South Station Tower | South Station Air Rights | Downtown

The one positive in the whole situation is that after this thing is over the only way to go is up. The economy should shoot up faster than it ever has, for the simple fact that its going to be completely stopped. Going from nobody working, nobody buying anything, nothing... to everybody starting to go back to work, starting to pay bills, starting to buy things, is going to make the economy rapidly rise from bottomed out. How far it can rise and if that even matters well see. Hopefully that helps, but who tf knows whats in store.
 
It’s dead

Of all the projects that I'd think could continue, it would be this one:
What do others think?
 
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Hmm yea that is true, it probably helps how long the schedule is.


Of all the projects that I'd think could continue, it would be this one:
What do others think?

Dead as a coffin nail. Aside from a potential long term global depression this may very well prompt a re-evaluation of how people live and work - wouldn’t be surprised to see an exodus of wealth and commerce from dense urban areas. I think you’ll see a lot more companies move to have employees work remotely.
 
Dead as a coffin nail. Aside from a potential long term global depression this may very well prompt a re-evaluation of how people live and work - wouldn’t be surprised to see an exodus of wealth and commerce from dense urban areas. I think you’ll see a lot more companies move to have employees work remotely.
I'm thinking the same. The trend of teleworking and internet shopping is being greatly accelerated by this crisis, and there will be minimal going back once the crisis subsides.
 
Dead as a coffin nail. Aside from a potential long term global depression this may very well prompt a re-evaluation of how people live and work - wouldn’t be surprised to see an exodus of wealth and commerce from dense urban areas. I think you’ll see a lot more companies move to have employees work remotely.

People said almost the exact same thing after 9/11 and those predictions never came true. Creative people clustering together in dense urban areas creates innovation and productivity, generating more than enough ROI to justify high-rent districts. That, and people obviously just prefer interacting face to face over remotely.
 
People said almost the exact same thing after 9/11 and those predictions never came true. Creative people clustering together in dense urban areas creates innovation and productivity, generating more than enough ROI to justify high-rent districts. That, and people obviously just prefer interacting face to face over remotely.

As low as the bar was at the time I think there was a much greater trust in government to prevent another major terrorist attack than there is presently to prevent the spread of this virus or whatever else might be out there. We’ve gone from one death to five in just 48 hours. When all is said and done I suspect this will kill at least a million Americans.
 
The thing people need to remember right now is that nobody knows whats going to happen. Anybody who says they know is just making shit up. This has literally never happened before, decisions are being made on the fly, theres no blueprint, and nobody knows whats going to happen. Even the people at the very top of government around the world are just winging it right now as things unfold because nobody was prepared for this

Im sure things will change after this, but nobody knows exactly what. It could just be procedures and preparedness instead of everyone ditching cities. Humans have a miraculous ability to forget. We should not forget this, but after a while people are going to want life to get back to as normal as possible. Im sure things will change, but nobody can predict the future and say exactly what. Thats the only thing that can be said for certain right now, is that nobody knows.
 
The thing people need to remember right now is that nobody knows whats going to happen.

Obviously no one knows the outcomes, but it's interesting to speculate. Virtual offices using virtual reality are being developed wherein it seems you are actually in the office with your workmates, who would also be plugged into VR. My point is, the technology is developing. Also (my speculation), I doubt if this is the last virus outbreak we'll see, not just of COVID-19 but of future types as well. Cities won't go away, but remote working and shopping are on the increase. They already were, and this - and future - pandemics will accelerate it.
 
Anyone want to take bets on this project surviving the incoming recession?
It's a GO!
albeit in a modified form -- as the world will be different when the South Station Tower is finished than what the developer, Boston and MA had projected a few months ago when things finally began to move.

Note that some of the provisions to minimize disruptions of CR such as working at night -- might actually not have to be employed -- when things finally settle down -- CR ridership might be so low for while that some tracks can be taken out of service to accommodate the construction

Millennium alluded to further changes to their Winthrop Sq. Tower just a couple of weeks ago and it the Winthrop Sq. Tower is already rising above the ground
 
Best case scenario, they build the expanded bus station and run out of money so we dont get any of the other associated garbage (parking and ugly tower)

Here's hoping.
 
If SST is ugly than don't most glass towers have to be ugly? Millennium, Hancock etc etc, they must be ugly right? I can see banal, awkward, bad architecture but its blue glass it wouldnt be all that bad.
 
Best case scenario, they build the expanded bus station and run out of money so we dont get any of the other associated garbage (parking and ugly tower)

Here's hoping.
Jass - the one thing that will not happen is for a Billion$ project to run out of money -- the Treasury and the Fed together have provided a means for big borrowers to borrow essentially unlimited funds from the "Printing Press" -- based on some collateral

Hines is big-enough that they can bring the South Station Tower as collateral to the Fed for cash$$$ to pay for whatever materials or services that they need to buy

As soon as the shutdown is over -- We are going to want to have people working getting the economy ramping-up ASAP and major construction ["Shovel-ready" to borrow a phrase from Pres. Obama a decade ago] is one thing that the policy makers will be encouraging

The key is exactly what kinds of things have changed long-term as to how best alter the design building program to best fit the new social-economic realities

I think the model of every city trying to Manhattanize -- is over..


The rapid spreading of the COVID-19 in NYC versus the rest of the country -- has fundamentally changed again the balance between density and room to breathe.

The other fundamental change is the return of real industry in particular Strategic Manufacturing for the Health Sector -- we won't want to depend on any overseas suppliers for this stuff in the future. These new or returning manufacturing companies [e.g. Honeywell making N-95 masks in Smithfield RI in an somewhat repurposed factory] will not be going into the core of cities -- they are going back out to the burbs where there are relative abundance of buildings from the 70's and on -- Rt-128, I-93, I-495, etc. The people working in these places will not be living in cities and commuting out -- they'll be living in the burbs and driving locally.

Honeywell expands production of N95 masks in Rhode Island
by JARED PELLETIER, NBC 10 NEWS
Monday, March 23rd 2020

Honeywell said it will add about 500 jobs in Rhode Island to handle increased production. Recruiting, hiring and training will start immediately, the company said.

 

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