New England's newspaper of record made it official on Thursday: The Boston Globe will exit its Dorchester home of 57 years in 2017 for two floors in 53 State Street near City Hall in downtown Boston. The news was not exactly a shock. The Globe has been searching for new digs for a couple of years, and even had a buyer lined up for its 16.5-acre Dot site at 135 William T. Morrissey Boulevard. That deal fell through earlier this year, but a sale is definitely in the cards, according to reports. What might replace the ink-stained hub? Given the size and location, we're guessing a mixed-use development of some sort, with perhaps a residential component geared toward tenants or owners who don't mind being pioneers.
There is, of course, precedent for such a development on such a site. The Boston Herald in early 2012 vacated its longtime South End home off Harrison Avenue, near where I-93 beats I-90. It did not seem like the most ideal place for gleaming apartments and condos, much less maisonettes or a Whole Foods. But here we are a few short years later, and the Herald site is the Ink Block, a mega-development of many parts helping to transform its surroundings (for better or worse). Stay tuned for the fate of the Globe's soon-to-be-former digs. Meanwhile, we welcome any wild speculation on the subject in the comments section to the above right.
· Boston Globe Moving HQ Downtown [Biz Journal]
· Will Maisonettes Catch On in Boston? The Ink Block Gambles [Curbed Boston]
· The 11 Projects Transforming Boston's South End Forever [Curbed Boston]
· Our complete Ink Block coverage [Curbed Boston]
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