Yep, two more banks coming to Boylston Syteet in the Back Bay (March 2022)

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Boston needs top-down investment in small businesses and diverse businesses in Downtown Boston. Washington DC is doing it in its neighborhoods. Investing in restaurant construction in underserved neighborhoods using ~$75M in city funds.

Ideally:

• Insert Daycare into the ground floors of office buildings
• Convert some offices into housing, provide city incentive as this is very expensive to do
• Vacancy Tax for older retail vacancies after a 1 year period
• Provide financial incentives for Black, Latino, Asian, LGBTQ and Women-owned businesses (could be grants, low-interest loans, or tax breaks)
• Standardized closing times to 12-2 AM. 12 AM shouldn't need special approvals, but businesses can feel free to close earlier.
• Make Newbury Street a pedestrian-only zone a la Downtown Crossing
• Encourage Street performers in Downtown Crossing
• More food CARTS in downtown Boston
• Reduce any red tape restrictions on storefront music between 9am and 9pm
• Get better utilization of the basement floor of the Corner Mall. It's a space for dining but it's usually closed and really no one ever goes down there except to use the bathroom. This space could be used for talks/small scale performances by local kids and their groups, even an art gallery
• More physical Art and murals on city-owned lots and buildings, or vacant buildings
• Become more freewheeling with special liquor licenses for beer gardens/events .outdoor drinking attached to a bar ( Maybe just on 1 or 2 desolate streets like Bromfield Street: SideBar)

Hear hear!

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Boston needs top-down investment in small businesses and diverse businesses in Downtown Boston. Washington DC is doing it in its neighborhoods. Investing in restaurant construction in underserved neighborhoods using ~$75M in city funds.

Ideally:

• Insert Daycare into the ground floors of office buildings
• Convert some offices into housing, provide city incentive as this is very expensive to do
• Vacancy Tax for older retail vacancies after a 1 year period
• Provide financial incentives for Black, Latino, Asian, LGBTQ and Women-owned businesses (could be grants, low-interest loans, or tax breaks)
• Standardized closing times to 12-2 AM. 12 AM shouldn't need special approvals, but businesses can feel free to close earlier.
• Make Newbury Street a pedestrian-only zone a la Downtown Crossing
• Encourage Street performers in Downtown Crossing
• More food CARTS in downtown Boston
• Reduce any red tape restrictions on storefront music between 9am and 9pm
• Get better utilization of the basement floor of the Corner Mall. It's a space for dining but it's usually closed and really no one ever goes down there except to use the bathroom. This space could be used for talks/small scale performances by local kids and their groups, even an art gallery
• More physical Art and murals on city-owned lots and buildings, or vacant buildings
• Become more freewheeling with special liquor licenses for beer gardens/events .outdoor drinking attached to a bar ( Maybe just on 1 or 2 desolate streets like Bromfield Street: SideBar)

I'd be on board with most of this. A few thoughts:

• Converting offices is tough - both because Boston has pretty low vacancy rates to begin with (in spite of Covid), and because commercial office floor plates don't really lend themselves to residential conversion. But it could be done to some extent.
• I'd add Canal St. to the "Pedestrianize it!" list. It would have negligible impact on vehicular traffic during the day and could be open to service vehicles for loading/unloading like Washington St. or pedestrian streets anywhere else during early morning and/or other specific hours. It's bookended by the new Hub on Causeway and what will soon be a much more pedestrian friendly development at the site of the old Government Center Garage. It'd be a great corridor from Faneuil Hall to the TD Garden on game/event days.
• I'd push for better access to affordable liquor licenses in general. This is one of the biggest barriers to entry in the restaurant scene as it's largely well-funded restaurant groups or a handful of well known chefs that can muster large investment. But yes... beer gardens and events too.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I'd be on board with most of this. A few thoughts:

• Converting offices is tough - both because Boston has pretty low vacancy rates to begin with (in spite of Covid), and because commercial office floor plates don't really lend themselves to residential conversion. But it could be done to some extent.
• I'd add Canal St. to the "Pedestrianize it!" list. It would have negligible impact on vehicular traffic during the day and could be open to service vehicles for loading/unloading like Washington St. or pedestrian streets anywhere else during early morning and/or other specific hours. It's bookended by the new Hub on Causeway and what will soon be a much more pedestrian friendly development at the site of the old Government Center Garage. It'd be a great corridor from Faneuil Hall to the TD Garden on game/event days.
• I'd push for better access to affordable liquor licenses in general. This is one of the biggest barriers to entry in the restaurant scene as it's largely well-funded restaurant groups or a handful of well known chefs that can muster large investment. But yes... beer gardens and events too.

-Let's get really wild. Canal and Causeway for the two blocks in front of the Garden/StarMarket. At least seasonally.

-I know converting offices is tough. but maybe just try to incentivize it. It's not easy and that's why it's not done often. At least in modern buildings.

-Affordable liquor license would be great but the MA state legislature is spineless and more than slow-moving. And I'm sure they're heavily beholden to the restaurant entrepreneurs. It's kind of a pipe dream I think. And nothing of any vision like that can be discussed until Charlie Baker is gone.