The Revitalist

Wednesday's post on Downtown Crossing was timely because today the Globe published a rendering of the proposed tower for the Filene's site. There was only one rendering released by Elkus|Manfredi and there is no mention on the developers' websites (Vornado Realty Trust, John B. Hynes III). The details: the landmarked 1912 Filene's building will be restored, the tower will be 495 feet on top of all four buildings on the site, 1.2 million square feet total, 180,000 sq ft of retail (multi-story), 140 residences (lux condos with 20 below market units), 207 room boutique hotel, health club, spa.

So that sounds good. What about the much rumored Target? No comment. But it looks like we won't have to wait too long for more details because the Mayor said, "I've met with Vornado, and they're ready to go. They want to go out and start construction next year."

The Globe reports that Boston has been awarded $13 + million from Homeland Security's Critical Infrastructure grant program. The vast majority of the money will go to the MBTA for updates/improvements. To start with, over $9m will be spent to create a second subway control center to operate if the downtown center is disabled. Also, roughly $1m will be used for additional security items (alarms on access hatches, etc.) and $400,000 to study security improvements on commuter boats. Plus, the Commonwealth will have $2.1m for infrastructure security (bridges, major roads, etc.).

It's interesting to note that there is no mention of improvements to underground communications, which has been much discussed (see this and this) as a major emergency response issue. The first article notes that the MBTA is pursuing communications improvements (sounds like it will cost upwards of $100m), but the second notes that the work is not complete. As a T rider, I hear the chatter over the system to the individual drivers and am painfully aware of just how little help that would be in an emergency. And of course the problem is not only with the MBTA, but with coordinating all the various response agencies – and we all how smoothly that kind of thing usually goes. Personally, I really want to know that someone is figuring this out. 

The Banker & Tradesman reports that the future looks rosier for Downtown Crossing.  With the closing of Filene's and Barnes & Noble over the summer, people were starting to be concerned about the shopping district's viability. But the City and others are predicting that more housing and offices will pave the wave to a revitalized district.

Since Downtown Crossing is one of my least favorite places in the city, I certainly want to belive them. Everyone is waiting to see what the Vorando Realty Trust folks will do with the Filene's building. It is such a lovely building, let's hope they do it justice. I've got my fingers crossed... 

Apparently Seattle has more dogs than children (!), and they are now facing an issue about where to put their day care facilities. Does a doggie day care qualify as a kennel or a pet shop as far as the zoning code is concerned? The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the Seattle City Council will be considering a new classification for dog day care facilities in order to allow them in neighborhood commercial zones. The day cares want to be located in shopping centers with other commercial facilities, like car repair shops and grocery stores, so that they are easily accessible to their clients, as opposed to be religated to industrial areas like kennels.

As an active dog owner, I am aware of the controversy that our furry friends can stir up, just by being there. Clearly Seattle is taking a pro-active, pro-dog approach—good for them. The Pet Industry is obviously growing, and communities should recognize that this could be a significant part of the local economy. With more dogs than kids, Seattle has to make the economic choice to allow these dog-related businesses into their neighborhoods. Let's hope that this is part of a trend where municipalities realize that these animals aren't a public health issue to be managed but an economic growth and community building opportunity.

Smart City Memphis has a commentary on how cities can be more hip. The unexpected example used is Harrisburg, PA and it's Restaurant Row. Here are a couple of the highlights:

It's the people that make a place hip. Attract funky people and encourage people watching. Facilitate access (transit, parking).

Atmosphere matters – cool buildings, historic neighborhood, creative use of details. Draw the patrons outside and connect the inside to activity out on the street.

Allow for change. Don't try to make an entertainment district conform to industrial or commercial or residential district standards.

Fall cleaning time for the Revitalist blog roll. I got rid of some duds and added some new links. Also, I created another section for sites related to policy or data research. Hopefully, you'll find them interesting. I'll keep adding new ones as I stumble across them.

It's old news that the Hancock Tower is for sale , one of 10 buildings that Beacon Capital Partners is unloading. I understand that they are looking for roughly $1 billion for the package. The Hancock has long been my favorite building in Boston – I love the way it so successfully reflects its environment – so I think it is worth every penny.

On top of that, the Boston Business Journal reports that Beacon Capital Partners is also selling its collection of buildings at Channel Center in the Fort Point. The Channel consists of several historic buildings that have been redeveloped and already permitted parcels for new construction. Apparently they have had trouble off-loading one of these buildings in the past and are somewhat dubious about the health of the development. The BBJ says that these sales doesn't mean that Beacon Capital is pulling out of Boston, in fact, they just bought One Beacon Street last week.

Also for sale is the city's largest parking structure at One Congress Street. The garage that holds over 2,000 cars has a prime location next to Haymarket and the Greenway. It has a couple of floors of office space above the garage, but the property also includes significant air rights making it a prime location for the city's next high rise. The Globe article cites Cushman Wakefield as saying that Boston is the country's second most expensive parking market – don't we know it!

The 2006 international Waterfront Expo is coming up in October, if you happen to be in Glasgow. The Sunday Herald has a nice article talking about Glasgow's efforts to revitalize its riverfront along the Clyde (love that logo!) and how the Expo will showcase the river/city pairing (via Planetizen).

As the Expo's website notes, 95% of the world's great cities are located on rivers, lakes or harbors. The Expo is intended to gather planners, architects, developers and others from around to world to showcase and learn from cities that are successfully reclaiming their waterfronts. So far, all the Expos have been held in European cities, but there are a few American success stories – Chicago will be featured as a case study this year. Here in New England, Providence has clearly found a way to capitalize on the Blackstone as an urban asset once again (see WaterFire and the Waterfront Park being designed). For former mill cities like Providence, Lawrence and Lowell, the rivers are just as much of an asset that can be revitalized as their historic buildings are. Lowell has done a pretty good job of engaging with the river and canals so far – every year the Southeast Asian community puts on the Lowell Water Festival. Lawrence could certainly be doing more, beyond the Community Boating program. Talk of a riverwalk on the south bank is a good start...

I haven't talked too much about politics here at The Revitalist, but there are clearly a few issues that impact AHF. In particular, there has been a lot of talk about job creation and housing costs. The consensus from the academic and policy advocacy crowd is that the key is to create vibrant/diverse/attainable communities where people want to live, and the rest will fall in line. It's not about luring another major manufacturing facility. As redevelopers we are trying to build on exisiting assets and local history to (re)create attractive and inviting places to live and work.

So, I guess today the trick is to find candidates who will buy into this approach, set the tone, and support our efforts. I'm not sure that I've found my perfect candidate, but I've made my choices. Here are a few links to help you make yours (I'll try to survey the spectrum). The polls are open until 8:00 pm.

See the State Elections Division for info on who, what, where and how. 

News: Globe coverage / WBUR coverage / Herald coverage

Blogs: Keller @ Large (blog from CBS 4's political reporter Jon Keller) /Hub Politics (a conservative take on local politics) / Hub Blog (thoughts from Herald business reporter Jay Fitzgerald) / Blue Mass Group (blue state-ers on politics and policy)

Photo of rubber sidewalk tiles installed around tree roots, from Rubbersidewalks, Inc.

The Globe reports that the City Council is considering a proposal to start installing sidewalks made of rubber recycled from used tires. The rubber is more flexible than concrete, and therefore isn't cracked by spreading tree roots or snow removal. The product does provide a good use for all those tires that would otherwise wind up in a landfill, and it comes it just about any color you want. It sounds like a good alternative, except for the fact that it costs approximately $5 more per square foot. There is only one company marketing the sidewalks, Rubbersidewalks, Inc., based out of California (naturally). They say that a large part of the increased cost is shipping from CA, but that they are planning to open a production facility in NY to serve their East Coast clients and that the costs should come down.

The proposal was considered at the Sept 13th meeting of the City Council. Still looking for some follow up on how the discussion went.