Artist rendering of the proposed Malden Park facade.
Malden ballpark plan on path for preliminary approval
MONDAY, 06 FEBRUARY 2012 14:29
A plan for a new downtown ballpark in Malden (Mass.) is gaining momentum, as the Malden Redevelopment Authority is poised to push the $30-million proposal from developer Alexander Bok.
The authority will decide Wednesday whether to grant Bok's plan preliminary approval and engage in discussions with National Grid about a lease of the 6.4-acre site. National Grid is moving operations out of the downtown site, leading the city to solicit development proposals.
If the authority can work out a game plan -- and we're a long ways from a shovel hitting the ground, as the decision Wednesday is merely to move ahead with a single redevelopment proposal -- Bok would presumably own a team in the independent Atlantic League. While Bok has no agreement for a team at this time, he and his consultant, Matt Perry, have reached out to the circuit.
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/malden/2012/02/malden_board_chooses_minor_lea.html
Malden chooses developer for baseball park
By Kathy McCabe | GLOBE STAFF FEBRUARY 10, 2012
The Malden Redevelopment Authority chose the Boston Baseball Field of Dreams group at a meeting Wednesday night to redevelop an 8-acre parcel on Commercial Street across from the MBTA Orange Line station.
The group, led by Boston lawyer Alex Bok, proposes to build a $50 million minor league baseball stadium called Malden Park on land currently occupied by a National Grid gas operations facility and three smaller businesses.
The four parcels take up an entire city block in the heart of downtown. It is one of the last major parcels available for redevelopment in Malden, and plans for its reuse have been much anticipated.
The authority’s board gave the nod to Bok, voting 4 to 0 to name his group the “preliminary developer,’’ giving it the green light to negotiate with property owners.
“We have been at this for 3 1/2 years,’’ said Bok. “We are excited to be able to start to work with National Grid and the other property owners.’’
Bok’s group will have until July 17 to reach agreement with National Grid and the other property owners to secure the land. But the deadline can also be extended by a vote of the board, according to a copy of the resolution.
If negotiations are successful, the proposal would then have to go through state and local permitting processes.
“We still have a long way to go,’’ said Stephen M. Wishoski, executive director of the Malden Redevelopment Authority. “There will be ample opportunity for the public to comment.’’
Mayor Gary Christenson spoke in favor of the park.
“I believe this is the type of project we need to move Malden forward,’’ Christenson told the board. “It’s being done with no financial assistance from the city.’’
Bok had been scouting sites to build a minor league baseball facility for some time.
After two sites fell through in Boston, he turned to Malden, a city accessible by major highways and the Orange Line MBTA.
The proposed Malden Park would have 6,372 seats, 16 sky boxes, a pro shop, restaurants, and a 30,000-square-foot plaza opening onto Commercial Street. It would host a team from the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, but Bok said has he not yet secured a franchise.
“We’re looking forward to Opening Day, two years from this April,’’ Bok said.
Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKMcCabe.
Malden redevelopment board to vote on approving plan for baseball stadium
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/malden/2012/02/malden_baseball_field_of_dream.html
Posted by Matt Byrne
February 6, 2012 10:04 AM
By Matt Byrne, Town Correspondent
Malden development officials will meet Wednesday to decide if the backers of the Baseball Field of Dreams should win preliminary developer status in their bid to turn a National Grid industrial yard into the site of a minor league baseball stadium.
If the status is granted by directors of the Malden Redevelopment Authority board of directors, backers of the Baseball Field of Dreams would be able to simultaneously negotiate with National Grid, which owns the Commercial Street site, and three abutters.
Although the development is still in the speculative phase, the preliminary developer status by the MRA would give developer Alexander Bok a stronger position to make a final proposal to place the 6,500-seat park on the industrial space.
National Grid is expected to vacate the site this spring.
So far, the project has won the interest of recently elected Mayor Gary Christenson, who has discussed the park as a possible key to his plan to revitalize downtown Malden.
Included in that vision is the possible demolition or repurposing of City Hall, an aging building that divides the Pleasant Street corridor and is seen by many as a blockade to economic growth in the area.
The public meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in room 621 at City Hall. No public testimony will be taken, the authority said.
December 1, 2011 - Baseball stadium proposed for Malden
Baseball stadium proposed for Malden
By Kathy McCabe
Globe Staff December 1, 2011
A Boston group that for years has been scouting sites for a 6,500-seat minor league baseball stadium now is eyeing a 6.4-acre parcel near Malden center, the current site of a National Grid gas operations facility.
Boston Baseball Field of Dreams, led by lawyer Alex Bok, is one of five private entities to express interest in the Commercial Street property across from the Orange Line/Malden Center MBTA station.
The minor league team would compete in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, where about 40 percent of the players are former major leaguers, Bok said. It appears the ballpark project, estimated by Bok to cost more than $30 million, may have little competition for the property. Bok’s group is one of five private firms that responded to an initial request for proposals issued by the Malden Redevelopment Authority on behalf of National Grid.
The deadline to submit final proposals is noon today.
Among the five groups expressing interest, Combined Properties of Malden, Fort Hill Advisors of Boston, and Williamson Partners LLC, a commercial real estate group in Boston, told the Globe they decided not to submit final proposals. The last company, Northern Sites Development of West Newbury, Vt., could not be reached for comment.
“We would have to form a [development] team,’’ said Scott Bosworth, a principal at Fort Hill. “The timing is just too tight for us.’’
Chris Williamson, a principal at Williamson Partners, said a client he represented is no longer interested. “At this time I can not disclose the client nor provide any comments,’’ he said in an e-mail.
Chris Maietta, vice president at Combined Properties, said the firm has responded “more out of curiosity to see what was in the RFP.’’
National Grid plans to vacate the site this spring, after moving its gas operations to an electric distribution facility it operates on Medford Street. The Malden Redevelopment Authority, a public agency, is helping the utility to identify potential reuses for the industrial site.
“We have been working cooperatively with the [authority] as they redevelop local parcels of land to encourage revitalization of the area,’’ the company said in a written statement to the Globe. “Keeping within our regulatory framework, we intend to work together and continue the productive and cooperative relationship that has been established.’’
“This is one of the best development sites in the entire city,’’ said Stephen Wishoski, the Malden Redevelopment Authority’s executive director. “It’s accessible by public transportation. This is a big opportunity for the city to really maximize the value of the site.’’
The authority last month invited developers to submit proposals for the site. They were asked to identify their project’s benefit to the community. They also were asked to address the impact of traffic, parking, and other transportation issues. The authority also sent information about the parcel to developers that already have worked in or expressed interest in the city. They include Burgess Properties, a Malden commercial real estate firm; Corcoran Jennison of Boston, which built a building on Pleasant Street for the state Department of Education; New Boston Associates, which once proposed building graduate student housing downtown; and National Development, which built Station Landing, a residential/commercial development in Medford.
“We wanted to do additional outreach to see what serious interest there might be in this site,’’ Wishoski said.
“We’ve attempted to spread the word as far as we can.’’
Wishoski said tentative plans call for National Grid to lease the property to the authority, which would sublease it to a developer. Once final proposals are submitted and reviewed, “we’ll spend the next few weeks on it, and then make our recommendation to National Grid,’’ he said.
The city wants a development that will help boost the downtown economy, where a number of restaurants have opened in recent years, Wishoski said. “This is a big opportunity for the city to really maximize the value of the site, to create something that will have a really good spinoff effect for the other downtown businesses,’’ Wishoski said.
Bok said his group’s proposal would would make use of 1,500 spaces in parking garages that would be available during night and weekend games.
“We think it’s a wonderful site for a ballpark, given its proximity to the MBTA and the parking garages,’’ he said.
Bok said the stadium would be modeled on one in Springfield, Mo., where a Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals plays. “It will be a great stadium for baseball, but also a place where families can have fun,’’ he said.
“There would be rides, slides, and activities for kids on the concourse.’’
In recent years, Bok’s group has pursued sites near Boston College High School in Dorchester and at Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown. Now he hopes to hit a home run in Malden.
Bok said the minor league team would bring high-quality baseball to Greater Boston. The league’s alumni include former major league stars such as Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson, who at that point were trying to revive their careers.
“A lot of the players are still trying to show that they still can come back,’’ Bok said. “The level of ball is very good.’’
Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @GlobeKMcCabe.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company
12/2/11 Minor league baseball stadium proposed for Malden center - The Boston Globe
boston.com/news/local/…/minor_league_baseball_stadium_proposed_for_malden_center/
SUNDAY, 22 APRIL 2012 19:49
The owner of a potential new downtown Malden ballpark says he is working to buy the final three land parcels needed to create a 7-acre site.
Alex Bok, president of the Boston Baseball Field of Dreams LLC, already is in negotiations withNational Grid to build on the downtown Malden site. The next step is to persuade three other businesses on the proposed ballpark site to sell out and move. While Bok and the city do have the power of eminent domain on their side, it doesn't sound like either wants to invoke it; Bok says he'll be offering above-market prices for the land.
Which won't happen any time soon; Bok thinks it will take a year to acquire the land needed for the ballpark, which means construction would start next April or May if things go OK, with a 2014 opening down the road. The projected cost of the ballpark project is $50 million; it's expected Bok will pursue an independent Atlantic League franchise once he's closer to an actual groundbreaking. While Bok has no agreement for a team at this time, he and his consultant, Matt Perry, have reached out to the circuit.
MALDEN HIGH SCHOOL'S OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER
Field of Dreams Proposed
on FEBRUARY 9, 2012 ·
Josh Kummins
For baseball fans, the cost of seeing a Red Sox game at Fenway Park is through the roof but imagine what it would be like to have an independent professional team right here in Malden.
Boston Baseball Field of Dreams (BFOD), led by Boston businessman and lifelong Red Sox fan Alexander Bok, is trying to make that imagination a reality. His group has searched all across the Greater Boston area for a perfect location and believes that the best option is the soon-to-be-vacated National Grid land parcel on the corner of Route 60 and Commercial Street.
On Jan. 12, 2012, the group made its first pitch to Malden residents during a meeting in the City Hall council chambers and the renderings of the proposed park are quite astonishing for a team that would be placed in the independent Atlantic League.
The league is currently comprised of eight teams from as close as Bridgeport, Conn. and as far away as Sugar Land, Texas. In the past, a team was housed in nearby Nashua, N.H. and the Pride, as they were known, achieved great success on and off the field, including one league championship. During their time in the league, former Red Sox player Butch Hobson served as the manager of the team.
Since being founded in 1998, the Atlantic League has strived to “bring a high level of professional baseball and affordable family entertainment to selected communities not presently being served by Major League or Minor League teams.” Teams play 140 games each season, so the future team would play 70 home games each year from late April to mid-September.
It is evident that the quality of baseball the Atlantic League provides is outstanding, but would a franchise in the league work in Malden? After years of searching, Bok and BFOD feel that the answer is a resounding yes.
Even with the failed North Shore Spirit franchise in people’s minds, a team could surely see success in a brand new park, which would be built steps away from the commuter rail. The Spirit played at Lynn’s 70-year-old Fraser Field, which is hidden away on a busy Western Avenue for people who have never been.
The proposed plan calls for a 6,000-seat, state-of-the-art ballpark that includes 16 private boxes, a “Kids Zone” play area and a family-oriented grass picnic seating area. BFOD is modeling their stadium after the 2005 BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year—Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri, which was built to the same architects that were hired for the Malden project.
A stadium of this magnitude would be a “home run” for the community as Malden High School’s baseball team would play home games there and other school events could be held. It would also help local organizations, such as youth sports leagues, raise money through in-stadium events and merchandise sales.
The stadium would create a great community atmosphere, which includes the fact that over 100 part-time jobs would be created during the season and community members would get priority in those positions.
Only time will tell if the dream becomes reality, but one can only hope that things will go as planned. BFOD estimates construction to begin in winter of 2013, while the first game would be held in April 2014.
http://maldenblueandgold.com/2012/02/field-of-dreams-proposed/
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781 322 3999
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