To read an earlier release regarding this project, click here.
© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
Boston Business Journal - September 15, 2004
http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2004/09/13/daily31.html
Developer Drew unveils Waterside Place plans
by Michelle Hillman
Developer John Drew on Wednesday launched development plans for the area known as the "Core Block" -- an 11-acre site which the Core Development Group LLC has renamed Waterside Place.
The new mixed-use project will include 210 condominiums on the corner of Congress and D streets, a 300-room hotel and 2,300 parking spaces, as well as two anchor stores totaling 300,000 square feet and another 400,000 square feet of retail shops. The plan also calls for a 25,000 square-foot visitor center across from the new 1.6 million-square-foot Boston Convention & Exhibition Center along World Trade Center Avenue.
The Core Development Group LLC is a collaboration between the Drew Co. and Urban Retail Properties of Chicago. The group was chosen earlier this year by the Massachusetts Port Authority to develop the project in South Boston.
Drew outlined development plans and renderings at a meeting of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties held at the BCEC on Wednesday. Part of the design features a 70- to 80-foot glass enclosed building which will be visible from Summer Street, as well as other design elements that Drew said would create a "playful" experience.
The plans were announced following the filing of the "Project Notification Form" and the "Environmental Notification Form," which triggers further processeses with the city and the state respectively. Kallmann McKinnell & Wood Architects and Callison Architects have designed the project.
Drew said he plans to break ground in 2006 and hopes to be open in 2008.
Waterside Place will bring a mix of uses to the area, including a total of 628,000 square feet of retail and convenience shopping options to the waterfront, with 75 stores planned. It will also feature16-screen movie theater and the Boston Visitor Center, which will provide information about the waterfront and other Boston-area, state and regional attractions.
"Waterside Place will further transform this area of the city into an inviting and active urban district, filling in a gap in the South Boston Waterfront," said Drew in a statement. "The co-existence of retail uses, residences, and other amenities will contribute to creating a vibrant destination for residents and visitors to Boston."
The Drew Company has developed the Seaport World Trade Center complex, a 2.75 million-square-foot office, hotel and convention development on the Boston waterfront, developed in partnership with Fidelity Investments.© 2004 American City Business Journals Inc.
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