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Former BRA head now in charge of replacing eyesore downtown garage with two skyscrapers
By adamg on Wed, 01/13/2010 - 11:17pm
The Globe reports the developer who wants to replace the Government Center garage with $2.2 billion worth of skyscrapery goodness is replacing the current project manager with Tom O'Brien, former director of the BRA. Given the economy, though, they don't plan to build upwards right now.
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Comments
Super!
Great! We can start fresh again going through endless community meetings that end up accomplishing nothing.
Three years from now when it's being discussed the usual suspects will be out in front, Shirley Kressel, the BRA's executive director, and North End neighbors complaining about how the plans don't include a public school. Wash, rinse, repeat.
And perhaps that would be a good thing?
On average over long periods of time Boston absorbs less than 1 million sf of office space annually. We build fewer than 1000 new units of housing so at 2000 sf per unit that's about 2 million sf. Add in another a million sf for retail, labs, hospitals, universities etc. and that's total demand of 4 million sf per year. The BRA annual report stated that they have about 40 million sf of development at a "shovel ready" approved stage - that's 10 years of demand in a market that has at least 2 years of supply slack. On top of that there is another 47 million sf (probably including this project) under review. That means unless there is a surge of migration to Boston that we have almost 25 years of projects either built, approved or in the process and the mayor has stated that he has a priority of bringing all kinds of new development to South Boston that isn't even on the drawing board yet. Given a long history of a "build it and they will come" attitude and then they don't, does it make sense to pursue these grand projects? Maybe we should focus more on increasing demand (moderate priced housing in the neighborhoods?) before we add to the excess supply downtown?
What do you mean "that isn't
What do you mean "that isn't even on the drawing board yet?"
The entire seaport has already been planned. It is just a matter of getting funding.
Not all included
The numbers in the annual report are only summary numbers with some particular projects named. The seaport may be "planned" but if there isn't a proposal on the table for a parcel it doesn't look like it's included under the "in planning" phase - or they are too small to be highlighted - under about 100k sf.
Bra head!
Who are you calling bra head, you lint licker?