Columbus Center Dies from lack of...well...Money...

The mega-development-to-be-that-never-was, the Columbus Center, died quietly today at 13, the last few years of which were spent on life support. The project's main backer, Calpers, the California State Pension Fund, apparently decided that there were plenty of ways to lose money back at home, rather than investing in a losing proposition in Boston. Really, why leave home? There are many things that Boston could use, but another high rise luxury condominium complex is more than likely not one of them.

The Columbus Center was going to be "...a towering five-building complex of condominiums, hotel rooms, and stores..." located above the Mass Pike, combining office, retail, and condos.

Now, one thing that I was definitely looking forward to was having some retail and street life along the the stretch of Columbus between 223 Columbus (the Pope Building) and Clarendon, and I hope that in the medium term future there's a way to make economic sense out of some kind of project there. My own opinion is that it will have to be on a smaller scale. But there are significant economic hurdles to owning the air rights above the Pike, let alone the costs of above-roadway construction. So it's kinda tricky, as we say in the industry.

Anyway, here's the whole story from the Boston Globe.