Boston Market Terminal blueprints double size of produce market
Boston Market Terminal blueprints double size of produce market
EVERETT, MA Planning is underway to double the size of the Boston Market Terminal, here, in a $10.5 million building project.
The board of directors of the BMT convened Sept. 13 to review blueprints to expand this market, which opened in April 1969.
In a Sept. 16 interview in his office with The Produce News, Dana Hayes, BMT general manager, emphasized that all plans are preliminary and subject to change, but the owners on the market board all agree to the concept. The permit process for the building is underway, while the owners now fine-tune the plans. At the earliest, ground will be broken on the project by early summer 2006, and construction would then take about 15 months. The current blueprints show a new cold storage warehouse that is 42 feet high, which will house pallet racks stacked five high. Mr. Hayes said that the new construction and a refurbished original building will involve state-of-the-art materials and design. Pallet racks will be set for standard-sized pallets.
"We'd be the crown jewel in the whole complex," Mr. Hayes said. We will have a brand new facility, essentially.
In 1969, the BMT was opened across a city and fence line from the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, MA, which was built in 1967. Today, the fence between the two markets is open, and there is regular trade between the two facilities.
Mr. Hayes said that the BMT facility was built to be smaller than the NEPC, but we had the giants in the industry. These included Community-Suffolk Inc., DiMare Bros. Inc., Peter Condakes Co. Inc. and Gilfenbain. While DiMare eventually moved to the NEPC, the DiMare family retained ownership at the BMT.
The BMT is primarily owned by three long-established produce families: DiMare, Piazza (owners of Community-Suffolk) and Condakes. Mr. Hayes said that the three families own roughly equal shares accounting for 90 percent of the ownership of the market. The other 10 percent is owned by about 15 produce companies. The current Boston Market Terminal facility is 1,140 feet long, and was built with a huge center display room. There is a railroad siding on BMT property in the direction of the NEPC. Preliminary blueprints call for a new, high warehouse facility to be an extension from the existing building, with two new rail lines running adjacent to and accessing the new refrigerated warehousing.
The style of the building would then be converted to individual units. The overall design of the market would be very similar to the existing Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, with an open loading dock, backed by sales rooms, which would in turn back up to high racks of refrigerated space. Rail cars would be unloaded on the refrigerated side of the units.
Steve Piazza of Community-Suffolk and Charles Dolan, who heads DiMare Bros., both met with The Produce News in mid-September to discuss the plans. James Condakes of Peter Condakes on Sept. 16 deferred his comments on the market expansion to Mr. Hayes. Mr. Piazza said that the expansion would make BMT space available to new and varied members of the trade. The BMT would become a one-stop shop.
The demand for space in both markets is expanding, said Mr. Dolan. Because of transportation, we may need to hold product awhile, and some customers are looking for refrigerated space, also.
Mr. Hayes said that plans for the project have been underway for two years. Secrecy surrounding the plans was well secured, and several operators in the NEPC were shocked to learn of the plans. I thought they were talking about selling the market, was a consistent response coming from at least three NEPC produce dealers.
Mr. Piazza said that the construction would be funded by current stockholders in the BMT. These stockholders expect to occupy about half the rebuilt building, according to Mr. Piazza, who estimates that the space would be sold for between about $150 and $200 per square foot. The condos would range in size from 6,500 square feet to as big as people want to prebook.
The condominiumized market will offer buyers four sizes of units. There will be eight units with overall measurements of 40 by 167 feet. There will be three units of 40 by 141 feet, and five units with dimensions of 80 by 141. Two units would measure 120 by 141. Finger docks, protected by canopies, will likely be included in the plans to accommodate odd-sized customer vehicles. The existing front-loading dock will likely be expanded to 20 feet from 16 feet. More space there becomes important as the overall traffic and display plans of the market will change.
The existing market is 60 feet wide. In the expansion plans, the first 400 feet of lateral expansion would add an additional 107 feet of width. The remaining 740 feet of the market would be widened 81 feet, according to Mr. Hayes.
Mr. Hayes said that the BMT would drop the sample-room marketing concept because that isnt what it used to be. There are now a lot of phone sales, direct to buyers.
Furthermore, he said that the Condakes company had pulled off the sample room floor and created its own massive display room at the far end of the BMT. Community-Suffolk acquired the 18 10x25-foot bays that previously had been used by Condakes. Also now on the BMTs sample room floor are Tropical Banana Co. Inc., American Fruit Dist. Inc. and Dominic V. Gandolfo Inc.
If the BMT had individual units, Mr. Hayes said, it would be easier for customers, it would perhaps reduce the number of delivery employees and be easier on equipment if they dont have to go 800 feet to put merchandise in their truck.
Mr. Hayes said that New Englands supermarket chains continue to buy fresh produce from the BMT, but that they mostly buy direct and fill-ins from the BMT. We cater to medium chains and a lot of mom-and-pop chains. Asians and Hispanics with ethnic stores give us a tremendous amount of business. Food cooperatives are also good customers of the BMT. Mr. Hayes called the expansion of the BMT an ambitious project, but the area badly needs it. This will allow the people here now to own their own facility. They all pay rent now, and we can bring in new people who want our close proximity to Boston.
The BMT is within a few blocks of the Tobin Bridge, which leads directly into Boston. The construction for the infamous Big Dig is complete, and although a driver must navigate a dizzying, suspended (and buried) spaghetti maze from the Tobin into the city, the road is new, wide, sufficiently marked and well lit.
The BMT and, of course, the NEPC, have easy access not only into Boston but onto Route 1 and Route 16 as well as Interstate 93, which is a good link to I-95.
Because of the food industrys demand for such space, Mr. Hayes said that the BMTs real estate development company believes it can sell 60 percent of the markets condominium space before the construction begins. The move gives the older players a chance to draw cash out if they want, Mr. Hayes noted.
Mr. Hayes late father, James Hayes, oversaw construction of the existing BMT facility in his role as general manager of the market. Dana Hayes worked for the market prior to his fathers death in 1999, and took the head position when his father died. James Hayes worked for the BMT for 51 years, starting when the market was located in Boston proper.
Dana Hayes, 52, has worked on the market since he was 14.
The board of directors of the BMT convened Sept. 13 to review blueprints to expand this market, which opened in April 1969.
In a Sept. 16 interview in his office with The Produce News, Dana Hayes, BMT general manager, emphasized that all plans are preliminary and subject to change, but the owners on the market board all agree to the concept. The permit process for the building is underway, while the owners now fine-tune the plans. At the earliest, ground will be broken on the project by early summer 2006, and construction would then take about 15 months. The current blueprints show a new cold storage warehouse that is 42 feet high, which will house pallet racks stacked five high. Mr. Hayes said that the new construction and a refurbished original building will involve state-of-the-art materials and design. Pallet racks will be set for standard-sized pallets.
"We'd be the crown jewel in the whole complex," Mr. Hayes said. We will have a brand new facility, essentially.
In 1969, the BMT was opened across a city and fence line from the New England Produce Center in Chelsea, MA, which was built in 1967. Today, the fence between the two markets is open, and there is regular trade between the two facilities.
Mr. Hayes said that the BMT facility was built to be smaller than the NEPC, but we had the giants in the industry. These included Community-Suffolk Inc., DiMare Bros. Inc., Peter Condakes Co. Inc. and Gilfenbain. While DiMare eventually moved to the NEPC, the DiMare family retained ownership at the BMT.
The BMT is primarily owned by three long-established produce families: DiMare, Piazza (owners of Community-Suffolk) and Condakes. Mr. Hayes said that the three families own roughly equal shares accounting for 90 percent of the ownership of the market. The other 10 percent is owned by about 15 produce companies. The current Boston Market Terminal facility is 1,140 feet long, and was built with a huge center display room. There is a railroad siding on BMT property in the direction of the NEPC. Preliminary blueprints call for a new, high warehouse facility to be an extension from the existing building, with two new rail lines running adjacent to and accessing the new refrigerated warehousing.
The style of the building would then be converted to individual units. The overall design of the market would be very similar to the existing Philadelphia Regional Produce Market, with an open loading dock, backed by sales rooms, which would in turn back up to high racks of refrigerated space. Rail cars would be unloaded on the refrigerated side of the units.
Steve Piazza of Community-Suffolk and Charles Dolan, who heads DiMare Bros., both met with The Produce News in mid-September to discuss the plans. James Condakes of Peter Condakes on Sept. 16 deferred his comments on the market expansion to Mr. Hayes. Mr. Piazza said that the expansion would make BMT space available to new and varied members of the trade. The BMT would become a one-stop shop.
The demand for space in both markets is expanding, said Mr. Dolan. Because of transportation, we may need to hold product awhile, and some customers are looking for refrigerated space, also.
Mr. Hayes said that plans for the project have been underway for two years. Secrecy surrounding the plans was well secured, and several operators in the NEPC were shocked to learn of the plans. I thought they were talking about selling the market, was a consistent response coming from at least three NEPC produce dealers.
Mr. Piazza said that the construction would be funded by current stockholders in the BMT. These stockholders expect to occupy about half the rebuilt building, according to Mr. Piazza, who estimates that the space would be sold for between about $150 and $200 per square foot. The condos would range in size from 6,500 square feet to as big as people want to prebook.
The condominiumized market will offer buyers four sizes of units. There will be eight units with overall measurements of 40 by 167 feet. There will be three units of 40 by 141 feet, and five units with dimensions of 80 by 141. Two units would measure 120 by 141. Finger docks, protected by canopies, will likely be included in the plans to accommodate odd-sized customer vehicles. The existing front-loading dock will likely be expanded to 20 feet from 16 feet. More space there becomes important as the overall traffic and display plans of the market will change.
The existing market is 60 feet wide. In the expansion plans, the first 400 feet of lateral expansion would add an additional 107 feet of width. The remaining 740 feet of the market would be widened 81 feet, according to Mr. Hayes.
Mr. Hayes said that the BMT would drop the sample-room marketing concept because that isnt what it used to be. There are now a lot of phone sales, direct to buyers.
Furthermore, he said that the Condakes company had pulled off the sample room floor and created its own massive display room at the far end of the BMT. Community-Suffolk acquired the 18 10x25-foot bays that previously had been used by Condakes. Also now on the BMTs sample room floor are Tropical Banana Co. Inc., American Fruit Dist. Inc. and Dominic V. Gandolfo Inc.
If the BMT had individual units, Mr. Hayes said, it would be easier for customers, it would perhaps reduce the number of delivery employees and be easier on equipment if they dont have to go 800 feet to put merchandise in their truck.
Mr. Hayes said that New Englands supermarket chains continue to buy fresh produce from the BMT, but that they mostly buy direct and fill-ins from the BMT. We cater to medium chains and a lot of mom-and-pop chains. Asians and Hispanics with ethnic stores give us a tremendous amount of business. Food cooperatives are also good customers of the BMT. Mr. Hayes called the expansion of the BMT an ambitious project, but the area badly needs it. This will allow the people here now to own their own facility. They all pay rent now, and we can bring in new people who want our close proximity to Boston.
The BMT is within a few blocks of the Tobin Bridge, which leads directly into Boston. The construction for the infamous Big Dig is complete, and although a driver must navigate a dizzying, suspended (and buried) spaghetti maze from the Tobin into the city, the road is new, wide, sufficiently marked and well lit.
The BMT and, of course, the NEPC, have easy access not only into Boston but onto Route 1 and Route 16 as well as Interstate 93, which is a good link to I-95.
Because of the food industrys demand for such space, Mr. Hayes said that the BMTs real estate development company believes it can sell 60 percent of the markets condominium space before the construction begins. The move gives the older players a chance to draw cash out if they want, Mr. Hayes noted.
Mr. Hayes late father, James Hayes, oversaw construction of the existing BMT facility in his role as general manager of the market. Dana Hayes worked for the market prior to his fathers death in 1999, and took the head position when his father died. James Hayes worked for the BMT for 51 years, starting when the market was located in Boston proper.
Dana Hayes, 52, has worked on the market since he was 14.
