0 Host of Ferries Heading to Boston Harbor

Posted on May 29, 2018 by Wil Catlin

Getting from here to there across Boston Harbor is poised to get a little easier in the coming months.

Credit: Boston Globe

The Boston Globe recently highlighted three ferry services that could be available to commuters in and around the Boston Seaport in the coming months:

Wynn Resorts…hired Charlestown-based Boston Boatworks to build three ferries. The goal is to cart about 40 riders at a time to and from its Encore Boston Harbor resort casino in Everett, scheduled to open next year.
A commuter ferry between the Seaport and Lovejoy Wharf North Station is expected to launch as soon as September, providing easier passage to the Seaport for commuters from the north.
The Institute of Contemporary Art will soon launch a ferry from its Seaport museum to East Boston, where it’s opening a secondary campus in June. This service, however, isn’t commuter-friendly; spokeswoman Colette Randall said passengers will need either a ticket or membership with the ICA to board.

0 Five Steps to Alleviate Traffic in the Boston Seaport

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Wil Catlin

Traffic in front of South Station Boston Seaport

Credit: Boston Globe

The time it takes from here to there can be frustrating, especially if you are trying to get from the Seaport to Back Bay for a 5:30 client meeting. The distance, just 2.9-to-3.3 miles, can feel like eternity when you are in your car sitting on Congress Street heading towards the Financial District.

The Boston Globe has detailed the following 5 steps to reduce traffic and congestion in the Seaport:

1. Experiment with bus-only lanes on Summer Street
2. Free the South Boston Bypass Road and Silver Line ramp
3. Create a business improvement district in the South Boston Waterfront
4. Battle for the curb
5. Don’t forget to bike or walk

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0 Connection Between Red and Blue T Lines (Again) Considered

Posted on May 3, 2018 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Curbed

Amazon could be the trigger that finally connects Red to Blue for the T.

According to Curbed Boston, “the connection would be pretty simple on paper: The Blue Line would be extended from its Bowdoin terminus to the Red Line’s Charles/MGH stop.” Curbed further notes that a connection between the two T-lines “has been a what-if since at least the Big Dig, which was supposed to produce the link as a byproduct (probably via a 1,500-foot, $750 million tunnel along Cambridge Street). That never happened.”

More information is available on Curbed, Boston.

0 Boston Seaport Ferry Trial Set to Begin

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Are you looking for an easier way to Boston’s Seaport? The ferry is coming! OK, it’s a trial, but at least it’s a start.

According to Banker and Tradesman, “the trial service – with ferries making the trip to Fan Pier in approximately 13 minutes – was originally projected to launch in fall 2017. Related Beal committed to pay $794,000 and a $500,000 grant from Massachusetts Department of Transportation will cover the rest of the dock project, [Rich McGuinness, deputy director for waterfront planning at the Boston Planning and Development Agency] said. The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority will oversee the trial service operation, which will be partially funded by corporate subsidies.”

Additional information is available on the BBJ.

0 Is the Seaport Gondola How You’re Getting to Work Tomorrow?

Posted on October 17, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Curbed Boston

Is getting to work taking too long since your office has moved to Boston Seaport? If so, the Seaport’s solution to your congestion could be a gondola system, according to Boston City Councilor Michael Flaherty.

From Biznow:

Millennium Partners has proposed a Summer Street, cable-propelled gondola network running from South Station to a property one of its subsidiaries owns in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, the Boston Herald reports. As many as 71 10-passenger cabins could move as many as 4,000 passengers per hour in and out of the Seaport, where traffic is notoriously congested.

“A lot of commercial entities are struggling with whether they’re going to renew their leases or they want to come here, because it’s hard to get in and out,” Flaherty said on the Herald’s radio station Wednesday. “The gondola [system] … solves that.”

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0 Boston Office Rents Correlate to MBTA Access and Proximity

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Your office rents in Boston are directly impacted by the distance to the nearest MBTA stop. Simply put, expect to pay more the closer you are.

MBTA map and corresponding office rent in Boston

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

Banker and Tradesman notes, “despite the departure of several large office tenants for the Financial District and Seaport, Back Bay still has Boston’s highest-priced office space. Buildings within a 5-minute walk of Hynes Convention Center station on the Green Line average $66.69 per square foot, partly reflecting the completion of Boston Properties’ 888 Boylston tower anchored by Natixis Global Asset Management.

You can read additional analysis on the impact of the MBTA on Boston office prices on B&T.

0 Could Track 61 Offer Rail Service throughout the Seaport?

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Can track 61 save the Seaport from its own success? To be clear, it could help and we could use it.

From the Boston Globe:

Originally a freight line that was part of the industrial rail yards along the South Boston Waterfront, Track 61 has been unused for many years while around it a new neighborhood of glass-walled offices, luxury condos, and hip restaurants has sprung up.

The roughly 1.5-mile spur [that] cuts across the Seaport District from the southwestern edge of South Boston…is coming back to life [to test] new Red Line subway cars that are being built for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in Springfield.

The work will include an electrified third rail along Track 61 to power the Red Line cars, a new shed, and other improvements.

0 Water Transportation Would Suit Seaport District

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

Water shuttle service simply makes sense to accommodate Boston’s daytime and nighttime population growth and resulting transportation demands. The benefits of water travel from North Station to the Seaport would be a welcome alternative for many within our workforce; complaints of snarled traffic access during business hours are common refrains among Seaport commuters. Additionally, the reactivation of Track 61 from Back Bay to the Seaport will contribute to further traffic relief.

From B&T:

The 2015 South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan specifically recommended ferry service between Fan Pier and North Station, due to the need for improved regional access to the jobs and activity in the Seaport district. The report called water transportation “an untapped resource to open up new channels of transit ridership to/from North Station, the downtown, and coastal communities to the north and south.”

0 Office Landlords Look to Uber, Lyft to Help Lure Tenants

Posted on June 20, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Traffic in Boston seaport and downtown area

Photo Credit: Boston Globe

Office landlords are constantly vying for office tenants to occupy their buildings. This is achieved through competitive rent, leasing incentives, common area upgrades and the addition of amenities. Now some landlords are looking beyond the traditional channels by helping their customers get their employees to the office without worrying about parking. Uber and Lyft could be the next line item on a landlords expense budget.

Bisnow notes, “Several New Jersey landlords are using the perk to overcome a lack of office parking, connect offices with downtowns and attract employees who do not own cars, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hugo Neu Corp. launched a program in March that offers $50 monthly credits for tenants’ employees without cars to commute to its Kearny Point office.”

You can read the full article on Bisnow.

0 Garage Space will be Transformed by Rise of Autonomous Cars

Posted on February 18, 2017 by Wil Catlin

This is a true shift on how our relationship with our car will change in the upcoming years. The concept that you will drive to work and your car will park itself amongst its peers, without the vast amount of vehicle circulation space that our current public garages demand, is real and is coming to a garage near you.

Credit: Bisnow

From Bisnow:

Researchers predict Americans will own fewer cars within the next 20 years as automated vehicles become ubiquitous on American roadways, and developers are already preparing for the shift in future projects.

Some developers in urban centers are cutting out garages altogether to make units more affordable. Others are turning to automated parking lifts, which reduce the square footage needed per car by about 80%. These automated lots cost less to construct and can be easily repurposed if parking demand falls.