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17,496 Posts
I figure that there has to be something going up there.
Let's hear about it!
Let's hear about it!
Boston Development News
1 - 20 of 933 Posts
Joined
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1,669 Posts
This is the current list of towers planned, completed recently, u/c and such by tocoto of ArchBoston.com
Project Name height status
1 One Charles 220 done
2 33 Arch 477 done
3 Metropolitan 258 done
4 NU mixed 185 done
5 Manual Life 250 done
6 Park Essex 328 uc
7 Channel Center 200 done/more to come but short
8 Mandarin oriental 180 uc
9 BHR 180 uc
10 BU dorms 120 done are there more
11 Emerson Dorm 120 uc?
12 Westin Conv Center 225 uc
13 Fenway apts 200 uc
14 Joslin Place 305 ?
15 Black Fan 300 uc?
16 Battery Wharf 125 uc
17 WTC South 250 ?
18 Russia Wharf 450 UC 2005
19 500 Atlantic 258 uc
20 Columbus Center 450 uc 2005
21 Kensington Place 300 court
22 SST 705 2010
22 Fan Pier 300 2010
23 North station 400 2008
24 McCourt 400 2100
25 Clarendon 400 2007
26 St Anthony's Shrine ? 2010
27 Stata 150 done
28 MIT Brain 120 done
29 Genzyme 180 done
30 Necco Novartis 120 done
31 Longwood Merck 180 done
32 BU bio lab ? 2010
33 80 broad 100 uc
34 Longwood North 300 2007
35 Phase III at MGH 200 2007
36 abbey group at Omni 300 2008
37 south bay 800 2010
38 china town BD parcel 250 2010
39 Cambridge aps 1 220 uc
40 Cambridge apts 2 220 u
It is kind hard to post Boston development because most of the stuff is posted at SSG or ArchBoston but I will try.
For full information, check out ArchBoston.com
Project Name height status
1 One Charles 220 done
2 33 Arch 477 done
3 Metropolitan 258 done
4 NU mixed 185 done
5 Manual Life 250 done
6 Park Essex 328 uc
7 Channel Center 200 done/more to come but short
8 Mandarin oriental 180 uc
9 BHR 180 uc
10 BU dorms 120 done are there more
11 Emerson Dorm 120 uc?
12 Westin Conv Center 225 uc
13 Fenway apts 200 uc
14 Joslin Place 305 ?
15 Black Fan 300 uc?
16 Battery Wharf 125 uc
17 WTC South 250 ?
18 Russia Wharf 450 UC 2005
19 500 Atlantic 258 uc
20 Columbus Center 450 uc 2005
21 Kensington Place 300 court
22 SST 705 2010
22 Fan Pier 300 2010
23 North station 400 2008
24 McCourt 400 2100
25 Clarendon 400 2007
26 St Anthony's Shrine ? 2010
27 Stata 150 done
28 MIT Brain 120 done
29 Genzyme 180 done
30 Necco Novartis 120 done
31 Longwood Merck 180 done
32 BU bio lab ? 2010
33 80 broad 100 uc
34 Longwood North 300 2007
35 Phase III at MGH 200 2007
36 abbey group at Omni 300 2008
37 south bay 800 2010
38 china town BD parcel 250 2010
39 Cambridge aps 1 220 uc
40 Cambridge apts 2 220 u
It is kind hard to post Boston development because most of the stuff is posted at SSG or ArchBoston but I will try.
For full information, check out ArchBoston.com
Joined
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1,669 Posts
Asian CDC, New Boston Submit Only Proposal for Parcel 24
By Adam Smith
The Asian Community Development Corporation and New Boston Development Partners together submitted the only proposal for Chinatown's Parcel 24, a strip of land along Hudson Street that is now a highway ramp.
The deadline for submissions set by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which owns the parcel, was March 15.
"We will take an initial look at the proposal and if it appears to meet basic submission requirements, then we will continue with the full-scale evaluation of the proposal," said Steve Hines, chief development officer of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
The team's proposal is for a 315-unit project with a maximum height of 20 stories near the corner of Kneeland and Hudson Streets, and a minimum height of four stories near the far southern end of Hudson Street. A total of 70 units would be rental housing and 245 units would be condominiums. A "significant number" of the housing would be affordable to middle- and low-income earners. A total of 70 apartment units are slated to be affordable as are 99 of the condo units. The project would include about 5,000 square feet of retail space, 6,000 square feet of space for "community uses," and a total of 165 parking spaces.
The evaluation of the proposal, said Hines, would include getting comments from the Chinatown Parcel 24 neighborhood task force, the mayor's central artery completion task force, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city's development agency.
Hines said "it's difficult to say" how long the evaluation process will take.
Jeremy Liu of the Asian CDC said on the day of the deadline that he hoped the proposal would show the community that the team wanted to stick to the ideals of the Chinatown "vision" for Parcel 24. For several years, a coalit ion of Chinatown groups have met to design a "vision" for what they feel should go on the 70,000-square-foot strip of land. The coalition favored a housing project with a large amount of low-income housing, including condominiums. Over the years, the Asian Community Development Corporation led much of the advocacy around development goals for Parcel 24, but recently stepped down from that role so it could compete to develop the parcel and fundraise for the project.
Up until the 1960s, Parcel 24 was home to many Chinese and Lebanese immigrants before their homes were taken by the state and razed to make way for a highway ramp.
When asked to comment on why no other developers bid on the project, Hines said: "I really wouldn't speculate... I never expect anything. We put the request for proposals out and it's a free market and they have an opportunity to bid on it."
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By Adam Smith
The Asian Community Development Corporation and New Boston Development Partners together submitted the only proposal for Chinatown's Parcel 24, a strip of land along Hudson Street that is now a highway ramp.
The deadline for submissions set by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which owns the parcel, was March 15.
"We will take an initial look at the proposal and if it appears to meet basic submission requirements, then we will continue with the full-scale evaluation of the proposal," said Steve Hines, chief development officer of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
The team's proposal is for a 315-unit project with a maximum height of 20 stories near the corner of Kneeland and Hudson Streets, and a minimum height of four stories near the far southern end of Hudson Street. A total of 70 units would be rental housing and 245 units would be condominiums. A "significant number" of the housing would be affordable to middle- and low-income earners. A total of 70 apartment units are slated to be affordable as are 99 of the condo units. The project would include about 5,000 square feet of retail space, 6,000 square feet of space for "community uses," and a total of 165 parking spaces.
The evaluation of the proposal, said Hines, would include getting comments from the Chinatown Parcel 24 neighborhood task force, the mayor's central artery completion task force, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city's development agency.
Hines said "it's difficult to say" how long the evaluation process will take.
Jeremy Liu of the Asian CDC said on the day of the deadline that he hoped the proposal would show the community that the team wanted to stick to the ideals of the Chinatown "vision" for Parcel 24. For several years, a coalit ion of Chinatown groups have met to design a "vision" for what they feel should go on the 70,000-square-foot strip of land. The coalition favored a housing project with a large amount of low-income housing, including condominiums. Over the years, the Asian Community Development Corporation led much of the advocacy around development goals for Parcel 24, but recently stepped down from that role so it could compete to develop the parcel and fundraise for the project.
Up until the 1960s, Parcel 24 was home to many Chinese and Lebanese immigrants before their homes were taken by the state and razed to make way for a highway ramp.
When asked to comment on why no other developers bid on the project, Hines said: "I really wouldn't speculate... I never expect anything. We put the request for proposals out and it's a free market and they have an opportunity to bid on it."
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1,669 Posts
Lovejoy Wharf
From the Architectural team:
With the transfer of the Central Artery underground, the addition of the Leonard P. Zakim Bridge, and plans for the Rose Kennedy
Greenway, the construction of the Big Dig has helped give the City of Boston a significant facelift. And though it may be the largest construction project in the nation’s history, it isn’t the area’s only
transformation. With the proposed design for the Buildings at Lovejoy Wharf, two prominently visible buildings at the foot of the Zakim Bridge are set to undergo a makeover, and commuters will surely take notice.
Located between the Zakim Bridge and the Charlestown Bridge, the
Buildings at Lovejoy Wharf are two of the most visible buildings for commuters who travel into Boston via Interstate 93.
The site, presently occupied by two brick structures, is set to be
redeveloped into a mixed-use development, and The Architectural
Team has been selected by AJAX Investment Partners to create the
design.
The proposed design involves the redevelopment of the nine-story
building located at 160 North Washington Street, the demolition of
the existing building at 131 Beverly Street, and the construction of a new
14-story building on the same site. When completed, The Buildings at
Lovejoy Wharf will include 260 residential units, including 143 lofts in
160 North Washington Street, and 117 one- and two-bedroom condominiums in the new building at 131 Beverly Street.
The program will also feature street-level commercial and retail space, an
automated parking system with 361 parking spaces, and a public waterfront plaza overlooking The Charles River.
Currently in permitting, The Buildings at Lovejoy Wharf will be
developed at a cost of approximately $80 million and will measure approximately 500,000 square feet. The development
will be convenient to the Fleet Center, the financial district, Fanueil Hall, and Boston’s famed North End neighborhood.
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From the Architectural team:
With the transfer of the Central Artery underground, the addition of the Leonard P. Zakim Bridge, and plans for the Rose Kennedy
Greenway, the construction of the Big Dig has helped give the City of Boston a significant facelift. And though it may be the largest construction project in the nation’s history, it isn’t the area’s only
transformation. With the proposed design for the Buildings at Lovejoy Wharf, two prominently visible buildings at the foot of the Zakim Bridge are set to undergo a makeover, and commuters will surely take notice.
Located between the Zakim Bridge and the Charlestown Bridge, the
Buildings at Lovejoy Wharf are two of the most visible buildings for commuters who travel into Boston via Interstate 93.
The site, presently occupied by two brick structures, is set to be
redeveloped into a mixed-use development, and The Architectural
Team has been selected by AJAX Investment Partners to create the
design.
The proposed design involves the redevelopment of the nine-story
building located at 160 North Washington Street, the demolition of
the existing building at 131 Beverly Street, and the construction of a new
14-story building on the same site. When completed, The Buildings at
Lovejoy Wharf will include 260 residential units, including 143 lofts in
160 North Washington Street, and 117 one- and two-bedroom condominiums in the new building at 131 Beverly Street.
The program will also feature street-level commercial and retail space, an
automated parking system with 361 parking spaces, and a public waterfront plaza overlooking The Charles River.
Currently in permitting, The Buildings at Lovejoy Wharf will be
developed at a cost of approximately $80 million and will measure approximately 500,000 square feet. The development
will be convenient to the Fleet Center, the financial district, Fanueil Hall, and Boston’s famed North End neighborhood.
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1,669 Posts
The Boston Globe
Ticket vendor fights 'Times Square' plan
Developers want him to relocate his trailer
By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff | March 21, 2005
As sometimes happens in urban development, a street vendor stood in the way of plans for wide new streets at the gateway to Boston's Theater District back in 1981. So the city cut him a deal. Angelo Sena could go on selling theater tickets from his kiosk if he did it across the street, on a vacant lot he leased from the city for cheap.
ADVERTISEMENT
Twenty-four years later, planners are now faced with the uncomfortable task of moving Sena out of the way of development again. This time, the city wants to build the ''Times Square of Boston," envisioned with towering lighted billboards and searchlights glazing the sky. Sena, paying a fraction of market rates to lease the lot the city offered him a quarter century ago, is right in the middle of it.
The Hub Ticket Agency owner, who now sells from a trailer, has hired a lawyer and said he is fighting the development. He hinted that he might be appeased by a spot in a new building planned for the location, at the corner of Stuart and Tremont streets. But development proposals being considered for the site mention only competing ticket vendors, including BosTix and Clear Channel Entertainment. So far, nobody is willing to budge.
''We've been here for 35 years," lamented Sena, who, after calling his lawyer, refused to say anything else. ''We want to stay."
Officials at the Boston Redevelopment Authority say the trailer will have to go. They say the prime corner where it sits was always designated for development. Hub Ticket pays $781 a month for a sliver of real estate that brokers say would lease for about $15,000 a month at market rates.
Harry R. Collings, secretary of the BRA board, said the agency will try to relocate Sena's trailer but does not offer any guarantees.
''He's known for all these years that it's a temporary location," said Collings, who is eager to see Sena's corner reinvigorated as the gateway to the Theater District.
Propped on a wall in Collings's ninth-floor City Hall office is a large posterboard depicting Boston's Theater District in the 1950s, when huge, colorful signs for RKO Keith Memorial, the Paramount, and the Modern theaters competed for attention along Washington Street. Collings is spearheading the agency's consideration of two proposals for Sena's corner that he said would bring excitement and restore ''visual importance" to the district.
The BRA has called for a building up to seven stories tall on the site, nestled next to the Wilbur Theatre. One plan under consideration, submitted by Boylston Development Corp., proposes a six-story, glass building with a 48-foot-tall billboard, housing restaurants, shops, and offices. The other plan, fielded by Amherst Media Investors based in New Jersey, proposes a three-story, glass building with a two-story-high, wraparound video display and an electronic ticker serving up news and information to passersby. A third plan, which proposed a 13-story condominium and retail building, was ruled out as too high for the site. The agency plans to decide on a proposal in the next 30 to 60 days.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said that whatever the decision, it will be a welcome step forward in the city's march to create a ''world-class theater district."
''It really will help finish off that corner," he said, ''as long as it isn't too showy or glitzy."
Some Bostonians strolling past the corner this week thought the Times Square-type billboards would make a welcome addition to the city.
Latvian immigrant Alicia Hvalejas, who has lived in the Hub for two years and whose mother lives in New York City, said Boston could use the glitzing up.
''They have to do something like that, because Boston's kind of boring," she said.
Others, however, said Boston does not need such flash.
''They should do something more original," suggested Sindy Ochoa, who works nearby. ''We don't want to be like them."
Menino, though, offered assurances that the Hub's version of Times Square would be less gaudy than its Manhattan inspiration.
''Ours would be more in keeping with the city," he said, ''a tasteful approach to the arts."
And that means no red-and-white trailer on blocks. Sena's trailer business is a throwback to an era when concert and sports tickets were purchased mainly face to face, not over the phone or online.
Along with seating charts, thank-you notes are taped on the trailer's walls bearing messages like ''Thanks for the Red Sox tickets. . . . You made that happen for us."
Sena said he has seen the entire Theater District reborn in the past three decades. It is the march of progress, he understands, but he does not like to accept it.
''The old-timers are all gone. Everything here, this is all new," he said, gesturing around him. ''I'm the last one."
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Ticket vendor fights 'Times Square' plan
Developers want him to relocate his trailer
By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff | March 21, 2005
As sometimes happens in urban development, a street vendor stood in the way of plans for wide new streets at the gateway to Boston's Theater District back in 1981. So the city cut him a deal. Angelo Sena could go on selling theater tickets from his kiosk if he did it across the street, on a vacant lot he leased from the city for cheap.
ADVERTISEMENT
Twenty-four years later, planners are now faced with the uncomfortable task of moving Sena out of the way of development again. This time, the city wants to build the ''Times Square of Boston," envisioned with towering lighted billboards and searchlights glazing the sky. Sena, paying a fraction of market rates to lease the lot the city offered him a quarter century ago, is right in the middle of it.
The Hub Ticket Agency owner, who now sells from a trailer, has hired a lawyer and said he is fighting the development. He hinted that he might be appeased by a spot in a new building planned for the location, at the corner of Stuart and Tremont streets. But development proposals being considered for the site mention only competing ticket vendors, including BosTix and Clear Channel Entertainment. So far, nobody is willing to budge.
''We've been here for 35 years," lamented Sena, who, after calling his lawyer, refused to say anything else. ''We want to stay."
Officials at the Boston Redevelopment Authority say the trailer will have to go. They say the prime corner where it sits was always designated for development. Hub Ticket pays $781 a month for a sliver of real estate that brokers say would lease for about $15,000 a month at market rates.
Harry R. Collings, secretary of the BRA board, said the agency will try to relocate Sena's trailer but does not offer any guarantees.
''He's known for all these years that it's a temporary location," said Collings, who is eager to see Sena's corner reinvigorated as the gateway to the Theater District.
Propped on a wall in Collings's ninth-floor City Hall office is a large posterboard depicting Boston's Theater District in the 1950s, when huge, colorful signs for RKO Keith Memorial, the Paramount, and the Modern theaters competed for attention along Washington Street. Collings is spearheading the agency's consideration of two proposals for Sena's corner that he said would bring excitement and restore ''visual importance" to the district.
The BRA has called for a building up to seven stories tall on the site, nestled next to the Wilbur Theatre. One plan under consideration, submitted by Boylston Development Corp., proposes a six-story, glass building with a 48-foot-tall billboard, housing restaurants, shops, and offices. The other plan, fielded by Amherst Media Investors based in New Jersey, proposes a three-story, glass building with a two-story-high, wraparound video display and an electronic ticker serving up news and information to passersby. A third plan, which proposed a 13-story condominium and retail building, was ruled out as too high for the site. The agency plans to decide on a proposal in the next 30 to 60 days.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said that whatever the decision, it will be a welcome step forward in the city's march to create a ''world-class theater district."
''It really will help finish off that corner," he said, ''as long as it isn't too showy or glitzy."
Some Bostonians strolling past the corner this week thought the Times Square-type billboards would make a welcome addition to the city.
Latvian immigrant Alicia Hvalejas, who has lived in the Hub for two years and whose mother lives in New York City, said Boston could use the glitzing up.
''They have to do something like that, because Boston's kind of boring," she said.
Others, however, said Boston does not need such flash.
''They should do something more original," suggested Sindy Ochoa, who works nearby. ''We don't want to be like them."
Menino, though, offered assurances that the Hub's version of Times Square would be less gaudy than its Manhattan inspiration.
''Ours would be more in keeping with the city," he said, ''a tasteful approach to the arts."
And that means no red-and-white trailer on blocks. Sena's trailer business is a throwback to an era when concert and sports tickets were purchased mainly face to face, not over the phone or online.
Along with seating charts, thank-you notes are taped on the trailer's walls bearing messages like ''Thanks for the Red Sox tickets. . . . You made that happen for us."
Sena said he has seen the entire Theater District reborn in the past three decades. It is the march of progress, he understands, but he does not like to accept it.
''The old-timers are all gone. Everything here, this is all new," he said, gesturing around him. ''I'm the last one."
Joined
·
1,669 Posts
A legacy to straddle Pike
By Thomas Keane Jr.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Big projects are rare in Boston. The few proposed - the development of the South Boston waterfront, for example - are argued over for so long that circumstances change and they lie dormant. Projects we call big - such as Millennium Place in the one-time Combat Zone - may be significant in impact but in fact occupy relatively little territory.
Indeed, think big in Boston and two projects come to mind: Government Center/Charles River Park, built by ripping down the West End in the 1960s, and the Big Dig, an exhausting saga whose story still continues.
Here's a third: Columbus Center. Outside of a small circle of planners and local activists, it's been little noticed and little discussed. That's about to change. Construction begins in July.
For a private project, it's huge, costing $500 million and covering seven acres. Moreover, it's being built atop the Massachusetts Turnpike, stretching from Clarendon Street all the way to Tremont Street by Bay Village. If you know your way around Boston, you understand what this means. The Pike divides sections of the city - and is ugly, to boot. A decent project has the potential to knit together neighborhoods, effectively transforming the area to the same degree that the burial of the central artery has transformed the downtown.
Or not.
Columbus Center is hardly Boston's first air-rights project. The most recent, Copley Place, was built more than 20 years ago. Yet while Copley may have good facilities - a mall, two hotels and office space - it is aloof and unconnected to the area around it, a failure of urban design.
Columbus Center strives to be different. Almost an acre's worth of parks will meander its length. It's largely residential, with one hotel and a good amount of retail (a grocery store and other service-oriented shops).
Where Copley Place has few doors open to the street, Columbus Center will have more than 35, making it pedestrian- and street-friendly.
The architecture and feel varies by block. There's a 35-story tower by Clarendon Street. Farther east are town homes and lofts of only four to six stories. Columbus Center will look less like one project and more like a series of smaller buildings that mesh with existing infrastructure.
None of this came easily. Developers Arthur Winn and Roger Cassin first proposed a version back in 1997. Over 140 community meetings and $20 million later, the resulting project has one fewer tower, covers two more parcels and is, frankly, better than it was. Even so, four members of an 11-member review group opposed it and the project remains on the receiving end of much grumbling.
Nevertheless, the approvals and the money are in place. Of the $500 million needed, $150 million is equity - unusually high in real-estate. The remainder will be debt, all but $25 million of it private (that piece will be from the state as part of the project's commitment to provide 15 percent affordable units). Cassin expects the financing to close in May.
By July 2006, the Pike will be covered. A year later, the first units will be for sale; by 2008, it should be done.
Cassin's pleasure seems to extend well beyond the prospect of making money. He walks through renderings, pointing out a day-care center here, a little pocket park there. He loves the way a 600-space garage was made nearly invisible by surrounding it with residences. He pretends to lament being ``forced'' to build a park on the easternmost parcel. Cassin and Winn have been behind significant projects before, including the redevelopment of Mission Main and the planned Clippership Wharf in East Boston. Yet this is different. More than just another development, it's a legacy.
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By Thomas Keane Jr.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Big projects are rare in Boston. The few proposed - the development of the South Boston waterfront, for example - are argued over for so long that circumstances change and they lie dormant. Projects we call big - such as Millennium Place in the one-time Combat Zone - may be significant in impact but in fact occupy relatively little territory.
Indeed, think big in Boston and two projects come to mind: Government Center/Charles River Park, built by ripping down the West End in the 1960s, and the Big Dig, an exhausting saga whose story still continues.
Here's a third: Columbus Center. Outside of a small circle of planners and local activists, it's been little noticed and little discussed. That's about to change. Construction begins in July.
For a private project, it's huge, costing $500 million and covering seven acres. Moreover, it's being built atop the Massachusetts Turnpike, stretching from Clarendon Street all the way to Tremont Street by Bay Village. If you know your way around Boston, you understand what this means. The Pike divides sections of the city - and is ugly, to boot. A decent project has the potential to knit together neighborhoods, effectively transforming the area to the same degree that the burial of the central artery has transformed the downtown.
Or not.
Columbus Center is hardly Boston's first air-rights project. The most recent, Copley Place, was built more than 20 years ago. Yet while Copley may have good facilities - a mall, two hotels and office space - it is aloof and unconnected to the area around it, a failure of urban design.
Columbus Center strives to be different. Almost an acre's worth of parks will meander its length. It's largely residential, with one hotel and a good amount of retail (a grocery store and other service-oriented shops).
Where Copley Place has few doors open to the street, Columbus Center will have more than 35, making it pedestrian- and street-friendly.
The architecture and feel varies by block. There's a 35-story tower by Clarendon Street. Farther east are town homes and lofts of only four to six stories. Columbus Center will look less like one project and more like a series of smaller buildings that mesh with existing infrastructure.
None of this came easily. Developers Arthur Winn and Roger Cassin first proposed a version back in 1997. Over 140 community meetings and $20 million later, the resulting project has one fewer tower, covers two more parcels and is, frankly, better than it was. Even so, four members of an 11-member review group opposed it and the project remains on the receiving end of much grumbling.
Nevertheless, the approvals and the money are in place. Of the $500 million needed, $150 million is equity - unusually high in real-estate. The remainder will be debt, all but $25 million of it private (that piece will be from the state as part of the project's commitment to provide 15 percent affordable units). Cassin expects the financing to close in May.
By July 2006, the Pike will be covered. A year later, the first units will be for sale; by 2008, it should be done.
Cassin's pleasure seems to extend well beyond the prospect of making money. He walks through renderings, pointing out a day-care center here, a little pocket park there. He loves the way a 600-space garage was made nearly invisible by surrounding it with residences. He pretends to lament being ``forced'' to build a park on the easternmost parcel. Cassin and Winn have been behind significant projects before, including the redevelopment of Mission Main and the planned Clippership Wharf in East Boston. Yet this is different. More than just another development, it's a legacy.
Joined
·
1,669 Posts
Archstone-Smith Breaks Ground on 420-Unit Apartment
By Naomi Grossman
Last updated: Oct 31, 2003 11:20AM
BOSTON-Archstone-Smith began construction on Park Essex, its new Charles E. Smith-branded development in the city's downtown district near Chinatown. The project--the largest rental residential property to be developed in Boston in more than 20 years--was formerly known as Liberty Place. The 28-story building at 600 Washington St. will offer 420 apartments for lease. The developer anticipates that the studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences will be available for lease by spring of 2006. The project will feature a sports club facility, a café, an indoor swimming pool and garage parking.
"This is a great location, adjacent to the ladder district, and within walking distance of prime shopping and restaurants as well as the financial district," says Stephanie Wasser, regional vice president for Archstone-Smith. She adds that Boston represents a long-term market for the company.
Archstone-Smith currently owns and operates 11 apartment communities in the Greater Boston area including 2000 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston, Cronin's Landing in Waltham and Montclair Place in Quincy.
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By Naomi Grossman
Last updated: Oct 31, 2003 11:20AM
BOSTON-Archstone-Smith began construction on Park Essex, its new Charles E. Smith-branded development in the city's downtown district near Chinatown. The project--the largest rental residential property to be developed in Boston in more than 20 years--was formerly known as Liberty Place. The 28-story building at 600 Washington St. will offer 420 apartments for lease. The developer anticipates that the studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences will be available for lease by spring of 2006. The project will feature a sports club facility, a café, an indoor swimming pool and garage parking.
"This is a great location, adjacent to the ladder district, and within walking distance of prime shopping and restaurants as well as the financial district," says Stephanie Wasser, regional vice president for Archstone-Smith. She adds that Boston represents a long-term market for the company.
Archstone-Smith currently owns and operates 11 apartment communities in the Greater Boston area including 2000 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston, Cronin's Landing in Waltham and Montclair Place in Quincy.
Joined
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1,669 Posts
Back Bay residential tower proposed
By Scott Van Voorhis
Saturday, July 3, 2004
A new tower would jut into the Back Bay skyline near the Hancock tower under plans unveiled yesterday.
A posh, 32-story condo and apartment high-rise would soar 363 feet above the Hard Rock Cafe building and Clarendon Street under a proposal filed with City Hall by the Big Apple's Related Cos. and the Hub's Beal Cos.
Dubbed The Clarendon, the new building would be topped by an ornamental beacon - a glass and brick square peak, that, lighted on the inside, is designed to give it a distinctive presence.
The planned, 400-unit Back Bay tower joins an elite club that includes the 790-foot Hancock skyscraper and the 495-foot Hancock building, best known for its colorful flashing weathervane.
``Our objective was to create a landmark in the Back Bay. Our proposal is to light the top,'' noted project spokeswoman Pam McDermott.
The high-rise, meanwhile, is just the latest upscale residence tower to hit Boston amid escalating housing demand and prices.
The Clarendon proposal features a Hub and New York development alliance. Related just completed the Time Warner Center - a Manhattan skyscraper complex - while Beal is one of Boston's top developers. Still, the tower's height is expected to stir up neighborhood activists.
South End and Back Bay groups recently spent years battling plans for a 400-foot hotel and residential tower a few blocks away on a deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike.
In a bid to soften the project's impact, Related and Beal have pushed the new tower and its height away from Clarendon.
The new tower itself will cater to the wealthy, with a top restaurant on the ground floor that will also serve the needs of the tower's condo and apartment residents.
But roughly 20 percent of the rental units are projected to meet required affordable-housing guidelines.
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By Scott Van Voorhis
Saturday, July 3, 2004
A new tower would jut into the Back Bay skyline near the Hancock tower under plans unveiled yesterday.
A posh, 32-story condo and apartment high-rise would soar 363 feet above the Hard Rock Cafe building and Clarendon Street under a proposal filed with City Hall by the Big Apple's Related Cos. and the Hub's Beal Cos.
Dubbed The Clarendon, the new building would be topped by an ornamental beacon - a glass and brick square peak, that, lighted on the inside, is designed to give it a distinctive presence.
The planned, 400-unit Back Bay tower joins an elite club that includes the 790-foot Hancock skyscraper and the 495-foot Hancock building, best known for its colorful flashing weathervane.
``Our objective was to create a landmark in the Back Bay. Our proposal is to light the top,'' noted project spokeswoman Pam McDermott.
The high-rise, meanwhile, is just the latest upscale residence tower to hit Boston amid escalating housing demand and prices.
The Clarendon proposal features a Hub and New York development alliance. Related just completed the Time Warner Center - a Manhattan skyscraper complex - while Beal is one of Boston's top developers. Still, the tower's height is expected to stir up neighborhood activists.
South End and Back Bay groups recently spent years battling plans for a 400-foot hotel and residential tower a few blocks away on a deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike.
In a bid to soften the project's impact, Related and Beal have pushed the new tower and its height away from Clarendon.
The new tower itself will cater to the wealthy, with a top restaurant on the ground floor that will also serve the needs of the tower's condo and apartment residents.
But roughly 20 percent of the rental units are projected to meet required affordable-housing guidelines.
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Ok, go to skyscraperguy.com for more information on this tower. There has been to many updates for this one to post. Here is what is currently happening with this project.
Residences at Kensington Place is a 298 ft tower located in Chinatown. It is currently approved and set for construction this spring. There were a huge opposition of this tower because for this building to be built, it would have to demolish the Gaiety theater, which locals claim to be a "landmark". So far, the locals had pretty much lost a bid to preserve this "landmark" due to housing shortage in Boston and the fact that the theater has not been used for decades. Here is the rendering:
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Residences at Kensington Place is a 298 ft tower located in Chinatown. It is currently approved and set for construction this spring. There were a huge opposition of this tower because for this building to be built, it would have to demolish the Gaiety theater, which locals claim to be a "landmark". So far, the locals had pretty much lost a bid to preserve this "landmark" due to housing shortage in Boston and the fact that the theater has not been used for decades. Here is the rendering:
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South Bay:
10-acre project would include housing, library annex, supermarket
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | December 11, 2004
A new neighborhood the size of the minicity envisioned for Fan Pier could materialize over the next decade or so in an area between South Station and Chinatown that is now mostly a maze of highway ramps.
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The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority yesterday received a single proposal, from Boston Residential Group LLC, for a 3.1 million-square-foot project to transform about 10 acres known as the South Bay, an area south of Kneeland Street and the Leather District.
The proposal includes mostly housing, with the tallest structure a 67-floor, 800-foot-tall tower on the southeast corner of the site.
The bid envisions about 1,700 condominium and rental residences, plus almost 600,000 square feet of office and commercial space. It would include about 2,000 parking spaces and would include a public library annex, a recreational facility, a supermarket specializing in Asian foods, and a park on Kneeland Street, a portion of a total of more than 200,000 square feet of open space and public amenities.
The park is billed as the southern end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the 30 acres of open and public space that are replacing the old elevated Central Artery.
The proposal, for a new neighborhood called Gateway Center, addresses the ''critical need for housing and the needs of the Chinatown and Leather District communities," the developer, Curtis R. Kemeny, the chief executive and president of Boston Residential, said in a press release. The housing is planned in three residential towers and two midrise residential blocks.
The single bid is the end of a long-anticipated process in which the Turnpike, as steward of the Big Dig, is redeveloping former construction sites, restoring some of the urban framework missing since the elevated highway was built in the 1950s, and generating revenues from leases or sales of land to help pay some of its $2 billion share of the highway project.
Stephen J. Hines, the chief development officer of the Turnpike Authority, said the proposal is for a long-term lease of the land.
He said the authority would be evaluating the proposal and getting community reaction in January, with a decision of whether to accept the proposal probably coming in February. Hines declined to discuss the financial details of the proposal, which are likely to be complicated and tied to the future success of the development. Developers were offered the option of purchasing the land or leasing it. Boston Residential chose the lease option.
Although the authority always likes to have competing bids for land or air rights it puts up for development, Hines said, ''We're pleased that we received a proposal."
Boston Residential is a privately held development and management company that owns and manages about 1,200 luxury apartments, primarily in Boston and the western suburbs.
The company was founded only this year, but the families of the two principals have been in the real estate business for years.
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The development of the land, controlled by the Turnpike Authority, will follow guidelines and a new set of zoning rules set out by the City of Boston, following more than a year of meetings where neighbors from the surrounding community told officials what they want.
''The way we're envisioning it is it becoming an extension of the surrounding community, Chinatown and the Leather District communities, down into that zone," said Marc Margulies, chairman of the 17-member South Bay Task Force Planning Committee, which was appointed by the city.
Lawrence Rosenbloom, a Leather District resident and member of the task force, said he was pleased that someone had responded to the challenge.
For a developer, Rosenbloom said, ''It's very ambitious, in ways that are similar to the South Boston Waterfront," though he added that it is in some ways a superior location because it is adjacent to South Station.
The planning study accommodated the desire by Chinatown residents for affordable housing ''at all income levels and different-sized units," Margulies said. Employment and employment training are supposed to be part of the package promised by developers, ''items for the economic benefit of the adjacent neighborhood."
The proposal from Boston Residential is primarily for existing land, not for air rights over the ramps that proliferate on the southern end of the South Bay site. But the master plan includes a vision of what could be built in later phases.
The southern end of the new neighborhood is envisioned as a gateway from the south as the Leonard P. Zakim-Bunker Hill Bridge is a door to Boston from the north.
But, under the first half of a master plan overseen by consultants Goody Clancy and hammered out over the last year, buildings would rapidly decline in height on blocks closer to Kneeland Street -- where the maximum height would be about 110 feet.
The need for vehicular traffic in South Bay is expected to be minimal, because it is so centrally located for public transportation. -- next to the South Station Transportation Center.
''We're using the proximity of this site to South Station and the nexus of all these roads to benefit development," said Margulies. ''That's what transportation-oriented development is all about."
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10-acre project would include housing, library annex, supermarket
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | December 11, 2004
A new neighborhood the size of the minicity envisioned for Fan Pier could materialize over the next decade or so in an area between South Station and Chinatown that is now mostly a maze of highway ramps.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority yesterday received a single proposal, from Boston Residential Group LLC, for a 3.1 million-square-foot project to transform about 10 acres known as the South Bay, an area south of Kneeland Street and the Leather District.
The proposal includes mostly housing, with the tallest structure a 67-floor, 800-foot-tall tower on the southeast corner of the site.
The bid envisions about 1,700 condominium and rental residences, plus almost 600,000 square feet of office and commercial space. It would include about 2,000 parking spaces and would include a public library annex, a recreational facility, a supermarket specializing in Asian foods, and a park on Kneeland Street, a portion of a total of more than 200,000 square feet of open space and public amenities.
The park is billed as the southern end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, the 30 acres of open and public space that are replacing the old elevated Central Artery.
The proposal, for a new neighborhood called Gateway Center, addresses the ''critical need for housing and the needs of the Chinatown and Leather District communities," the developer, Curtis R. Kemeny, the chief executive and president of Boston Residential, said in a press release. The housing is planned in three residential towers and two midrise residential blocks.
The single bid is the end of a long-anticipated process in which the Turnpike, as steward of the Big Dig, is redeveloping former construction sites, restoring some of the urban framework missing since the elevated highway was built in the 1950s, and generating revenues from leases or sales of land to help pay some of its $2 billion share of the highway project.
Stephen J. Hines, the chief development officer of the Turnpike Authority, said the proposal is for a long-term lease of the land.
He said the authority would be evaluating the proposal and getting community reaction in January, with a decision of whether to accept the proposal probably coming in February. Hines declined to discuss the financial details of the proposal, which are likely to be complicated and tied to the future success of the development. Developers were offered the option of purchasing the land or leasing it. Boston Residential chose the lease option.
Although the authority always likes to have competing bids for land or air rights it puts up for development, Hines said, ''We're pleased that we received a proposal."
Boston Residential is a privately held development and management company that owns and manages about 1,200 luxury apartments, primarily in Boston and the western suburbs.
The company was founded only this year, but the families of the two principals have been in the real estate business for years.
ADVERTISEMENT
The development of the land, controlled by the Turnpike Authority, will follow guidelines and a new set of zoning rules set out by the City of Boston, following more than a year of meetings where neighbors from the surrounding community told officials what they want.
''The way we're envisioning it is it becoming an extension of the surrounding community, Chinatown and the Leather District communities, down into that zone," said Marc Margulies, chairman of the 17-member South Bay Task Force Planning Committee, which was appointed by the city.
Lawrence Rosenbloom, a Leather District resident and member of the task force, said he was pleased that someone had responded to the challenge.
For a developer, Rosenbloom said, ''It's very ambitious, in ways that are similar to the South Boston Waterfront," though he added that it is in some ways a superior location because it is adjacent to South Station.
The planning study accommodated the desire by Chinatown residents for affordable housing ''at all income levels and different-sized units," Margulies said. Employment and employment training are supposed to be part of the package promised by developers, ''items for the economic benefit of the adjacent neighborhood."
The proposal from Boston Residential is primarily for existing land, not for air rights over the ramps that proliferate on the southern end of the South Bay site. But the master plan includes a vision of what could be built in later phases.
The southern end of the new neighborhood is envisioned as a gateway from the south as the Leonard P. Zakim-Bunker Hill Bridge is a door to Boston from the north.
But, under the first half of a master plan overseen by consultants Goody Clancy and hammered out over the last year, buildings would rapidly decline in height on blocks closer to Kneeland Street -- where the maximum height would be about 110 feet.
The need for vehicular traffic in South Bay is expected to be minimal, because it is so centrally located for public transportation. -- next to the South Station Transportation Center.
''We're using the proximity of this site to South Station and the nexus of all these roads to benefit development," said Margulies. ''That's what transportation-oriented development is all about."
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South Station Tower:
There doesn't seem to have any recent updates but this 705ft tower (originally 840ft but was lower because of Logan Airport only a 1/2 mile away). This tower most likely be built until 2010 becuase of the low demand of commercial towers. This would be built over South Station, a T train station.
Rendering:
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There doesn't seem to have any recent updates but this 705ft tower (originally 840ft but was lower because of Logan Airport only a 1/2 mile away). This tower most likely be built until 2010 becuase of the low demand of commercial towers. This would be built over South Station, a T train station.
Rendering:
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In Boston, Bruner/Cott is building 45 Province Street, a new 30-story mixed-use residential structure that will be a catalyst for revitalization of the Midtown Cultural District. The site is centrally located at the southern base of Beacon Hill and is surrounded by Old City Hall, the Boston Common, the Bulfinch State House and the Old Meeting House. This poured-in-place concrete structure will house ground floor retail, 24 stories of condominium residences and a parking garage. This elegant design uses contemporary materials and construction technology to mediate the scale and texture of the surrounding historic and mid-twentieth century context.
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Karp considers condos to pilot Pier 4 plan
By Scott Van Voorhis
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Developer Stephen Karp is hoping the Hub's hot residential market will give his long-planned redevelopment of the landmark Pier 4 waterfront site a lift.
The Newton executive who made a fortune developing a mall empire said he is exploring a phased build-out of the famed pier that now holds Anthony's Pier 4. He would focus initially on plans for an upscale condo high-rise.
That would mean leaving plans for an office building, and possibly a hotel, to a later phase.
The idea would be to take advantage of the city's hot residential market - where condo sales have recently crossed the once-unheard-of $10 million threshhold. By contrast, demand for new office space is almost nonexistent in Boston, where downtown tower vacancy rates hover around 20 percent.
``We are trying to feel out the market,'' Karp said. ``We are a little more optimistic about trying to figure out how to get some of the residential started. We are looking at that and if that makes sense to do.''
Karp's comments come as the developer prepares to win final City Hall approval for his Pier 4 redevelopment plan, possibly in two weeks at the next meeting of the Boston Redevelopment Authority board.
Meanwhile, plans for a $1.2 billion waterfront complex at the adjacent Fan Pier site are stalled as Chicago's billionaire Pritzker family looks to sell off the prime waterfront site
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By Scott Van Voorhis
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Developer Stephen Karp is hoping the Hub's hot residential market will give his long-planned redevelopment of the landmark Pier 4 waterfront site a lift.
The Newton executive who made a fortune developing a mall empire said he is exploring a phased build-out of the famed pier that now holds Anthony's Pier 4. He would focus initially on plans for an upscale condo high-rise.
That would mean leaving plans for an office building, and possibly a hotel, to a later phase.
The idea would be to take advantage of the city's hot residential market - where condo sales have recently crossed the once-unheard-of $10 million threshhold. By contrast, demand for new office space is almost nonexistent in Boston, where downtown tower vacancy rates hover around 20 percent.
``We are trying to feel out the market,'' Karp said. ``We are a little more optimistic about trying to figure out how to get some of the residential started. We are looking at that and if that makes sense to do.''
Karp's comments come as the developer prepares to win final City Hall approval for his Pier 4 redevelopment plan, possibly in two weeks at the next meeting of the Boston Redevelopment Authority board.
Meanwhile, plans for a $1.2 billion waterfront complex at the adjacent Fan Pier site are stalled as Chicago's billionaire Pritzker family looks to sell off the prime waterfront site
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Zoning 'tools' help developers push limits
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff | August 7, 2004
The developer of Russia Wharf -- a $300 million hotel, office, and condo project near the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Fort Point Channel -- has received a zoning variance to build a tower whose roof line will be 395 feet high in an area where building heights were previously zoned at 125 feet.
The project along Congress Street has all major city approvals; it still requires an OK from the state, said Pamela McDermott, a spokeswoman for the developers, Equity Office Properties.
Russia Wharf wouldn't be the tallest building in the neighborhood. The nearby Federal Reserve Bank Building stands 614 feet high.
Building heights are often an issue with neighbors, and variances can be overturned by the courts. Some other projects, including the Residences at Kensington Place near Chinatown, have gotten relief from height limits by other means, sometimes by persuading the city to designate projects as "planned development areas," or PDAs. With a PDA, such elements as building height are determined in negotiations involving the city, the developer, and the community. With Kensington, developers proposed a 290-foot tower in a neighborhood with a general limit of 155 feet for projects smaller than an acre.
PDAs have an advantage for developers: No legal challenge has been successful against a Boston PDA.
"PDAs are virtually bulletproof," said Shirley Kressel, a landscape architect and a critic of the city's planning agency, the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
By discouraging lawsuits, a PDA can make it easier for a developer to obtain financing, said the developer of Columbus Center last year after a PDA was given to his project, which proposes connecting the South End and the Back Bay by building over the Massachusetts Turnpike.
So why did Equity Office choose a variance over a PDA when it sought zoning relief in June?
McDermott noted the city, the state, and community members recently finished a Municipal Harbor Plan, an extensive review of development issues for this part of town.
"The most efficient route for us was a zoning variance that confirmed what the community, city, and state had already embraced in the Municipal Harbor Plan," she said.
"We told them the best way to move forward was with a zoning variance," added BRA director Mark Maloney.
A PDA requires a lengthy public review, he said. It can be quicker to get a variance. Both are zoning "tools," he said; depending on the project, one tool may be more "appropriate."
PDAs, said Kressel, undermine the zoning code by brushing aside rules for limiting height. "A PDA is whatever you say it is," she said.
Kressel cited Kensington as an example of "anything-goes" zoning. To get a PDA, a project needs an acre of land or more. Kensington's boundaries were drawn to include public sidewalks to reach the acre threshold.
Kressel claims PDA projects generated unwanted publicity, and the BRA now urges developers to seek variances instead, something the BRA denied. Maloney defended PDAs as a valuable zoning tool only rarely granted; in four decades, 40 PDA projects have been completed.
"There haven't been an awful lot of PDAs," Maloney said. "There has been an awful lot of talk about them."
Saying that building heights of projects like Russia Wharf should "step back" from the shore, Kressel said, "You're not supposed to feel like an ant overwhelmed by towers on the waterfront."
Russia Wharf has widespread support, said Maloney, adding: "If the vast majority of the community and the vast majority of abutters approve the project, we can't let a few people who don't want any change to stop it."
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In the rendering, the part with the atennae would be lit at night.
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff | August 7, 2004
The developer of Russia Wharf -- a $300 million hotel, office, and condo project near the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Fort Point Channel -- has received a zoning variance to build a tower whose roof line will be 395 feet high in an area where building heights were previously zoned at 125 feet.
The project along Congress Street has all major city approvals; it still requires an OK from the state, said Pamela McDermott, a spokeswoman for the developers, Equity Office Properties.
Russia Wharf wouldn't be the tallest building in the neighborhood. The nearby Federal Reserve Bank Building stands 614 feet high.
Building heights are often an issue with neighbors, and variances can be overturned by the courts. Some other projects, including the Residences at Kensington Place near Chinatown, have gotten relief from height limits by other means, sometimes by persuading the city to designate projects as "planned development areas," or PDAs. With a PDA, such elements as building height are determined in negotiations involving the city, the developer, and the community. With Kensington, developers proposed a 290-foot tower in a neighborhood with a general limit of 155 feet for projects smaller than an acre.
PDAs have an advantage for developers: No legal challenge has been successful against a Boston PDA.
"PDAs are virtually bulletproof," said Shirley Kressel, a landscape architect and a critic of the city's planning agency, the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
By discouraging lawsuits, a PDA can make it easier for a developer to obtain financing, said the developer of Columbus Center last year after a PDA was given to his project, which proposes connecting the South End and the Back Bay by building over the Massachusetts Turnpike.
So why did Equity Office choose a variance over a PDA when it sought zoning relief in June?
McDermott noted the city, the state, and community members recently finished a Municipal Harbor Plan, an extensive review of development issues for this part of town.
"The most efficient route for us was a zoning variance that confirmed what the community, city, and state had already embraced in the Municipal Harbor Plan," she said.
"We told them the best way to move forward was with a zoning variance," added BRA director Mark Maloney.
A PDA requires a lengthy public review, he said. It can be quicker to get a variance. Both are zoning "tools," he said; depending on the project, one tool may be more "appropriate."
PDAs, said Kressel, undermine the zoning code by brushing aside rules for limiting height. "A PDA is whatever you say it is," she said.
Kressel cited Kensington as an example of "anything-goes" zoning. To get a PDA, a project needs an acre of land or more. Kensington's boundaries were drawn to include public sidewalks to reach the acre threshold.
Kressel claims PDA projects generated unwanted publicity, and the BRA now urges developers to seek variances instead, something the BRA denied. Maloney defended PDAs as a valuable zoning tool only rarely granted; in four decades, 40 PDA projects have been completed.
"There haven't been an awful lot of PDAs," Maloney said. "There has been an awful lot of talk about them."
Saying that building heights of projects like Russia Wharf should "step back" from the shore, Kressel said, "You're not supposed to feel like an ant overwhelmed by towers on the waterfront."
Russia Wharf has widespread support, said Maloney, adding: "If the vast majority of the community and the vast majority of abutters approve the project, we can't let a few people who don't want any change to stop it."
In the rendering, the part with the atennae would be lit at night.
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Preconstruction, Mandarin condo prices hit new highs
Word-of-mouth credited for healthy interest in high-end units
Michelle Hillman
Journal Staff
Hitting record per-square-foot prices, the new Residences at the Mandarin Oriental have sold well over 50 percent of the condominium units in the luxury mixed-use project adjacent to the Prudential Center -- all with no formal marketing campaign to speak of.
Thanks to simple word-of-mouth marketing and attention from the press, not a penny is expected to be spent advertising the project's 50 luxury condominiums, which are priced from $3 million to $12 million, according to Robin Brown, the Mandarin's developer, who partnered with CWB Boylston LLC's Julian Cohen and Stephen R. Weiner.
"What happened was, I think word just got out over the last few years," said Brown. "It just seems to be working so we'll never have to run an ad."
The condominium units range from 2,000 square feet to 8,000 square feet in size, with the per-square-foot prices in the range of $1,200 to $2,000.
Brown began selling the units by keeping a record of friends and associates in a ledger book. With 40 to 50 names to start, Brown has been quietly meeting with the people on the list since last year. He said he knows personally a majority of the people buying units and continues to meet with a couple of people privately each week.
After several setbacks, including a difficult hotel-financing climate following the September 2001 terrorist attacks and an increase in steel prices that added to what has been the $220 million price tag, Brown said the 450,000-square-foot project at 800 Boylston St. is set to break ground this summer. The project includes 50 condominiums, 35 apartments, 149-room hotel and 30,000 square feet of retail space.
The financing for the project is "100 percent done," said Brown, referring to loans secured last month from Bank of America Corp. and HSBC Bank. At one point, CWB was in line to receive a $15 million loan from the city of Boston, but decided to finance the project on its own.
With the financing secure and presale efforts hitting near-record per-square-foot prices, Brown and partners need only to close the deal on the land acquisition from current owner Boston Properties Inc.
The land sale, for an undisclosed price, is set to close later this month, with complicated site-preparation work under way, said David Barrett, the senior vice president at Boston Properties. The site preparation is being done by Shawmut Design and Construction in Boston.
Barrett said the sale of the 47,000 square feet of land is imminent. "We've just gotten to the point where that's appropriate," said Barrett. "Our expectation is, it will close this month."
Barrett said the site work will continue for another six months, with the hotel portion breaking ground in July or August.
The project originally was set to break ground in 2003, with the completion date targeted at 2006. Though two years off the groundbreaking schedule, Brown anticipates a September 2007 opening.
The contractor hired for the Mandarin project is Suffolk Construction Co. Inc., the architect is CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc. with S.R. Weiner & Associates Inc. acting as the development manager.
The mixed-use project will be closely tied to the Prudential Center along Boylston Street. Brown, former general manager of the Four Seasons, said residents of the posh Mandarin can choose from amenities like private gardens with elevators, roof decks and access to room service and a private spa.
Brown likens the units to homes and confirmed some of the units have sold for close to $2,000 per-square-foot.
"The quality of this project is what's setting the record," he said. "It will certainly be one of the more expensive."
Brown, who compared the homes to "hand-built" Bentleys and said the units are priced in accordance to the finishes and cost of construction for the project, which he admitted is "definitely behind schedule."
This is an old rendering. I can;t find the new one. Anyone who can find it can post it here.
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Word-of-mouth credited for healthy interest in high-end units
Michelle Hillman
Journal Staff
Hitting record per-square-foot prices, the new Residences at the Mandarin Oriental have sold well over 50 percent of the condominium units in the luxury mixed-use project adjacent to the Prudential Center -- all with no formal marketing campaign to speak of.
Thanks to simple word-of-mouth marketing and attention from the press, not a penny is expected to be spent advertising the project's 50 luxury condominiums, which are priced from $3 million to $12 million, according to Robin Brown, the Mandarin's developer, who partnered with CWB Boylston LLC's Julian Cohen and Stephen R. Weiner.
"What happened was, I think word just got out over the last few years," said Brown. "It just seems to be working so we'll never have to run an ad."
The condominium units range from 2,000 square feet to 8,000 square feet in size, with the per-square-foot prices in the range of $1,200 to $2,000.
Brown began selling the units by keeping a record of friends and associates in a ledger book. With 40 to 50 names to start, Brown has been quietly meeting with the people on the list since last year. He said he knows personally a majority of the people buying units and continues to meet with a couple of people privately each week.
After several setbacks, including a difficult hotel-financing climate following the September 2001 terrorist attacks and an increase in steel prices that added to what has been the $220 million price tag, Brown said the 450,000-square-foot project at 800 Boylston St. is set to break ground this summer. The project includes 50 condominiums, 35 apartments, 149-room hotel and 30,000 square feet of retail space.
The financing for the project is "100 percent done," said Brown, referring to loans secured last month from Bank of America Corp. and HSBC Bank. At one point, CWB was in line to receive a $15 million loan from the city of Boston, but decided to finance the project on its own.
With the financing secure and presale efforts hitting near-record per-square-foot prices, Brown and partners need only to close the deal on the land acquisition from current owner Boston Properties Inc.
The land sale, for an undisclosed price, is set to close later this month, with complicated site-preparation work under way, said David Barrett, the senior vice president at Boston Properties. The site preparation is being done by Shawmut Design and Construction in Boston.
Barrett said the sale of the 47,000 square feet of land is imminent. "We've just gotten to the point where that's appropriate," said Barrett. "Our expectation is, it will close this month."
Barrett said the site work will continue for another six months, with the hotel portion breaking ground in July or August.
The project originally was set to break ground in 2003, with the completion date targeted at 2006. Though two years off the groundbreaking schedule, Brown anticipates a September 2007 opening.
The contractor hired for the Mandarin project is Suffolk Construction Co. Inc., the architect is CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares Inc. with S.R. Weiner & Associates Inc. acting as the development manager.
The mixed-use project will be closely tied to the Prudential Center along Boylston Street. Brown, former general manager of the Four Seasons, said residents of the posh Mandarin can choose from amenities like private gardens with elevators, roof decks and access to room service and a private spa.
Brown likens the units to homes and confirmed some of the units have sold for close to $2,000 per-square-foot.
"The quality of this project is what's setting the record," he said. "It will certainly be one of the more expensive."
Brown, who compared the homes to "hand-built" Bentleys and said the units are priced in accordance to the finishes and cost of construction for the project, which he admitted is "definitely behind schedule."
This is an old rendering. I can;t find the new one. Anyone who can find it can post it here.
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High-rise residences at FleetCenter proposed
Bill Archambeault
Boston Business Journal
Boston Garden Development Corp. on Wednesday formally submitted its proposal to build a 37-story, 368-unit residential tower at North Station to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
The $150 million proposal, called the Nashua Street Residences, seeks to build a 415-foot-tall tower on Nashua Street with a combination of market-rate apartments and condominiums adjacent to the FleetCenter, which Boston Garden Development's parent company, Delaware North Companies developed and owns. The parent company, which has $1 billion in revenues, also owns the Boston Bruins.
The 577,000-square-foot residential tower is part of Delaware North's master plan for a 2 million-square-foot development at its North Station site. The company is developing plans for two additional towers on the site that could include a mix of office, retail and hotel uses, said Charlie Jacobs, executive vice president of the FleetCenter and the Boston Bruins. But this tower is expected to be purely residential and available for occupancy in 2007.
The company has not yet established a price range for the units, but Jacobs said they would not be high-end units despite the commanding views they will offer. There will be a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units.
"We took an inventory of the market and realized that there was a lot of luxury out there," he said. "We felt this was more appropriate for market-rate. This whole area is going to have a radically different feel and look. We felt this tower would be best suited to the young professional who would use mass transit to commute to work."
Plans call for 244 parking spaces, but residents will have access to public transportation via a covered walkway to the FleetCenter.
The company filed a project notification form on Wednesday, setting the permitting process in motion.
"We're excited to get the process started," said BRA spokeswoman Meredith Baumann.
However, the building's height could raise objections. At 415 feet, it would be among the two-dozen tallest buildings in Boston. The proposed tower would be about 35 feet shorter than 125 High St. and 100 Summer St.
Though the city's zoning restrictions allow a maximum height of 415 feet on the site, tower proposals often run into staunch opposition from residents and end up lopping off several floors to win approval. But Jacobs said he does not think the building's height will be a problem.
"Honestly, I think people are looking forward to having a high-rise tower here. A, I don't think we've had much resistance from the BRA, and B, I think it's appropriate," Jacobs said, noting that the BRA staff has been supportive of the concept.
"They've been very positive," he said. "The mayor wants more people living in Boston, living downtown, and they've been very supportive about this."
The development team includes New York City-based architecture firm Costas Kondylis and Partners LLP, Boston-based development consultant Meredith & Grew Inc., environmental permitting consultant Epsilon Associates and the Boston-based law firm Goodwin Procter LLP.
Bill Archambeault
Boston Business Journal
Boston Garden Development Corp. on Wednesday formally submitted its proposal to build a 37-story, 368-unit residential tower at North Station to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
The $150 million proposal, called the Nashua Street Residences, seeks to build a 415-foot-tall tower on Nashua Street with a combination of market-rate apartments and condominiums adjacent to the FleetCenter, which Boston Garden Development's parent company, Delaware North Companies developed and owns. The parent company, which has $1 billion in revenues, also owns the Boston Bruins.
The 577,000-square-foot residential tower is part of Delaware North's master plan for a 2 million-square-foot development at its North Station site. The company is developing plans for two additional towers on the site that could include a mix of office, retail and hotel uses, said Charlie Jacobs, executive vice president of the FleetCenter and the Boston Bruins. But this tower is expected to be purely residential and available for occupancy in 2007.
The company has not yet established a price range for the units, but Jacobs said they would not be high-end units despite the commanding views they will offer. There will be a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units.
"We took an inventory of the market and realized that there was a lot of luxury out there," he said. "We felt this was more appropriate for market-rate. This whole area is going to have a radically different feel and look. We felt this tower would be best suited to the young professional who would use mass transit to commute to work."
Plans call for 244 parking spaces, but residents will have access to public transportation via a covered walkway to the FleetCenter.
The company filed a project notification form on Wednesday, setting the permitting process in motion.
"We're excited to get the process started," said BRA spokeswoman Meredith Baumann.
However, the building's height could raise objections. At 415 feet, it would be among the two-dozen tallest buildings in Boston. The proposed tower would be about 35 feet shorter than 125 High St. and 100 Summer St.
Though the city's zoning restrictions allow a maximum height of 415 feet on the site, tower proposals often run into staunch opposition from residents and end up lopping off several floors to win approval. But Jacobs said he does not think the building's height will be a problem.
"Honestly, I think people are looking forward to having a high-rise tower here. A, I don't think we've had much resistance from the BRA, and B, I think it's appropriate," Jacobs said, noting that the BRA staff has been supportive of the concept.
"They've been very positive," he said. "The mayor wants more people living in Boston, living downtown, and they've been very supportive about this."
The development team includes New York City-based architecture firm Costas Kondylis and Partners LLP, Boston-based development consultant Meredith & Grew Inc., environmental permitting consultant Epsilon Associates and the Boston-based law firm Goodwin Procter LLP.
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Park Essex and The Clarendon are very attractive designs IMO. Good mix of new forms and local context for the generally conservative Boston (architecturally speaking).
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Luxury hotel project underway
Waterfront building to wrap around Big Dig vent system
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff | June 10, 2004
Construction began at 500 Atlantic Ave. this week on a 424-room InterContinental Boston hotel, whose upper floors will house 130 luxury condos, developer Intell Boston Harbor LLC said yesterday.
Today the site in the Financial District between the proposed Rose Kennedy Greenway and Fort Point Channel is occupied by structures that are part of the ventilation system for the new depressed Central Artery, including two 237-foot high cement towers, said Brian Fallon, an owner of Intell Boston Harbor.
Plans call for a $330 million waterfront hotel and condo building to wrap around the ventilation system. When the 20-story project is completed in mid-2006, the vents will be hidden from both pedestrians and from airplane passengers looking at the Boston skyline while flying in or out of Logan International Airport. Residents paying $1.4 million or more for a condo will not be able to see, smell or hear any evidence that the innards of the building are venting air from the new Artery tunnel, developers said.
''The vents will be invisible," said Gary Barnett, an owner of Intell Boston Harbor.
The InterContinental will be ''a signature Fort Point Channel building" that will help turn the area into a lively neighborhood, said Mark Maloney, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Coupled with such projects as a proposed glass-enclosed botanical garden for this stretch of the Greenway and the proposed renovation of neighboring Russia Wharf, this part of the city is ''going to be the big scene for Boston for the next 10 years," he added.
Given the challenge of building around a vent system, it's taken 14 years to get from the glimmer of an idea for the 500 Atlantic Ave. project to the start of construction, Fallon said. Barnett added Intell Boston Harbor is about to close on a financing package of roughly $250 million with HSBC, a financial services company based in London.
On the Fort Point Channel side of the project, the developers envision a European-style plaza similar to Post Office Square. The building's upper eight floors will be condos, most with harbor views. Given the hot condo market, they are crucial to attracting financing.
''To an extent, we're subsidizing the hotel with luxury condos," Barnett said.
The site is also important to InterContinental.
''We are pleased to introduce the first InterContinental Hotel in Boston in this stellar location overlooking the Boston Harbor," Stevan Porter, president of the InterContinental Hotels Group, the Americas, said in a statement.
Combining a luxury hotel with luxury condos also allows condo owners to enjoy such hotel amenities as room service or access to a hotel spa, Barnett noted.
Residences at the InterContinental, the condo component of 500 Atlantic Ave., will likely have starting prices of $800 to $900 per square foot, he said. That would translate into a price range of $1.4 million to $1.6 million for an average two-bedroom unit.
A neighbor of InterContinental also has big plans for the area between the Greenway and Fort Point Channel.
Equity Office Properties has put forward a $300 million proposal to transform Russia Wharf into a mixed-use development that would include office, residential, hotel, and retail space as well as a public plaza on the water. The hope is to begin construction next year on a 32-story tower expected to open in 2008.
Channel Side
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Downtown Side
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Construction pic
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Waterfront building to wrap around Big Dig vent system
By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff | June 10, 2004
Construction began at 500 Atlantic Ave. this week on a 424-room InterContinental Boston hotel, whose upper floors will house 130 luxury condos, developer Intell Boston Harbor LLC said yesterday.
Today the site in the Financial District between the proposed Rose Kennedy Greenway and Fort Point Channel is occupied by structures that are part of the ventilation system for the new depressed Central Artery, including two 237-foot high cement towers, said Brian Fallon, an owner of Intell Boston Harbor.
Plans call for a $330 million waterfront hotel and condo building to wrap around the ventilation system. When the 20-story project is completed in mid-2006, the vents will be hidden from both pedestrians and from airplane passengers looking at the Boston skyline while flying in or out of Logan International Airport. Residents paying $1.4 million or more for a condo will not be able to see, smell or hear any evidence that the innards of the building are venting air from the new Artery tunnel, developers said.
''The vents will be invisible," said Gary Barnett, an owner of Intell Boston Harbor.
The InterContinental will be ''a signature Fort Point Channel building" that will help turn the area into a lively neighborhood, said Mark Maloney, director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
Coupled with such projects as a proposed glass-enclosed botanical garden for this stretch of the Greenway and the proposed renovation of neighboring Russia Wharf, this part of the city is ''going to be the big scene for Boston for the next 10 years," he added.
Given the challenge of building around a vent system, it's taken 14 years to get from the glimmer of an idea for the 500 Atlantic Ave. project to the start of construction, Fallon said. Barnett added Intell Boston Harbor is about to close on a financing package of roughly $250 million with HSBC, a financial services company based in London.
On the Fort Point Channel side of the project, the developers envision a European-style plaza similar to Post Office Square. The building's upper eight floors will be condos, most with harbor views. Given the hot condo market, they are crucial to attracting financing.
''To an extent, we're subsidizing the hotel with luxury condos," Barnett said.
The site is also important to InterContinental.
''We are pleased to introduce the first InterContinental Hotel in Boston in this stellar location overlooking the Boston Harbor," Stevan Porter, president of the InterContinental Hotels Group, the Americas, said in a statement.
Combining a luxury hotel with luxury condos also allows condo owners to enjoy such hotel amenities as room service or access to a hotel spa, Barnett noted.
Residences at the InterContinental, the condo component of 500 Atlantic Ave., will likely have starting prices of $800 to $900 per square foot, he said. That would translate into a price range of $1.4 million to $1.6 million for an average two-bedroom unit.
A neighbor of InterContinental also has big plans for the area between the Greenway and Fort Point Channel.
Equity Office Properties has put forward a $300 million proposal to transform Russia Wharf into a mixed-use development that would include office, residential, hotel, and retail space as well as a public plaza on the water. The hope is to begin construction next year on a 32-story tower expected to open in 2008.
Channel Side
Downtown Side
Construction pic
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1,669 Posts
Blackfan project wins final OKs as leasing kicks off
Michelle Hillman
Journal Staff
Two and a half years in the making, the Blackfan Research Center is fully approved and is set to break ground this summer, a project that will add 575,000 square feet of research space to the booming life sciences research sector of Longwood Medical Area.
The $250 million Lyme Properties LLC project won approval from the city's Zoning Commission last week and is already entertaining proposals for space in the 18-floor building, negotiating with prospective tenants that include the medical institutions already located in Longwood and life sciences companies that could move there. The first leases could be announced in the next several months, said Scott Dumont, who is managing the project for Lyme Properties.
"There is a significant amount of demand with Longwood and elsewhere," said Dumont. "This will be a state-of-the-art building."
The Blackfan Research Center joins a crowded field of projects slated for the area, which is home to Merck & Co. Inc., the Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based pharmaceutical company that built a 466,000-square-foot Boston Research Center.
Future neighbors include 300,000 square feet occupied by researchers from Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, which will be adding 430,000 square feet for medical research.
Many of the city's top hospitals and health care institutions are clustered in the Longwood area, which has drawn pharmaceutical companies and research entities looking to locate facilities among the medical research field's heavy hitters.
Sarah J. Hamilton, director of planning and development for the Medical, Academic and Scientific Community Organization Inc. -- or MASCO, a consortium of institutions in Longwood -- said new developments such as the Blackfan project will continue to underscore the area as the prime address for top-notch medical research.
"It's truly becoming a new research quadrangle in that area," said Hamilton.
The Blackfan Research Center will be adjacent to the Merck building and next to the Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School facilities.
"It's right in the middle of the new research area," Dumont said.
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Michelle Hillman
Journal Staff
Two and a half years in the making, the Blackfan Research Center is fully approved and is set to break ground this summer, a project that will add 575,000 square feet of research space to the booming life sciences research sector of Longwood Medical Area.
The $250 million Lyme Properties LLC project won approval from the city's Zoning Commission last week and is already entertaining proposals for space in the 18-floor building, negotiating with prospective tenants that include the medical institutions already located in Longwood and life sciences companies that could move there. The first leases could be announced in the next several months, said Scott Dumont, who is managing the project for Lyme Properties.
"There is a significant amount of demand with Longwood and elsewhere," said Dumont. "This will be a state-of-the-art building."
The Blackfan Research Center joins a crowded field of projects slated for the area, which is home to Merck & Co. Inc., the Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based pharmaceutical company that built a 466,000-square-foot Boston Research Center.
Future neighbors include 300,000 square feet occupied by researchers from Children's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, which will be adding 430,000 square feet for medical research.
Many of the city's top hospitals and health care institutions are clustered in the Longwood area, which has drawn pharmaceutical companies and research entities looking to locate facilities among the medical research field's heavy hitters.
Sarah J. Hamilton, director of planning and development for the Medical, Academic and Scientific Community Organization Inc. -- or MASCO, a consortium of institutions in Longwood -- said new developments such as the Blackfan project will continue to underscore the area as the prime address for top-notch medical research.
"It's truly becoming a new research quadrangle in that area," said Hamilton.
The Blackfan Research Center will be adjacent to the Merck building and next to the Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School facilities.
"It's right in the middle of the new research area," Dumont said.
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