Boston deserves better' debate pops up on this forum.
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Right on. I'm squarely in the "Boston deserves better" camp but understand those who have a "something is better than nothing" view. I think we are all frankly sick of parking lots and excuses.

Seaport Property owners have sat on their hands through so many economic cycles, collecting parking revenue for spaces beyond permitted capacity, while cheerleading for a seemingly endless stream of taxpayer funded improvements to the area, plus direct tax subsidies and benefits.

Meanwhile, the BRA press office been busy over the past dozen years issuing fantasy-land press releases regarding the approval of 6,250 residential housing units on the Seaport (Seaport Sq., 100 Acres, Fan Pier, Pier 4, etc.). Yet only 35 condos exist in the current construction pipeline, and the mantra from BRA leadership is "patience."

Too bad the Boston Globe is in the tank.

IMHO of course.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

stellarfun said:
All those nostalgically favoring the preservation of largely empty or abandoned rail yards can throw themselves on the tracks and wait for a train, --the wait will be longer than the wait for Godot.
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I'm not sure who you think favors preservation. I'd guess close to 100% of archboston favors development. Personally, I'm more inclined toward something is better than nothing, and I'm glad BCEC exists. But we can still dream about more....
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

stellarfun said:
Where the BCEC now is was a rail yard. Where Fan Pier is, was a rail yard. Where Seaport Square will be, was a rail yard.

Where the Prudential Center is, was a rail yard.

All those nostalgically favoring the preservation of largely empty or abandoned rail yards can throw themselves on the tracks and wait for a train, --the wait will be longer than the wait for Godot.
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I don't follow Stellar - I thought you were critical of the BCEC, But the BCEC eliminated the empty, abandoned rail yards you lament. And the BCEC did it in a much more difficult area to develop than Fan Pier, Seaport Square or the Pru. And the BCEC did it in less than a decade as opposed to Seaport Square and Fan Pier which have been "the next big thing" for generations (literally) and have 1 empty office building to show for it.

BCEC is located between Seaport Square/Core Block and the industrial no man's land along Cypher and East First St. So even if you believe it could have been attractively developed, it probably wouldn't have happened until Seaport Square is largely complete. Given the Seaport Square hasn't broken ground yet, and has something like 7 phases don't you think we'd be talking about another 25+ years of "empty abandoned rail yards" if BCEC wasn't built?
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Babson looks to Seaport
Entrepreneurs? biz school may land a berth in Hub
By Thomas Grillo

Babson College, the top-ranked business school for educating entrepreneurs, is in talks to open a satellite campus in Boston?s Seaport District, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

The expansion would give Babson, which has 3,400 students and a 370-acre Wellesley campus, a strong foothold in the new Innovation District that Mayor Thomas M. Menino is carving out of the South Boston waterfront area now known as the Seaport District.
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More: http://bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1294151
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Either Babson is going to park a few modular RVs on Fan Pier, or this Innovation District is the genius of a true idiot savant.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Ouchie.

In Boston startup circles, the so-called Innovation District is something of a joke. Many founders cynically call Mayor Thomas Menino?s pet project on the South Boston Waterfront ?the innovation ghetto.? In the scattered buildings among the mud flats, it?s hard to get high-speed Internet, which is kind of a problem for Web startups.

The perception, the infrastructure and the density of the neighborhood all could change, if Babson College sets up a satellite campus there, as the Boston Herald reported this morning.
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Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/b....html?ed=2010-11-05&s=article_du&ana=e_du_pub
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Funny. A few months ago I posted pictures of a district in San Francisco that looks exactly the same as the seaport area. Former rail yards, became parking, now becoming a real city.

And you know what is anchoring it?

A UCSF satellite campus.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

TheRifleman said:
Why not everwhere else in the HUB is a college area. I actually think this is a good idea for the Seaport District.

Too bad our elected officials have no clue how to create real jobs to help the private sector grow and create revenue taxes for the city.
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You may want to consider just how many "real jobs" have been created as a result of the Boston colleges cluster.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

bdurden said:
You may want to consider just how many "real jobs" have been created as a result of the Boston colleges cluster.
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I'm not sure if I understood what you wrote.

The colleges do create job creation but the problem is most of the colleges are non-profit. This is not good for the city overall tax revenue. I also agree that the colleges have made Boston an amazing destination spot, but you also need balance and the city tax revenue is hurting. You need private industry or we will get stuck with the non-profit colleges running the entire city in the future.
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Sorry if this is a circular conversation, but I thought Seaport property owners had been gifted with exemptions from property taxes through 121A and other tax benefit schemes arranged in concert with approvals. As for employees, I'm assuming employees of universities are subjected to the same income taxation as those in the private sector.

What other taxes remain that the private sector is subject to, but not the non-profits?
 
Re: South Boston Seaport

Sicilian said:
Sorry if this is a circular conversation, but I thought Seaport property owners had been gifted with exemptions from property taxes through 121A and other tax benefit schemes arranged in concert with approvals. As for employees, I'm assuming employees of universities are subjected to the same income taxation as those in the private sector.

What other taxes remain that the private sector is subject to, but not the non-profits?
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I think the only taxes being taking away from the city are PROPERTY TAXES for a Non-profit institution. This does add up after a while after the expansion these schools have taken in Real Estate.
 
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