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"Foot traffic in Downtown Crossing remains roughly one-third of what it was in the winter before the pandemic, according to the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District. The number of people actually going into the office is down even more, roughly one-seventh of what it was in the Before Times, based on information from building security firm Kastle Systems. That puts Boston behind each of the 10 major cities where Kastle tracks key-card swipes. Ameet Amin, Kastle’s Northeast general manager, suspects Boston’s reliance on public transit and the winter weather are among the main reasons.
...
Segun Idowu, Wu’s chief of economic opportunity and inclusion, said he plans to reconvene the folks who were in that Eagle Room meeting, in early March, to offer some solutions and hash out more ideas.
His department is still in brainstorming mode now. Possible ideas include a rental rebate program, more small-business relief funds, and what would amount to a PR campaign to show people the experiences they’re missing while they’re at home, staring at colleagues on Zoom. As spring arrives, city officials will look at fostering outdoor workplaces in pocket parks, and eventually bringing large-scale gatherings again to City Hall Plaza once construction there ends this summer. Longer term, Idowu said he wants to help landlords seriously consider new uses, such as childcare and events, for the large empty lobbies that occupy the ground floor of the district’s skyscrapers.
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The private sector, of course, has its own ideas — though no one will argue if Wu becomes downtown’s biggest cheerleader. Everyone has a suggestion or two: free meter parking on Saturdays, a Greenway concert series, or maybe a road race.
Jim Rooney, chief executive at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, suggests dipping into Boston’s pot of federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars — the city still has more than $350 million to allocate — to subsidize first-floor rents for retail and restaurant tenants; maybe Black- and Hispanic-owned businesses, he said, could be given preferential treatment. And Pam Messenger, who chairs the downtown business improvement district’s board, suggests something as simple as a break on liquor license renewal fees could go a long way.
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One idea that often comes up: turning some office space into apartments or condos, to bring more foot traffic and create much-needed housing. The Financial District’s zoning allows residential, but would it be financially feasible? Converting office towers to residential use can be tough, particularly those with larger floor plates, because the units would require different windows and plumbing. A few smaller-scale conversions have succeeded — such as the apartments on the top floors of a Verizon switching building in Chinatown, or in the old Conrad and Chandler’s store next to the Orpheum.
Maybe the Wu administration can help similar projects along with Community Preservation Act money, or other city-controlled affordable housing funds. Bringing in more residents could prove crucial for downtown’s vibrancy if — as many predict — remote work persists long after the pandemic ends."
Boston should pounce on all those ideas but I fear the city will be lazy and lean too much into "lab space/life sciences" In reality, those buildings are massive and squat and house very few employees at any one given time. They're highly specialized jobs in buildings with massive physical footprints. not good at all for "vibrancy". But it seems most of that space is going in Cambridge/SouthBoston/Seaport and not right downtown. The lots in Downtown Boston are too narrow. We will see what Wu is really about.
I would not put a huge stock in the stats of one security companies data from Downtiwn Crossing. That’s what? Maybe 2 buildings? It’s a 3x2 block neighborhood. That’s like based on 1 company. And Retail customers don’t badge in and badge out.
Traffic nor MBTA ridership is down nearly that much.
Will DTLA ever overtake downtown Chicago for the #2 spot? I think within 5 years.
I've never been to Chicago, but my take is that even as much as DTLA has boomed in the last decade, it's still two tiers below Chicago. The city has huge plans for DTLA though. If that happens (and maybe it won't) then perhaps in 15-20 years they are on the same tier.
I would not put a huge stock in the stats of one security companies data from Downtiwn Crossing. That’s what? Maybe 2 buildings? It’s a 3x2 block neighborhood. That’s like based on 1 company. And Retail customers don’t badge in and badge out.
Traffic nor MBTA ridership is down nearly that much.
The fact that occupancy isn't growing proportionate with other activities ramping up does underscore a challenge ahead for big city downtowns.
I understand we're still very early in the pandemic recovery phase, but it's clear that's there's at least some permanence to the last 2 years of remote work. Without a doubt, the impact of remote work on big cities will be one of the biggest urban policy topics this decade.
Last edited by Duderino; 02-16-2022 at 05:56 PM..
Reason: YW
The fact that occupancy isn't growing proportionate with other activities ramping up does underscore a challenge ahead for big city downtowns.
I understand we're still very early in the pandemic recovery phase, but it's clear that's there's at least some permanence to the last 2 years of remote work. Without a doubt, the impact of remote work on big cities will be one of the biggest urban policy topics this decade.
Commuters and foot traffic are not synonymous though. That article seems to be conflating them
Yeah, I'm not talking about currently. I was just pointing out the impact COVID has had on DC's office market with one of the unintended consequences being that office-to-residential conversions are now financially viable. That was never the case before COVID and telework. It is going to change DC's CBD for the better and I've never been so excited for the future of DC's CBD. Unlike other cities, residential has been impossible to build in DC's CBD because of profit margins for office, land value, and height limits. Those three factors made DC's CBD an office park. But now, everything has changed.
Golden Triangle/Midtown Office-to-Residential Conversions
It will be very interesting to come back to this thread in the future to see how these downtown CBD's have changed.
Some pretty significant news out today for a part of downtown DC that has been known as a dead zone. As downtown DC moves to convert many office buildings to residential, this could be a huge amenity.
"Marketing the mile-long section of road running between the White House and the U.S. Capitol as an "an extraordinary national special event destination," the plans are designed to bring more pedestrians, event space and other amenities to the corridor and spark a vibrant next chapter for the southern portion of Downtown D.C.
There are other looming changes to the Avenue that have the potential to change foot traffic. During President Barack Obama's administration, the agency, in conjunction with the GSA, made plans to consolidate its operations into a new suburban facility in Maryland or Virginia. The Hoover building would then be demolished, making way for a mixed-use project that could generate tax revenue for Washington, D.C."
Will DTLA ever overtake downtown Chicago for the #2 spot? I think within 5 years.
L.A. is light years behind Chicago in terms of the urban cores and in 5 years Chicago will have a much taller and denser Fulton Market to contend with as well as a densified South Loop. Not to mention The 78, Halsted Pointe, North Union and Lincoln Yards all going vertical. Then there's the natural infill that will keep coming based on being a city with a deeply ingrained, historic skyscraper/high-rise culture. Our real estate development landscape is an industry that is second only to NY. It's simply in the DNA. Some cities look like they are doing more impressive building but that's because projects are much shorter and they started a lot further behind. You can't just double Chicago's footprint or add an entire new wing to the skyline in a decade like Seattle, S.F. Miami, etc. The expansion of Chicago's urban core is deceptive in that boundaries aren't being totally redefined yet more 800'+ buildings were added over the last 5 years than in our entire history. They are simply absorbed rather than having transformative qualities.
As far as Center City, I have stayed multiple nights at the Marriott there for meetings and 2 conventions. Being curious by nature, I have taken walks outside of the hotel in the neighborhood. Some interesting places, some good places to eat, but a gritty feel that is always there. When I take my walks in dt Chicago from my office, there is an entirely different feel and scale. Center city is no dt Chicago from my experience. I don't think it is just me, but I do respect other opinions.
It so happens, the Philly Marriott is in the weakest, most recently redeveloped portion of Center City. 20-25 years ago, roughly around the time the Center City Marriott opened, the neighborhood was a hole in Center City, a commercially abandoned wasteland adjacent to abandoned factories, warehouses, but with thriving drug dens, peep shows/prostitution, a rundown Greyhound bus station (which is still its hole-in-the-wall self) and a tight-knit, though decidedly oasis-like Chinatown. And, yes, while $ billions have been pumped into the area sprouting several new hotels, restaurants, zillions of adaptive-reuse apts, condos, and co-ops, a revitalized historic Reading Terminal Market and connected massive, partially elevated, several blocks long PA Convention Center, and the new-and-improved Fashion District (replacing the badly declining Gallery at Market East SEPTA train station -- though sadly, the FD came online shortly before COVID which has, in many ways, reversed its early success causing some retail abandonment, already), the Market Street strip east of City Hall -- until you hit uber-trendy Olde City -- still has a lot of rough edges to it -- but it is coming along.
I compare this area to portions of South Loop in Chicago. I once visited friends staying a weekend in the (then cheap/generally rundown) Travel Lodge on Harrison street. Trust me, there was nothing hot or trendy about this immediate neighborhood where L trains screeched by at all hours of the night (you just kinda got used to it to the point the train noise would put us to sleep) -- it was NOT an area you took midnight strolls. Like east Market Street, this area has improved considerably since then, but it ain't the Michigan Ave Mag Mile by any stretch. Fact is, practically every large American City downtown has its dingy underside -- even Manhattan.
I'm sure if, curing your Philly stay, you'd lodged in the Rittenhouse Square area, Society Hill, or even the lively Gayborhood in/around 13th & Locust, your Center City impressions would be far better.
Foot traffic in Boston is still way down. Maybe not 1/7th but-yea, there are very real challenges for downtown Boston’s vibrancy moving forward.
You seem down on lab and biotech conversions or new development. One main difference with lab vs other types of jobs is they have to physically go to work. Virtual doesn’t work.
You seem down on lab and biotech conversions or new development. One main difference with lab vs other types of jobs is they have to physically go to work. Virtual doesn’t work.
This is true, but they hire a lot of PhD's who don't do a lot of after work happy hours or dinners. I've been to biotech happy hours and they're not pretty.
I'd also note that labs need ventilation and high ceilings, so they go to downtown adjacent markets like Kendall Square, the Seaport, and increasingly Fenway-Longwood. They're not going to replace financial or tech tenants in the DT core.
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