0 Cape Air targets Boston’s Long Wharf as a seaplane docking spot

Posted on December 9, 2019 by Wil Catlin

Seaplanes are making waves in Boston. Boston Harbor last saw seaplanes in the 1940’s and as the congestion continues worsen it appears they will be making a comeback for trips to NYC.

Cape Air targets Boston’s Long Wharf as a seaplane docking spot

The Boston skyline is viewed from Long Wharf.
GARY HIGGINS

By Catherine Carlock – Real Estate Editor, Boston Business Journal | Dec 6, 2019

Cape Air has its eyes on a new location on Boston Harbor to launch its long-planned seaplane service between Boston and New York: Long Wharf.

Officials from the Hyannis-based airline will host a public meeting Wednesday, Dec. 18 at the Long Wharf Marriott to discuss “a proposal to serve Boston Waterboat Marina, 66 Long Wharf, with a 9-seat seaplane airline service available to the public.”

Andrew Bonney, senior vice president of planning for Cape Air, said in an interview that the airline has worked with officials including the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Boston Planning and Development Agency regarding launching a Cessna Caravan Amphibian between Boston and New York.

Cape Air flights would load at the tip of Long Wharf before taxiing one mile out to Boston Logan International Airport’s Runway 1432 and taking off, Bonney said. The flights would use the same spot for landing.

Before the service can launch, Cape Air would need to obtain a license amendment from the BPDA, which owns Long Wharf.

“The BPDA has asked Cape Air to conduct a community process, including stakeholder outreach, about their proposal for Long Wharf before anything can move forward,” spokesperson Bonnie McGilpin said in a statement. “If there is support for the proposal, BPDA would need to amend the license for Long Wharf to reflect these uses and that would require approval by the BPDA Board.”

If Cape Air receives the city license amendment and other federal regulatory requirements, Bonney hopes to launch by springtime.

A one-way flight would cost between $320 and $340 to travel the 191 miles between the two cities, according to Bonney. Traveling by plane or train from Boston to New York typically takes around three and a half hours, while a seaplane can go downtown to downtown in one hour, he said.

In the 1920s, seaplanes going between Boston and New York would dock behind South Station. But seaplane service hasn’t existed in Boston since the 1940s.

“We think it’s really exciting to be able to bring back this mode of transportation to the city of Boston,” Bonney said.

Catherine Carlock can be reached at ccarlock@bizjournals.com. Follow her on Twitter at @BosBizCatherine

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 Former Boston Globe Building in Dorchester Marked for ‘Innovation campus’

Posted on February 19, 2018 by Wil Catlin

The Boston’s Globe’s former office site is poised to be an “Innovation Campus” to foster growth and creativity for our economy. Expected delivery is in the Fall of ’19.

Credit: Dotnews

From Dotnews:

“The BEAT” (The Boston Exchange for Accelerated Technology) will be a life science, technology, and advanced manufacturing facility, a Nordblom spokesman said, its name an homage to the beat reporters who worked in the newsroom headquarters for more than 60 years before the paper moved downtown in 2017, a nod to the nearby Red Line as a neighborhood artery, and a gesture at the lively and open space they hope to cultivate at the fortress-like site.

“Our job is to create something to which people want to go, a great place where they want to work,” [Todd Fremont-Smith, senior vice president and director of mixed-use projects for Nordblom] said. “The city is out of space. The Seaport is done; Back Bay’s done.” And given the need for office, tech, and light industrial workplaces, he said, “we’re trying to do it in a creative and funky way that captures people’s imaginations.”

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 Seaport Office Market Expands with Growth of 22 Boston Wharf Rd.

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker and Tradesman

The Seaport office footprint continues to grow upward. 55,000 square feet is being added to the top of 22 Boston Wharf Road.

According to Banker&Tradesman, “Bentall Kennedy, the real estate manager for landlord Multi-Employer Property Trust, is overseeing construction of two floors of open-format office space totaling 54,712 square feet. Another 55,000 square feet is available on the seventh and eighth floors in space previously occupied by TRO Boston and Red Thread…The space will be ready for tenants to begin interior fitouts as soon as this fall, said David Fitzgerald, a partner at CBRE/New England which is representing ownership.”

The full article is available on the Banker and Tradesman website, here.

0 Harbor Way Key to Seaport Square Development

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

The Seaport has evolved as a live, work and play destination recent years and WS has an interesting spin on, Harbor Way.

From the Boston Globe:

Seaport Square is a 23-acre parcel that stretches from Northern Avenue to Summer Street and represents the last chance for the district to save itself from becoming a sea of generic office and condo buildings and a playground for those who can only afford it.

WS thinks Boston’s answer to Manhattan’s High Line is the Harbor Way, a tree-lined pedestrian promenade that will connect Summer Street to the water’s edge by Fan Pier. The thoroughfare will extend a third of a mile through Seaport Square and hook up with the HarborWalk in an attempt to finally make the Seaport District pedestrian friendly.

0 South Boston Office Space Planned for 105 W. First Street

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BBJ

Southie is looking to have a new office building at W. First Street totaling 266,000 square feet.

A recent BBJ article notes the South Boston building’s proposal includes “space for a retail, cafe or restaurant; a “convener” space that could host a co-working-style office; and an enclosed pedestrian connector that will connect West Second and West First streets in South Boston.”

More information is supplied in the complete article on the Boston Business Journal’s website, here.

0 Solution Needed for Truck Traffic in Boston Seaport

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Traffic in Boston’s Seaport continues to frustrate all that try to navigate the area. Truck traffic continues to increase, but the city is looking to mitigate the congestion with some innovative solutions.

Credit: Boston Herlad

From the Boston Herald:

Container and delivery trucks are rumbling through South Boston and the Seaport 6,000 times a day on average, according to a new Massport survey, rattling the high-priced loft and condo tenants

“A lot of folks moving to the Fort Point area, they weren’t necessarily expecting the volume of trucks,” he said. “That’s the polite way of putting it.”

The state has sought to address that, investing $75 million to build a freight corridor from the terminal to divert container trucks off of nearby West First Street.

0 Rose Kennedy Greenway Realizing Potential

Posted on November 29, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Business Journal

Growing up, the Central Artery that hosted Interstate 93 was anything but a place to hang out; today it is a vibrant park hosting food trucks, Wifi and people on 15 acres stringing our city together.

According to the Boston Business Journal, “Lawn On D in South Boston, owned and operated by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority…is on track to reach more than $1.2 million in net revenue for 2016. That represents 300 percent growth over revenue of $400,000 generated the year prior…Since 2009, when the Greenway was first opened and some people in Boston were referring to the open space as the “Emptyway,” the Greenway has tracked growth by a number of metrics: food trucks and their patrons; third-party events along the Greenway and their attendees; wireless Internet users; and carousel riders, to name a few.”

More information on the Greenway’s growth is available on the BBJ, here.

0 Dorchester Ave in the Crosshairs of Boston’s Next Development Boom

Posted on June 10, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker & Tradesman

Growth is inevitable, but where and when it happens fosters much debate. Dot Ave appears to be in the crosshairs of the next development boom for Boston.

According to Banker and Tradesman, “the South Boston Dorchester Avenue plan sees potential for up to 16 million square feet of new development on 144 acres of predominantly industrial parcels over the next two decades. The product of a 10-month study and community review, the plan will go to the Boston Redevelopment Authority board of directors for approval this summer…The study anticipates that the forces of gentrification that have swept through other sections of South Boston and the South End will transform the corridor, which is bookended by the Broadway and Andrew T stations.”

You can read more about the development of Dorchester Avenue on B&T.