For those of us who go to downtown Boston for work or pleasure, it is impossible not to notice the huge empty hole where Filene’s and Filene’s Basement used to be.
What happened? Did someone rush the demolition permits through before financing was arranged for new building?
The Metro’s Mark Puleo and the Globe’s Mike Levenson recently wrote that opening Washington Street up to car traffic might fix Downtown Crossing’s woes. But with the anchor stores of Barnes and Noble, Filene’s, and Filene’s basement gone, it doesn’t matter much if you approach on foot, by T, or in a car: who’s going to come to town to visit this hole?
How did this hole get here? Who is responsible? How can we fix it? Are Puleo and Levenson on the money? How about a grocery store and some housing at a variety of income levels, and new retail?
