A development team bidding on land near the Boston Convention Center is looking to bring the footprint of a historically Black college to Massachusetts for the first time, through a partnership with the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design.
Pensole Lewis College, based in Detroit, has space and a relationship with another “first-of-its-kind in Boston,” a Black Chip Art Gallery, “where lesser-known artists of color can showing their work. ,” said Tavares Brewington, founder of Street2Ivy, which partnered with Cronin Development on this proposal.
Pensole, the only historically Black college or university in Michigan, was founded by the self-described most famous Black footwear designer in the world, D’Wayne Edwards, who is the lead designer of the Nike Jordan brand. The college was failing financially, Brewington said, until Edwards got it back with the support of investors last year.
It is now looking to expand its footprint in Boston, according to Cronin’s bid submission.
“What he really wanted to do with us here in Boston, for the first time in the history of the Northeast, and certainly here in Massachusetts, is to have a historically Black college with a footprint in the city, and work with our programs. and our young people to teach them how to design and do business,” Brewington said.
“The Pensole school for design and business has a space and relationship with this art gallery, which I think is truly transformative.”
This partnership depends on whether the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority selects Cronin’s bid, one of two submitted for a 99-year ground lease on three parcels of land it owns, totaling 6.2 acres, near at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Southie’s Seaport District. .
While Cronin touted the “historic” nature of its proposal, another bidder, Boston Global Investors, said what it sought to build was more feasible than the competing bid.
“I understand it’s like 2 million square feet of development space,” said John Hynes, CEO and managing partner of BGI. “I just don’t see that happening right away. So, I think ours is a very reasonable, practical and practical proposal, especially in this environment.
Hynes added, “I think ours is probably better thought out in terms of its benefits to the community and its surrounding neighborhoods.”
He said his development team, which includes four additional partners, also “checks a few extra boxes,” in terms of minority investment, diversity and inclusion, and a track record of accomplishment. development projects.
BGI is proposing three mixed-use commercial buildings totaling more than 550,000 square feet, with more than 10,000 square feet of community programming.
It will be spread over three parcels owned by MCCA, two of which are located on D Street. The third is located on E Street.
The four-story building will include ground-floor retail with community space and a childcare center, two levels of office space, and an upper floor reserved as office space for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority.
It will also include two levels of underground parking, including 250 spaces reserved for the exclusive use of MCCA and surrounding hotels, with the rest available to tenants and the public.
The second building will house a grocery store, while the third, five-story building will house life science research and development. Both have underground parking, according to the BGI proposal.
BGI said in its proposal that the development would enrich the community “by bringing the neighborhood a much-needed full grocery store, a new café, community space and new care services.” of the child, extensive public green space and places for new businesses.”
Brewington and Jon Cronin of Cronin Development also proposed a grocery store, childcare services, life sciences space and office space reserved for MCCA, in three buildings, one of which would be located on each parcel.
According to their proposal, Cronin also plans for an open food market, a transportation hub with an expansion of the Nubian shuttle that Brewington said will reach underserved communities, and job training programs. which operates from the Black Chip Art Gallery.
“We really want this to be a place where all cultures have the opportunity to be represented and have their dreams come true, and have the ability and the connections to make that happen,” Brewington said.
Mark O’Leary, spokesman for the MCCA, said that the Authority is looking to expand the property of the immediate Boston Convention & Exhibition Center first, but did not receive the legislative approval required in the previous session.
“We put the cart before the horse,” O’Leary said, explaining that more development is needed because area hotels cannot survive outside of the convention center alone.
“There’s a lot of urgency for us not to sit back and do nothing.”
