The US Olympic Committee’s selection of The Hub as the nation’s bid city for the 2024 Summer Games could bring real estate investors and long-needed infrastructure improvements. (Plus it's a huge boon for Boston's long-ignored torch industry.)
Boston triumphed over LA, San Francisco and DC based on its promise of cost effective ($4.5B), innovative, walkable and accessible events that would be privately financed, says Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish, who is the head of the games’ private promoter, Boston 2024. All venues are to be a 10 minute walk from public mass transit, which suffers from decades of deferred maintenance and obsolete equipment, and cries out for extended service. If the Olympics can help accelerate the delivery of these upgrades, “terrific,” says CC&F CEO Jay Doherty.
Well before 2024, mass transit must be modernized, agrees Jacobs’ principal Scott Simpson. If Boston gets the games, we may see more hotel development, improvement of existing academic and professional sports facilities; and new housing and student dorms that can be used by the athletes. There may be ancillary development of offices, restaurants and—most important—it will bolster the confidence of foreign investors in the Boston real estate market. By just trying to become an Olympic city, Boston will benefit whether or not we actually host the event, Scott says.
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