Hub real estate in 2011 had a lot of big deals and a lot of big ideas. But the annum soon to pass will probably be mostly remembered by people who follow such things (i.e., us and you) as the year of big development (or at least the plans for such). Projects either got O.K.'d or got under way all over Greater Boston, meaning thousands of new apartments and many, many new offices and shops. To wit:
· Atlantic Wharf: The $550 million, 31-story complex near South Station will have 86 lofts, 750,000 square feet of office space and 30,000 square feet of retail.
· Copley Place: The mother of all condo battles, this 47-story addition to the Back Bay landmark will be Boston's tallest goddamn condo tower, with 115,000 more square feet of retail at the base, and there is not thing one Occupy the Mayor's Office can do about it. Or is there?
· East Boston Waterfront: Destined to be the signature achievement of Mayor Menino's (which one are we on now—fifth, sixth?) term, the city announced just recently that it will throw its heft behind $500 million in stalled projects in the neighborhood and will work toward infrastructure improvements, like ferrying techies to Eastie.
· Hayward Place: The $220 million, 15-story building will add 265 apartments to Downtown Crossing.
· The Kensington: Following a years-long preservation fight over the Gaiety Theater it was to supplant, the $170 million, 27-story apartment tower in Downtown Crossing got under way in the fall.
· 319 A Street: A wing of executive training program Goldman Sachs got the O.K. to build the tallest building in Southie's Fort Point Channel area: 20 stories over 257,000 square feet. The 202-unit tower will mimic the layouts of Real World sets.
· 1282 Boylston Street: The city O.K.'d 210 apartments, along with office and retail, at the Fenway address.
· 120 Kingston Street: The city also O.K.'d 240 apartments and condos in Chinatown.
· Waterside Place: A 234-unit apartment tower, with 72,000 square feet of retail, was approved at Congress Street and World Trade Center Avenue in the mayor's beloved Innovation District.
· Dudley Square: Mayor Menino announced a $115 million plan for redeveloping this area of Roxbury, including moving the Boston Public Schools HQ there.
· Harvard-Allston: The basketball powerhouse got approval to build its $100 million Tata Hall just across the Charles as well as a 12-building Allston Landing North research complex nearby.
· Parcel 24: Governor Patrick and the mayor announced the redevelopment of the Chinatown plot into a 345-unit complex with a hefty affordable-housing component.
· Fenway Tunes: The New England Conservatory of Music said it would add 10- and seven-story buildings to its campus in the neighborhood; and Berklee College of Music started construction on a $100 million, 16-story dorms-performance spaces-retail building.
· Liberty Wharf: The $60 million mixed-use complex opened in South Boston.
· Kendall Square-M.I.T.: Construction of nearly 3 million square feet of research, office and residential space either got under way or was approved for the Cambridge area, much of it tied to the institute nearby. It's like Harvard-Allston, only not so contentious.
· Filene's Site: The long-dormant site in a suddenly busy Downtown Crossing may have gotten a new lease on developmental life this year, at least according to speculation that the city has cut a deal (or, at minimum, an understanding) with cantankerous site owner, Vornado Realty Trust. The deal could mean a new mixed-use tower.
· East Boston casino: Kidding!
· Building in Boston Back on Track [Herald]
· Boston's Biggest Home Sales of 2011: $5M Gets You in the Door [Curbed Boston]
· This One Goes to '11: The Hub's Year in Real Estate Ideas [Curbed Boston]
· Boston's Tallest Condo Tower O.K.'d Despite 'Occupy' [Curbed Boston]
· South Boston Techies Will Rescue East Boston Real Estate [Curbed Boston]
· Boston's Tallest Condo Tower Gets More Affordable Housing [Curbed Boston]
· Rooftop Pool to Crown New Downtown Crossing Tower [Curbed Boston]
· 319 A Street: the South Boston Waterfront's Big Greenlight [Curbed Boston]
· Rent Check! Boston Apartment Construction Booming [Curbed Boston]
· Downtown Crossing's Filene's Site, East Boston Casino: Tied? [Curbed Boston]
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