Volpe Transportation Center Development | Kendall Sq | Cambridge

[Brad Plaid]

^Agreed, given the Canatabridgian tendency to Moonbatism there is a real danger of activists trying to force some kind of Candyland to be built here. You know, a place where unicorns can happily frolick and gambol with all sorts of forest sprites and whatnot. The original proposal of 75% open space has already proven this. A 500' tower is not the least bit unreasonable nor are 350' towers. They make the most sense and maximize scarce available land, a resource that should be treated as an endangered species.

Kudos to Data for the Nadeem invite.

 

[stellarfun]

An option open to GSA is to retain Federal ownership of all 14 acres, negotiate with a developer to build a new Volpe building, and then execute a ground lease for 99 years for the remaining 10 acres, and give a big middle finger to Cambridge zoning.

 

[393b40]

Yep Federal Government can do whatever it wants...

 

[stellarfun]

As an indication of how land prices can distort what gets built, if I, Joe Developer, were to build 300 units of 'affordable' housing on one acre of land that cost $61 million, the land cost per unit is a bit over $200,000.

 

[Equilibria]

I wonder if Cambridge is going to have the foresight to link this to the Volpe project next door...

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...properties-planning-major-kendall-square.html

 

[whighlander]

I wonder if Cambridge is going to have the foresight to link this to the Volpe project next door...

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...properties-planning-major-kendall-square.html

Equilib -- I don't think a formal link is prudent -- the Boston Properties proposal refers to building on Cambridge owned properties and probably some private land the Volpe is all about building on Federally owned and regulated properties -- too many cooks, etc.

Cambridge and Boston Properties have worked together for years on development let them continue while the Volpe plays out in the background

I would expect that given the demand, etc., that the Boston Properties proposal will be topping out before a shovel hits the dirt at Volpe

 

[stellarfun]

Confirmed list of those developers responding to the RFQ.

LendLease
Skanska
BioMed/Longfellow partnership
MIT
HYM (Congress St garage)
Oxford
Related/Beal
Peebles

Unconfirmed, the following six, who GSA has met with.
Alexandria
Boston Properties
Trammell Crow
Lincoln Property Group (may be Lincoln Property Co, Wash DC)
John Buck Co (Chicago)
Hunt Companies (Texas)

From the Globe article, GSA said it had met individually with the above 14 (although the Globe can only count to 13. Where are editors these days?).

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...-developers/kbhkXXmEb1BhJ7y2CnG2eJ/story.html

 

[JSic]

I will lol if Cambridge builds something taller than the Hancock. I dont see it happening, but it would be something.

 

[tangent]

I will lol if Cambridge builds something taller than the Hancock. I dont see it happening, but it would be something.

Probably not, but this is probably one of the last spots in the Boston Metro area that it could be possible.

 

[tangent]

I will lol if Cambridge builds something taller than the Hancock. I dont see it happening, but it would be something.

Probably not, but this is probably one of the last few spots in the Boston Metro area that it could be possible.

 

[JumboBuc]

Globe: Officials to narrow bidders for Volpe site in next few weeks

Federal officials say they’ll winnow down bidders [...] over the next few weeks. Then they’ll seek formal proposals to develop there in April or May, with an eye to signing a developer by the end of next year.

[...]

They have lots of potential partners, perhaps as many as 14. Eight development teams, including many of the region’s biggest names, confirmed to the Globe that they responded to the GSA’s request for information in August. Six more met with Cambridge city officials, a key step in the process. [...] GSA plans to ”downselect” to the most qualified teams soon and invite those to file more detailed plans.

[...]

Officials in Cambridge are updating zoning on the site [...]. A proposal sent to the City Council last week would increase affordable housing requirements to 20 percent of the project – an estimated 203 units – and allow a building as tall as 500 feet “if it provides a distinctive, landmark building for Kendall Square,” and establish new guidelines for open space and street-level storefronts.

Cambridge aims to have the new zoning approved by February [...]

 

[617]

500' seems interesting...would be Cambridge's tallest

 

[393b40]

Question:

The Federal Government isn't required to follow Cambridge zoning correct? Say all the developers come in with proposals substantially taller than that because of the economics then what happens?

 

[HalcyonEra]

Question:

The Federal Government isn't required to follow Cambridge zoning correct? Say all the developers come in with proposals substantially taller than that because of the economics then what happens?

The moonbats and nimbys come out in full force and make the controversies over the courthouse re-purposing look like child's play.

 

[stellarfun]

Question:

The Federal Government isn't required to follow Cambridge zoning correct? Say all the developers come in with proposals substantially taller than that because of the economics then what happens?

The Federal government is retaining only ownership of the land needed for the replacement Federal building. That's roughly a 400,000 square foot building. The rest of the site, about 10 acres, is subject to zoning.

Unless there is a big corporation who wants a HQ building in Kendall Square, from a development standpoint, the highest and best use will likely be lab space. Cambridge is also capping the gross square feet, and the higher one goes, the more open space there will be.

 

[JumboBuc]

Question:

The Federal Government isn't required to follow Cambridge zoning correct? Say all the developers come in with proposals substantially taller than that because of the economics then what happens?

Right, federal buildings don't have to follow local zoning, so the Volpe Center itself could legally be 2000 feet tall. In practice, however, GSA will likely require of the developer that the Volpe replacement conforms to Cambridge's rules. The Feds don't have to follow local zoning, but they usually try to anyways.

None of the other stuff to be built on the site will be federal buildings, so it'll all be subject to zoning. I believe that by the time the developer is putting up any residential or office buildings the site itself will no longer be federal property anyway.

Edit: stellarfun beat me to it

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Highest use, labs yes, best use, is much more open to debate.
The location is adjacent to the largest amount of residential units in Kendall proper, and should include some more as part of the full build out.

If you're building 500', make it mixed use, maybe offices lower, but the height mainly taken up by residential. That can be slim (as seen elsewhere recently) so as not to monopolize the developable square footage.

Of course, capping the gross square feet of buildings is stupid. Set open space percentage based on site square footage, and allow the densest build out possible on the rest of the site. I don't want fat cube buildings, but I also don't want too little density in a location like this, that is the perfect location for density.

 

[Arlington]

The Federal government is retaining only ownership of the land needed for the replacement Federal building. That's roughly a 400,000 square foot building. The rest of the site, about 10 acres, is subject to zoning.

Yes: the feds don't bust zoning needlessly and the GSA doesn't have a lucrative sideline in providing legal cover to zoning-busting private developers.

If there's going to be a tall building here, it will because Cambridge believes it is in the city's best interests.

 

[JumboBuc]

More Volpe news today:

Cambridge Day: Economic analysis of construction at Volpe casts doubt on if math works out for builder

An economic analysis of the proposed Volpe project in Kendall Square was heard for the first time Tuesday night by the Planning Board, and the results put the economic prospects “at the margin,” according to Tom Evans, executive director of the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority.

[...]

According to the analysis, Evans told the board, redevelopment of the 14-acre parcel in Kendall Square would leave a real estate developer with $280 million to cover the cost of building a replacement Department of Transportation research center and any environmental remediation (necessary because of Kendall’s industrial past), as well as other potential costs.

No one is sure just how much Volpe’s 400,000-square-foot facility might actually cost, but if the full estimated $280 million went to it, it would be $700 per square foot. But the costs could be as much as $1,000 per square foot, according to city councillor Dennis Carlone, an architect and urban designer.

[...]

The board heard a summary of recommended changes from city planning staff to the Volpe zoning, as well as took public comment.

[...]

For instance, the limitation of a single 500-foot-tall building was modified to allow the board to waive the single-building limitation if a compelling case was made. And the limit of 10 percent of the area being allowed to rise above 250 feet could be waived. The board also adopted transportation recommendations from city staff, and reduced the parking requirement for office space to match the lower level parking requirement for research and development space.

The council’s Ordinance Committee will take up the Volpe petition Dec. 1.

 

[HalcyonEra]

More Volpe news today:

Cambridge Day: Economic analysis of construction at Volpe casts doubt on if math works out for builder

If those #s are correct, that doesn't sound good. No one is going to do anything to merely break even, if that. It will be interesting to what actually emerges from the bidding process which hopefully requires some hard #s.