The City of Boston is relaunching a push to revitalize its downtown by trying to make it more affordable to live, offer more diverse businesses and change the way people get around.
The initiative, called PLAN: Downtown, began in 2018, but was put on hold thanks to the pandemic. It's now getting off the ground again, coinciding with a recent report by the city that details policy and ideas to transform the neighborhood into something more dynamic and lively than it is today.
The city is using new challenges presented by modern working habits as an opportunity to reinvent the Hub's historic downtown, in an effort to make people excited to do more there than just go to work. Here's what to know about the changes the report could bring to the city and how businesses are coping right now.
Changing Habits
Downtown Boston has long been a place commuters from all over the region flock to every weekday morning, rushing to make it to their desks in one of the area's towering office buildings.
Then the pandemic hit.
"About 40% of our employee base are essential workers — they work in branches, they work in insurance agency offices and throughout the entirety of the pandemic, they went to work everyday," said Kathy Henry, Eastern Bank's executive vice president, general counsel and chief human resources officer. "For 60% of our population...we quickly became a company that didn't have or offer much flexibility in terms of where people worked, to really becoming a flexible work environment."
Eastern Bank, which operates one of its central offices downtown on Franklin Street, has continued that flexibility for employees to continue working remotely, even after restrictions eased and vaccines were released.
"For most people that had that flexibility in their jobs to work from home, there was a strong desire to maintain that," Henry explained. "And so today, of that 60%, most of those folks continue to have flexibility in their work. They might come into the office one or two days a week or one or two days a month depending on business needs and team needs."
The company has seen an uptick in people coming into the office this fall, but working from home remains an important option for many people, she said.
"First of all, 67% of our employees are women," Henry explained. "We know that in society, in this country, women tend to have caregiving responsibilities at home... What we learned in the pandemic, what I learned personally as a mom with three kids, is that life was more manageable across all the different roles we play if we had more flexibility in our schedules."
From Henry's perspective, like that of many other companies, the arrival of the work from home era has changed how business will be done for the foreseeable future.
A Changing Downtown Boston
Eastern Bank is far from being alone in adapting to employees' desire for additional flexibility. Remote work has become routine for corporations city-, nation- and worldwide — and that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.
But what does that mean for downtown Boston, a neighborhood that includes the Financial District and has long centered its economy around the people who commute into work everyday?
Foot traffic downtown is down about 40-55% when compared to pre-pandemic levels, and office occupancy rates remain at around 30%, according to the city's new report.
"For us, we look at that as a really great opportunity to reshape and reform what our downtown looks like," said Segun Idowu, chief of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion for the city. "Every major city is looking to figure this out. We think we’re ahead of the game here, and we’re excited for what downtown will be in a few years."
The new report, which the city recently released with the help of Boston Consulting Group, seeks to lay the groundwork for the neighborhood's future.
It outlines six overarching goals and 33 "policy levers" intended to help achieve them. The levers include policies that are already underway or existing city initiatives, proposed new actions and planned citywide initiatives with potential for expansion.
"The hope is that people, through this 86-page report, see the urgency with which this administration is taking this issue," Idowu said. "And the seriousness this issue has for us. There are six categories in the document, 33 different policy levers that Boston Consulting Group suggest we take. A couple of them are things we’re already doing, so when you talk about timeline, its already happening."
As demand for office space remains to be seen, one of the opportunities the city sees is putting a dent in the housing shortage by looking into converting offices into residential and student housing.
Leaders hope that, by doing so, they can not only increase the amount of foot traffic and businesses in the neighborhood, but also ease the housing crunch that has impacted the city for so many years.
Boston is planning a study that will analyze both the financial and physical feasibility of residential conversions and identify spaces it could happen at.
"We’re moving as quickly as possible to make sure this is going from idea to implementation," Idowu said. "And so you know this consultant is going to help go around the downtown area and talk to property owners and explore which buildings we can actually convert into residential — buildings that have been empty through the pandemic and are opportunities to convert. Because we know we’re not going to use it for office space in the near future."
"Once we identify, the Boston Planning and Development Agency is also looking at ways to streamline the process. That once we identify it’ll be an easy permitting process to get those units constructed, developed and ready for folks to move in."
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The plan goes on, and outlines a plethora of topics that could change the way people experience the historic neighborhood.
If things go the city hopes they will, downtown will be home to new businesses of all different varieties and backgrounds in the coming years.
The city is considering ways to expand nightlife in the area, draw in more creative economy businesses, explore new spaces for pop-ups and work in more industry-specific promotional programs — things like Restaurant Week.
Boston leaders also want to see a more diverse range of business owners open up shop downtown. In order to do that, the city is looking to launch a commercial subsidy program in order to support underserved businesses.
"That’s going to help not only get more diverse businesses in the Downtown area, but also ensure we’re not keeping these expensive costs on them at the same time; that’s not equity," Idowu said. "Even though this program is going to be citywide and available for anyone to apply, the focus is going to be making sure we get diverse companies down here and removing large expenses like build out costs, rent and make sure they have a path to thrive in once we emerge out of the pandemic."
Adapting to New Dynamics
As the daily habits of workers citywide change, there are inevitable shifts in the city's overall atmosphere that present new challenges to those directly impacted.
Ted Fürst, the co-owner of Sip Café in Post Office Square, describes his business as a "chameleon" that shifts its offerings depending on the day and season. It's got everything from coffee to beer, and pours into the park to create an open space for people to dine, drink and congregate.
But considering its location in the heart of the Financial District, it inherently leans on office workers, a demographic that's been harder to capture during the past two-and-a-half years.
"We have seen our foot traffic, our volume steadily go up at a very slow pace," Fürst said. "Compared to where we were 12 months ago, there are definitely more people in the area. I think the Financial District is somewhat of an island within the city."
He continued, "I know the city's slow, we're not where we were pre-COVID, but I think the Financial District, Post Office Square is slower than some other areas of the city."
Fürst believes that slower return is "directly correlated" to the number of people who have returned to the area's office towers. However, he said that it's important to keep things fresh in business, and is looking at ways to stay creative to keep up with a continually changing city. He also hopes the city is successful in attracting more businesses to the neighborhood.
"Anything to draw people in helps," he said. "Having more businesses, more restaurants, more bars, making this a central place. Creating momentum is what we need."
