South Boston, the neighborhood of the Innovation District and micro-apartments for techies, is all in on drawing Google from its Kendall Square perch in Cambridge. Bill Linehan, who represents part of Southie on the City Council, told The Herald's Dave Wedge, “Any continued development, especially commercial development, in and around the Seaport is important. We need to continue to attract more jobs, similar to the Vertex situation.” (An $800 million office complex for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is going up in the Seaport District.)
We think it goes beyond the desire for development for development's sake. Boston has put a lot of its economic development chips on "tech." Mayor Tom Menino's plans for East Boston redevelopment, inter-neighborhood ferries, South Boston development—all hinge in some large regard on the tech scene growing in Boston. More jobs are supposed to equal more tenants and buyers for the types of real estate being pitched and built, a panacea for what might ail a neighborhood and easier to prescribe then, say, a new factory or an office tower anchored by a law firm. Google would be a real coup, a marquee name to hang on the Innovation District and the micro-apartments. While City Hall might not quite understand what Google does beyond the search engine, they understand that.
· Boston, Cambridge Pols Spar Over Google Fate [Herald]
· Google's Writing on the Wall for Cambridge [Curbed Boston]
· South Boston to Get Hundreds of Manhattan Apartments [Curbed Boston]
· Boston's Tech Sector and Real Estate: What If? [Curbed Boston]
· South Boston Techies Will Rescue East Boston Real Estate [Curbed Boston]
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