Innovation District

Cisco is holding a conference at the South Boston convention center this week, and apparently it rented out the World Trade Center for parties tonight and tomorrow that are going to feature some acrobats. Billy Chen watched them warm up. Another view.

Also see Cisco's reassurance to attendees that they wouldn't get blown up in Boston.

Massport, which should really be renamed MassPortAndRealEstateDevelopment, has decided it's not going to let a develop build 300 apartments on some vacant land it owns near Bank of America Pavillion because, well, just because:

The statement did not elaborate on why the residential units are not allowed.

A pedestrian who suffered no visible injuries when "brushed" by a car whose driver was making a turn made a series of phone calls to get money out of him, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Instead of money, however, Deborah Yi, 24, got a trip to a State Police barracks, after she was arrested on an extortion charge after allegedly accepting an envelope full of cash from the driver - who had immediately reported the calls to police, the DA's office says.

According to prosecutors, the driver, a lawyer:

The Boston Business Journal reports on plans for a 22-story building that would house 414 apartments, from studios to three-bedroom units, including nine "micro units" that would go for $1,700 a month. Also notable: Only 132 parking spaces are planned for the project, near a Silver Line stop.

The Boston Business Journal reports the Unitarian Universalist Association is selling its headquarters on Beacon Hill to move into three floors of a six-story office building on Farnsworth Street in South Boston - part of what Bloomberg this week called a building boom that has seen office rents in the district soar.

The association itself says:

Scott Van Voorhis reports the city's push for "micro" apartment as lure for youngpreneurs to move into the Innovation District is working - except for the part about them being more affordable, such as the $1,700 a month or so to live in a 300-square-foot apartment on Melcher Street:

That's a lot to pay given you can get a townhouse in Quincy for that price and still be within a 10 or 15 minute Red Line commute from downtown Boston.

A roving UHub photographer forwards this picture, taken around 4:40 p.m. yesterday, of the handicap parking spaces outside 12 Channel St., an Innovation District building owned by the BRA and EDIC.

They haven't plowed their handicap spaces since the blizzard.

The Herald reports Yet Another Steakhouse is planned for the South Boston waterfront.

Nancy, who works there, writes that what the area really needs is a drugstore:

The closest one is Downtown Crossing. It's a PITA for people who work down there.

The Globe reports Zipcar will move its headquarters from Cambridge to South Boston next year.

The Herald reports four development groups have submitted proposals for a city lot next to the waterfront restaurant complex, ranging from more restaurants to a boutique hotel to a "floating event space."

The BRA is hiring an Innovation District manager, the description for which sounds like the description for the people who run the city's Main Street programs in older 'hoods, only more innovationier - the successful candidate will attempt to recruit high-tech and biotech companies, instead of hardware stores and restaurants.

The Boston Business Journal reports some entrepreneurs are now setting up shop in Downtown Crossing rather than pay rents that have jumped dramatically along the waterfront.

The company now building its headquarters on the South Boston waterfront today announced a science-education program at Boston Green Academy and Excel High School in South Boston, the mayor's office reports:

[The] programs will aim to increase student participation and achievement in advanced placement (AP) courses and prepare teachers for the national “Next Generation Science Standards” being implemented next year. Vertex also today announced the dedication of a new 3,000 square foot learning laboratory being constructed at its future headquarters in the Innovation District. The learning laboratory will be available for use by BPS and other community groups, allowing students and teachers to conduct scientific projects alongside Vertex scientists.

Up to 20 students at the schools will be selected as summer interns at the company once it moves from Cambridge; the company will also award two scholarships a year and create a research fellowship program for science teachers at the schools.

The Globe reports the BRA wants to give State Street an $11.5-million tax break to move into the Innovation District (so there must be innovative new ways to service the financial needs of the bank's rich clients, no?). It would be spread out over several years, the city would make a boatload of taxes on the building and, besides, the CEO made $16 million in salary and other compensation last year.

The owner of Packy Connors, 203 Blue Hill Ave., wants to sell his liquor license to a proposed Asian restaurant on the South Boston waterfront.

James Cairns goes before the Boston Licensing Board next week for permission for the deal. Coming on the heels of the Breezeway's decision to shut down this would mean Blue Hill Avenue will not have a single bar in Mattapan or Roxbury.

Shrine hopes to open this summer in an office building next to the federal courthouse.

Packy Connors was long the bane of police in District B-2, but after four people were shot outside at closing time, the bar instituted new security measures and stopped being a frequent visitor to the licensing board.

The Herald has completed its move to the South Boston waterfront.

Fort Point Blog provides the proof.

The BRA last night gave final approval to plans for the first of three new developments on the pier, a 383-unit apartment building, the Boston Business Journal reports.

The BRA has more details on the project.

There was a nice sunset over the Gillette plant tonight (if not quite as dramatic as yesterday's), as seen from near the convention center. A few minutes later, the sunset was more muted, but completely different, over the Haul Road, as seen from the bridge between the convention center and the Silver Line stop:

The Boston Licensing Board yesterday approved a request from Greek International Foods on Washington Street in West Roxbury for a license to sell beer and wine. However, the board rejected a request from Louis, the upscale clothing store on the waterfront, to nestle a full-service liquor store among its suits.

These stats just in from the T for the South Boston end of the Silver Line for January through August:

• Total annual year-to-date ridership up 7.0% from 3,148,612 in 2010 to 3,368,580 in 2011.
• Average weekday ridership up 5.7% from 15,015 in 2010 to 15,877 in 2011.
• Average Saturday ridership up 67.3% from 5,550 in 2010 to 9,285 in 2011.
• Average Sunday ridership up 8.0% from 8,422 in 2010 to 9,098 in 2011.

Man cage to the rescue. Photo by BFD.

The Boston Fire Department reports some shifting rebar pinned two workers and injured a third some 30 feet below ground level around 1:40 p.m. at the Vertex construction site on the waterfront at 50 Northern Ave.

Firefighters used a crane and a "man cage" to get the men, suffering from leg and arm injuries up to waiting EMTs.

The workers are helping to build two 18-story buildings as the $1-billion headquarters of Vertex, a pharmaceutical company now based in Cambridge.

They probably won't be renaming the Seaport Center on D Street New Wingo Square, however.

The Globe reports construction's set to begin next spring on a 21-story residential and retail building on Pier 4. The restaurant named for the pier and founder Anthony Athanas is slated to eventually be torn down, its land turned into a waterfront part; developers say the restaurant may be moved into another building slated for a later part of the pier project.

• BRA page on the project

WBUR reports on the groundbreaking for the new Vertex headquarters next to the federal courthouse.