Boston's Cruise Boat Terminal Faces Uncertain Future

"A $300 million-plus plan to modernize and expand the Black Falcon Cruise Terminal for waterborne visitors to Boston has run aground at City Hall.

Although the City of Boston stands to gain $40 million to $50 million over a decade from Cargo Ventures LLC's plan to revitalize the facility, the Menino administration opposes the company's proposed redevelopment of an adjacent warehouse building, which was supposed to finance construction of the new terminal.

Cargo Ventures disclosed its plan late last year to redevelop the parallel structures: the deteriorating Black Falcon Cruise Terminal and the Bronstein Center warehouse space, which is in the same blocks-long building as the Boston Design Center.

At the time, officials at the Massachusetts Port Authority, which owns Black Falcon, were enthusiastic about getting a new $75 million terminal that would receive cruise ship passengers.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino himself was enthusiastic in November, saying, 'The combined revitalization of the Bronstein Center and Black Falcon cruise terminal will give Boston the best passenger port of entry on the East Coast.'

But now differences between Boston Redevelopment Authority officials and the developer have delayed work so much that the project can't be completed by fall 2009, the beginning of that cruise season - if it ever gets done."