Seaport switch turns a planned retail tower into yet more high-end living space
There’s still no grocery store in the Seaport.
In a neighborhood where high-rise developments have been sprouting up and cranes are just a normal part of the skyline, it’s no surprise the Seaport is getting yet another residential tower.
But this time that was not the original intent.
Last week Boston Business Journal reported that the real estate development firm The Drew Company changed its initial plan to build a large retail space next to the luxury Waterside Place tower into a plan to build yet another luxury residential tower instead.
BBJ reported the new 21-story residential tower at 501 Congress Street would have 278 units along with 2,000 square feet of retail space and 84 parking spaces.
This change from retail to residential comes at a time when Bostonians are already questioning the character of the relatively newly developed neighborhood.
Back in April, The Boston Globe asked, “will the Seaport district ever have the soul of a real neighborhood,’’ calling it “a destination for fancy outsiders as they come and go via ride-hailing app.’’
Story continues after gallery.
See what the Seaport used to look like:
Indeed, the CEO of The Drew Company, John Drew, seemed to indicate the neighborhood’s sparse geography was part of his decision to move away from retail.
Regarding a few major commercial operators that eventually declined to ask for space in the originally planned tower, he told BBJ, “At the end of the day, we didn’t have the foot traffic, we didn’t have the other things like that that they required to make that decision.’’
One the other hand, though there may not yet be a grocery store in the neighborhood, the Globe also recently noted that there are more restaurant seats in Fort Point than there are homes. So perhaps more housing is the way to force the Seaport into a more neighborly state of mind.
That seems to be Drew’s approach.
Regarding the lack of a grocery store, which was supposed to come with the original retail tower, Drew told The Boston Herald: “That’s still a problem. We have to have more housing before it’s going to come.’’
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