Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

DigitalSciGuy said:
I've had a CapitalOne 360 account since before CapitalOne bought out ING's ING Direct online banking division. It's one of the few places where you can physically deposit checks into your CapitalOne 360 online-only checking account. It's been useful to me a number of times, being able to actually go to someone to help me with the rare issue with my bank account rather than having to navigate a phone menu or escalation tree.

Even before the purchase, ING Direct was playing with the coffee shop-cum-bank concept.

The South End and Boylston Street locations feature meeting spaces that they donate to non-profits to reserve. If anything, they act as brand embassies to CapitalOne 360. They're not heavy-handed with selling you their banking products because they're already providing a casual atmosphere that also doubles as a means of brand exposure. I don't know the business relationship with Peet's Coffee and CapitalOne 360 - how they manage leasing of the space, who pays who to be in said space - but it probably doesn't hurt to partner/split the cost of business expansion with a large national bank.

The cafe in Ink Block is also very much an island in a way that the other Boston branches at Cleveland Circle, Boylston Street (formerly Anthrpopologie), and Downtown Crossing (Tremont & Winter Sts) aren't, so I'm not surprised to hear that it's dead at any hour on any day of the week. Google seems to think that one is more busy in the late morning than any other time.

Either way, it'll be a nice third space for people working here during the day. Depending on how much of the ground floor retail in Parcel H it'll be taking up, it could be adding more useful meeting space for non-profits and other groups now competing for space at District Hall across the street.

CapitalOne's full banks have also paired up with Starbucks elsewhere. I've camped out at this one on 42nd Street in Manhattan while I waited for a friend to interview with an architecture firm. The bank closed, a security partition went down, and it just turned into a Starbucks. It's possible they could do that here, too. Again, low risk venture for them while still achieving brand awareness with the general public and providing actual banking services to their customers.
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I was an ING Direct account holder and after the acquisition I became a Capital One account holder (they just retired the 360 branding a month or so ago). I think the difference between Citi and Capital One is that Citi was an expansion into the area whereas because of ING Direct being an online bank, there were already thousands of account holders before they even set up a physical presence. I don't mind the café/bank setup and think it's a smart use of space compared to a boring bank, however, these cafes are only open during banking hours! So inconvenient. They should really use the café aspect to bring life to these storefronts when the bank is closed.
 
sm89 said:
I was an ING Direct account holder and after the acquisition I became a Capital One account holder (they just retired the 360 branding a month or so ago). I think the difference between Citi and Capital One is that Citi was an expansion into the area whereas because of ING Direct being an online bank, there were already thousands of account holders before they even set up a physical presence. I don't mind the café/bank setup and think it's a smart use of space compared to a boring bank, however, these cafes are only open during banking hours! So inconvenient. They should really use the café aspect to bring life to these storefronts when the bank is closed.
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I've given them similar feedback about their hours - I'd love more non-restaurant, non-Starbucks third spaces. Even Ogawa, my favourite coffee shop near Downtown Crossing, closes at 6PM. They started closing an hour earlier a few months after they opened when they noticed a very sharp drop in foot traffic. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a similar thing CapitalOne would see at the Downtown Crossing and Boylston locations. That said, it's very likely they'll have similarly inconvenient coffee shop hours/convenient banking hours.

The Ink Block CapitalOne Cafe closes at 7PM and the Harvard Square one closes at 9PM, no doubt because they've got enough evidence that foot traffic can sustain business at those hours.

Perhaps if it wasn't Peet's Coffee or they had a wider menu... the Caffè Nero locations in JP and in Millennium Place downtown are both open until 9PM (9:30 for MP), but they offer a wider array of fresh sandwiches and desserts. Not many people continue drinking coffee beyond 5PM. The Jaho coffee location that opened last summer on Washington Street in The Kensington is open incredibly late and serves beer, wine, and tasty food in addition to coffee. Even District Hall's Brew cafe is only open during normal bank hours, but Gather, a full service bar and restaurant, keeps that space active in addition to all the public meetings and meetups that happen in the evenings.

That said, I don't blame CapitalOne for closing the cafe when they do - they'd have to partner with someone other than Peet's or get Peet's to offer a radically expanded menu to ensure there'd be enough foot traffic after normal bank hours.

Also, what worked for the aforementioned CapitalOne bank that had a full-service Starbucks attached that stayed open beyond bank hours was that it had constant traffic because it was smack-dab in Midtown Manhattan. Starbucks also has a much wider menu - both in non-coffee drinks and food - whereas Peet's really is mostly focused on coffee and seems to incidentally also serve tea so your non-coffee-drinking friend can still spend money in their shop when you drag them along on a coffee break.
 
For me, it wasn't so much that some close at 6pm, it was that most aren't open on Sundays (with the exception of Harvard Sq). What are "banking hours" when you have an online bank to begin with? Let's not forget that these aren't full bank branches with tellers. They're ATM locations with bank staff there to assist you in accessing your account and making transactions online.
 
I could've sworn we had planned a cycle track [PDF] here, but I guess that road is too narrow to take away space to make it less terrifying to bike here. /s

Oh, well, at least the sidewalk is considerably less derpy over here. I don't quite understand why it had that weird raised platform and it's not obvious from this angle how they resolved it into a level sidewalk.
 
From 3/6 Don't know if these belong here, don't care



 
DXH -- another bunch of excellent telephotos


Great shot showing that thin slice of Winthrop connecting Revere to Deer Island -- I have an almost visceral attraction to that strip -- as you head for Europe its often the last land below you until you get ready to land hours later, and its the first land you cross when coming home
 
whighlander said:
DXH -- another bunch of excellent telephotos


Great shot showing that thin slice of Winthrop connecting Revere to Deer Island -- I have an almost visceral attraction to that strip -- as you head for Europe its often the last land below you until you get ready to land hours later, and its the first land you cross when coming home
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Or in this case, Hainan Airlines taxiing off to Beijing or Shanghai. :)

Really great pics DZH. I know the time it takes to sort, edit, and upload them all.
 
Sidewalk there is still raised on a curb.

I'm not quite sure the reason for the work on this section, other than to make it easier for people to stand on during the IndyCar race (although their views will be blocked by a curtain, apparently). Having it all on one level is an improvement, but it's still too wide.

Yes, a bike lane would have been nice. Or, a PRT.
 
DigitalSciGuy said:
I could've sworn we had planned a cycle track [PDF] here, but I guess that road is too narrow to take away space to make it less terrifying to bike here. /s
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I think that the potential cycletrack (or buffered bike lane) ends just before this spot and transitions into a standard bike lane. A bike lane which they can still-- and hopefully will-- paint onto the street in the near future.
 
timsox6 said:
I think that the potential cycletrack (or buffered bike lane) ends just before this spot and transitions into a standard bike lane. A bike lane which they can still-- and hopefully will-- paint onto the street in the near future.
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They're pulling down the jersey barriers this morning. Looks like the sidewalk is FINALLY about to open.

The reason they re-did the sidewalk here I think was because it was uneven, cracked, had stairs (not handicapped-accessible), etc. If you were walking it was tough. Let alone if you were in a wheelchair.

It looks far better now.

The bigger question is when are they doing to rebuild Seaport Blvd. and put a median with trees/grass, etc. down the middle?
 
cjbski said:
The bigger question is when are they doing to rebuild Seaport Blvd. and put a median with trees/grass, etc. down the middle?
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We need bicycle facilities and shorter crossing distances for pedestrians more than we need suburban boulevard medians.
 
DigitalSciGuy said:
We need bicycle facilities and shorter crossing distances for pedestrians more than we need suburban boulevard medians.
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The two may come hand-in-hand. If they can bump out crosswalks a bit, build a nice median and narrow the traffic lanes, cars should slow down. And it will be aesthetically more appealing.

Agree 150% on the bike portion, too. I take Hubway up Seaport Blvd. a lot and some of it means you take your life into your hands...

Is there anyone in the city/311 we could follow up with to learn more about plans for Seaport Blvd.?
 
This was my vision for Seaport Blvd, done with the aid of StreetMix
Zvd4Aeg.jpg


In other words, no problem fitting both adquate bike lanes and a Comm Ave-like median on Seaport Blvd!
 
What about all the truck (18 wheeler) traffic. This is not Comm Ave, it's a commercial truck route.
 
BeeLine said:
What about all the truck (18 wheeler) traffic. This is not Comm Ave, it's a commercial truck route.
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Can you elaborate on that? This part of Seaport Blvd by Seaport Square isn't industrial at all. Why shouldn't every 18 wheeler from the industrial or port facilities further down either hop on/off from 90 or use the bypass road to tie into 93?
 
Shepard said:
Can you elaborate on that? This part of Seaport Blvd by Seaport Square isn't industrial at all. Why shouldn't every 18 wheeler from the industrial or port facilities further down either hop on/off from 90 or use the bypass road to tie into 93?
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A lot of the trucks comming out of the Marine Industrial Park motor down Northern Ave/Seaport Blvd over the Moakley into the N I93 tunnel.
 
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