Parcel 9 - The Greenway

[PaulC]

I don't think there is an existing thread for this and it fits into other existing threads but I thought it could use it's own.

http://www.masspike.com/business/parcel9rfp.html

In response to a Request for Proposals (RFP) issued in February 2009, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has received four proposals for the long-term lease of the building on Central Artery Parcel 9.

The proposals were submitted by:
The Boston Museum (Boston History Center and Museum, Inc.)
East?t Realty Capital, LLC
Gutierrez Company
Blackstone Street LLC (DeNormandie Companies)
Parcel 9 contains approximately 29,400 square feet (0.67 acres), and is bounded by the new John Fitzgerald Surface Road and Hanover, Blackstone, and North streets. It is located near major tourist and visitor attractions including the North End, Quincy Market, the Freedom Trail, and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. Parcel 9 is readily accessible via mass transit and the regional highway system.

In order to view the full Component 1 of each proposal, which includes information regarding the development entity and the proposed uses and design, click on the appropriate link below:

Boston Museum - Parcel 9 Component 1 (2.7 MB PDF)
http://www.masspike.com/pdf/real_est..._bosmuseum.pdf


East?t Realty Capital LLC - Parcel 9 Component 1 (9.5 MB PDF)
http://www.masspike.com/pdf/real_est...el9_eastat.pdf


Gutierrez Company - Parcel 9 Component 1 (1.8 MB PDF)
http://www.masspike.com/pdf/real_est..._gutierrez.pdf


Blackstone Street LLC - Parcel 9 Component 1 (800 KB PDF)
http://www.masspike.com/pdf/real_est...blackstone.pdf


In order to view the Request for Proposals or Addendum 1 to the RFP, click on the appropriate link:
Parcel 9 RFP (2.4 MB PDF)
http://www.masspike.com/pdf/real_estate/parcel9_rfp.pdf


Parcel 9 RFP - Addendum 1 (40 KB PDF)
http://www.masspike.com/pdf/real_est..._addendum1.pdf

Today's Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/business/artic...ore_proposals/

A food market and art galleries, 78 units of rental housing, and a 137,000-square-foot office and retail building are among the proposals the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has received from developers seeking to build on a key sliver of land along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

The authority said four companies have submitted proposals to develop a 29,400-square-foot parcel that Boston officials want to use as the centerpiece for an arts and culture district near Faneuil Hall Marketplace.

The first of the bids was announced last week, when the group known as Boston Museum made public its plan to build a $120 million food market and museum on the site, at the corner of North and Blackstone streets and adjacent to the weekend gathering spot for the Haymarket pushcart vendors.

Turnpike Authority officials yesterday released additional proposals from Eastat Realty Capital, Gutierrez Co., and the DeNormandie Cos. following Tuesday's deadline.

The DeNormandie plan would lead to the most sweeping changes in the area. The company, which owns the row of shops facing the vacant parcel on Blackstone Street, wants to demolish and rebuild them as part of its development. The proposal also calls for a five-story building with a restaurant and market on the ground floor; art galleries or offices would be built on the upper floors.

Philip DeNormandie, principal of the company, also wants to build a glass arcade that would enclose Blackstone Street for the Haymarket fruit and vegetable vendors.

"My goal is to make the [vacant] parcel an integral part of the Blackstone block," he said. "The success of the project really depends on the success of properties on both sides of the street."

Eastat Realty's proposal calls for a five-story building with 78 apartments over a food market and a retail store on the first floor. The plan also calls for 69 parking spaces on the second floor and new trash and storage facilities for the Haymarket vendors.

"Our proposal draws from existing examples in the North End, where you have retail uses with housing above," said Eamon O'Marah, managing partner of Eastat. "We think it's important not to overwhelm this parcel" with flashy, large-scale development.

Gutierrez Co. would build a six-floor building with a market, retail store, and restaurant on the ground floor. Above that would be 137,000 square feet of office space. The plan calls for new storage and trash facilities for Haymarket and off-site parking.

Officials at Gutierrez did not return a call seeking comment.

The selection of a winning bidder, a process expected to take months, will determine the future of one of the last undeveloped parcels along the Greenway. The Boston Redevelopment Authority is seeking to transform the gritty area into a more walkable district with a public food market and cultural uses - similar to the popular Pike Place Market in Seattle.

"I'm excited to see the high level of interest in this key development parcel, and I'm encouraged to see that all four proposals include ground-floor year-round market uses," Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday. "Even in these economic times, Boston continues to be a city in which people want to invest.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.

[Bubbybu]

I like the glass canopy of the Blackstone proposal...I like the building in the Eastat rendering and the Gutierrez proposal looks like crap.

The Boston Museum is the the best of em though probably the most far-fetched in this climate

[Beton Brut]

^ That about sums it up...

[Bubbybu]

The Eastat is definetely my favorite...

It's contextual....probably the most 'Boston' of the proposals. Or rather what Boston should strive to be....

If you can't build something iconic,something that stands out (while the Museum proposal is nice...it is not anything mindblowing) I'd prefer something like this....

The Eastat development would basically be world-class in-fill. The kind of urban motion that draws tourists in without making it seem like a tourist gimmick. The balcony's and 12 'affordable' units give it mucho bonus points.

Overall just very chic...very European...very nice.

CBT did a good job with this one....

[vanshnookenraggen]

The Boston Museum is the best but who knows if they have the money.

Eastat is safe and boring but not bad.

Gutierrez is a dud. This is a place you WANT to have a building stand out, not a place for background buildings.

Blackstone is the same but I do like the glass canopy thing.

[commuter guy]

Playing the devil's advocate - although I'll admit the Gutierrez proposal is utilitarian (some might say boring), but perhaps it most closely resembles the buildings previously located in that vicinity that were demolished to make way for the central artery? It seems most of the structures in this district that were demolished to make way for the artery were spartan and utilitarian.

I'll just be happy with something that fills the space appropriately and interacts well with the street. It wouldn't bother me much if the building's design was conservative.

[briv]

Originally Posted by Bubbybu

The Eastat is definetely my favorite...

It's contextual....probably the most 'Boston' of the proposals...

CBT did a good job with this one....

I'd call it the most 'Seattle' of the proposals. Impressively lazy.

CBT's rendering:


Pike Place, Seattle:

[statler]

I thought that looked familiar! Good catch!

[kennedy]

So, I'm really torn here. I can definitely rule out the Blackstone LLC. proposal. Ugly.

I'm fairly sure I can throw out the Boston Museum proposal. This just isn't the place for it. It's redeeming feature, however, is the Greenway facade. It's probably the most noticeable of the three left (maybe CBT, they're both close-neither are spectacular, neither suck). The Blackstone side of the proposal though-horrendous. Just a big, muckish brown wall. I can't imagine they can pull the capital together, and if it is built, they'll focus on the museum and not the Market aspect (which is obviously the most important).

I really like the Gutierrez proposal. I wish that they would buy up some land in the Seaport, and build this right along Seaport Blvd. where the Fort Point district just sort of...ends. It works the best with the Blackstone, but in the end, it just doesn't seem to fit for the spot.

And that leaves the Eastat/CBT proposal. No matter how much of a ripoff of Pike Place it is, it's good. It focuses on the market, has a handsome building, and seems like it has the best shot at succeeding at finding tenants. The Greenway side is very friendly, and very Greenway, without being too boring or too suburban. I think what I liked best was that they didn't try to hide the fact that this was a public market, and not a gourmet outdoor grocery. A truly solid project that would definitely help the Greenway and the neighborhood around it (and that isn't as concerned with out-of-towners and commuters). It's Faneuil Hall for the everyman.

[czsz]

These all have a far too monolithic, horizontal emphasis. Even the Guiterrez feels like a landscraper. None of these help rectify the blown-open feel of the Greenway in this area - then again, I'm not sure anything could.

Is anyone else concerned that construction of this will eradicate the Haymarket as we know it? I bet it will at least force more than a few stalls to move and probably close. Then we'll be left with the antiseptic rump market on this building's first floor, which is destined to become an extension of Faneuil Hall - at best. At worst it will be empty like the vent building over Haymarket station.

[ablarc]

Eastat.

Very nicely worked-out plan. Housing!!

Looks European.

Btw, where are the design drawings on the Sy Mintz (Blackstone) Scheme? All I can find is some tiny thumbnails. Are there more?

[underground]

I'm leaning towards the Gutierrez, although it's hard to tell exactly what's going on because of the scan of the brochure. The massing looks good, and the programing sounds good as well. I'd love to see the Boston Museum go up (sans bridge - they don't get to ruin a good parcel w/a bridge in my opinion), but their management and money situation is, to put it nicely, grim. I'd be happy with the Eastat as well, but what the hell was CBT thinking with that brochure?! The pics look like they came out of the 6th layer of Pointalist Hell.

[Shepard]

Isn't the whole idea of needing a bridge across the 'greenway' rather ironic?

[statler]

^^Don't ya think?

[sidewalks]

Any parcels that are too expensive to be built upon by the non-profits should be offered to private developers. Let them hammer out a price in a competitive process. It may well be that the price is a buck per year lease, but at least we would cover those gaping scars.

[ablarc]

^ The sooner the better.

[bdurden]

Blackstone is uninspired and safe, and a bit depressing.

Eastat is the clear winner here.

[PaulC]

from today's Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/business/artic.../?comments=all

Firms tout credit as they seek to build
Interest high in Haymarket area

The Turnkpike Authority plans to choose a developer to build a complex on public land at North and Blackstone streets, near the Haymarket produce vendors. (John Tlumacki/ Globe Staff/ File 2008)
By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / June 2, 2009

Developers vying for the right to build on public land next to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in downtown Boston are trumpeting more than just aesthetics to garner support for their building proposals.

The four firms are also trying to out-duel each other on financing, each arguing that in this age of limited access to credit, its ability to secure funding should improve its standing in the eyes of the selection committee. The companies are competing for selection from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to build on a parcel of land at North and Blackstone streets, next to the weekend gathering of the Haymarket produce vendors.

"We've already obtained financing and we intend to do a responsibly-scaled project," said Eamon O'Marah, managing principal of Eastat Realty Capital LLC. The company is proposing to construct a five-story apartment building over a food and retail market and has produced written backing for funding from the AFL-CIO's investment trust and MassHousing, the state's affordable housing bank.

His competitors are also claiming the financial strength to deliver on their visions for the property. They include the Boston Museum, the DeNormandie Cos. of Boston, and the Gutierrez Co. of Burlington.

Gutierrez has proposed a six-story office building with a food market, and a company executive said the firm is prepared to commit millions of dollars to the project and has a strong relationship with Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and other large lenders.

"We're well capitalized and we have the equity in-house," said Bill Caulder, managing director of Gutierrez. "We have no reason to worry about setting up the capital structure."

The turnpike authority is expected to take months to select a developer for the site and an adjacent parcel it has slated for development. The city's planning arm, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, envisions a district similar to Seattle's popular Pike Place Market, and so is pushing for projects that would realize that vision as well as complement the existing Haymarket vendors.

Philip DeNormandie, principal of the DeNormandie Cos., which already owns a row of shops on Blackstone Street, said his plan would create the most sweeping changes for the Haymarket area. He's proposed building a glass canopy for the produce vendors, and a five-story building with a restaurant and market on the ground floor; the upper floors would contain art galleries or offices.

DeNormandie said his project has out-of-state financial support from the Rockefeller family. "We've been thinking about and waiting for this opportunity for years and years," he said. "If we are designated the developer, the result will be a fabulous project that unifies the whole area."

Executives with Boston Museum said their project, while short on cash currently, will attract a flood of investment if selected. Their proposal is for a five-story glass and terra cotta facility with a market and restaurant on the first floor, with the upper floors devoted to exhibits on Massachusetts history.

The proposal also includes a pedestrian bridge connecting the new building to Christopher Columbus Park on the waterfront. So far, museum officials said, they have raised about $8 million of the estimated $120 million cost, but they said its financial feasibility is supported by a study conducted by the research firm ConsultEcon Inc., which predicted the museum would generate up to 535,000 visitors annually by 2013.

"This is a tremendous educational economic development opportunity," said Frank Keefe, chief executive of Boston Museum. "Once we get designated, we will have a wonderful product to sell."

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com

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Here is one of the comments to the article, does anyone know anything about this:

FredQuimby wrote:
They should also finish the Haymarket-I93 on-off ramp in front of J. Pace's store and Haymarket Garage/Bus station while they are at it. It was never finished because the YMCA was supposed to be built above it, but it never went anywhere. Its kind of a no-mans land and really needs something to finish it off.

[Ron Newman]

I walk through there several times a week. There are no 'unfinished' ramps anywhere.

[underground]

I think by "unfinished" he's talking about the general state of the parcel (which is unfinished), not the ramps themselves (which are completely finished).