The Hub on Causeway (née TD Garden Towers) | 80 Causeway Street | West End

choo

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2008
Messages
1,276
Reaction score
1
Time to get real excited. Movement on the Old Garden site. 2 towers- 430ft and 440ft. Multilevel target. Underground supermarket.

They say shovels this year, and I am actually encouraged because they explicitly mention Target, which I think shows that there is a lot of ducks in a row behind the scenes. Once this tops off, time to start on gov't center garage.

TD Garden owners propose towers with retail, apartments

By Casey Ross | GLOBE STAFF JANUARY 17, 2013
ARTICLE
COMMENTS

The demolition of the Boston Garden in 1998 and the elevated Green Line tracks.
PRINT
REPRINTS
E-MAIL
Share via e-mail

TO

ADD A MESSAGE

YOUR E-MAIL

Cancel
SHARE
FACEBOOK
GOOGLE+
LINKEDIN
REDDIT
TWITTER
SAVE
The owners of the TD Garden are resurrecting plans for a high-rise development in front of the arena that will include a pair of 400-foot towers containing offices, hundreds of residences, a hotel, and stores.

The project, which would create a modern, retail-filled gateway to the North Station area, has gained new momentum in recent months, with Target Corp. and Stop & Shop negotiating plans to open stores in the complex, according to several people who have been briefed on the plans but were not authorized to speak publicly.

Even by Boston terms, the development has taken a long time to come together, languishing through years of drawn-out Big Dig construction, the removal of the elevated Green Line tracks, and an economic downturn that stifled major real estate projects across the country. The project was initially approved by the state in 1989.

The Garden’s owner, Delaware North Cos., recently teamed up with Boston Properties Inc. to craft a new plan that includes more than 1.3 million square feet of new space. The towers would rise on the old site of the Boston Garden, which has been used for parking since its successor arena opened in 1995.


The project still needs approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, but the developers hope to begin construction later this year. Executives with Stop & Shop and Target declined to comment, as did Boston Properties and Delaware North.

A brochure being circulated about the project shows Target occupying multiple levels at the base of the complex, along with a supermarket that would have a prominent entrance on Causeway Street. The supermarket is not named in the brochure, but Stop & Shop has been looking at different locations in the neighborhood for several years.

The project is one of several large redevelopments that would transform huge swaths of property in the city’s West End in coming years. Collectively, developers are proposing to build more than 1,800 residences, office towers, public parks, stores, and restaurants. Five large, mixed-use projects are planned for lots immediately surrounding the TD Garden.

“The last 20 years of planning is coming to fruition in the neighborhood in a very big way,” said Robert O’Brien, executive director of the Downtown North Association, which represents businesses and residential groups in the West End. “The community is extremely gratified by the level of investment we’re seeing.”

The area’s revival has unfolded in fits and starts over the years. It started with the Big Dig and redesign of North Station, and then attracted its first significant private investment with construction of the Avenir apartment complex at the corner of Canal and Causeway streets.

After development stalled during the economic downturn, the area got a huge boost recently when Converse Inc. agreed to move its corporate headquarters to the Lovejoy Wharf development off North Washington Street. The project by the Beal Cos. and Related Cos. will bring hundreds of new workers to the property and result in construction of a residential building, stores, a large waterfront park, and a new section along the city’s Harborwalk.

Nearby, developers AvalonBay Communities Inc. and Equity Residential are each planning 500-unit apartment buildings, and Simpson Housing is building a 286-unit apartment and retail building overlooking the Zakim Bridge.

The project on the old Garden site promises to dramatically affect the neighborhood. In addition to a new gateway to the North Station area, it will also bring a supermarket and other retail amenities that people there have sought for several years.

Residents and public officials have been pushing developer Trinity Financial to open a supermarket in its One Canal residential and retail development along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. But the site of the old Garden is more centrally located and offers more retail space.

The brochure by Boston Properties and Delaware North shows a 45,000-square-foot supermarket that would be situated on an underground level. Above the supermarket would be a 430-foot tower with hundreds of residences, a hotel with up to 300 rooms, and a multilevel Target.

A second tower would rise up to 440 feet and contain 600,000 square feet of offices above a retail base with a mix of shops and restaurants.

The buildings would be designed with generous amounts of glass and include a large archway leading visitors into the Garden. The complex would be situated over an entrance to North Station, providing easy transit access for residents, workers, and hotel guests.

In all, the project will have 300,000 square feet of retail space.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
PRINT
REPRINTS
E-MAIL
Share via e-mail

TO

ADD A MESSAGE

YOUR E-MAIL

Cancel
SHARE
FACEBOOK
GOOGLE+
LINKEDIN
REDDIT
TWITTER
SAVE
ARTICLE
COMMENTS
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

Oh my sweet Jesus.. praise the Lord! If we thought 2012 was good, 2013 might be even better! A Target and a supermarket are just what this blighted area needs.

Do we have a PDF/link to this magical "brochure" of which is being spoken???
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

Wow, we could be talking 3 new 400'+ towers in this area within the next couple of years! That's very substantial, considering the current tallest there are only 381'.
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

Already the Best Proposal 2013. Lets hope it makes it to Best Project 2014.
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

Please let this happen. The North End has been waiting decades for a supermarket, and we're all tired of that empty lot in front of the Garden.

(This likely rules out Target as the future retail anchor at Filene's.)
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

300,000 square feet of retail? Gat damn! But this is one part of the city that I think could support such blockbusting retail.
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

Fantastic news.

I thought we had a thread for this project but only one I can find is for Nashua Street Residences, the single-tower development behind the Garden.

And, this one, but it's kind of general. http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=4189

Can we/should we move this "new" project out of Bulfinch Triangle into its own, now that it seems to be moving along?
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

Here's to hoping we get something that is visually appealing. These tower's proximity to the Zakim and how prominent they will be coming into the city from the north really makes me hope for something that really stands out and draws your attention. What we'll end up with is probably a larger version of Kensington.
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

So it sounds like the three North Station towers will all be around 400 ft? I thought they varied more than that and one was actually over 500?
 
Re: Bulfinch triangle

^Gov't center garage is over 600' but I think these have long been in the 400-450 range. I think a mixed used development this size, plus all the complementary developments is exactly the type of thing that will make this area thrive and the gov't center garage project feasible (albeit, not until this is halfway up). But hopefully it all catches on.
 
TD Garden Towers

Old Garden Site to Sprout Supermarket, Target, Apartments
Tom Acitelli
Curbed Boston

Wowza! Even in an era of especially brisk Boston development, what's being pitched for in front of TD Garden stands out. Arena owner Delaware North and partner Boston Properties want to build two towers, each at least 430 feet high and totaling 1.3 million square feet of new space, on the site of the old Boston Garden demolished in 1998.

The towers, per Casey Ross at The Globe, would act as a gateway to the North Station area. "The buildings would be designed with generous amounts of glass and include a large archway leading visitors into the Garden. The complex would be situated over an entrance to North Station, providing easy transit access for residents, workers, and hotel guests."

But never mind all that, neat as it is (and complements as it does other development in the area, including the planned 38-story, 503-unit Nashua Street Residences nearby). The towers are slated to contain a 45,000-square-foot supermarket, a much-pined-for amenity in the area by residents (Stop & Shop is the brand being bandied about). There would also be—get this!—a multilevel Target. There would also be hundreds of apartments or condos and a hotel with up to 300 rooms.

That's in the 430-foot tower. The 440-foot one next to it would have 600,000 square feet of office space, plus retail at the base, including restaurants (in all, we're talking 300,000 square feet of retail space). No word yet from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, as everything is very much in the nascent stages. A little birdie tells us, however, that such an ambitious project, backed as it is by major, deep-pocketed developers, will have little trouble moving forward in this era of Boston.

And here's a link to the Globe article: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/01/17/garden-owners-dust-off-plans-for-towers-with-retail-apartments/pmW6xPyoOzfEJErUsklzOP/story.html


This might console those of us who are waiting in limbo for the Copley Towers. Very good news, methinks!
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Good news? I think the entire North Station area looks like a corporate shit show.

The vision for this area sucks

The picture with the old Garden getting knocked down with the elvated Greenline looks better than what is their now. That is how sad this area has evovled.
 
Last edited:
Re: TD Garden Towers

Wow, ambitious. How long until the plans are released and we see how cheap they're going on the building?

A supermarket and a Target in this area would be a slam-dunk considering all the transit connections and proximity to a large residential area.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

would be a slam-dunk

I c what u did there... ;-)

But for the meantime, this news was broken yesterday and discussion followed in the Bullfinch Triangle thread which I suspect will be merged here soon.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Just saw the Bulfinch thread had the update. Perhaps this should have its own thread - - mods?
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Where would all the loading trucks go for a 2-level Target, Stop 'N' Shop, and the Garden during a concert? That seems like a logistical nightmare.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

The fact that Boston Properties is involved gives me hope. They don't generally build shit. They build/buy trophy properties.
Though, I'm assuming they'll spin off the residential building (as they've done at the Pru) so who knows how that will end up.
 

Back
Top