Can Downtown Boston Extend life beyond todays "9-5, 5 day a week lifestyle?"

Six projects are attempting to do just that...

Faneuil hall

Walking through Faneuil Hall on a recent Fall afternoon I paused after noticing something I hadn't seen throughout all of the Summer months... there was no one around...  Now, this was the first cold day of the year and it was a Tuesday afternoon so we can chalk some of this fact up to the weather and time of the week but this seems to be an increasingly problematic issue with Faneuil Hall.  Locals don't go here and the tourism season dies down in the winter leaving a few empty chain restaurants, stores, a tourist trap version of the Cheers Bar and the bars you loved to go to when you were 21 (or in many cases younger) and fresh out of college.

In 2011 The Ashkenazy Development Group out of New York City, a company known for buying and repurposing large historic destinations, purchased the rights to lease the space from the City of Boston and has since made minor cosmetic changes to the property while plotting the revitalization of the space to try and bring back the locals.  

The site, which hasn't seen any major restoration project since the 1970's, will soon undergo a massive restoration project the likes of which Faneuil Hall has never seen.  We knew some of these plans include tearing up the existing Quincy Market space to install larger restaurants with seating and a center bar to better utilize the existing structure of the historic building but it looks like plans also expand to the outdoor space surround Quincy Market.   

For a site that welcomes 20 million visitors every year, once the weather turns cold and tourist season passes, Faneuil Hall can feel desolate and lonely on a cold weekday afternoon.

Dan Biederman, the man who brought New York, Bryant Park, and someone long regarded as a champion of urban management and public placemaking has been chosen to lead the charge to recreate Faneuil Hall's outdoor space.  He'll have the difficult task of recreating the brand to be welcoming and inviting to both tourists and locals from a space now avoided by most locals outside of a visit from family and friends from outside Boston.  Plans for the space call for a model very similar to that of Bryant Park, lots of outdoor tables and new seating to welcome more people and invite people to spend more time in the space creating a changing environment all their own.

I'd love to see some local input from the burgeoning urban design and placemaking industry that's taken shape here.  These firms have their fingers on the pulse of Boston as evidenced by the success of such designs as Lawn On D and The Rose Kennedy Greenway.  

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Government Center Garage

The massive redevelopment project coming to the hulking Government Center Garage will be done in phases with the first phase breaking ground in 2015.  The plan is to create a massive office, residential and retail complex that will once again connect the exploding North Station area with the development wave in Downtown.  

The project is a joint endeavor of HYM Investments and Bulfinch Congress Holdings, the firm who first bought the property in 2010.  Visit the project website to learn more.  

Congress Square

Comprised of four buildings that made up the former world headquarters of Fidelity Investments, Congress Square is the latest venture by Related Beal and an attempt at revitalizing a section of Downtown Boston that's lacked much in the way of street level activation for years.  The plan is to turn the large alley that runs within the block into a large pedestrian way (think European Street with cafe's with outdoor seating and shopping all along the strip).  The plan is to also build out condos and office space on the floors above the newly revitalized street.  

Visit the Project Website for More 

111 Federal Street

One of the last remaining development parcels in Boston's Financial District, the Winthrop Square Garage, could be looking at a new 740 ft high tower filled with condos, office space and retail revitalizing a strip of Federal Street that's long sat in decrepit shape with the only real retail and street activation consisting of a daily USPS truck providing mail services.  

The project is being proposed by Boston real estate developer, sports franchise owner and entrepreneur Steve Belkin.

Boston Harborfront

The Municipal Harbor Planning Project is an ongoing discussion on the future of Boston's Waterfront, an area that, until the removal of Boston's other "green monster," was a blighted area unvisited by residents and tourists alike along Boston's Waterfront.  Today it sits up against a glistening gem of a project in the Rose Kennedy Greenway that has reclaimed open space for the cities residents and created enormous opportunity for Boston's Waterfront.  While much of the attention in this area is on the nearly 20 year attempt by developer Don Chiofaro to develop the site of the current Boston Harbor Parking Garage, city and state officials are looking at how to revitalize the entire waterfront area.  

Harbor Garage Project: The Chiofaro Company has proposed two towers, one containing nearly 900,000sf of offices, the other containing 120 condo units and a luxury hotel operator.  Both towers will be connected by a large scale ground level retail/ entertainment complex which has been a major focus of public input on the project and continues to be a focal point of debate.  Because this project is within 300' of a public water way it falls within State Department of Environmental Protection review and is still winding it's way through Chapter 91 review while awaiting Boston Redevelopment Authority Article 80 review.  For more information on this project please visit the project website.  

James Hook Lobster Co. Site: Developers of the long underutilized site have proposed a 22-story structure on the existing lot with major improvements to the harborfront section of the existing site.  Developers also plan to maintain the James Hook Lobster Restaurant at the site with a new 9,000sf restaurant anchoring the lowest level of the building.  

And then there's still City Hall Plaza...?

The City is on the right track with events like the Donna Summer Roller Skate Party in the summer Boston Calling now happening twice a year and signed up for more shows over the next few years.  Plans for Winter's Landing consisting of an ice rink and restaurant fell through at the last minute but are still in the plans for next season.  Above all else, the plaza needs to be more inviting for residents, visitors and guests during all seasons and not longer exist as the concrete and brick wasteland that it currently is.  

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