Dive Brief:
- A ceremony featuring a speech by Boston's mayor and a dramatic display of smoke and confetti marked the groundbreaking at the former site of Filene's department store.
- Roche Bros. will build a 30,000-square foot in the neighboring building, which was the original home of Filene's.
- The Roche Bros. market will be the first "large scale grocery store to be built in Downtown Crossing," Mayor Thomas Menino said. Boston residents know that's a bit of an understatement about a neighborhood that features a 7-Eleven and some big box retailers, and which turns into a ghost town after sunset.
- The revamp of the Filene's building, which will also include 450 luxury residences, is the latest attempt to restore the neighborhood to the prominence it had up until the 1970s.
Dive Insight:
This is a high-profile and risky move for Roche Bros. The Downtown Crossing has managed to attract some high-end residents and tourists since the construction of the Ritz Carlton Boston Common building. But the neighborhood remains empty and threatening at night. In addition, Filene's was a veritable institution in Boston. Anything short of success on that site will attract significant media attention. Here's hoping that some of Filene's retail magic is left in those old bricks.