"FEMA’s new flood map reaches deep into city" by Deirdre Fernandes | Globe Staff, November 16, 2013
New federal maps for Boston significantly expand the number of homes and businesses in areas considered at high risk of flooding, a change that could force thousands of property owners to purchase expensive insurance and complicate redevelopment along the city’s waterfront....
This is the first significant change to Boston’s flood maps in decades, and it is expected to draw the ire of homeowners, developers, and business owners across the city. Similar changes to maps in coastal Massachusetts communities have spurred protests, and towns in Plymouth, Essex, and Barnstable counties have appealed the new flood designations.
Boston is planning to hold public meetings on the draft maps, which would likely take effect in early 2015. The city will hire a consultant to review FEMA’s data and ensure its accuracy, said Brian Swett, the city’s chief of environment and energy.
FEMA is updating flood maps nationwide using new technology and more precise engineering modeling. That refined assessment has found that more low-lying and flat areas are at risk of flooding during major storms. Historically, FEMA has made tweaks to flood maps after receiving appeals and hearing community concerns, Bogdan said.
In Boston, FEMA’s proposed changes would expand flood zones in East Boston, the Seaport and Financial districts, and parts of Dorchester. Properties designated in flood zones are usually required by lenders to carry additional insurance.
About 1,000 Boston property owners now carry flood insurance policies, paying an average annual premium of $911, according to the National Flood Insurance Program.
In East Boston, one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, having to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars in flood insurance could force working-class residents and immigrants from their homes, said Kim Foltz, the director of community building and environment for the Neighborhood of Affordable Housing Inc., a community development organization....
The new maps could further raise the city’s already high construction costs. New buildings and existing properties undergoing major renovations would have to meet stricter requirements and incorporate flood protection measures. It’s unclear how much these requirements would increase costs.
The change could also complicate development in the Seaport District, which is undergoing a building boom....
--more--"
Just when Boston was beginning to build:
"Downtown Crossing becoming exclusive address" by Deirdre Fernandes | Globe Staff, November 08, 2013
The luxury condos at 45 Province St. in Downtown Crossing went on the market in 2009 at the height of the last recession, a monumental case of bad timing that seemed to doom the $120 million residential tower as another folly of the real estate bubble.
The 137-unit building sat largely empty for years, raising the question of who would pay seven figures for views of a deteriorating neighborhood of empty storefronts, aging shops, and a massive pit where developers of the former Filene’s property had abandoned their own ambitious plans.
Related: Slow Saturday Special: Intel Tax Deal Was Dumb Idea
But four years later, 45 Province is 90 percent sold at prices that suggest the pent-up aspirations of the neighborhood — which real estate firms market as “Midtown” — to join the roster of Boston’s exclusive neighborhoods may not be so farfetched.
This year, four of Boston’s 30 highest-priced units can be found at 45 Province, each selling for about $4 million or more to buyers such as a Kuwaiti businessman, a biomedical executive, and a wealthy woman from Montana.
The downtown “is kicking into gear,” said Kevin J. Ahearn, president of the Boston-based brokerage firm Otis & Ahearn. “It’s becoming a high-end luxury neighborhood.”
The Globe simply $erving its reader$hip.
--more--"
Related: Boston Globe Knee-$lapper
"The city is attracting well-off, if not wealthy residents. Nearly 10 percent of households in Boston earn more than $190,000, placing them in top 5 percent of incomes, according to the census. Among major cities, only San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York, and Washington, D.C., have higher concentrations of wealth."
At least it's all trickling down:
"The local construction industry, after some of the hardest times in decades, is once again booming, experiencing nearly the fastest employment growth in the nation. In August, Greater Boston added more construction jobs than any other US metropolitan area except for the Los Angeles area, ahead of such building meccas as Houston, Atlanta, and Phoenix. For construction workers, the burst of commercial, residential, and institutional projects comes none too soon after several years of spotty work and long bouts of unemployment."
Maybe the new mayor can fix things:
"In his first 100 days in office, Walsh said, he will focus on finding a new school superintendent, increasing public safety in neighborhoods beset by frequent gunfire, and maintaining Boston’s economic momentum. But Walsh remained cautious in the 30-minute interview and did not speak in detail about his agenda or incoming administration."
He's a chief executive!
It's war and bu$ine$$ lingo with a little Yiddish on occasion. Talk about internalizing the values of your ma$ters. I guess you can't blame them; it is the environment and culture in which they $wim.
"Secretary of State William F. Galvin and several state lawmakers, alarmed by the flood of secret money that poured into the Boston mayor’s race, are preparing legislation that would require outside groups to disclose their donors in real time. Outside political committees pumped nearly $4 million into the Boston election, most of it to help elect Martin J. Walsh."
Related: Massachusetts Secretary of State Galvinizes Lobbyists
There is still good in Galvin.
