Consider Boston
Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the urban epicenter of New England. From its founding in 1630 and incorporation as a city in 1822, the city has become a major international center, renowned for its strength in business, finance, transportation, communications, and public utility services. It is also well known for its medical facilities, prominent educational institutions, sophisticated research centers, and American heritage.
Boston is the heart of a metropolitan area ranking seventh in the nation in population concentration, employment, and income. With a regional core population of 3,497 485 (2008 CB est.) and projected to increase modestly over the next decade.
Boston's transportation system, well developed for air, land, and sea travel, is among the most diversified and expansive in the world. Logan International Airport, located just ten minutes from downtown Boston/Drydock Center and accessible by public transit, is the world's thirteenth busiest airport serving over 62,000 passengers daily. The year-round Port of Boston, strategically located for shippers and importers, is one day closer to Europe than any other major U.S. Atlantic port. The port facilities act as a base for shipping operations and handle containerized and non-containerized cargo.
Boston is also a hub for New England’s rail, truck, and bus services. It has, in the MBTA, one of only a few integrated rapid transit systems in the country, a system that extends throughout most of the metro area. The whole network links three million people throughout the area to the downtown via 80 miles of rapid transit lines, 291 miles of commuter rail, 2,500 miles of bus routes, and two privately operated boat services. The city ranks fourth in the nation and eighth in the world in peak load use of mass transit between downtown and surrounding areas.
Eight major radial highways feed directly into downtown Boston from the suburbs, while two roadways - Route 128 and Interstate 495 - encircle the city. Of the metropolitan population, some 2.1 million people live within a forty-minute drive of downtown.
The Big Dig - the largest public works project in the nation's history - has made Boston central business district the envy of the nation. The major elements of this project included a 3.3-mile widening and depression of Interstate 93 through downtown Boston in a northerly direction to an interchange with Route 1 in Charlestown and replacement of the existing elevated Central Artery. The project also resulted in a 3.7-mile extension of the Massachusetts Turnpike from its old terminus at I-93 through the seaport of South Boston to the recently completed Ted Williams Tunnel leading to Logan International Airport. An additional component is the MBTA Transitway project ("Silver Line") has extend light rail service from South Station to the Seaport District. The Central Artery Tunnel project is now complete and Boston is just beginning to reap its rewards with significant new open space and commercial development opportunities in downtown Boston now being developed.
Within its boundaries, Boston boasts a system of scenic thoroughfares such as Commonwealth Avenue, which bisects the Back Bay and Storrow Drive, a main thoroughfare along the Charles River. Downtown and Back Bay parking lots and garages can accommodate close to 33,000 automobiles.
Medical, Educational, and Cultural Institutions
Boston is an international center of medical care with 130 hospitals in the metropolitan area, 35 of them in the City alone. Boston is also a center of medical research and education with such institutions as Harvard Medical School and its affiliated hospitals including Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel/Deaconess Hospital, and Children's Hospital, as well as New England Medical Center and Boston University Hospital. Mass General has been cited in numerous surveys as the world's finest general-purpose hospital.
Boston has long been noted for its leadership in the field of education with 65 colleges and universities in the metropolitan area, at which there are enrolled approximately 250,000 students. Greater Boston has the largest percentage of employees in the country working in educational services. Among the largest and best known are the following:
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Harvard University |
Wellesley College |
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Boston College |
Boston University |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Northeastern University |
Boston’s cultural amenities are well recognized, including major museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum of Science, and performing groups such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops.
Site Location
Drydock Center is located in the Boston’s Marine Industrial Park (MIP) adjacent to the Seaport District of Boston. This is a 200-acre site contains close to 3.0 million square feet of space; home to 150 firms employing 4,000 people. Access to the MIP is easy via fully improved and maintained public streets.
Drydock Center represents the eastern most section of a larger building totaling some 1,638,000 square feet that includes the Boston Design Center at the western end and 21-25 Drydock Avenue (782,367 square feet) in the center. These two buildings along with Drydock Center comprise one continuous eight-story set of improvements. Directly to the south is the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal operated by Massport. This is the receiving point for various cruise and other commercial ships entering the port of Boston. Directly to the north across Drydock Avenue is Drydock #3 which is one of the largest working drydocks in the east. Other uses in the immediate neighborhood at the MIP include light industrial, commercial office, and a new multi-story parking garage accommodating approximately 1,100 cars.
The Seaport District of Downtown Boston offers tremendous waterfront and skyline views, excellent access, and an attractive mix of business services, retail/restaurants and cultural amenities. The Seaport District is just starting to benefit from the multi-billion-infrastructure development program from the now complete Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel ("CA/T") project. The CA/T will extended the Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90) to Logan International Airport via the Ted Williams Tunnel with ramps providing direct access to and from the Seaport District. Public transportation has been dramatically enhanced via the MBTA's new Silver Line Subway System that now connects the district to Boston's extensive commuter rail network via a terminal at South Station and provides direct service to Logan International Airport. The Boston Exposition and Convention Center is a 1.7 million square foot facility that attracts thousands of visitors and millions of dollars to the area. Other major developments in the area include the new Federal Courthouse at Fan Pier, the 427-room Seaport Hotel, the World Trade Center East, and the World Trade Center West. Major residential projects have just been completed. Projects in the planning phase for the district include multi-million square foot retail and residential developments.
