The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is ratcheting down the tension surrounding its proposal to construct a 1,000-car garage under Storrow Drive and expand its facility out over the Charles Street Extension. The hospital has hired former Senate President Robert Travaglini to lobby for the garage on Beacon Hill, and it has been circulating a […]
Growth and Development
Posted inEconomy
Devens goes Hollywood
A group of Massachusetts investors unveiled plans on Tuesday to build a $30 million sound-stage complex in Devens, a bit of Hollywood-style infrastructure that is expected to help plug a hole in the state’s fledgling movie and television production business. At a ground-breaking ceremony on the parade grounds of the old military base, officials from […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Storrow Drive garage, park proposed
Clarification: Mass Eye and Ear says the profit on the existing Storrow Drive parking lot it leases from the state is less than $500,000 a year. CommonWealth reported it was at least $500,000 a year. The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is proposing to build a four-story, 1,000-car garage underneath Storrow Drive and construct a […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Boston and Berlin can benefit from cooperation
Five years ago, the city of Berlin and several of its biotech businesses sent a delegation to the BIO International Convention, which was held in Boston that year. It was a successful trip; several connections were made with businesses in Boston’s growing biotech sector, including a signed agreement with MassMEDIC to build and strengthen collaboration […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
The latest trend: Being a Gateway City
Just as wearing a bright day dress is the latest fashion statement, being called a Gateway City is apparently the latest hot trend among the state’s cities. State legislators were scrambling this week to loosen the rules for Gateway City eligibility to give their cities access to the program’s coveted benefits. The Senate tinkered with […]
Posted inEconomy, The Back Story
Convention center chess
The House rolled out a major economic development package this week, but one key proposal that has been kicking around Beacon Hill for two-and-a-half years was noticeably absent – the proposed expansion of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Convention officials launched an ambitious program for expanding the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in November […]
Posted inEconomy
The stimulus
State officials gave a green light to the $29.6m North Bank pedestrian bridge because it was shovel ready. The bridge, which looks like a roller-coaster, runs underneath the Zakim Bridge and over a commuter rail line. state officials promised to build a pedestrian bridge linking Charlestown and East Cambridge as part of environmental mitigation […]
Posted inEconomy
Build it, they will come
James Rooney is telling lawmakers that if they build an addition on to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, convention groups will come. Now he’s got proof. Four groups have signed contracts to hold six future events at the Boston convention center, but only if the facility is expanded. A fifth group says it will […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Senate president backs $20-$40m for training effort
Even though the numbers tell us that the Massachusetts economy is growing faster than the national average, we still have a long way to go, and the recently revised jobs numbers confirm that we need to continue our focus on growing jobs. Preparing our workforce for the jobs of the future is critical to our […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
The underbelly of land use politics
You don’t have to be a Saint to oppose development, according to a federal court ruling earlier this week. In fact, the judge says, you can be “sneaky” and “underhanded” about your opposition because it is protected by the First Amendment. That was the ruling in a suit against Hingham-based Saint Consulting Group, filed by […]