26 Mar 2014
What's New in Boston
Meet Boston

I.  Hotel News - Hotels opening in 2014 and Beyond

There are nearly two dozen new hotel projects planned in greater Boston, some recently opened, some soon to break ground, others still in the planning stages, with a potential for a maximum of 3,000 new hotel rooms in the next 2-3 years. They are a mixture of chain hotels, boutique properties, and extended-stay facilities. More than half the rooms are planned for the South Boston Waterfront near the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center; the area south of North Station, TD Garden, and west of the North End will be the next neighborhood to be entirely transformed following Boston's Big Dig and the completion of the Rose Kennedy Greenway parks. East Boston, Cambridge, MA and Chelsea, MA are also key areas of new hotel development. The $82.5 M Silver Line Gateway Expansion project to begin in 2014 will provide a direct link between new hotels in East Boston and Chelsea, the airport and downtown with an estimated travel time of 15-19 minutes.

  • The 140-suite TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Chelsea will open in November 2014. Chelsea is located across the Mystic River from Boston, is less than 3 miles from Logan International Airport, offers direct train service into Boston's North Station and TD Garden in 14 minutes. With its full-sized kitchens and high-tech amenities, the hotel is designed for comfortable long-term stays and is a mid-priced counterpart to Marriott's upscale Residence Inn brand.

  • The Godfrey Hotel, a luxury boutique hotel with 243 rooms, a full service restaurant, retail space, a coffee shop and a 1,500 SF spa center, will be the next hotel to open in downtown Boston. The hotel is projected to open in late-2014 as part of the “59 Temple Place” development downtown. The hotel will occupy the upper floors of the historic Blake Building at the intersection of Temple and Washington streets.   

  • 50-room Mirbeau Inn & Spa will open in Spring 2014 at the Pinehills Village Green in Plymouth, MA, 45 miles south of Boston and 8 miles from Cape Cod, the Inn will combine a luxury retreat with one of New England's premier golf experiences.

  • The Inn at Hastings Park, a boutique inn in Lexington, MA, opened on February 4, 2014. The Inn is located steps away from the Lexington Battle Green, where America's fight for independence
    began. The Inn's two guest houses and barn are preserved historical buildings.

  • A 330-room Aloft hotel & a 180-room Element hotel will open on a 5.6-acre parcel on D Street opposite the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC). The $137.8 M project broke ground in December 2013 and will bring 510 new hotel rooms in close proximity to the BCEC, with the hotels set to open in 2015.

  • The Massachusetts Port Authority and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority will jointly develop a 1,200-1,500 room complex near the city's convention center in South Boston.

  • A 178-room, $32 million Hilton Garden Inn to open in East Boston is set to open in 2015. The hotel will be located in close proximity to Logan International Airport and the Orient Heights neighborhood of East Boston, which offers many diverse dining options within walking distance and quick subway access to downtown Boston.

  • Two hotels, a 210-room Courtyard Boston TD Garden/North Station and an extended-stay TownPlace Suites by Marriott are slated to open in 2015 as part of the $165 million “Merano” development on the Beverly Street section of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, adjacent to the TD Garden, near Boston's North End. The project site, which features unobstructed views of Boston's iconic Zakim Bridge and skyline, will also add shops and restaurants. Construction will begin in spring 2014.

  • Haymarket Square Hotel & Boston Public Market:

    • Developers Normandy Real Estate Partners and Jones Lang LaSalle will build the mid-priced 180-room Haymarket Square Hotel, an 8-story development adjacent to the Greenway's North End Parks. With improved pedestrian access, ground floor retail, and 3,000 SF of meeting space, the development will transform the area into an active Market District.
    • The Boston Public Market will include pushcart vendors, as well as the new indoor, year-round 28,000 SF Public Market, which is set to open in early 2015. The new market, located on the ground level of the hotel at 136 Blackstone Street, will showcase the best of seasonal New England foods, allowing consumers to buy directly from local farmers, fishermen, and wine makers. A temporary Boston Public Market will house 13-15 vendors starting in spring 2014.

  • $66 M Theatre District Hotel Revived: a 21-story boutique hotel and the installation of a three-story digital sign for Stuart and Tremont streets, across from the W Hotel & Residences is being planned by Amherst Media Investors.

  • Plans are underway for a $1 billion expansion of Boston's TD Garden, a transportation hub, concert venue, and home to the Boston Bruins and Boston Celtics. Developer Boston Properties and TD Garden operator Delaware North unveiled plans that include 812 residences; 1.1 million square feet of office space; 196 hotel rooms; and new restaurants and shops.

  • A hotel has been approved as part of New Balance's $500 million New Brighton Landing real estate development project in the Brighton section of Boston. The sneaker giant recently opened a flagship apparel and sneaker
    store in the Back Bay. New Balance aims to create a     “health and wellness district” with new recreation space for public use. The city's bike share system is named the New Balance Hubway due to the company's sponsorship. The headquarters, sports complex and the hotel portions of the six-phase project are expected to be completed by 2015. The architect is Elkus Manfredi whose recent work in Boston includes Liberty Wharf, Fan Pier, and InterContinental Boston.

  • 40 Trinity Place: Boston-based Saunders Hotel Group has purchased the former John Hancock Hotel & Conference Center and plans to restore and convert it into an up-market boutique hotel with an estimated completion date of mid-2016. T

  • The Loews Boston Hotel, once the headquarters of the Boston Police Department, is undergoing a $10M renovation to be completed by April 2014. The renovated hotel will feature 225 renovated guest rooms, three updated suites with free Wi-Fi, six meeting rooms, designed to pay tribute to notable Boston police officers in a nod to the building's history, a mini-ballroom with vaulted ceilings and reception capacity for up to 100 people, a new restaurant and a bar fitted with poker tables.

    • Precinct Kitchen + Bar is set to open in the Loews Back Bay in March 2014, the restaurant will have charcuterie station serving local, artisanal cheese, cured meats with a seafood-focused menu.

  • Hotel Commonwealth has filed plans for an expansion to be built on the property's parking lot. The additional space will house approximately 94 rooms, a 63% increase over the hotel's existing 149-room layout.

  • 250 new hotel rooms will be part of the Christian Science Plaza expansion along Boston's Avenue of the Arts. Carpenter & Co. has plans to build two towers next to Boston's Christian Science Plaza; one tower will be 58 stories, containing a hotel, condos, stores and restaurants. The other tower will be approximately 28 stories and include 255 apartments and retail space. Construction will begin in 2014.

  • A 156-room select-service hotel with restaurant and retail space has been approved for the corner of West Broadway and Dorchester Ave. in South Boston. The property will cater to business travelers with its close proximity to downtown and convenient access to public transit. The hotel features include a roof-deck bar, fitness center, meeting rooms, and pool/lounge area.

  • A 100-room boutique hotel with convenient Red Line subway access to Boston is in development in Somerville, MA. Five development teams are vying for the rights to build a hotel on Day Street in bustling Davis Square. Teeming with bars, restaurants, boutique shopping, and the historic Somerville Theatre, Davis Square is located near the campus of Tufts University and 2 miles from Harvard University.

  • A four-story hotel with 130 rooms, and a nine-story hotel with 120 rooms and 50 luxury apartments on the top five floors are planned for 1591 Broadway on the Revere-Saugus line.

 

  • Hotels anticipated for 2014:
    • Mirbeau Inn & Spa, Plymouth, 50 rooms – opening in Spring 2014,
    • TownPlace Suites Chelsea, 140 rooms - opening November 2014
    • The Godfrey, Downtown Crossing, 243 rooms – projected opening late-2014

 

  • Hotels anticipated for 2015: o Aloft Hotel South Boston, 330 rooms –projected opening 2015
    • Element Hotel South Boston, 180 rooms–projected opening 2015
    • Envoy Hotel Seaport District, 136 rooms – projected opening spring 2015
    • Fairfield Inn & Suites Boston Cambridge, 124 rooms –projected opening 2015
    • Hilton Garden Inn Boston Logan Airport, 178 rooms - projected opening 2015
    • Holiday Inn & Suites Boston Chelsea Logan Airport, 150 –projected opening 2015
    • Courtyard Marriott Boston TD Garden/North Station, 210-room – projected opening 2015 o Haymarket Square Hotel, 180 rooms – projected opening 2015
  • Hotels anticipated for 2016 and beyond:
    • 40 Trinity Place in the Back Bay, 227 rooms, – mid-2016
    • Hotel at 240 Tremont Street, 202 rooms –projected 2016 opening
    • Hotel at Brighton Landing, 175 rooms

II.  Waterfront News

  • The 25-acre Seaport Square development will offer 6.35 million square feet of residential, office, retail, and potentially four new hotels, with a total of 1,000 rooms and 850,000 sq ft of hotel and civic/cultural space. The project will include 539,900 square feet of residential and hotel space.  Seaport Square will also contain several new parks, which will preserve views of the Boston Harbor and the city's skyline, and add to Boston's impressive array of 21st-century urban green spaces that include the Rose Kennedy Greenway and the new Armenian Heritage Park.  Construction is already underway at Q Park along Seaport Blvd.

  • Construction on One Seaport Square, a $600M project with 2, 22-story towers with 832 apartments to be built above 260,000 sq ft of retail space is slated to break ground in April 2014 and be finished in 2016.

  • Conroy Development is waiting for approval to build a 246-room boutique hotel and 304-unit apartment building for “Parcel K” in the Seaport District. The development would feature a 150,000-square-foot hotel that would be built on the eastern side of the parcel while the 300,000-square-foot residential building would rise on the western side. The two buildings would include 25,000 SF of retail, 16,000 SF of innovation space and parking for 640 cars.

  • Envoy Hotel a $70M, 100,000 square-foot, 136-room 6-story luxury 'Autograph Collection' boutique hotel by Marriott will open in spring 2015 in the Fort Point neighborhood of Boston on the site of landmark Boston restaurant, The Barking Crab (88 Sleeper Street). Plans for the new hotel include a pedestrian plaza linking the property to the Boston HarborWalk, a rooftop terrace with commanding views of the downtown skyline and Boston Harbor, and 4,000 SF of ground level restaurant space.

  • A 320-room expansion of the Westin Boston Waterfront, the convention center's headquarters hotel, is under consideration.

  • The Massachusetts Port Authority and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority have issued a Request for Qualifications from parties interested in developing, financing, constructing and operating a headquarters hotel near the BCEC. The RFQ is the latest step by the quasi-public agencies in an effort to build a 1,200-room hotel near the corner of Summer and D streets. The $700 million hotel project is contingent upon legislative approval of the convention center's proposed $1 billion expansion, which would double the size of the center.

  • A 314,000-square-foot hotel complex has been approved for Pier 4, site of the former famous Boston restaurant, Anthony's Pier 4 (adjacent to the Institute of Contemporary Art).

  • A 500,000-square-foot hotel complex has been approved at Boston's Fan Pier.

III. Additional News

  • In July 2014, Logan International Airport will undergo a $100 million renovation of Terminal E. The renovation will focus on improving service for international passengers. The project includes a new connection between Terminal C and E behind security, new self-service kiosks to process passports and upgrades to concessions.

  • The Newport Mansions offer visitors a unique trip through American history. Discover a world of exceptional elegance in architecture, art, interior design and landscapes from the Victorian villas to the opulent palaces of the Gilded Age. Listen to the vibrant voices, memories and experiences of generations of people who lived and worked in these houses through audio tours of The Breakers, The Elms, Marble House and Rosecliff. Mandarin audio tours coming to The Breakers and The Elms in the summer of 2014.

  • Dine Out Boston® is the new brand for Boston Restaurant Week, March 16-21 & 23-28 and August 17-22 & 24-29, 2014. Pricing and dining options have changed and there are no course requirements.
    Lunch: $15/$20/$25 and Dinner: $28/$33/$38.     dineoutboston.com

  • The beachfront Chatham Bars Inn celebrates its 100th Year Anniversary in 2014. The Inn was originally developed in 1914 as a semi-private hunting lodge for wealthy Bostonians. Today tourists from all over the world vacation on Cape Cod.

  • The Charles W. Morgan, the world's last surviving wooden whaling ship and America's oldest merchant ship, will tour historic New England ports, with a stop in the Charlestown Navy Yard July 18-22, 2014.

  • The Outside the Box Festival will return to Boston in 2015. The inaugural Outside the Box Festival presented 250 local, regional, national and international performances featuring over 3,000 artists on 8 stages on the Boston Common and City Hall Plaza, and attracted 500,000 people.

  • Boston has been awarded the following events:
    • 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Frozen Four at TD Garden hosted by Hockey East
    • 2016 National Collegiate Fencing National Championship at Gosman Sports and Convocation Center in Waltham hosted by Brandeis University
    • 2016 Division II Women's Field Hockey National Championship at W.B. Mason Stadium in Easton, MA hosted by Stonehill College

  • Boston Redevelopment Authority has approved a $650M expansion of Boston's Landmark Center in the Fenway area, which will bring 550 apartments, new shopping and dining, including the first Wegmans grocery store in Boston, and new public green space to the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood.

  • Boston University plans to build a center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering at 610 Commonwealth Ave., on the site of an existing parking lot. The center will be a 149,500-square-foot building with seven floors. 

IV. Restaurant News

  • Restaurants opening in Spring 2014 at the new Outlets at Assembly Row include: Ernesto's Pizza from the North End, Papagayo, JP Licks, Legal C Bar and Earls Kitchen + Bar

  • The Ginger Man, a restaurant and bar with over 70 beers on tap is coming to the Fort Point Channel neighborhood, located at 374 Congress Street.

  • Alden & Harlow opened in Harvard Square in February 2014. The restaurant “serves thoughtfully sourced, honest American food in a subterranean, modern and comfortable space.”
  • Bostonia Public House is set to open at 131 State Street in place of Kitty O'Shea's in March 2014. It'll have bars on two floors, an exposed kitchen, private dining rooms, and furniture in hues of “coffee and cognac.”

  • The centerpiece of Pastoral, a new restaurant to open at 345 Congress Street in the Fort Point Channel neighborhood in March, will be its imported oven from Naples, Italy, turning out Neapolitan pizzas that meet the exacting standards of the strict Associazione Pizzaiuoli Napoletani.

  • The Merchant Boston will open downtown at 60 Franklin Street, the location of the old London Harness Shop. Also coming to downtown: The Painted Burro and Stoked Woodfired Pizza Co.

  • La Brasa is set to open in Somerville in March 2014. The restaurant will have Mexican, Peruvian, Middle Eastern and French influences.

  • Legal Oysteria will open in Charlestown in place of Todd English's Olives. The restaurant will serve costal Italian seafood. Legal Sea Foods will also open Legal Crossing (LX), a luxury concept for the brand, in the spring in the new Millennium Place building downtown.

  • Wink & Nod a “speakeasy” is set to open on March 15, 2014 at 3 Appleton Street in the South End.

  • Merrill & Co. is set to open on Appleton Street (in the former 28 degrees space)in the South End in spring 2014. Chef Jason Cheek will be in the kitchen serving classic, New England-inspired seafood and brick oven pizzas, as well as classic raw bar offerings.

  • Restaurateur Seth Greenberg will open Bastille Kitchen, a moderately priced, 240-seat French Bistro at 49 Melcher Street in early 2014. The restaurant will include a 70-seat private dining area called Chalet on the lower level.

  • M.C. Spiedo Ristorante & Bar, a new Italian restaurant, opened at the Renaissance Hotel in the Seaport District in February 2014 from chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier of Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine.

  • Stephanie's (of Newbury Street and Tremont Street) is opening a restaurant with 120 seats and a full bar in terminal B at Logan International Airport.

  • Asana at the Mandarin Oriental Boston will close at the end of June and reopen as Bar Boulud, a "French- inspired bistro and wine bar," at the end of August 2014.

    For a complete list of restaurant openings for 2014 and beyond please visit the “The Colossal 2014 Restaurant Openings Guide” - Eater Boston 

V.  Attraction, Shopping, Transportation, Tour, Performing Arts & Entertainment News

  • Boston Duck Tours will launch new multilingual audio tours April 1, 2014 from its Prudential departure location. Using the best GPS-activated technology available, visitors departing from this location will be able to enjoy one of Boston's most popular city tours in French, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese at no extra cost. Charters are available.

  • Boston's Charles Playhouse, home to long-running productions Shear Madness and Blue Man Group, celebrates 175 years in 2014 after completing a $2M renovation.

  • Boston will be part of the Canada 150 Tall Ships Regatta; June 17-22, 2017.

  • MassDOT has plans to launch an Innovative train service from the Seaport District to the Back Bay. The train service would run on Track 61 and is set to take around 2 years to complete.

  • China's Hainan Airlines will begin nonstop service between Boston and Beijing in June 2014, with 4 nonstop service flights a week.

  • Emirates Airline started nonstop service from Dubai March 10, 2014.

  • Turkish Airlines will start nonstop service from Istanbul on May 12, 2014.

  • Castle Island Brewery is set to open in South Boston in 2014. The brewery will include a production facility and visitor center where visitors will be able to take a tour, try samples and attend events.

  • “Assembly Row” is opening in spring 2014 as part of the $1.2 billion Assembly Square development 8 minutes north of Boston. Assembly Row is Boston's newest premiere-brand outlet, dining and entertainment village (including a 62,000 square foot movie complex)
    • Assembly Row will also be the home to the $2.8M LEGOLAND Discovery Center a 44,000 sq. ft. indoor facility. LEGOLAND broke ground October 16, 2013 and is scheduled to open in May 2014.
  • Logan International Airport has rolled out new bus, taxi, and passenger pickup areas, marked with new color-coded signs, and digital
    countdown clocks showing arrival times, to improve passenger services. There is free Silver Line rapid-bus transit service from Logan Airport to South Station.
  • The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, a dynamic “laboratory of democracy” is set to open in Fall 2014. View renderings of the institute at emkinstitute.org. The Institute will emphasize civic education, and provide educational programs in history and public policy issues, current and past, as well as in-depth information about the Senate, its history, rules, customs and personalities. 

VI. Museum & Exhibition News

  • A British Town: The Council Chamber in Boston before the American Revolution: The Old State House, where the Royal Governor of Massachusetts met with members of his Council, was once a nerve center for the British Empire in North America. Now, for the first time in 250 years, visitors to the Old State House can see this historic room as it appeared during the 1760s.

  • Body Worlds: Vital, a new exhibit at Faneuil Hall Marketplace will run through April 3, 2014. The exhibit is located on the second floor of Quincy Market.

  • The Shot Heard Round the World: April 19, 1775: A special exhibition at the Concord Museum showcases an hour-by-hour account of the actions of British Regulars and Patriots on April 19th, 1775 during the first battle of the American Revolution. Highlights of the exhibition include Paul Revere's Lantern and William Diamond's drum that summoned the Lexington militia to the Common (Lexington Historical Society – pictured at right). On view April 18 through September 21, 2014

  • Ireland is coming to Boston...iFest is a showcase of contemporary Irish arts, entertainment, premium food and drink, and culture taking place September 26-28. 2014 at the Seaport World Trade Center Boston.

  • The Museum of Science will debut Yawkey Gallery on the Charles River, a new $11M, 3-story gallery, exhibit space, and special event space in late 2015. The 5,000 sq ft space designed by legendary Cambridge Seven Associates will feature 50-ft windows, fish & animal habitats, plant exhibits, and outdoor garden space. Construction began in spring 2013.

  • A 175,000-square-foot expansion is planned for the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, 35-minutes north of Boston. The PEM endowment is among the top 10 largest for art museums in the U.S. The Peabody Essex has raised $550 million - with plans to bring in $100 million more.

  • The Magna Carta, one of the four surviving copies of the document issued in 1215 that paved the way for modern English and American democracy, will be visiting Massachusetts this summer, The Magna Carta, an inspiration for the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, the exemplar owned by the UK's Lincoln Cathedral and typically housed in Lincoln Castle will be on view in the exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts from July 2- September 1, mfa.org & the Clark Art Institute September-October, clarkart.edu.

  • Harvard Art Museums, will open a unified, expanded and renovated museum complex at its historic 32 Quincy Street location in Cambridge on November 16, 2014. The first three floors are dedicated to public galleries, the futuristic fourth and fifth—as well as the basement—house brand-new facilities for study and conservation and the Museum's “Art on Demand” program. 
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