0 Interest Renewed in South Station air-rights Development

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Architects rendering of south station air-rights development

Credit: BBJ

Texas and South Station come together. It appears that Hines from Texas is dusting off the plans of South Station that last saw the light of day over 10 years ago.

From the Boston Business Journal:

The Boston Redevelopment Authority in 2006 initially approved a development plan from Hines and Tufts University affiliate TUDC Inc. for a 1.8 million-square-foot mixed-use air-rights development, to be built in three phases between the back of South Station and the existing bus terminal. At the time, plans included a 40-story office tower, a nine-story office building and a 13-story building that contained 200 hotel rooms as well as up to 195,000 square feet of residential space. The three towers were slated to range in height from 183 feet to 678 feet total, according to a 2006 development plan.

Representatives from Hines have been to Boston’s City Hall several times in recent months to discuss the project and potential changes. If Hines were to move forward with a project that’s significantly different than the project the BRA approved in 2006, the firm would need to file a notice of project change, said BRA spokesperson Nick Martin. That would kick off additional project reviews such as a public comment period and approval from the BRA board, Martin said.

0 Congress Street Bridge will be Illuminated at Night

Posted on April 9, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Herald

The use of light as art with bridges as a canvas have become the mainstay of nightlife in our cities. The Bay Bridge lighting designed by Leo Villareal is a captivating light show over the Bay. I look forward to what is in store for Congress Street.

Some of my other favorites are from the London Olympics:

Credit: Jenikya.com

Bridge with neon lights glowing at night

Credit: jenikya.com

0 USPS Focus on South Boston Location

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

The largest commuter hub North of New York City is South Station, yet the largest abutter is a mail sorting facility. In 1965, yes 51 years ago, part of the site was sold and the Boston South Postal Annex was created. A number of things have changed since 1965 and some still need to; the Boston South Postal Annex should be redeveloped to better serve the community.

According to a B&T report, rather than “expanding the search to other Boston neighborhoods, or for that matter, suburban locations, the brokers working for the postal service have doubled down on Southie…Now brokers working for the postal service say they are moving closer to a deal for a site on D Street near the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, where traditional South Boston meets the Seaport.

You can read more on the USPS’s hunt for space in Southie on Banker&Tradesman.

0 Dorchester Avenue Eyed for Development

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Dot Ave is on the move in the city with the BRA signaling a change in zoning. According to public record Dot Ave has:

363 Parcels
$3,675,133 is tax revenue

According to the Boston Globe, “the Boston Redevelopment Authority is circulating sketches of what a stretch of the street lined by low-rise warehouses and staging yards would look like as a corridor of retail and apartment buildings, some as tall as 300 feet. There would be parks laced throughout, with better sidewalks and 12 blocks of new streets added in back toward the South Bay Rail Yard…zoning plans are the clearest progress yet after months of community meetings to rezone the Dorchester Ave. corridor…The plan would radically remake a three-quarter-mile-long, light industrial area north of the Andrew MBTA station into a walkable, transit-accessible hub of new housing, with green space and pleasant storefronts.”

You can read more on the proposed Dorchester Avenue development on the Boston Globe.

0 Boston’s Office Building Boom is Centralized

Posted on November 24, 2015 by Wil Catlin

200 Clarendon Back Bay Last week I took a tour of the 48th floor at 200 Clarendon Street with Wayland Club Scouts, hosted by Patrick Mulvihill of Boston Properties, and “wow” was the comment echoed by all the scout’s and their parents. Now, the floor was completely shelled out with nothing but a cement floor, deck above and exterior windows. It was a great experience and the perfect perch to see how our city is growing vertically.

The growth, however, is consolidated in a few central areas – all of which were perfectly visible from the 48th floor.

From Curbed:

“Tim Logan broke down recent numbers from the Boston Redevelopment Authority that show 83 major projects going up in 19 of the city’s 25 neighborhoods for a total cost construction-wise of around $7 billion. “Yet they’re concentrated in a relative handful of places. About $4 billion worth of the construction — it includes everything from housing to hotels to new storefronts — is taking place in just three neighborhoods: the Seaport, downtown, and the Back Bay. Count the number of projects, and nearly a fourth are in two neighborhoods: South Boston and the Fenway.”

0 12 Acres in Seaport Square Sells for $359M

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

Trades continue to happen in the Seaport with W/S Development buying 12.5 acres for $359 million.

Banker&Tradesman reports “the parcels, which stretch from Northern Avenue to Summer Street, are the last available developable tracts within the master-planned Seaport Square that is reshaping the waterfront…They’re preapproved for 2.8 million square feet of development, including 1.25 million square feet of residential buildings, 500,000 square feet of stores and restaurants, 400,000 square feet of office space and three hotels. The land also includes a park currently being built between Seaport Boulevard and Northern Avenue, and the completed Q Park on Stillings Street.”

You can read more about the final developable area within Seaport Square on B&T’s website, here.

0 Cruiseport Hotel in South Boston gets Green Light

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The skyline in South Boston/Seaport has continued to change, and now when you disembark from your cruise ship, your hotel will be steps away. Please expect to see a 13-story hotel by 2017.

South Boston Hotel at Boston Marine Industrial Park

Credit: Boston Globe

From the Boston Globe:

The Boston Redevelopment Authority voted late Thursday to allow a hotel developer to move forward with a [405-room hotel located adjacent to Boston’s cruise-ship terminal}. The developer, Harbinger Development LLC, would take out a long-term lease to build a 13-story building at the city’s Marine Industrial Park on the South Boston Waterfront.

Nick Martin, a spokesman for the BRA, said the city agency would begin negotiating with Harbinger, which is seeking a 70-year lease on the site known as Parcel A. Eamon O’Marah, Harbinger’s managing partner, said preliminary plans call for a 275,000-square-foot hotel that would be 10 stories on the side closer to the water and 13 stories on the other. He said he expected the project to cost $125 million.

0 Seaport Growth Necessitates Transit Overhaul

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

The fast growing market is the Seaport of Boston. The growth has put a tremendous squeeze on all aspects that connect that part of the city to its surrounding areas and the city is looking at a variety of solutions to ease the commuter pain. This would range from the haul road, ferry service and Silver line. This by no means will happen overnight, but at least it is getting the attention it requires.

Banker and Tradesman outlines the immediate actions recommended within [the next] six months:

• Expand use of the Bypass Road to all vehicles from Richards Street to West Service Road full-time and from I-93 to Richards Street eastbound during the morning rush hour.
• Allow all vehicles to use the northbound HOV lane from I-93 to the Ted Williams Tunnel.
• Speed up the Silver Line by giving it signal priority at the D Street intersection and add real-time arrival information for passengers.
• Install new Hubway bike sharing stations at Thomson Place, the Gillette Co. and Channel Center.
• Consolidate corporate shuttle bus services along A Street.

You can read the full B&T article on its website, here.

0 Seaport Bridge Closed for Repairs

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The Seaport just got harder to get to and from. Not only are there fewer parking spaces, now there is one less pedestrian walkway from the Financial District to the Seaport. The ultimate plan is to reopen the bridge to cars and pedestrian traffic, but no date has been given.

closed bridge in south boston Seaport District

Credit: Boston Herald

A Boston Herald report states “structural conditions and “deterioration beyond repair” prompted the city to close the Old Northern Avenue bridge that serves as a pedestrian link between South Boston’s Seaport District and the Financial District…analysis of the 106-year-old truss bridge’s load capacity by TranSystems, a transportation consultant hired by the city, found 13 floor beams with a “zero-ton rating” in the part of the bridge that was open to pedestrians crossing the Fort Point Channel.”

Additional details are available on the Boston Herald’s website.

0 Final Meeting for South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Wil Catlin

If we can’t get to and from our workplace in a reasonable amount of time, we will find a job that we can. Boston continues to grow its daytime and bedtime population and we need to constantly improve transportation infrastructure.

From the Boston Business Journal:

“One of the central goals of the transportation plan is to improve access and mobility across multiple modes of transportation for residents, workers and tourists throughout the neighborhood, which in theory will maximize economic growth and vitality along the waterfront and, as the draft plan says, “enhance the public realm.” The draft plan also highlights expanding community connections within South Boston and the South Boston Waterfront and enhancing mobility inside the Waterfront itself.”