Consider Boston
The City of Boston is the capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the regional center 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.
Encompassing 43.18 square miles, Boston itself is a part of a metropolitan area ranking seventh in the nation in population concentration, employment, and income. The 1990 core population of 715,000 ( Boston, Brookline and Cambridge ) and the Greater Boston population of 2,871,000 (Boston PMSA) are 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 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 nine 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.
Access to the city by car is further being improved by the construction of the Central Artery Tunnel project. The $14 billion project is the largest public works project in the nation's history. The major elements of this project include 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 entails a 3.7-mile extension of the Massachusetts Turnpike from its present 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") which will extend light rail service from South Station to the Seaport District. The completion of the Central Artery Tunnel project will also result in significant new open space and commercial development opportunities in downtown Boston by virtue of the depression of the existing Central Artery.
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 accom modate 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:
| Harvard University | Wellesley College | |
| Boston College | Boston University | |
| 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
27 Drydock Avenue comprises the western most end of the 1.6 million square foot former U.S. Army munitions and equipment manufacturing plant. The eight-story structure was built between 1918 and 1919 and was owned by the US Army until 1973 when the Economic Development Industrial Corporation (EDIC) purchased and renovated the complex. EDIC (now the Boston Redevelopment Authority-BRA) subsequently sold the improvements but retained the land.27 Drydock Avenue is located in the Boston 's Marine Industrial Park (MIP) operated by the BRA/EDIC. This is a 200-acre site housing the former Navy Yard. It contains close to 3.0 million square feet of industrial space housing 150 firms employing 4,000 people. MIP is a triangular shaped parcel located north of Summer Street and bounded by the Reserved Channel to the south and Boston Harbor to both the east and north. This area is the former Boston Army Base which contains a mix of single and multi-story properties, many of which have been converted to light industrial and various commercial uses.
Access to the Marine Industrial Park is good via fully developed public streets. Summer Street is a four-lane road with a concrete median dividing traffic. This allows for two full lanes of traffic in each direction. Summer Street runs in a northwest direction to downtown Boston and a southeast direction across the Reserved Channel at which time it reverts to two lanes through the residential area of South Boston . Various intersecting streets such as D Street, Fargo Street, and West First Street are all two-lane fully improved city streets serviced by the City of Boston.
27 Drydock Avenue represents the eastern most section of a larger building totaling some 1,638,000 square feet that includes the Boston Design Center (568,000 square feet) at the western end and 21 Drydock Avenue (782,367 square feet) in the center. These two buildings along with 27 Drydock Avenue 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 Marine Industrial Park 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 water and skyline views, excellent access, and an attractive mix of business services, retail/restaurants and cultural amenities. The Seaport District is in the midst of a multi-billion infrastructure development program which centers around the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel ("CA/T") project. The CA/T will extend 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 will be enhanced via the MBTA's new Silver Line Subway System which will connect the area to the 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 which 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 and the 427-room Seaport Hotel, the World Trade Center East, and the World Trade Center West.
