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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
A new try at renewal in the old West End
Advertisement Today, the half-century-old superblock is a windswept wasteland, a solemn reminder of what can go wrong when you level a vibrant neighborhood. Related : The six-story Hurley, along Cambridge and Staniford streets, has been emptied of the state labor department employees who once toiled inside. The vastly underused Lindemann, with its M.C. Escher-style staircases, still houses Department of Mental Health patients and facilities who will need to be accommodated in the redevelopment, or nearby. (Both buildings need hundreds of millions of dollars worth of repairs.) Few people use — or are even aware of — the courtyard in the midst of it all, a hidden crown jewel. And a prime spot for open space along Merrimac Street, at the foot of those windy Lindemann stairs, is no more than a makeshift parking lot surrounded by chain-link fencing. Plenty of untapped potential, in the heart of the city. Advertisement The center courtyard at the Lindemann and Hurley complex. David L. Ryan/Globe Staff As Adam Baacke, commissioner of the state's Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, put it at a community meeting in early June: These two structures were built at a time when the prevalent thinking was about how best to 'defend yourself from a city,' rather than embracing your surroundings the way most urban real estate projects are designed today. This request for proposals — which could go out later this year — would be Seven bids were initially submitted for the site the first time around, with hinged on building a lab tower alongside the Hurley. As the market for new labs cratered, so did the hopes for that Hurley redo. This next attempt will differ in key ways. This time, the Lindemann, considered more architecturally significant than the Hurley, is also part of the project. Bidders will no longer have to accommodate nearly 700 state office workers, who have since decamped for other locations. And the Related : Advertisement It's unclear just how many housing units could go up on the block, either in redeveloped versions of the Hurley or the Lindemann, or in a newly built tower. But the number would likely be hundreds, if not thousands. The site's zoning allows for far more development than what's there today — roughly four times the combined square footage of 570,000 square feet. And a tower could be up to 400 feet high, only modestly shorter than the two that have overtaken the old Government Center Garage next door. DCAMM hopes to pick a developer next year, according to a timeline the agency provided, and start construction in 2029. For land-use lawyer Matthew Kiefer, an attorney at Goulston & Storrs who worked on the Leggat McCall project, the state's new attempt to bring life to this sterile superblock is particularly intriguing. An aerial view of the Charles F. Hurley Building in Boston on April 13, 1973. Ed Jenner/Globe Staff In some ways, Kiefer said, the site is even more promising as a residential project than for office and labs, due to its proximity to stores and restaurants. Plus, North Station is just steps away. A talented design team, he added, could draw out the virtues of the Brutalist architecture to create a unique residential environment. He sees it as a fascinating challenge, but threading this giant block back into the neighborhood is not for everyone. At the June 4 community meeting, held in the West End Museum, with faded photos and artifacts from the old neighborhood hanging on the walls, community members spoke up about what they would like to see take shape around the corner. Shops along the fortress walls to enliven the street. A new public school, to replace the one that was demolished there in the 1960s. Preservation of the two 25-foot-tall murals in the Hurley lobby. More greenery, to break up all the hardscape. And of course, something to commemorate what was lost in the name of progress so many years ago: a memorial, for example, or a new home for the museum. Related : Advertisement Perhaps no testimony was more compelling than that of Quincy's Ron Iacobucci. His first home was on Norman Street, a roadway that no longer exists — disappeared under the Hurley and Lindemann. His grandparents settled in the West End from Italy, and his parents lived there until the Boston Redevelopment Authority took their home, along with the homes of thousands of their neighbors, to make way for a swath of new development from the old Scollay Square to the Charles River. (Iacobucci's mom was friends with arguably the most famous West Ender, actor Leonard Nimoy.) Iacobucci, who was only two when his family was uprooted, pleaded with state officials to give preference in any new affordable housing on the site to displaced West Enders and their descendants. This should be more than a development project, Iacobucci said, it's the chance to write a new chapter to the West End's story, one that's focused on justice and equity. That's asking a lot of any construction project, even a massive one like this. But maybe, finally, the sins of the past can offer a promising opportunity for the neighborhood's future. Jon Chesto can be reached at
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance Releases RFP for New Springfield Regional Justice Center
SPRINGFIELD, Mass., July 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greystone Real Estate Advisory Group (GREA), serving as transaction advisor for the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (DCAMM), is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals (RFP) which provides an exceptional opportunity to design, build, and own a landmark facility anchored by a 40-year initial lease with the Commonwealth -- a new courthouse facility in Springfield, MA. The selected development partner will be responsible for providing a site and delivering a fully functional courthouse encompassing up to 330,000 usable square feet to accommodate judicial, administrative, detention, and court services. The initial lease term will span 40 years, with the potential for two 10-year extensions, for a total term of up to 60 years. 'DCAMM is pleased to announce the availability of the Request for Proposals as a major milestone in the Commonwealth's efforts to accelerate the delivery of a new modern regional justice center for Springfield and Hampden County,' said DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke. 'We look forward to a robust response from the development community that will ultimately yield a high-quality facility that also reflects important community priorities.' Development proposals must include: A suitable site within the city limits, preferably centrally located in Downtown Springfield, with strong civic identity and convenient public access Design that aligns with court operational needs and enhances community presence Plans to exceed the Commonwealth's sustainability benchmarks Demonstrated experience in delivering large-scale civic or justice-related infrastructure Financial and operational capacity to execute a project of this magnitude 'We are pleased to see this important project move into its next phase,' said Executive Office of the Trial Court Chief Justice Heidi Brieger and Court Administrator Thomas G. Ambrosino. 'This new courthouse will better serve our employees, court users, and the broader community.' In Greystone's role as transaction advisor to DCAMM for the Springfield Regional Justice Center project, services include opportunity marketing to achieve high visibility of this unique solicitation, proposal analysis, and transaction advisory services. Greystone's experience includes serving as the real estate and development advisor to numerous Commonwealth agencies, including the MBTA, MassDOT and DCAMM, in addition to numerous public institutions across the nation. For more information, please visit About the Greystone Real Estate Advisory GroupEstablished in 1999, the Greystone Real Estate Advisory Group, a division of Greystone Select Incorporated (Greystone), provides commercial real estate service to public, private, and not for profit clients. Its mission is to provide advisory services that maximize the value of existing real estate portfolios. Through its established partnership with public clients, Greystone Real Estate Advisory Group has become a national leader in the management of revenue-producing properties for public transportation agencies. The group has an established reputation in the marketplace as a results-oriented property asset management firm that routinely identifies new revenue sources from its client's existing portfolios. For more information, visit About the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance The Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) works with state agencies to create and manage forward-thinking, sustainable buildings to meet the needs of the people they serve. DCAMM partners with fellow agencies to help them meet their strategic needs with fiscally responsible building and real estate solutions. CONTACT:Dennis while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
