Construction kicked off Saturday on the $115 million office and retail complex meant to revivify Dudley Square in Roxbury. And everybody is getting on the bandwagon that says it will do just that. Here is Mayor Tom Menino: "You're going to see a rejuvenation of this whole area," Hizzoner said. "It's going to help people in the neighborhood to stay put because there will be more jobs and economic opportunity." And here are more details on the complex, per Casey Ross at The Globe:
The project, which is over a decade in the making, will preserve the prominent Baroque Revival facade of the Ferdinand building at the heart of the square, while also expanding the structure to create a more modern six-story office complex. The building will have green rooftops, at least one of which will be publicly accessible, and officials are weighing options for a special lighting effect on its upper floors. ... The project, which is over a decade in the making, will preserve the prominent Baroque Revival facade of the Ferdinand building at the heart of the square, while also expanding the structure to create a more modern six-story office complex. The building will have green rooftops, at least one of which will be publicly accessible, and officials are weighing options for a special lighting effect on its upper floors.
Five hundred city employees are expected to work in the building once the Boston School Department moves there after its fall 2014 opening. Also, right around then, the expectation is that other real estate development and redevelopment, emboldened by the smooth transition of the Ferdinand building, will take hold in Dudley. There are already a handful of developments planned: apartments, a hotel and retail on two large city-owned parcels along Melnea Cass Boulevard; and developments at the Blair’s lot along Washington Street and the large plot off Tremont Street called parcel 3.
· City Starts Work on Dudley Square [Globe]