I have an Op-Ed column in today’s Globe tracing a commercial real estate foreclosure in Roxbury back to the Dianne Wilkerson scandal. Not the bra-stuffing part, but the (alleged!) $15,000 crooked land deal pay-for-play part.
Read it here. Pony up $1 for the real paper and marvel at that incredible illustration. And check back next Monday for a new column on something else.
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Hey everybody here’s some red hot commercial real estate hotness to dry yourself to/peruse while waiting for the MBTA to get un-flooded.
So remember when the Waltham office trophy Bay Colony Corporate Center got foreclosed on because it was worth way less than the debt on it and the landlord got tired of putting money into an underwater property? Yeah, it’s been six months since all that happened, and now it’s happening again.
Also, I’ve got a piece running down the various scenarios for the eminent domain fight over at the Downtown Crossing Memorial Swimming Pool, d/b/a the Filene’s Basement redevelopment project.
Also, Scott breaks down the many ways in which Suffolk Downs will totally destroy its erstwhile casino competition.
You were looking for some good news? Not this week. Next week is not looking great on that front, either.
]]>Saw this rando staircase floating between Summer and Congress a couple days ago.
That is all.
2. Hold Fonzworth Bentley’s umbrella.
3. Assistant manager at Topeka TGI Friday’s.
4. Sensitivity trainer for John Mayer’s racist crotch.
5. Join James Franco on the cast of General Hospital.
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Perhaps you read this or this in the past couple days and wondered, oooo weee what up with that? Well, this week we tell you, here’s what.
What you knew was, this KS Partners is losing a whole bunch of square footage. And what we discovered is, it really doesn’t matter. Because the company bought and lost some real estate and came out ahead of the game. Some $52 million ahead, before fees and rents and such. Holy crap, right? Exactly.
Also this week, Scott talks development and the future.
Also also this week, Scott Lawlor, who was last seen around these parts losing the Hancock Tower and the Bay Colony Corporate Center, now loses his dream house on Nantucket. To the best of our knowledge, he did not walk away $52 million in the black. Sorry dude.
]]>Brewers were challenged to think beyond Double IPA’s and Imperial Stouts this year, and responded by really upping their game. Fruits and nuts were big this year, and the diversity of barrel-aged beers (moving beyond bourbon to wine, oak, steel and brandy) was really impressive.
Here’s my take on the best in show from an incredibly strong lineup of brews.
Sierra Nevada: It would be easy for these guys to lie down, crank out nothing but their signature Pale Ale, and call it a day. That’s not the plan. Last year they unleashed Torpedo Extra IPA, Kellerweiss, and the insanely ambitious Estate Ale. And they’re following that up with a series of anniversary-year collaborations with craft beer’s titans. They brought a 1994 vintage Bigfoot Barleywine and Hoptimum, a triple torpedoed IPA, to the fest. An East Coast brewer told me he was amazed the Bigfoot was still hoppy, 16 years later. “How???” he asked. As for the Hoptimum, my notes only say, “Whoa.”
Dark Horse: Look for this Michigan crew to be featured in an upcoming edition of Beer Advocate mag. The four beers I tasted were off the charts. There was Lambdick, a Lambic that sat in a barrel for four years, and has been on fresh raspberries for the past four months; Double Crooked Tree IPA, one of the strongest IPA’s at the fest; a Brown Ale brewed with 249 local donuts; and a Tripel aged in a new oak cask with honey, agave and hibiscus. The beer took the adjuncts really well, and it finished with this crazy floral flavor. It tasted like a beer, and then a flower. It was awesome.
Ithaca: BA mag veteran Jeff O’Neil brought some old faves to the fest (alpHalpHa, an ale brewed with NY state hops and honey, and Brute, an effervescent Brett-infected drink that was my hands-down favorite from last fall’s Belgian fest), along with LeBleu, a Lambic-inspired American wild ale. Blueberries cut the lactic sour notes beautifully. Awesome stuff.
The Bruery: Great stuff across the board from another brewery soon to be featured in the mag. Mischief and Saison De Lente, you know. Then there’s Two Turtle Doves, an Imperial Porter brewed with cocoa nibs, sugar and pecans, and Melange No. Sechs, a strong brew with sour notes smoothed out by cocoa nibs and rose petals. Probably the most creative beer I had all afternoon.
]]>Plus, Phil Kessel finally unloads his unit at the InterContinental.
Details here, in what I’m sure is the Black-and-Gold-iest day B&T has had in a while.
Let us celebrate by punching a Canadien in the face!
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