BRA sued over no-bid deal with Sox on Yawkey Way

A sweetheart land and air rights deal between the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the Boston Red Sox is now being attacked in court.

Everett businessman and attorney Joseph Marchese is suing the BRA over the recent $7.3 million agreement that awarded the Red Sox air rights for Green Monster seats over Lansdowne Street and an easement to shut down part of Yawkey Way for concessions so long as the team plays at Fenway Park.

Marchese said he had approached the BRA in May with his own offer to operate concessions on Yawkey Way under a proposed $3 million, 10-year deal, but the BRA never put the rights out for public bid.

"What we're asking the court to determine is whether or not that contract should have been put out to bid," Marchese said. A former restaurant owner, Marchese said he wanted to partner with local businesses to offer food on Yawkey Way in a "taste of Boston" atmosphere.

"We thought we'd put together a group and have something a little different — a little nicer," he said. "The people should have the opportunity to get the best price and the best operator. Myself and others are being deprived of submitting a bid, which may have been more than what the Red Sox offered. We're just looking for fairness."

BRA spokeswoman Susan Elsbree called Marchese's lawsuit "meritless."

The BRA has pinned the Red Sox deal on a state law that gives it power to protect against or eliminate "urban blight." But the agreement has come under fire from government watchdogs.

The state Inspector General's office criticized the BRA for negotiating behind closed doors without public input, and the Boston Finance Commission has labeled the deal financially irresponsible for essentially "giving away" rights to city-owned land.

Matthew Cahill, executive director of the Boston Finance Commission, said of the lawsuit, "I expect it probably won't be the only one."

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Pro-stimulus Yellen testimony cheers Asia stocks

BANGKOK — Asian stock markets were boosted for a second day Friday by the incoming Federal Reserve chief's support for continued massive stimulus to aid the U.S. economic recovery.

Janet Yellen, who is slated to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chief early next year, made clear Thursday that she's prepared to stand by the central bank's extraordinary efforts to pump up the world's No. 1 economy when she's chairman, if that's what it needs.

Yellen embraced her so-called "dovish" reputation and expressed strong support for the Fed's low interest-rate policies during a two-hour confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee. She warned critics that any potential harm those policies pose are outweighed by the risk of leaving a still-weak economy to survive without them.

Her statements convinced markets that the central bank won't reduce its $85 billion of monthly bond purchases until at least March. Previously there were expectations that the bond buying, which has kept interest rates low and sent a wave of investment into higher-yielding stocks, would be scaled back from next month.

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 1.4 percent to 15,081.84 as the yen weakened, trading over 100 to the dollar. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 1 percent to 22,883.23 and Seoul's Kospi gained 1.5 percent to 1,997.56. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.7 percent to 5,390.90. Stock markets in Southeast Asia and mainland China also gained.

"The dovish tone was no surprise. Yellen indicated that it was key not to take out stimulus measures during a fragile recovery," said analysts at Mizuho Bank in Singapore in a commentary. However, she also stressed that the extraordinary level of stimulus "cannot go on forever," they said.

Major U.S. indexes rose to all-time highs for the second day in a row Thursday, but the gains were driven by stocks that investors tend to buy when they want to avoid risk, such as power companies, banks and drug makers.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 54.59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,876.22, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index added 8.62 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,790.62. Both were record highs. The Nasdaq composite edged up 7.16 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,972.74.

In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery was up 32 cents at $94.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract slipped 12 cents to $93.76 a barrel on Thursday.

The euro rose to $1.3456 from $1.3449 late Thursday. The dollar rose to 100.24 yen from 100.17 yen.

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Walter Coffey returns to Herald to lead digital sales team

The Boston Herald has bolstered its digital sales operations by bringing back veteran newspaper advertising executive Walter Coffey as its new director of digital sales.

"I'm very excited, having started out here and kind of coming back to finish what I started back in '93," said Coffey, a South Boston native. "This is such a great team. The audience that we have to deliver, the innovation, the effectiveness ... We have a great story to tell as far as helping out advertisers with their needs."

Coffey brings 20 years of experience selling print and online advertising in the Boston market, and returns to the Herald from the Wall Street Journal. His initial five years at the Herald saw him play a key part in the launch of the website Jobfind.com. Coffey lives in Norwell with his wife and three children. He earned his undergraduate and MBA degrees from Suffolk University.

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Obama to meet with health insurance CEOs

Photo by: 

The Associated Press

In this photo taken Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013 Carlos Barajas, left, and his wife, Martha, center, look over their health insurance plan options with volunteer Elizabeth Lira, at a health fair in Sacramento, Calif. The lackluster showing for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul could foreshadow trouble for the embattled program. The plan relies on younger, healthier Americans, who are in less need of health care, to sign-up to cover the costs of expanding coverage to those with serious problems.

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Foxwoods to name Milford partner

Foxwoods says it is "working feverishly" and expects to find a 55 percent equity partner in the four days left before Milford votes on its casino proposal.

"We're working feverishly. We're very close. Hopefully, we'll have something within the next 24 hours," said Scott Butera, Foxwoods' president and CEO, speaking a day after investigators for the state's Gaming Commission said the "glaring issue" with Foxwoods was its failure to secure financing.

But one gaming analyst said he was doubtful.

"Because $1 billion is a lot of money, the return an investor would generate is much riskier. That's where Foxwoods is running into some problems," said Chad Beynon, an analyst with Macquarie Capital, which has worked with Caesars Entertainment, the company that recently dropped out as Suffolk Downs' gaming partner.

On Wednesday, Butera told the Gaming Commission one of the potential partners the company was eyeing was a private equity firm, and the other was a casino company.

"If that holds true, that would significantly help the situation," Beynon said. "But if the potential equity partners do not follow through ... that would put Foxwoods in dire straits."

The commission had hoped to decide Foxwoods' suitability before Tuesday's referendum, however. Doing so would normally require any of the company's partners to be vetted by the commission's investigators — something that could prove impossible to do in so little time.

Both Milford selectmen, who voted in favor of the host community agreement they negotiated, said they plan to vote for the project, despite the problems the investigators uncovered.

"It would create between 3,000 and 3,500 jobs that in today's economic picture are very, very important," said Selectman Brian Murray.

The project would also generate at least $25 million annually in taxes and another $5 million in mitigation fees, Murray said.

But Bill Buckley, the sole selectman to vote against the host community agreement, said he distrusts Foxwoods because of its financial troubles.

"Our finances are strong already," Buckley said. "We didn't need saving."

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McDonald's adding window to speed up drive-thru

NEW YORK — McDonald's has an idea for speeding up service at the drive-thru: add another window.

Under the current set up, customers place their orders, then drive up to a window where they pick up their food. The fast-food chain says it's testing a "Fast Forward Drive-Thru" that lets customers drive to a third stop if their orders aren't ready.

McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb says the Fast Forward Drive-Thru will be featured in new and renovated restaurants starting next year.

The drive-thru is an important revenue generator for fast-food chains. McDonald's gets about 70 percent of its sales from the drive-thru, according Richard Adams, who now runs a consulting firm for franchisees.

McDonald's Corp., based in Oak Brook, Ill, has more than 14,000 locations in the U.S.

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New condos scarce in midst of Boston boom

Boston is in the middle of a historic residential building boom — but where are the condos?

Tracy Campion, owner of Campion and Company, a Boston luxury residential brokerage, said inventory in the city is dramatically low.

"Many buyers come to town and we don't have enough products for them to buy," she said.

Boston's condo inventory is down to anemic levels with only 617 condominium units on the market for sale, according to MLS PIN. The last time the Hub went below 1,000 available condominiums for sale was in the 1990s.

Any new developments in the city have had a tremendous track record. Millennium Place in downtown Boston just opened for occupancy last month and almost 90 percent of the 256 units have been sold.

The next "big" condo project slated for development is Sepia at Ink Block, where 83 luxury condominiums will be built as part of the South End project. Construction on the condominiums is planned to begin in early 2014 and the building will open for occupancy in mid-2015.

"There is a lack of condos in the city right now. Boston has gone through a huge rent cycle, employment has improved, and a mix of people who are in the city and looking to buy," said Ted Tye, a managing partner at National Development which is developing Ink Block on the former Boston Herald site.

"We are seeing lots of people in the Back Bay and South End now renting and looking to buy, we are also seeing many 'suburban pioneers,' or people who are looking to move back to the city," said Tye.

Sepia's sales center has been open for a short time and it has received tremendous attention, with one-, two- and three-bedroom condos priced between $550,000 and $2 million.

"One of the things that is happening is a neighborhood that is transitioning very quickly, we have three buildings going up now at Ink Block that will be apartments, Sepia building will be the fourth building," said Tye. "Ink Block is a concept, a neighborhood that's changing before our eyes."

Boston's market conditions are also driving many other developers to fill the need for future home buyers to choose from in the next two to three years as new developments pop up.

The Millennium Tower in downtown will include nearly 450 luxury condos, all of which will range from one to four bedrooms.

Carpenter & Co., along with its residential partner the Pritzker Realty Group, received approval to build a 58-story building at the edge of the Christian Science Plaza that will include 170 condos.

Gary Saunders of Saunders Hotel Group and 
40 Trinity Place, has proposed a 33-story glass tower with 115 luxury condos in addition to 227 hotel rooms and three restaurants.

"Boston is going through a changing and exciting time with the new delivery of condominiums expected," said Campion. "These slated developments will continue to make Boston more of a world class city."

Jennifer Athas is a licensed real estate broker. Follow her on Twitter @jenathas.

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Gov offers boo$t to affordable housing

State officials are touting a massive influx of state and federal money for low- and moderate-income housing as a boon to economic development across Massachusetts.

At the Putnam Square Apartments in Cambridge, Gov. Deval Patrick announced more than 
$73 million in state and federal funds and tax credits for housing, and signed a bond bill totaling 
$1.4 billion for further investments over the next five years.

Patrick said "inglamorous" spending on housing and related programs can make an area more attractive for private investment.

"Affordable housing serves as a platform for other opportunities," added Aaron Gornstein, undersecretary for the Department of Housing and Community Development.

The bill is largely comprised of housing investments, but also will underwrite programs such as affordable childcare.

"All of these things combine to make a strong quality of life," Patrick said.

One of the focuses of the investments will be to improve existing affordable housing, he said. At Putnam Square, one of two dozen projects slated to receive the $73 million, the funds will be used for a new boiler, a new elevator and improved windows.

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Foes: Revere casino would nix track

Suffolk Downs says it will have a new gaming partner before the end of the month to build a resort casino on the Revere portion of its property, but casino opponents are claiming that if that happens, East Boston's "No" vote means the racetrack can't continue to operate in Eastie if it is part of a Revere casino complex — potentially threatening hundreds of track jobs.

Matt Cameron, a lawyer volunteering with the group No Eastie Casino, said under state law, a "gaming establishment" includes "any other non-gaming structure related to the gaming area."

"Our interpretation of that definition is that a casino can't so much as plant flowers on the Boston side at this point," he said, adding that the law holds "an applicant for a gaming license who holds a live racing license ... shall maintain an existing racing facility on the premises."

"(Suffolk Downs) therefore cannot apply for a gaming license without also operating a horse track as a condition of the license, and that track can't be in Boston as part of a gaming establishment following East Boston's (no) vote," Cameron said.

"We see no other logical possibility than that they are prepared to destroy the track in order to save it."

But Chip Tuttle, Suffolk Downs' chief operating officer, countered it's still "our preference and our plan" to preserve racing.

"No, we won't have to move the track," Tuttle insisted, "But there's a strong likelihood we'll have to relocate the barn area, which takes up about 25 acres in Revere that we're now looking at for gaming development. We haven't reached any conclusions about where we'll put it."

If, however, Suffolk Downs' casino plan is shot down, Tuttle said, the track's future — and its 350 jobs — are "very much in jeopardy."

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Correction: Lockheed Martin-Jobs

BETHESDA, Md. — In a story Nov. 14 about Lockheed Martin cutting 4,000 jobs and closing some plants, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Lockheed Martin makes the Patriot missile defense system. Raytheon is the prime contractor of the Patriot missile defense system. Lockheed Martin is a component provider and subcontractor to the Patriot missile defense system.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Lockheed Martin cutting 4,000 jobs, closing plants

Lockheed Martin cutting 4,000 jobs, closing 4 US plants as US gov't cuts spending

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Lockheed Martin is cutting 4,000 jobs, about 3.5 percent of its workforce, as the defense contractor continues to look for ways to lower costs amid reduced government spending.

"In the face of government budget cuts and an increasingly complex global security landscape, these actions are necessary for the future of our business," CEO Marilyn Hewson said Thursday in a statement.

Across-the-board spending cuts by the federal government have helped trim U.S. budget deficits. Budget negotiators in Congress are holding talks centered on find ways to cut spending and tax breaks to replace the automatic cuts that started earlier this year that are slamming the Pentagon and domestic agencies.

Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp. provides components for, and is a subcontractor to, the Patriot missile defense system. It also makes F-35 and F-16 fighter planes. Lockheed Martin will close plants in Goodyear, Ariz.; Akron, Ohio; Newtown, Pa.; and Horizon City, Texas; as well as four buildings at its Sunnyvale, Calif. campus, by mid-2015, eliminating 2,000 jobs.

Another 2,000 positions will be cut in its information systems and global solutions, mission system and training, and space systems units by 2014's end.

Lockheed Martin said it will shift work and some employees to facilities in Denver and Valley Forge, Pa. The company is also reviewing other possible plants to which it could relocate programs, including facilities in Owego, N.Y. and Orlando, Fla.

Lockheed Martin said it has cut its workforce to 116,000 employees from 146,000 since 2008.

Last month the company said that revenue would decline "slightly" next year on likely federal budget cuts.

Shares added 62 cents to $137.88 in afternoon trading. The stock is up 49 percent this year.

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