Columbus Center air-rights project (2002-2009)
A planned $1 billion-plus air-rights development over the Mass Pike in Boston's Back Bay, with condos, a hotel, offices, and retail, spent years in permitting. The 2008 financial crisis froze financing, and the developer defaulted in 2009 without building.
The project collapsed and the developer defaulted on its obligations.
The air-rights parcels remain undeveloped, a cautionary example of ambitious Boston projects that depend on private capital.
Like Nubian Square Ascends, a large, approved Boston development failed to break ground when financial conditions turned. The comparison shows how capital markets, not just demand, decide which projects get built.
