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Real-estate lawyer proposes selling off the State House and making Springfield the state capital
By adamg on Mon, 08/28/2017 - 4:18pm
Mike Ross (yes, former Boston City Councilor Mike Ross) seems to be serious.
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Comments
Ohh!
What good would that do?
Hell No
The relevant portion of this state is Boston. Anyone on the wrong bank of the Charles or Neponset can continue having to kiss our collective asses.
You can buy a bulk of
You can buy a bulk of Springfield homes for peanuts, but who the hell wants to drive to tornado alley!!
I'm baffled
that in the wake of whats happening in Houston, no one on this entire thread even touched on the subject that should a killer storm, or 100 year wave from an earthquake coming from the fault line in the Atlantic, would cripple Boston and hence, all the state agencies headquartered here. Who calls the feds for help when the city is underwater?
I am not advocating for this clown's plan but it is not totally out of the question to move the capital inland. Worcester would be a better choice IMO.
No one would miss the politicians, it might actually lessen traffic a bit, and maybe offer a SLIGHT economic boom to wherever they relocate. The real estate in Boston would get eaten up quickly and whatever downtrodden burg they move the capital to will have some real estate filled.
It's crazy enough to work....
You do realize ...
That both MEMA and State Police, who would coordinate a good chunk of any emergency response, are headquartered in Framingham, right?
Who calls the feds for help
MEMA bunker is in Framingham. It'll be fine - assuming the storm drains on route 9 don't get blocked and flood the bunker.
On a slightly more serious note, it'll be fine as long as they don't do something like put emergency command/coordination facilities in the same target zone as the primary facilities (7 WTC, anyone?)
None
Just like the last 15 stories of the Winthrop tower. Let's just sell everything to the hoghest bidder because it's all about the money.
It would reduce the number of
It would reduce the number of citizens protesting in front of the governor's office, or attending meetings of legislative committees. But they can't state that as a goal.
That hypothetical half-the-Azores-slide-into-the-ocean Atlantic tsunami would be destructive on a scale where it wouldn't matter where the state capital was. For things short of that, the emergency management agency doesn't have to be in the state capital, and doesn't have to be in a single location: we have lots of fire departments and hospitals, and they help each other out.
...primo real estate for some
...primo real estate for some dorms for Suffolk U.
I'm thinking that they can
I'm thinking that they can slap some condos in there. Maybe a CVS and a Verizon store, too.
Sure
And put a gondola from the State House to the seaport.
(There should be a law that you can't have two state capitals with the same name.)
Springfield?!
That one horse town? How are we supposed to take th m seriously when they don't even have a monorail? (Bonus points for the forthcoming casino, though)
That's more of a Shelbyville
That's more of a Shelbyville idea
Mike "Clickbait" Ross
Need help
That Mike Ross
such a comedian.
Move all the opportunities
Move all the opportunities for graft and cronyism to Western Mass? I don't know if that's an economic stimulus plan or a plague.
The casino can double as the
The casino can double as the new State House.
Good grief.
Ever been to Springfield, Illinois? The capital of Illinois, site of ol' Abe Lincoln's law office, etc. A nice town, to be sure. I'm there once in a while on business.
Let me tell you -- the capital of Illinois being there doesn't make Springfield "teeming" and the restaurants, bars, and hotels are pretty bland, weak, and dated.
State capitals are typically pretty boring places. Boston is one of the few exceptions. Methinks Mr. Ross is overstating the impact that the state capital has on the economy, save a few Class B landlords.
Well said
Just look at Sacramento which has almost nothing going for it.
Sacramento
Lots happening in Sacremento, growrth, values up, wonderful gardens and tributes around statehouse, nightlife abd affordable
Albany says hi!
Certainly wouldn't call that a thriving state capital.
Yep
The capital of Pennsylvania is...? Anyone? Anyone?
Harrisburg. And the last time you heard that city's name was in fourth grade when you had to learn all the state capitals.
Not exactly. The last time people heard of Harrisburg
was when that nuclear plant just southeast of there nearly melted down.
At 38 years ago, that was
At 38 years ago, that was before many of us were born.... (~1/3 of Bostonians are 20-34)
The first thing that came to
The first thing that came to mind was Albany - the capital of a state in the top 3 population-wise, and home to the country's largest city. It has some beautiful architecture, but downtown is full of empty storefronts and abandoned buildings, and some areas have a pretty big problem with crime. Other parts of the Capital Region & Hudson Valley are a lot more happening than Albany.
The idea has merit.
Moving the state government out of Boston to a different city is actually a very good idea. It doesn't have to be Springfield. Geographically, Worcester is right in the center of the state. The idea is to spread economic vitality to areas that need it more. Boston would be fine without all the state agencies here. This is nothing new. New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Philadelphia, and plenty of other large cities are not state capitols. And all around the world countries have moved their capitol out of the largest city to another city to spur economic growth. It's an idea that at least should be looked at.
Yes but
Other world class cities like London, Paris and Tokyo are all capital cities so obviously Boston must remain a (state) capital also.
No, it doesn't
Please compare and contrast the enormous cost of moving the capital with other sorts of worthwhile initiatives for economic development.
Worcester makes more sense
Worcester makes more sense than Springfield, but still off-center.
I'd recommend Westborough.
Air rights. Build a megatower over the junction of 90 and 495.
70 stories. One for each agency or department. Parking levels, restaurant levels, dedicated offramps and onramps for traffic from each corner of the state, a spur from the RR...
Yah
Because places like Harrisburg and Albany are really hopping places now that the state capitols are there... I mean, Hartford is the place to be in CT now, right?
Let the Edgerleys buy it!
Let the Edgerleys buy it!
As Usual
This dimwit has no grasp of demographic geography, yet he has a "great idea".
Just like he has no grasp of civil rights when he came out with that Stupidity Whopper known as "discriminate against people in housing based on their vocation" bullcrap.
Mike Ross writes at a "What I did for my summer vacation" level
Clearly not someone we can trust with big ideas. "We could get $1 billion for the State House, I betcha". Sure, Dr. Evil, whatever you say.
How much would you pay!
But wait ... there's more! You also have to move all the executive offices, state agencies, etc. too! Relocate all the employees!
Sounds like a grand boondoggle to me. Maybe he should ask that evile college place called Emerson why they aren't in Lawrence.
I'm getting pretty used to
I'm getting pretty used to hearing some dimwitted clown selling bad ideas to a bunch of dimwitted clowns. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets some traction. It is so very 2017.
Move the State House to Springfield but...
Retain ownership of the State House in Boston and use it for AirBnB.
How about we sell Western
How about we sell Western Mass to NH? Or pay them to take it?
Here's a geography lesson for you
Western Mass doesn't border New Hampshire.
Besides
They'd have to rebrand MassMOCA
I think he is vastly over
I think he is vastly over estimating how much that land is really worth. I think it would make amazing luxury condos but the whole shadow on the common thing would make it hard to build up on that side of the complex, then you have the neighbors of Beacon Hill who will fight the side that touches their homes , you can't mess with the facade. So they would end up having to operate within the current confines of the building which will put a cap on how much it is really worth.
If he wants this idea to be taken seriously he can't focus on the profit made from the selling of the current State House because no matter how much the one time payment is it would only be a drip in the bucket of the budget.
Agree on all points except shadow
Since the State House is north of the Common, no potential shadow would ever touch the Common.
Isolated state capitals and corruption
Isolated state capitals linked to corruption.
With exceptions ... like Phoenix
Having covered politics & government in Albany and Phoenix, I'd agree that corruption costs more in small cities, where lobbyists and lawmakers make a home-away-from-home (kind of like Las Vegas, but without all the sand): what happens in Albany stays in Albany. But higher price-tags don't guarantee better product: in my 10 years in Phoenix I got to cover the first governor to be impeached in 70 years, another governor convicted of bank fraud and seven state lawmakers convicted of taking bribes while being videotaped. (One pointed towards the hidden camera and said how funny it would be if there were a camera there; another said she felt better now that everyone involved had committed a felony.) It is true, though, that the corruption came cheap: all one of the lawmakers wanted was a concession to sell shrimp as a casino.
Note that they got caught
That's the point. In smaller places, these crimes are less likely to be noticed.
Take a trip to Springfield
The one in Illinois. Trust me, the corrupt politicians go to jail. Just look at every Governor in the past 20 or so years.
Think of the possibilities!
The entire city council could be comprised of members of the Latin Kings!
Why does everything have to
Why does everything have to end up with some derogatory racial and/or ethnic epithets? What's wrong with you guys dang. Grow up already. Throwing ppl under the bus and saying "City Counsel comprised of Latin Kings" Childish but worse off topic. Oh the hidden alt-right? Did you not see what happen.
Do yourself a favor stick to the topic or just shut up.
BTW: Moving to Springfield no Worcester is a better and closer option IF the move is needed.
Huh? I wasn't using a racial
Huh? I wasn't using a racial epithet. The Latin Kings are a street gang with a large presence in Springfield. I was making a joke.
Massachusetts is lucky to have a kewl state capital
Boston a major and vibrant city and metro. One of the very few other cool state capitals is Austin (Texas). Most state capitals are depressing.
Montpelier is cool!
Only state capital in america without a McDonalds!
Also, tiny
Don't get me wrong, I love my hometown, but I get the feeling that others in this comment section would look at a town of 8,000 and call that boring.
If Boston needs to sell a govt building
it needs to be the godawful City Hall building. What a concrete turd.
Agreed
The great wind-swept plaza.
Let a developer build a huge tall complex there for free, and give us the first 10-odd floors for City Hall.
Start with Mass DOT
Start with Mass DOT
If you take that whole
If you take that whole complex and designed it properly it could be an amazing series of buildings. Keep a court yard in the middle of the complex complete with seating, trees, grass, bricks, some coffee shops etc. Then you put buildings all around the perimeter with arch ways on each side going into the interior courtyard. With balconies and roof decks overlooking the courtyard , maybe even having restaurants associated with said balconies and roof decks, you can maintain a public space where people can gather without it being a windswept blank space most of the year.
The technology,
That's because those industries and people want somewhat dense cities, not sprawling, boring cities where you have to drive just to go to a restaurant.