New Specialty Food Shop: American Provisions

A new specialty food shop called "America Provisions" just opened on Broadway at I St. They sell cheeses, bread, meat, bakery items, etc.

Thanks to Cam for the photos:

New Grocery Store at Broadway T Gets Financing

Boston Invests in Growth $40M Loan Fund

Gloria's Market 9 West Broadway, South Boston

·         Gloria's Market, developed by the Pappas family, is a re-imagination of the chain of stores started by Constantine Pappas at the turn of the 20th century in Boston's North End

·         The full service market will have fruit, produce, meat, fish, dairy, dry goods, prepared foods and will offer free delivery on purchases over $25.00 so that shoppers can leave their car at home and walk to and from the store without having to worry about carrying their purchases

·         The Market will offer food sourced from local farms, local fisherman, local dairies, as well as a selection of fine imported foods, most of which will be organic

·        When fully operational, Gloria's Market will employ approximately 30 people, 28 of whom will be brand new hires

• Gloria's Market build out is seeking to achieve a LEED Silver Certification

The Shops at Riverwood 854-912 River Street, Hyde Park

·         A Finard Properties project, this more than 100,000 square-foot shopping center development is the result of an extensive and lively community process. The community was even invited to vote on the name of the center, which comes from combining area street names: "The Shops at Riverwood"

·         On the site of the old Bay State Paper Mill, the project began in May 2008 with the demolition of the mill building. Site preparation began in spring of 2009

·         Not only will the development of the site include the rehabilitation of the original powerhouse and smokestack but the project also will feature new and improved access to the nearby Neponset River. It won't be long before people will be dining al fresco by the river

·         The Shops at Riverwood, when fully completed, is expected to create more than 300 permanent jobs and provide much-needed retail currently lacking in the neighborhood 

·        The first tenants to cut ribbons in the new shopping center will be Price Rite, a national grocery chain, and Sovereign Bank

W Hotel and Residences 100 Stuart Street, Boston

·         The W Hotel and Residences is a $200M mixed-use project, and includes 235 hotel rooms, 123 residences, a restaurant, spa, and 'destination' bar

·         The downtown development also includes $3.7 million in planned community benefits, including funding for the Midtown Cultural District and childcare in Chinatown

·         The W Hotel and Residences will create more than 275 construction jobs and approximately 300 new permanent jobs (a recent job fair attracted 800 people)

·         Once completed, the W Hotel and Residences will increase Boston's tax base annually by  $3.2 million

·        The W Hotel and Residences plans to open in the fall of 2009

Lucy A. Warsh

Director, Media and Public Relations

Department of Neighborhood Development

City of Boston

P: 617.635.4802

F: 617.635.0561

E: lwarsh.dnd@cityofboston.gov

Artistry Meeting, April 30th

Jim Apteker of Longwood Events is trying to smooth things over with the neighborhood and is going to start a community process to attempt to gain support for his "Artistry" events facility inside Midway Studios. The first meeting is:

Discussion of Impact of Artistry
Monday, April 30th at 6:30 PM
Midway (15 Channel Center St.)

Artistry, as you may know, is his facility on Channel Center Street where he hopes to hold 300-1,500 person events such as weddings, corporate functions, and the like. He held one in December for the magazine Boston Common (www.bostoncommon-magazine.com) which was a huge disturbance to the neighborhood: loud music kept residents of Midway Studios up late into the night, security and cars blocked the street, and drunk revelers were seen urinating in the street.

This winter, he had applied for a full, 2 AM liquor license which was not granted because of community uproar.

There have been a number of meetings regarding Artistry and the consensus of the neighborhood at each has been fairly consistent: while residents aren't opposed to events facilities in general (Artists for Humanity frequently has functions without incident) and having a business take a lease at Midway Studios is a good thing for that project, his location and physical space is a poor fit for what he's trying to do, and the scale and nature of the events (3-5 a week with hundreds of people at each function) is terrible fit with that part of the neighborhood.

new cafe/boutique

Representatives from Kramsay, LLC d/b/a Achilles
at 281 Summer Street will attend a community
meeting on Monday, February 28th at 6:30 PM at
Midway. Kramsay has applied for an all alcohol
license and is on the agenda for the licensing
board hearing on March 7th (City Hall, Room 809A at 10 AM).

The applicant’s business, located on the first
floor of 281 Summer Street, will be a high end
retail boutique with named local designers and
local artwork and a small café that will serve food and alcoholic beverages.

Please help get the word out to other Fort Point
residents about the meeting on the 28th.