South Station Tower | South Station Air Rights | Downtown

#bancars said:
that, or unproven battery electric trains...

mass.streetsblog.org

T Considers Battery-Equipped Trains to Accelerate Rail Electrification Plans

Using batteries aboard trains could help the T avoid costly construction of overhead wires in places where they may be difficult to install and maintain, such as near bridges and tunnels.
mass.streetsblog.org
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Obviously, I'd like such battery-powered trains to be in service *elsewhere* first, so that inevitable kinks can be worked out, but as a concept I really like it.
 
themissinglink said:
I really hope that traditional EMU's make their way to the MBTA instead of the BEMU's they want to use.

But I digress...
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One can only hope the incoming administration and corresponding personnel changes it will bring will change direction on the BEMU stupidity. Too late for the trolley buses, though.
 
That concrete arch makes me feel like I am seeing St John the Divine or Haggia Sofia under construction

B072144A-67EF-4BE5-AADA-BB418EA5A891.jpeg
 
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2025Upward said:
There used to be such a joy here. I have followed the Boston skyline for over 20 years, excitedly. Now, that energy has ceased. Boston's Wikipedia pages ("Boston Tallest" to the buildings represented) are rarely updated. I remember in the late '70s when the Citgo sign was no longer allowed to be lit, and Raymond Flynn promised never again would a tall building be built in Boston, and inflation rampant, joy of any kind seemed nowhere to be found - no matter how one identified. I wondered why we see and feel this era cycling in again. Today's article I found really puts the nail in it. ... https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2023/01/11/arthur-jemison-bpda/ ... It's such a puff piece. God forbid this man proves himself to be human or have flaws (as we all do), as this piece will serve as an embarrassment to the author (probably not, of course - ideology runs so deep even when proven wrong as to outcomes for all). Anyway, NOW I get it. The joyful days are over. But, ... "Are you having fun?" (Read article to get the reference.) Much love to those who loved these days. ... and God bless the South Station Tower. It sadly will most likely be the last of this generation, and I'm betting it will be a beauty, going on the architect's gem in Minneapolis. Much love all!
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Eh I disagree, theres more construction going on right now throughout the city and all of its surrounding neighborhoods than at any point I can remember throughout the cycle and whereas before most of the construction was labs/offices/luxury housing around downtown, now there is finally a huge amount of market rate units being built everywhere you look. It fiiiinally feels like something is being done about the housing crisis and that is exciting.
 
2025Upward said:
There used to be such a joy here. I have followed the Boston skyline for over 20 years, excitedly. Now, that energy has ceased. Boston's Wikipedia pages ("Boston Tallest" to the buildings represented) are rarely updated. I remember in the late '70s when the Citgo sign was no longer allowed to be lit, and Raymond Flynn promised never again would a tall building be built in Boston, and inflation rampant, joy of any kind seemed nowhere to be found - no matter how one identified. I wondered why we see and feel this era cycling in again. Today's article I found really puts the nail in it. ... https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2023/01/11/arthur-jemison-bpda/ ... It's such a puff piece. God forbid this man proves himself to be human or have flaws (as we all do), as this piece will serve as an embarrassment to the author (probably not, of course - ideology runs so deep even when proven wrong as to outcomes for all). Anyway, NOW I get it. The joyful days are over. But, ... "Are you having fun?" (Read article to get the reference.) Much love to those who loved these days. ... and God bless the South Station Tower. It sadly will most likely be the last of this generation, and I'm betting it will be a beauty, going on the architect's gem in Minneapolis. Much love all!
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This post is a perfect example of why many posters get so frustrated with the height fetishists. Boston is exploding in an interesting and dynamic way, with entirely new neighborhoods, entertainment centers, and population nodes being built, and you don't care because none of them have a building taller than the Hancock.
 
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Anyways, fever dreams aside, doesn’t it seem like the new steel framing on the outside of the giant arch will obscure the scale of the arched support? I presume those large steel cross beams will remain, which would be too bad. Having that large vaulted section visible from the street would be really cool.
 
Justbuildit said:
Anyways, fever dreams aside, doesn’t it seem like the new steel framing on the outside of the giant arch will obscure the scale of the arched support? I presume those large steel cross beams will remain, which would be too bad. Having that large vaulted section visible from the street would be really cool.
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I would imagine those are just erection beams and will come down once the main steel is structurally acceptable to stand on its own. Tubes are way too small to be permanent I think
 
@2025Upward, as a mod, I think that comments around the South Station Tower belong here, but an extended discussion on height and the BPDA belong in the thread: How Tall Are Boston's Buildings and Should They Be Taller? or a BPDA thread And the taunting "really?" emotion-heavy, content-lite comments (and responses) don't belong anywhere here because they don't really have a topic I could slot them into. And no, let's not "let the insults fly" unless they buy a ticket on new service from Logan.
 
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The origin of this thread goes back to 2006 and I would have bet that this tower would never have been built just a few short years ago given all the hurdles. I think we're fortunate that we can watch this one go up considering that there is a trend now to significantly scale back with office demands.

As an example:
www.costar.com

Salesforce To Cut Office Space and Lay Off Employees

San Francisco Software Firm Occupies Roughly 3.8 Million Square Feet Nationally
www.costar.com www.costar.com
 
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2025Upward said:
Agreed. Shame the FAA has such control over everything but Back Bay. It will be a beauty, though. If you look up South Station Tower page on Wikipedia, it references Minneapolis one by same architect. Would love some of those lighting features at night! I just have a feeling this one will be a gorgeous building everyone will appreciate, and become iconic
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The Minneapolis tower has the benefit of having more opaque cladding material for light to cast onto at night. This is all glass so you really won't be able to get the dramatic effects on each setback that you see there.
 
Pelli's best work seems to have been from the late 1980's through early 1990's, particularly with Minneapolis' Wells Fargo Center, Cleveland's Key Tower, and Charlotte's Bank of America Tower. Something similar in massing and materials to these 3 would work well in Boston, and a be a break from the over-proliferation of glass.

Pelli also notably designed the (one time fraudulent world's tallest) Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, and the supertall Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. I just prefer the earlier buildings with the stone than these glassier/metallic offerings.

I don't see South Station Tower being among his greatest hits, but I think it will come out reasonably well in the scheme of things.
 
DZH22 said:
Pelli's best work seems to have been from the late 1980's through early 1990's
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I wonder if he actually had any input on the project? This project has been around for so long, and so many iterations, but he died in 2019. The firm itself has an above average amount of rinse and repeat corporate fare: Salesforce - San Francisco, ICF - Hong Kong, Grand Torre - Santiago, 30 Hudson - Jersey City, and on and on. This definitely speaks much of the same language as those others. You get a Pelli, and YOU get a Pelli! Sadly this will not make it a visually memorable project despite the amazing engineering that is happening. One Congress on the other hand...
 
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