[ARCHIVED] Harbor Garage Redevelopment | 70 East India Row | Waterfront | Downtown

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I wish they would just say fuck it and build the two towers. This could have possibly been the greatest development Boston has ever seen. I don't get how anybody on planet earth can look at that proposal and be against it. This plus MT, govt garage office tower, 1 dalton, winthrop garage (accordia), would have exploded Boston into the stratosphere. In my extremely biased opinion this would have been one of the most beautiful and well balanced skylines in the entire world if all of these were done. We wouldn't have the height but we would have a beautifully human scaled skyline, the incredible waterfront, perfect balance, perfect color pallette, perfect contrast between old and new. The skyline from the harbor would blow away almost everybody but NYC and Hong Kong IMO when it comes to what just looks the best over the dick measuring contest of cheap height (dubai...everywhere pretty much at this point).

Don't forget our low rises are legendary all over the world and they make up the base of the skyline. Having those towers rising above that level of perfection we have already would have blown my mind. Especially at street level....walking around within this sea of gold we have here and looking up to see an accordia, harbor garage towers, MT, govt center......people would shit their pants immediately upon visiting here. Instead we will end up with that city through concept only of which renderings will realize what only could have been.
 
The Garage is a giant huge concrete block on the Greenway blocking all access to the Waterfront.
Chiofaro proposal is better than half the garbage being built in the Seaport.

Hopefully he opens up the entire ground floor for the foot traffic on the Greenways and builds an 800FT Skyscraper that rightfully belongs in the city.

The city and the BRA should take the Harbor Towers Pool access away by Eminent domain by blocking access from to the waterfront from the Greenway.
 
TheRifleman said:
The Garage is a giant huge concrete block on the Greenway blocking all access to the Waterfront.
Chiofaro proposal is better than half the garbage being built in the Seaport.

Hopefully he opens up the entire ground floor for the foot traffic on the Greenways and builds an 800FT Skyscraper that rightfully belongs in the city.

The city and the BRA should take the Harbor Towers Pool access away by Eminent domain by blocking access from to the waterfront from the Greenway.
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The garage doesn't block anything. There is plenty of access to the waterfront. It is boring and ugly, but the garage serves a vital purpose in making the New England Aquarium a viable tourist attraction accessible by by car. Without the garage the New England Aquarium has to move.

Chiofaro's proposal is a bait and switch proposal. He is just using some pretty pictures that have no basis in reality to push the BRA to give him more square footage.
 
Suffolk 83 said:
Unless I'm missing something this hasnt gotten approved so not sure how the BRA caved to Chiofaro....
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The BRA caved by saying he could go to 600'. This is double what was previously approved for that location. So yes the BRA caved.
 
tangent said:
New England Aquarium a viable tourist attraction accessible by by car. Without the garage the New England Aquarium has to move.
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Good.... I hope the Aquarium closes down. Its like walking through a giant Toilet bowl.

Also I don't believe its healthy for God's creatures to suffer in this shitbowl of a place they call the Aquarium---
These SeaLions, Penguins and other sea creatures should be free in the ocean.
I would love to know the executive compensation from these Aquarium Executives to justify this.


Turn the TV and watch the nature channel if you want to see Sea creatures on Galapagos islands special.
 
tangent said:
The garage doesn't block anything. There is plenty of access to the waterfront. It is boring and ugly, but the garage serves a vital purpose in making the New England Aquarium a viable tourist attraction accessible by by car. Without the garage the New England Aquarium has to move.

Chiofaro's proposal is a bait and switch proposal. He is just using some pretty pictures that have no basis in reality to push the BRA to give him more square footage.
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I wish it was viable for him to just tare down the garage in the meantime and then propose something later. The Aquarium does not own the garage nor does it have any rights to it. The abutters' demands for public parking are irrelevant. It's not theirs.

Who drives to the aquarium anyway??
 
TheRifleman said:
Good.... I hope the Aquarium closes down. Its like walking through a giant Toilet bowl.

Also I don't believe its healthy for God's creatures to suffer in this shitbowl of a place they call the Aquarium---
These SeaLions, Penguins and other sea creatures should be free in the ocean.
I would love to know the executive compensation from these Aquarium Executives to justify this.


Turn the TV and watch the nature channel if you want to see Sea creatures on Galapagos islands special.
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^Finally, someone speaks the TRUTH about the Aquarium! It really IS a giant toilet bowl. I saw the Tidy-Bowl guy swimming around cleaning the tank AND feeding fish!...(definitely not union represented). I've seen more interesting aquariums in friends' living rooms....I went once, then I went again 30 years later, and I swore I must be dreaming because everything seemed exactly the same....except for the overpriced admission...... The Aquarium and the Harbor Towers should be embracing the idea to make the area better with a quality development by Mr. Chiofaro.
 
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Are you people seriously advocating a fairly well respected museum / low-cost public amenity so you can have a tower? I get it, the Aquarium isn't cutting edge, but it's still extremely popular with kids and more importantly families.
 
meddlepal said:
Are you people seriously advocating a fairly well respected museum / low-cost public amenity so you can have a tower? I get it, the Aquarium isn't cutting edge, but it's still extremely popular with kids and more importantly families.
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^I have to disagree. With Boston's long and rich maritime heritage, the Aquarium's an embarrassment.....Of course the kids like it, kids like anything. It's just torture for everybody else. Massachusetts is the only state in the entire country having it's capitol directly on the ocean. That alone should make Boston strive to have a "destination" Aquarium, you know something that makes people WANT to go there.
Back on thread, there's NO reason why the Aquarium and Harbor Towers should be allowed to prevent Mr Chiofaro from building a beautiful building, make a return on his investment, open up the waterfront better, which then benefits us all.
 
Isn't world-class, but the kids like it. Maybe get a re-do in a few years. Love the false narrative/s. No one will ever figure out how to get to the Aquarium. Shuttles from South Station can't work. Using a garage a few blocks away and making the kids see a few other buildings before they arrive won't work. The fish will die from the piles. Anti-urban sea creature lover nimby. Nothing but doom. Who could have guessed?
 
tangent said:
The garage doesn't block anything. There is plenty of access to the waterfront. It is boring and ugly, but the garage serves a vital purpose in making the New England Aquarium a viable tourist attraction accessible by by car. Without the garage the New England Aquarium has to move.

Chiofaro's proposal is a bait and switch proposal. He is just using some pretty pictures that have no basis in reality to push the BRA to give him more square footage.
Click to expand...

In my 31 year existence on this planet, and having grown up in New England, I have never in my life been to the aquarium via car. And I've been there more times than I can count.
 
the garage serves a vital purpose in making the New England Aquarium a viable tourist attraction accessible by by car.
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The garage makes the Aquarium viable? It's an amenity at best.
 
Not sure what is more welcoming the inside of Harbor garage or the Aquarium.

Honestly the Executives of the Aquarium should be under scrutiny at this point.
How much money they swindle from the working class charging insane prices for this shithole?

How can anybody think that those SeaLions are happy swimming in a box wrapped around fiberglass.

Please release the salaries to the Aquarium Executives and lets get the truth out there.
These lazy assholes have done nothing to improve that area.
But complain that a developer wants to redevelop a concrete block on the edge of the Greenway.

Why didn't the executives get off their ass and try to raise the money for the garage?
 
TheRifleman said:
How can anybody think that those SeaLions are happy swimming in a box wrapped around fiberglass.
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I'm going to derail this thread because of the above comment.

It is a scientifically proven fact that these creatures, in most cases, have issues in captivity. That being said, zoos, aquariums, etc. provide are not simply prisons. They expose children to creatures they've only seen in photos, teach them what their ecological functions and values are, and why their conservation is important. In some cases, zoos take on orphaned animals, those who have been mistreated, either as pets or in circuses. They are also involved with important research initiatives and breeding programs for rare/endangered species...the list goes on. Obviously, this is not the case for EVERY zoo/aquarium (I don't know much about the NE Aquarium's programs), but we shouldn't necessarily view them all as one-trick ponies. As humans, we are obligated to continually strive to improve our stewardship of the environment. If these institutions allow us to achieve that goal, sign me up.
 
Money said:
I'm going to derail this thread because of the above comment.

It is a scientifically proven fact that these creatures, in most cases, have issues in captivity. That being said, zoos, aquariums, etc. provide are not simply prisons. They expose children to creatures they've only seen in photos, teach them what their ecological functions and values are, and why their conservation is important. In some cases, zoos take on orphaned animals, those who have been mistreated, either as pets or in circuses. They are also involved with important research initiatives and breeding programs for rare/endangered species...the list goes on. Obviously, this is not the case for EVERY zoo/aquarium (I don't know much about the NE Aquarium's programs), but we shouldn't necessarily view them all as one-trick ponies. As humans, we are obligated to continually strive to improve our stewardship of the environment. If these institutions allow us to achieve that goal, sign me up.
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Then maybe the executives should raise the money and build the SeaCreatures a much more positive atmosphere. The Aquarium development is garbage for these seacreatures.

Maybe at this point the Aquarium Executives should get off their butts and start raising money from our Eductation Institutions around the area. There is no reason why BOSTON should not have a 1st class Aquarium in the region with the amount o money made from Education around the area.

WAKE UP.
 
sm89 said:
I wish it was viable for him to just tare down the garage in the meantime and then propose something later. The Aquarium does not own the garage nor does it have any rights to it. The abutters' demands for public parking are irrelevant. It's not theirs.

Who drives to the aquarium anyway??
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Many patrons who live outside Boston or the surrounding towns. The next-door parking access if important for the families that come into Boston and want to be able to get in and out quickly with strollers and smaller children. I realize that's not how Boston works, but for people who aren't entrenched in Boston life they want to drive in and park near their destination.

I wonder what percentage of Aquarium patrons use the garage. If it's a high enough percentage the Aquarium may view this is a fight for its life.
 
I thought the garage is supposed to be buried. If the spots will still be there, what's the (F######) problem?
 
The garage would be closed during construction and the NEAQ is concerned that the drop-off in visitors during that period would put too much strain on their finances.
 
statler said:
The garage would be closed during construction and the NEAQ is concerned that the drop-off in visitors during that period would put too much strain on their finances.
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Probably more worried about their executive pays. I would love to know what these people make.

The NEAQ employees make garbage but it cost so much money to go to the Aquarium.

How much are these executives making off these seacreatures each year. They are more worried about losing their bonuses.

I would have no problem if these executives were hustling trying to make an awesome environment for the animals but they haven't done anything to make this development 1st class. Hasn't really changed since the 80's (some upgrades)
 
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