0 212 Stuart Street in Bay Village: Demolition, then Condos

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Stuart street office and retail space in Boston's Bay Village

Credit: Boston Business Journal

What is the status of 212 Stuart Street? It is scheduled to be raised and a new 18-unit condominium building will take its place.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting that “the 10,000-square-foot brick building at 212 Stuart St. will be demolished, beginning today. In an email to its members, the neighborhood group said demolition work is expected to take place over the next eight weeks. The property’s owner, Boston’s Revere Hotel, notified the neighbors this week that it secured the necessary demolition permits from the city’s inspectional services department.”

More information is available on the demolition of 212 Stuart St, jump over to the BBJ’s website.

0 FinTech Program for Burgeoning Boston Financial Services Startups

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Entrepreneurs: do you have an idea focused on the Financial Services sector? Look no further, Fidelity and Amazon would like to help back fledgling Boston startups through a new program, tagged the Fintech Sandbox.

A Boston Globe editorial highlights the target:

“Fintech entrepreneurs have a unique problem, which is the high cost of data to help them build applications,” said David Jegen, managing director of Devonshire Investors, the private investment arm of the Johnson family, which controls Fidelity. “They raise $2 million of venture capital funding, and then spend $500,000 of it buying market data from Bloomberg or Thomson Reuters. Or they show up to customers, who say, ‘Nice app, but it hasn’t been tested on robust data sets.’ We think that is a problem we can help solve.”

0 Downtown Crossing Office Building May Become Boston Landmark

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Downtown Crossing office space on Washington Street in Boston

Credit: Boston Business Journal

As I tour the Financial District with clients many ask about this building located and 276-278 Washington Street or 7 Water Street which is bordered by Washington, Water and Devonshire Street. According to public record, the ownership is a Fidelity Company.

The Boston Business Journal reports that in order for the 9-story building at 276-278 Washington St. to become a historic landmark, “the process in Boston can take up to a year. The designation procedure is initiated by the submission of a petition, which is followed by a preliminary hearing before the commission, the preparation of a study report on the proposed landmark, and another public hearing. To be designated, a property must receive a two-thirds majority vote from the commission and be confirmed by the mayor and City Council. When a property is designated a landmark, any physical changes must be approved before they are undertaken.”

Additional details on the building are available in the full BBJ article, here.

0 UberBoat to Provide Limited Water Service in Boston

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Uber

Need a ride to the airport or a harbor island from the Financial District? Walk toward the waterfront at get within .25 mile of the water and open Uber. This is pilot program only from June 4th to June 15th.

Boston Magazine notes that “in order to access the UberBOAT option, users have to be within a quarter-mile of the harbor. When they are close enough, the app will then display an UberBOAT icon on the screen. From there, people can simply “place a pin” on a map , indicating where they want to be picked up near the docks, and hit the “Request” button. Soon after, a boat will appear. “Once your request has been accepted, the captain will give you a call to confirm your location and provide additional details on reaching the dock,” the company said.”

Jump over to Boston Magazine to read the complete article and to view an interactive map of the water taxi operation area.

0 Boston Micro Hotel Made to Fit Along Seaport Boulevard

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

What’s new coming to the Seaport? Micro rooms. Yes, soon you will be able to get a hotel room that is about half the standard size. The location is will be along Seaport Boulevard near the Barking Crab.

From The Boston Globe:

“John B. Hynes III is proposing to develop a Yotel, whose rooms — Yotel calls them “cabins” — have set a new benchmark for efficiency from London to New York to Amsterdam…The rooms in Boston would range between 160 and 200 square feet, Hynes said, or roughly half the sizeof traditional rooms at the nearby Westin Waterfront. The 307-room Yotel is to be built along Seaport Boulevard, across from the John Joseph Moakley US Courthouse.”