I nearly choked on my Cheerios when I read this, this morning.
From the Globe:
A New York developer is proposing to build a $200 million retail and housing development in Downtown Crossing, a milestone in Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s effort to revitalize the city’s central shopping district …
… The Midwood development is the latest in a buzz of development to hit Downtown Crossing. The city estimated there are 2,900 residential units in the neighborhood, with 1,350 more under construction, including college dorms. Indeed, Menino kicked off his walking tour of Downtown Crossing at the Hayward Place parking lot on Washington Street, where a $200 million, 14-story residential and retail building is planned.
Hayward Place? The project has been on the drawing boards for probably at least ten years. When the city first sold the parcel to Millennium Partners, there was grumbling that Hayward Place was given away for cents on the dollar. And nothing has ever been proposed, much less built, a decade later. Meanwhile, the owner collects parking lot revenue.
Will something rise on the site? We’ll see.
Source: High-rise proposed at Downtown Crossing; Retail, housing units may boost shopping district – By Todd Wallack, The Boston Globe
