Marine Industrial Park

[statler]

Subaru of New England once leased parcel M at 3 Dolphin
Way in Boston, where imported vehicles were processed before being
distributed to showrooms. At one time, 40,000 vehicles were processed
at the 148,150-square-foot facility. Located in the Marine Industrial
Park, the site is one of two for which the city?s Economic Development
Industrial Corp. is seeking redevelopment proposals.

Originally Posted by Banker & Tradesman

Proposals Sought for Parcels In Marine Industrial Park

Redevelopment Bids for Two Sites Due on Oct. 15; Existing Warehouses May Be Razed for New Use
By Thomas Grillo
Reporter

Three months after Mayor Thomas M. Menino christened a state-of-the-art warehouse on the Boston waterfront, the city wants more.

The Economic Development Industrial Corp., an arm of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, has issued a request for proposals for a pair of lots at the Marine Industrial Park. The RFPs are due on Monday, Oct. 15 at noon.

Dubbed parcels M and N, each site contains a warehouse. But officials said the facilities could be razed to make way for new manufacturing, industrial or maritime use.

Located on the outskirts of Boston Harbor in South Boston, the park consists of two former military bases. The South Boston Naval Annex was purchased by the EDIC in the 1970s. Later, the agency bought the Boston Army Base. The two plants on 202 acres contain 3.3 million square feet of building space.

In the 1980s, the city was criticized for buying a ?white elephant? that had no chance to recoup the more than $4 million it paid the federal government for the sprawling mini-city. But Boston Mayors Kevin White, Ray Flynn and Menino have helped transform the area into a bustling commercial center.

Today, a variety of manufacturing, industrial and light industrial businesses are located in the park, including seafood distributors, biomedical manufacturers and beer brewers, as well as curtain and computer makers.

Subaru of New England once leased parcel M at 3 Dolphin Way, where imported vehicles were processed before they were distributed to U.S. showrooms. At one time, 40,000 vehicles were processed at the 148,150-square-foot facility. Today, a small portion of the warehouse is leased to Cavalier Coach.

The 85,600-square-foot Parcel N at 25 Fid Kennedy Ave. is vacant. The street was named for Thomas Kennedy, one of the city?s legendary longshoreman. But when officials erected the street signs, Kennedy?s family told them that he was best known as ?Fid? - the 12-inch wooden tool used to untie knots. The signs were quickly changed to reflect his nickname.

So far, 11 firms have responded to the RFPs, including Cargo Ventures and Lincoln Properties. EDIC plans to lease the parcels for a minimum of $3 per square foot. Developers will be expected to make the improvements.

Any use of the lots must meet requirements of the state?s Chapter 91 statute, which limits waterfront sites mainly to maritime or industrial use. Developers hoping to raze the buildings and replace them with offices as city?s office market rebounds will have to rethink those plans, according to Lawrence Mammoli, the EDIC?s director of engineering and facilities management. The city?s master plan calls for 66 percent of the land to be reserved for maritime use with the rest for industrial and office space, he said.

The park has a storied history. During its heyday in World War II, the Navy completed building a new destroyer each week in the park. The hulls of these football field-sized ships were constructed at dry dock and then pushed into the harbor, where a crew put the finishing touches on them.

Hidden ?Gem?

Despite a slow period in the mid 1980s, the area has been active. Since the mid 1990s, a New York-based company has operated a signature ship-repair facility there.

Starting in the late 1970s, more than $55 million in city, state and federal funds have been invested in the park, largely on sewer pipes, water mains and roads.

?When the Nixon administration decided to close these bases the federal government stopped spending money on infrastructure, so when we took it our first task was to plug water leaks from aging pipes,? recalled Mammoli, who has been on the job for nearly three decades. ?But that public investment has led to nearly $170 million in private dollars to renovate buildings and improve infrastructure.?

Today, there are 180 businesses at the park employing 3,000 workers. The Bronstein Industrial Center, the biggest building in Boston, boasts more than is 1.6 million square feet of space and is one-third of a mile long. The landmark is undergoing a renovation.

One of the biggest tenants at Bronstein is the Boston Design Center, whose lease interest has been sold to Cargo Ventures. The clearinghouse offers one-stop shopping for the construction trade. A developer of a hotel, for example, can select floor tile, furniture, drapes and faucets for the new facility under one roof.

?Bronstein turned out to be a success,? said Mammoli. ?We fixed it up and leased it out and had our revenues exceed our expenditures.?

Rents at Bronstein range from $7.50 to $15 per square foot, Mammoli said, with a 40 percent vacancy rate at the mammoth site.

The RFPs come on the heels of the opening of the $65 million, no-frills International Cargo Center of New England at the park in May by Cargo Ventures. The project represents the largest single financial investment ever made in the park, as well as the city?s commitment to maintain an industrial presence in Boston?s changing Seaport District.

The emerging Seaport neighborhood has two hotels in the pipeline on top of plans for more than 3,600 homes. The new 300,000-square-foot facility is good news to corporate neighbors who feared that the addition of lodging and luxury condominiums nearby could spell disaster for the booming waterfront cargo industry.

Menino and a handful of public officials lauded the new cargo center, saying it will boost the economy and serve as a magnet for companies looking to relocate. The 3-story warehouse contains more than two-dozen bays that take up the majority of the facility.

The cargo center?s new building also will house office and retail space. The third-floor office space is rented, while leasing is under way for prospective tenants interested in the second- and first-floor spaces. A local bank, First Trade Union, already is serving customers on the first floor. Rents range from $12 to $20 per square foot.

At the time, Michael Edward, senior vice president at Meredith & Grew, a Boston-based commercial real estate brokerage, said while the new cargo space is ideal, it too expensive. He noted that average asking rents for similar industrial properties in Boston is $9 to $11 per square foot while the center has asking rents in the high teens.

Still, Menino said the project will create nearly 500 permanent jobs for city residents and serve as a catalyst for other companies to locate at the terminal.

Earlier this year, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute made a $2.5 investment while locating its new administrative office to the area. Dana-Farber has leased more than 49,000 square feet of space at 27 Drydock Ave.

While most people rarely glimpse the industrial park, more than 6 million visitors were drawn to the docking of the tall ships, Queen Elizabeth II and the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy in the park in recent years.

?It?s a gem that not many people understand or see because it?s easy to miss,? said Mammoli. ?We are a city within a city. But it?s been changing. There was a time I wouldn't drive down Northern Avenue because of the crater-sized potholes.?

Jamie Fay, president of Fort Point Assoc., an urban planning consultant, said the park is a triumph.

?It?s a tremendous success story,? he said. ?The city has reserved this area for industrial use, a quarter of a mile from an interstate highway. To have the ability to carry out those activities so close to the airport and the highway is a huge plus. It?s so hard to site any kind of industrial operation that has noise and trucks, but here?s a place where they?re welcome.?

No link available

[statler]

Originally Posted by The Globe

Marine complex in South Boston gets green light

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | September 12, 2007

The Boston Redevelopment Authority yesterday approved a major new development for 30 acres on the South Boston Waterfront - not for luxury condos and swanky restaurants, but for maritime industrial uses.

After years of proposals and approvals for mostly mixes of luxury residences, hotels, and office developments on the harbor's edge in the city, traditional water-related activities have made a distinct comeback along an 800-foot dock in the Boston Marine Industrial Park.

The new Boston Cargo Terminal, as the facility is to be called, will have multiple tenants including those handling seafood. It will accommodate ocean, truck, rail, and air transportation and - though no tenants have been disclosed - is expected to have seafood processors, cold-storage facilities, and warehouses.

The site is where the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier docked when it visited Boston earlier this year before its decommissioning.

Yesterday, the city approved a $130 million plan by the developer, Marine Terminal Development LLC, for three buildings totaling more than a half-million square feet, and a 4.3-acre bulk cargo facility to import and export concrete materials.

The empty land - bounded by the harbor, FID Kennedy Drive, and Seafood Way - is owned by the city but leased until 2070 to the Massachusetts Port Authority, which in turn is leasing it to the company. In the past, it has been used for storage of new automobiles bound for Boston-area dealers and was referred to as Subaru Pier, and, more recently held hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of dirt excavated from the Big Dig.

"That site has deep-water berthing, one of the few sites on the waterfront that can accommodate large ships," said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association, which promotes maritime use of the city's waterfront property.

"It makes sense to have an expanded warehousing facility," she said.

Marine Terminal Development is owned by two businessmen, Neil Fitzpatrick and Jake Citron, and Ralph Cox, a former Massachusetts Port Authority official and real estate executive. Cox joined the company when two high-profile Boston real estate executives sold their shares of the project. They are Joseph F. Fallon, developer of Fan Pier, and Steve Karp, of New England Development of Newton.

None of the current owners returned calls seeking comment.

The owners of Marine Terminal Development also operate other cargo facilities in Boston.

A railroad line is eventually expected to be extended into the new Boston Cargo Terminal, BRA officials said. Also, the developer is "currently completing negotiations with an international cement company which will develop a state-of-the-art facility," according to BRA documents.

Meantime, the developers, or their tenants, will restore the dilapidated pier, so the area can be used as a working shipping platform.

The dock will be replaced by a 600-foot dock and a 400-foot barge-loading platform, located on the east end of the property.

Despite the city approval, Li said, there are still some outstanding issues her organization has with the development. The Boston Harbor Association has petitioned the city and state to reserve some time at the jetty for visits from large vessels, including the majestic tall ships that periodically visit Boston's historic harbor.

She said she has not heard back on her requests, but the developer has agreed to build space on the west side of the property, near the headquarters of Legal Sea Foods, where the public can view the working port and displays depicting the history of the area.

The association also wants Marine Terminal Development to reduce its planned 280-space parking lot and double the size of that small viewing area.

The site, as well as other nearby port facilities, will not be part of the city's Harborwalk, which is intended to extend along about 47 miles of the water's edge in the Boston for public use. The Harborwalk cannot run along industrial sites, for safety reasons.

"You don't want mothers with their babies weaving in between cement trucks," Li said.

Port and company officials said two years ago, when they reached preliminary agreement on the project, that it would employ 600 people.

Yesterday, Li said she did not know how many employees there would be at the processing and distribution facilities, but she said eight employees are projected for the cement operation.

Deborah Hadden, deputy port director, said her agency expects the developers to begin construction next year.

To date, the port has been receiving relatively low payments from the developer, but they increase as time goes on.

While a new lease has not been signed, it is expected to include not only a per-square-foot fee but also an amount based on revenues generated by businesses on the land, Hadden said.

"It's a good deal for the port," she said. Rents are expected to be above the $1.50-per-square-foot range that the port has charged recently for short-term uses of the land.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.

Link

[vanshnookenraggen]

Wow, she just loves to talk doesn't she? Always has her 2 cents to throw in.

This is still great news for the city and for the SBW. I'd hate to see the entire area turned into condos.

A railroad line is eventually expected to be extended into the new Boston Cargo Terminal, BRA officials said.

This just shows how fucked planning is in this city. The waterfront used to be nothing but rail yards and when they built the convention center they took out the rail lines. Now we need them! Didn't they at least build a tunnel for a train line? I think I remember seeing it under construction when I was there a few years back.

[Roxxma]

They didn't take out the rail line, they rebuilt and realigned it when the Mass Pike extension was being built, but it is still there.

[kz1000ps]

Yes, there's one (and only one) rail line there. It's an odd sight: a brand new right-of-way with concrete that's still nearly white, situated amidst the clusterfuck of at-grade, semi-buried, and covered roads, with no trains to be found. Even though it's only three years old, it seems completely out of place, a brand spankin' new relic.

I suppose it'll be even more odd to actually see a train on it one day.

[whighlander]

As opposed to a passenger rail line some freight lines function quite well with only a few trains per week

The realigned line does get used -- although perhaps less than anticipated originally

There were several major mistakes ? First the line doesn?t get to Conley Container Terminal

Second -- there was a major opportunity that was missed to use the original freight right away {wasted on the Haul Road because of the South Boston NIMBYs} and to develop in addition to the freight line to Conley an electrified passenger rail-link between BEC, South Station and the Hynes

A one-track BEC-South Station to Hynes ?Golden-Line? convention-shuttle would still be possible and could still be better than the Silver Line:
1) electrify the track to the BEC from the Amtrak rail-yard at Widdet Cirlcle
2) electrify the Main Line track from Back Bay to the Hynes {perhaps even extended to Yawkee Way?}
2) build an underground station with a turn around loop at the BEC
3) build an underground station with turn around loop at the Hynes {could actually be done as a surface station}
4) lay a small amount of new track linking the existing track to/from the rail-yard at Widdet Circle to the Main Line and the BEC branch

This ?Golden-Line? might even be more valuable than the Taxi/Bus turn-around at the Alston-Brighton toll booths as far as getting Convention attendees to/from the BEC/ BackBay hotels

Westy

[Ron Newman]

Is the Haul Road still needed now that the Big Dig is complete? Could it be converted back to freight rail?

[whighlander]

The Haul Road does provide one useful function

Trucks carrying hazardous materials are prohibited from the Big Dig Tunnels

If you want to get to the South Boston waterfront with a hazardous materials load -- the Haul Road connects I-93 to the South Boston Waterfront without going through any tunnels

Westy

[ChunkyMonkey]

On waterfront, big industrial sites planned
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | October 18, 2007

Three companies this week proposed using two sites on the South Boston Waterfront for large-scale maritime or industrial projects.

The land, at the Boston Marine Industrial Park, is occupied by a large 1940s warehouse building, recently used for storage. The structure could be razed, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which is reviewing the proposals.

The parcels for which the city sought proposals are at 3 Dolphin Way and 25 Fid Kennedy Ave.

Officials said they did not know when a decision would be made on leasing the land, which is in a long-underutilized area that is beginning to see development.

For one of the sites, Cargo Ventures LLC of New York proposed an international bulk facility for import and export of cement, consistent with the uses of nearby land it leases from the Massachusetts Port Authority on the North Jetty. The facility would have two 150-foot storage domes.

On the other parcel, Cargo Ventures proposes to build a facility for possible lease for maritime development, supply of photographic equipment, or use by a furniture or stone company.

Another proposal, from Conroy Development Corp. of Stoughton envisions the Seafood Center, a regional seafood transfer station, auction site, and display area. It would have a public area along the water, the company said.

Conroy also proposed a marine industrial building of about 195,000 square feet, with photovoltaic cells on the roof.

Lincoln Property Co. of Texas also submitted proposals for the two parcels. One was for a cold storage complex, including a new building of about 80,000 square feet. The other is for what it called SeaCar, a seven-level, 840,000-square-foot storage facility for automobiles that come in by ship.

"We look forward to evaluating these proposals to see how we can best maximize one of Boston's oldest industries," said BRA spokeswoman Jessica Shumaker.

Source:
http://www.boston.com/realestate/new...sites_planned/

[nico]

Here's hoping Conroy gets it.

[endus]

Sorry to dredge up an old post, but I was wondering if anyone knew anything or had any links about the history of parcel N (25 Fid Kennedy Ave)...who originally built it and what uses it had before the recent storage use mentioned in the article.

[px00001]

From 1979 through 1993, the property was occupied by PX Engineering Company, Inc. During that occupancy, roughly 200 Boston residents were employed in engineering, machining, and welding trades. Projects included power plant work, refinery work, and transportation work. Many of the projects built there were too large to be transported by truck. The rail line in the BMIP as well as the docks were utilized by this company. Around 1993, PX Engineering renewed their lease, but EDIC brought eviction proceedings against the company along with additional demands above and beyond the terms of the lease. Rather than fight city hall and having the uncertainty of an unfreindly landlord, PX Engineering left the facility at great expense, and consolidated their operations into the Hingham Shipyard.

[BeeLine]

Looks like the North Jetty Complex has been down sized, but is back on track. Millennium Partners involved again.
http://bostonherald.com/business/rea...874&position=1

[choo]

This is great news. Obviously much of the inner harbor is becoming commercialized, but I love how we have the container port, fish pier, a brewery and other real elements of a working port. Had to take the commuter boat to hingham the other day, and I always love being able to see the many different uses interacting, plus there's the airport to hold your attention on slow days. This is good news for jobs and the area.

[BeeLine]

I took this photo during the Sail Boston event in July.


North Jetty Complex Boston

[Sicilian]

Also of note in the article, regarding Design Center:

The New York firm [Millennium] reportedly has made a deal to buy the Boston Design Center, also located in the Marine Industrial Park, from Vornado Realty Trust.

[BostonUrbEx]

Originally Posted by BeeLine

I took this photo during the Sail Boston event in July.


North Jetty Complex Boston

A complete absence of potential rail usage via Track 61 extension. Shocking.

[F-Line to Dudley]

Originally Posted by BostonUrbEx

A complete absence of potential rail usage via Track 61 extension. Shocking.

Not really. It's all street-running track through parking lots after it peels away from Southie Haul Rd., so that's hard to cleanly depict on a map that shows all parking spots. The planned spur to the yard by Fid Kennedy Ave. is also entirely pavement-running through the lots next to Channel St. The port access and expansion is a big f'in deal for Massport. The CSX sale package topped $100M because they wanted Track 61 that badly. It's going to happen.

There's talk that if the Southie port operation gets moving that CSX would be willing to sell its produce train to Everett terminal to Pan Am (which also goes to Everett for different jobs) and get off the northside, Grand Junction, and east-of-Framingham Worcester Line entirely. They're all about container intermodal now that they've got the double-stack capacity to Worcester online, so Southie's a much more valuable property to them than the miscellany that runs through Everett. It would be the same reason they didn't see much upside in keeping Fall River and New Bedford despite the state's plans to upgrade those ports...they aren't container. The T would be very happy with that arrangement and the totally exclusive use of the Grand Junction and east-of-Framingham B&A.

[BeeLine]

New 360K building proposed.


One Northern Ave Place

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/re...ndus-park.html

[Beton Brut]

Bring on the "pattern-book Modernism."