The Future of Boston	.
Thomas N. O'Brien	Author Info

Abstract

Riding the wave of a surging economy, the City of Boston heads into the new millennium with a number of unique opportunities to remake the face of this historic eastern seaport. As a result of major infrastructure changes being made to the City, significant amounts of land is being made available for private and public development. Boston faces intriguing challenges on four planning fronts: the waterfront, residential neighborhoods, fair distribution of economic gains to all City residents, and creating active use and enjoyment of the public realm.

Introduction

The City of Boston stands at the crossroads of something great. Despite the vast changes in the information technology and health care industries, Boston has pulled itself out of the recession of the '80's and is well-positioned to take advantage of the economy of the next millenium. At the end of 1997, Boston's Class A office vacancy rate (1.8% according to Spaulding & Slye ) and hotel occupancy rate (81.3% through November 1997) are among the very best in the nation. Unemployment continues to be low, at 3.7%. As the economy prospers, plans for development become a reality. The Boston Convention and Exposition Center illustrates this point dramatically. While talk of a convention center has been a ongoing for several years, the catalyst that made it a reality was our robust tourism and visitor industry. Confident that Boston's economy could support the cost of a new convention center, Mayor Thomas M. Menino stepped up the City's contribution and the legislature passed the $700 million Convention Center Bond Bill.

The Challenges

Boston's is unique among American cities in that it is built upon four cornerstones of greatness: an historic and prosperous waterfront, a residential character evident in its diverse neighborhoods, a strong, broad-based economy, and a high quality of life and active public realm. Of these four cornerstones, only the waterfront was given to us - the other three are the result of Bostonians thinking actively about what would make the city succeed. The real key to achieving greatness is just that - planning great things. Future generations will judge us by how well we plan today what is best for Boston tomorrow. And today presents us with several key opportunities to plan great things for Boston, opportunities which will only come around once.

The Waterfront

The first challenge which we are faced with is the redefining of our waterfront. As we approach completion of the Central Artery project, we stand ready to rediscover our waterfront, to link it once again to downtown and the rest of the city via open space like Harborwalk. The Big Dig has given us the opportunity to remake our waterfront nearly from scratch, and we must all be involved in the dialogue over the best uses of this land. We have the opportunity to remake the waterfront not only in our downtown, but also along the entire South Boston Seaport. The BRA is working with the community of South Boston to produce a Masterplan for the South Boston Seaport. This plan will establish the controls necessary to maximize public enjoyment of the new activity forecasted for this exciting area. The opportunity presented here - 1,000 acres of developable space - is unparalleled in Boston's history, or perhaps that of any American city. Through an ongoing dialogue with local residents of South Boston, the BRA is working to create a blueprint for the future of this new area of Boston.

The following projects are changing the face of Boston's downtown and the South Boston Seaport:

• The $700 million Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has been approved by the State Legislature and the BRA has begun work on the project. The facility is expected to generate almost $438 million in direct annual spending, and more than 7,000 new permanent jobs.
• Boston 2000 is a commission charged with planning the best uses for land which will be made available when the Central Artery project is completed - over 30 acres of new real estate in downtown Boston. Specific goals include designating 75% of the land for open space and public facilities.
• In hotel development one of the most exciting projects in the city is nearing completion at the World Trade Center. The John Drew Company's 427-unit luxury hotel, expected to be operational this spring, is only the first step in a three-phase building program which includes two new office towers and a public plaza.
• Millennium Partners is moving forward with plans to construct Millennium Place on Washington Street in Downtown Crossing. This multi-use complex will feature a 300-room hotel, a Sony Theatres multiplex, a Reebok Sports Club and 400 units of residential housing. Construction is expected to begin this year, and be completed by the year 2000. This exciting project will revitalize the entire lower Washington Street area, reconnecting the financial district with Chinatown and the theatre district.
• Another project helping to revitalize lower Washington Street is Lafayette Corporate Center. This $370 million redevelopment of the former Lafayette Place Mall is expected to house 5,000 new, permanent jobs in over 500,000 square feet of Class A office space and over 75,000 square feet of retail space at street level. New tenants of the building include State Street Bank and Trust and Massachusetts Financial Services and are expected to occupy the building by this fall.

The Residential Neighborhoods

The second planning challenge facing the city is how best to maintain and enhance the residential character of Boston. Boston's diverse, distinctive neighborhoods have helped to create a twenty-four hour city and must continue to do so. In order to ensure that Boston continues to promote appropriate multi-use development, the BRA is bringing back neighborhood planners to coordinate both the planning and economic development efforts of individual neighborhoods in the city. In addition, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced this past spring a bold new planning initiative called Boston 400. For the first time in the city's history, Boston is engaging residents from neighborhoods all across the City to join together and share their vision of a future Boston. This public planning process will help the BRA to coordinate the public realm, transportation, infrastructure, and development citywide.

A number of larger housing proposals are currently under review at the BRA. This is an ideal time for residential projects in the city, as the rental market is extremely tight. The challenge is to ensure that new developments, both residential and commercial, are appropriately designed and scaled to enhance existing neighborhoods.

• At 25 Huntington Avenue, the Raymond Property Company is constructing a 21-story, 126-unit residential tower with a total development cost of $53 million. A critical site in the Back Bay area, this project must be designed in such a way as to enhance existing historic structures such as Trinity Church, the Boston Public Library, and the Copley Fairmont Hotel.
• Macomber Development Associates has proposed a 14-story hotel and luxury residences on parcel P2 in the Park Plaza Urban Renewal Area. This project, when finished, will complete the Park Plaza Urban Renewal Plan, the first such plan to be completed in the city.
• The BRA has also committed to attracting major retail activity such as supermarkets to Boston's existing neighborhoods to help maintain and enhance the city's 24-hour character. This initiative, well underway with he addition of 10 new stores in the last five years, is critical to Boston's future.

The City's Economy

I stated that Boston's strong and broad-based economy was one of the city's cornerstones of greatness. A challenge facing us today will be how to ensure that the benefits of this period of economic prosperity are enjoyed by all Bostonians. This theme - One Boston - is critical to the BRA's mission. The development agenda set by the BRA will balance downtown office and commercial projects with residential and retail development in the neighborhoods. Institutional development by Harvard University, Northeastern University, Tufts University and others will be matched by small business growth in the city's 15 Main Streets districts. Our city can only continue to thrive through the next century if we are able to share economic opportunities with every corner and every citizen of Boston.

The following projects illustrate the BRA's goal to encourage development across all sectors of the economy and to share economic benefits among all Boston's neighborhoods, communities and people.

• Northeastern University is expanding its presence in Boston with the purchase and redevelopment of Parcel 18 (Ruggles Center). Northeastern plans to occupy six floors of the nine-story building and provide the three lower floors to the Whittier Street Health center - a critical resource for the Roxbury Community. Another community benefit provided by the project will be 200 parking spaces provided for the newly-constructed Boston Police Headquarters.
• Another institution which is providing benefits to the one of Boston's communities is Tufts University. Construction on a 146,000 square foot biomedical research and nutrition complex in the South Cove area is expected to begin in May. But the Chinatown community has already felt the benefits of this projects as Tufts has committed to constructing a $2 million shell for a new South Cove YMCA.
• On the industrial scene the fall witnessed two significant events. Legal Sea Foods, Inc. announced plans to move its headquarters to a new distribution center in South Boston. The 60,000 - 80,000 square foot facility will also house a retail store and an aquaculture development component. The second major happening was the grand opening of the New Boston Seafood Center in the Marine Industrial Park. This center is now home to nine seafood processing and distribution companies and features state-of-the-art refrigeration equipment in-line with stringent new FDA standards.

The Public Realm

The final - and most important - planning challenge facing the City will be to create an active, lively and memorable public realm from all the opportunities presented to us. Due to massive infrastructure projects like the Cleanup of Boston Harbor, the Central Artery Project, and the proposed Urban Ring, the city's public realm - open spaces, parks, bicycle pathways, public transportation and the waterfront - will be greatly expanded and enhanced.

Highlights include:

• As part of the City's plan to improve the public realm, a grand revitalization of City Hall Plaza is currently being examined by the BRA. To finance open space improvements and programming on the plaza, the City is considering the merits of constructing a 350-room, first-class hotel that could serve as the economic engine to fund as much as $25 million in improvements.
• In the Fenway, the Abbey Group is working to redevelop the former Sears building into the new, multi-use Landmark Center. The $110 million project, currently under construction, calls for a 14-18 screen General Cinemas theatre, 600,000 square feet of office space and 170,000 square feet of retail space. In addition, this project marks the return of the famed "missing link" to the string of parkland throughout the City known as the Emerald Necklace, which was created by Frederick Law Olmsted.
• 90 Tremont Street, the former home of Dini's restaurant, will soon boast a 19-story, 204-unit hotel and restaurant. The building has been vacant for ten years and the new project will eliminate a blight on the area and enhance the improvements being made to the Freedom Trail.
• Just down the street from 90 Tremont, construction is in full swing on Suffolk University's new, state-of-the-art Law School. The $65 million, 265,000 square foot facility which includes retail space at the ground floor will reinforce Suffolk's presence in the downtown, improve the street facade along the Boston Common and contribute to the area's reputation as a twenty-four hour city.
• One of the Mayor's top development priorities will be to find a way to bring Fenway Park into the twenty-first century, and the BRA will be focusing staff and resources in earnest on this project. Fenway Park is a inextricable piece of Boston's past, and our goal will be to ensure that it remains as vitally linked to Boston's future.

Closing

Boston is on the verge of something great. Economic vitality leads to opportunity as projects which were once only ideas can now become a reality. The BRA is committed to the concept of One Boston, to ensuring that everyone enjoys the success our future holds.

Thomas N. O'Brien
Chief Economic Development Officer
City of Boston