Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

Someone definitely didn't see the forest for the trees when they were creating that landscape.
 
Good spot for some pick-up soccer. Except they'll never allow it, I'm sure. We can have our green space, but we can't utilize it, too.
 
Looks like a space-saver for a future building. Better than gravel and dust....
 
The BRA is moving to take the Boston Innovation Center by eminent domain. If past is prologue, I'd guess it will be a "friendly" taking.
 
As far as I understand, the BRA negotiated a 5-year lease and 5-year option for the folks from Cambridge Innovation Center to operate a 9,000 square foot Boston Innovation Center. I don't think a restaurant has yet been identified to occupy the adjoining 3,000 sf cafe.

So, at least for 5-10 years, I don't think anyone's objective is to demolish the building.

To lend perspective to this project, the Cambridge Innovation Center is privately owned and is 160,000 square feet, 15x the size of this building. And given the BIC's location, a war zone of parking lots and construction for the term of the lease, the BIC will more likely serve as a jewel boxed showroom than something substantial to anchor an innovation ecosystem.

Market pressures and public investment in the Seaport are far different than Kendall Square during its fledgling days. I'm amazed at all the media cheerleading and backslapping about the Innovation District given the paper-thin veneer of every BRA initiative.

A reference to the eminent domain action can be found here.
 
Looks like the Innovation Center is just about complete.

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OH WAIT! This is the Worburn YMCA. My bad.
 
Seaport District the biggest hype of Land Developement in history. Nothing is going on in this area but a whole alot of walking.
 
The cranes at Fan Pier for 2 buildings, Waterside Place, 319A Rear, and Channel Center might disagree.

Do some of that walking along Congress, Summer, and Melcher, and you will see quite a bit going on at street level as a number of existing structures are undergoing some significant reno's.

Just a suggestion.
 
SeamusMcFly said:
The cranes at Fan Pier for 2 buildings, Waterside Place, 319A Rear, and Channel Center might disagree.

Do some of that walking along Congress, Summer, and Melcher, and you will see quite a bit going on at street level as a number of existing structures are undergoing some significant reno's.

Just a suggestion.
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As the crow flies, the distance from Fan Pier to State Street tower at Channel Center is as far as a line from the North End to Boston Common.

As the crow flies, Waterside Place to 319 A St Rear isn't much different than the distance from Beacon Hill to the Greenway or Financial District.

In 10 years, only one tower has been completed in the 1 x 1 mile Innovation District on any empty lot under BRA zoning control.

Never let facts get in the way of hyperbole.

By comparison, a half-dozen rose on Massport land. In the same barren swath of Cambridge, countless towers rose. I'd like to see a count of cranes in Cambridge in any 1 x 1 mile tract.

I understand the difficulties about developing the Seaport, lacking basic infrastructure, etc.

But hyperbole about a burgeoning Seaport aka Innovation District has been going on for 15-20 years. This year will be spent celebrating the opening of a tiny showroom -- a 9,000 square foot "Innovation Center" 1/15th the size of the Cambridge Innovation Center. And it is being billed as the anchor to an innovation ecosystem of new construction and existing buildings that supposedly will be affordable for occupancy by startups... or 1/2 mile away from space affordable to startups... or maybe not.

ADDENDUM

If I were running the BRA, I'm guessing the Seaport would have been well on its way to full build by now.

My formula (open to future revision):

1. ALL ground floors must be 30% retail, 30% public/civic, 30% below-market cultural non-profit.
2. ALL architecture must go through a qualified review at Boston Civic Design Commission, no interference from City Hall.
3. As for height / density --- given the above rules, DO WHATEVER IS ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. GO FOR IT.
4. No monetary concessions. Pay your property tax.

THEN MY BRA GETS OUT OF YOUR WAY.

LAST EDIT: Minor.
 
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I like this new, aggressive Sicilian.

Nothing is going on in this area but a whole alot of walking.
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If only it were true that so much walking was happening there.
 
czsz said:
I like this new, aggressive Sicilian.
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IMO, cheerleaders counting cranes, supporting the existing system rife with backslapping and cronyism, are part of the problem and impede healthy development, competition and exciting contemporary expression.

Counterintuitive as it seems, Boston would be booming if there had been more criticism of the current system than incessant cheerleading over each crane on the horizon.
 
Well, if you misconstrued what I said as cheerleading or supporting cronyism, I'm not so sure about the new aggressive Sicilian. You sound a bit like one of our politicioans in that if I don't have your exact view, I must be supporting the corporate monsters that are killing our City and lining their pockets at our expense. I am supporting development, and always wanting more and better. If they gave us everything we ever wanted, what would we do then? Well, 98% of us would keep arguing, because we all have different ideals, even though the basis of those are usually quite similar. Hmmmm I sense a fitting religious analogy, but will keep that to myself.

It was more a realistic view. Things are happening. I also took what Chuck Connors said up there to be "nothing but talking" even though he wrote walking. I realize he meant walking because everything was so far apart, but the undertone seems to be the Seaport is a lot of talk. Which in a lot of ways it is. But, that talk is trying to drum up excitement, whether its real or not, in hopes of attracting developers, businesses, residents, etc. to this new hip destination.

Truth in advertising? Never! But, things are actually happening here. Are they great or fantastic, or ideal or even acceptable? Not always in some cases. I know you have languished for decades waiting on false hopes and promises, and the area has gotten repeatedly screwed, but it's actually moving forward now and to say nothing is happening is ridiculous. Want better. You should want better. You should want more. And, I know you, unlike many, actually get involved in things, and have seen that amount to nothing many times. It's frustrating. It sucks. It's Boston.

Again, as has been discussed, the developments are all still fairly isolated from each other, but they will continue to grow closer together.
 
Sicilian said:
Counterintuitive as it seems, Boston would be booming if there had been more criticism of the current system than incessant cheerleading over each crane on the horizon.
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And, criticism or lack of it, is not the problem, as there is plenty of it and always has been. It's the doing something about it that has always been lacking.
 
My formula (open to future revision):

1. ALL ground floors must be 30% retail, 30% public/civic, 30% below-market cultural non-profit.
2. ALL architecture must go through a qualified review at Boston Civic Design Commission, no interference from City Hall.
3. As for height / density --- given the above rules, DO WHATEVER IS ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE. GO FOR IT.
4. No monetary concessions. Pay your property tax.

THEN MY BRA GETS OUT OF YOUR WAY.
Click to expand...

But Sicilian, you realize there will be economic cycles during which your plan results in no residential being built.
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
But Sicilian, you realize there will be economic cycles during which your plan results in no residential being built.
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Economic cycles? The Real Estate BOOM has been going on since 1989 to 2008

2008 produced govt bailouts to keep the game afloat.

Then the Federal Reserve bank has continued its efforts by Deleveraging the dollar into a worthless status by loaning out the banks trillions.

IMHO Real Estate has never really rebalanced itself because of the destruction of the dollar so my point is Real Estate is increasing due to supply & demand.

So for SEAPORT not to have a very vibrant residential area built up since 1989 is insulting.
 
TheRifleman said:
Economic cycles? The Real Estate BOOM has been going on since 1989 to 2008

2008 produced govt bailouts to keep the game afloat.

Then the Federal Reserve bank has continued its efforts by Deleveraging the dollar into a worthless status by loaning out the banks trillions.

IMHO Real Estate has never really rebalanced itself because of the destruction of the dollar so my point is Real Estate is increasing due to supply & demand.

So for SEAPORT not to have a very vibrant residential area built up since 1989 is insulting.
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One more fact (from the BRA). The production of housing has been very slow during the time frame you just outlined. Particularly during the years 1990-1997 where new housing averaged about 250 new units a year, with a strong uptick in 1998 from 249 units in 1997 to 757 units in 1998.

There was quite the recession if you recall when the first Bush was in office from 1988-1992. 1998 above appears to coincide with the dot com boom that burst in 2000-2001, so although I don't have the numbers, the residential market would have tanked again.

Right now is probably the closest thing to a residential "boom" Boston has seen in over 25 years, and at least this time it's got a lot more of the high rise variety and multi-unit.

Here's a quick little op-ed that talks about the needs and the blockage. http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/11/20/mcmorrow/8mcwdIYTrdVHm25wYDW9gJ/story.html

Hope that one doesn't get in the way either....

Given all that, I agree. The City has failed big time, and there should have been 1000's of units in the Seaport 2 decades ago.
 
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