Monday, November 30, 2009

South Boston Arts and Cultural Center Fundraiser, 12/15

The Harpoon 5:30 Club is partnering with the South Boston Arts & Cultural Center (SOBACC) Task Force for a night of food, fun, and drinks.

Harpoon Tasting Room
306 Northern Avenue
Tuesday, December 15th, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm


Complimentary food will be provided by Cafe Arpeggio and complimentary beverages will be provided by Harpoon. Tickets are only $15 at the door. Additionally, if you bring a letter stating your support for SOBACC, your ticket is only $10.

For more information about SOBACC and the fundraiser, see www.sobacc.org.

Friday, November 27, 2009

IAG Meeting for 319 A St. Project, 12/8

Please be advised that there will be a 319 A Street Rear Project Impact Advisory Group (“ IAG”) Working Session meeting on Tuesday, December 8, 8:00-9:30AM, at Made in the Fort Point, located at 12 Farnsworth Street.

All members of the community and media are welcome to attend IAG Meetings.

For details on the project, see this post.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Channel Cafe in Herald

I meant to post this earlier: there's a nice review of the Channel Cafe in the Herald.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Convention Center Proposes $1B Expansion

Mass. officials have announced a $1B expansion plan for the BCEC, which will double its capacity. Much of the development would build out West, into Fort Point:




News coverage:


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Mass. Announces Convention Center Expansion Plan
wbztv.com link
BOSTON (AP) ― State officials have announced plans to double the size of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, even though they have not said how they will finance the project.

The plan announced Monday calls for a 400,000-square-foot exhibit hall behind the main center, a new 1,000-room hotel, a 5,000-seat auditorium, and a 65,000- to 75,000-square-foot ballroom.
...


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Convention center union blasts expansion plan
By Thomas Grillo and Jay Fitzgerald | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets



Boston Herald Link


A proposal by the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to expand its sprawling South Boston complex is being blasted by a top labor official despite months of secret meetings in a failed effort to shore up support.

No details about how the expansion would be paid for were revealed in the 80-page report or a five-page press release.

Despite a 21 percent decline in events over the last three years, MCCA officials said yesterday that the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Southie could support a 1,000-room hotel in addition to the existing Westin Waterfront, 400,000 square feet of added exhibit space, as well as 125,000 square feet of added meeting space, up to 75,000 square feet to accommodate a variety of uses and a 5,000-seat auditorium - to be built next to the Fort Point Channel neighborhood.
...



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Convention center aims to double its capacity
Plans call for campus with new exhibit hall, hotel, ballroom, more
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | November 24, 2009
Boston.com link


The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, already the largest building of its kind in New England, would double in size under an expansion plan unveiled yesterday by state officials, eventually becoming a 1-million-square-foot tourism “campus’’ on the South Boston Waterfront.

The blueprint adds a 400,000-square-foot exhibit hall behind the main center, a 1,000-room hotel, a 5,000-seat auditorium, and a 65,000- to 75,000-square-foot ballroom elsewhere on the property.

The announcement kicks off a yearlong planning process in which a 25-member committee of public officials and business leaders will try to finalize the build-out. But already some major hurdles have emerged: The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority does not own much of the adjoining land on which it plans to build, nor have state officials determined how to pay for a project that could top $1 billion.

One official acknowledged state and city leaders will have to examine whether to raise travel and tourism taxes and fees to finance construction.

...


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Convention industry has slumped, but Boston fares better
By Katie Johnston Chase, Globe Staff | November 24, 2009

Boston.com link
...

Heywood Sanders, a professor of public administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio and a prominent critic of convention centers, is skeptical about the need for more space. He points to recent convention center expansions in Las Vegas and Orlando that generated minimal increases in business.

“The actual performance and the reality has been far, far less than the promises and forecasts,’’ he said. “And at the very least, that should raise the question about what an expansion might well do for Boston.’’

...

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Articles on 319 A St. Proposal

REMINDER: The BRA meeting about this project is tomorrow (Monday, 11/23).

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Boston Herald:
High-rise planned for Fort Point area


A Boston development team has proposed a 25-story residential tower in the city’s Fort Point Channel neighborhood.

The project at 319 A Street Rear by Archon Group and Goldman Properties would be the neighborhood’s tallest building, at 240 feet, and include 232 apartments.

Under the plan submitted yesterday to the Boston Redevelopment Authority for the 315,000-square-foot residential high-rise, a five-story former warehouse at the site would be demolished to make way for the new building.

...

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Boston Business Journal:
Developers submit revised 25-story residential plan for Fort Point Channel


The city of Boston received a proposal late Thursday from two out-of-state developers that details a substantially scaled-back blueprint to convert a Fort Point Channel warehouse populated by artists into a 25-story residential tower in South Boston.

The plan, submitted by New York-based Goldman Properties and Archon Group, the real estate arm of Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs, would comprise 315,000 square feet, of which 259,000 square feet would be dedicated to residential space. That footprint is considerably smaller than the developers’ prior plan to build two buildings at the site.

...

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25-story tower planned for Fort Point

A Boston developer wants to build what would be the tallest building in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood, a 25-story, 232-unit apartment building and parking garage on A Street.
Discuss
COMMENTS (8)

Goldman Properties filed plans yesterday for property currently occupied by a five-story warehouse that contains artist studios. Goldman did not indicate when it intends to begin construction, saying the economic climate must improve first.

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Proposal for Tower at 319 A St.



Goldman Properties and Archon have submitted a new proposal for a 240' tower at the rear of 319 A St. It would include 230 rental apartments and spaces for ~100 cars. The comment period ends Dec. 7 and there's a community meeting the Monday before Thanksgiving:

Community Meeting for 319 A St Rear
November 23rd, 20009
6:30 - 8 PM
Boston Convention Center, Room 102A



A pdf of the proposal is available on BRA's page for the project.


Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Menino Wins Re-Election

Mayor Menino has defeated Michael Flaherty and will serve a fifth consecutive term as mayor. Menino took 57% of the vote to Flaherty's 42%.

Monday, November 02, 2009

Mayoral Election Tomorrow, 11/3 - GET OUT AND VOTE

Please remember to get out and vote tomorrow. Politicians do track how much of each neighborhood votes.

http://www.cityofboston.gov/elections/


For most (all?) residents of Fort Point point, our polling place is the Condon School at 200 D Street.

The polls will be open from 7 AM to 8 PM.