100 Pier 4 | 136-146 Northern Avenue | Seaport

Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

BostonUrbEx said:
So does Anthony's close up this location for good, or do they move into one of the new places? If I recall correctly, they have a Swampscott waterfront location as well.
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The article mentions that since the residential building (ex office building) near Seaport Blvd is getting built first, Anthony's doesn't have to close immediately. When it comes time to build the park (and thus tear the building down), it says they may relocate to another on-site location in the new development.

From what I've read on UHub so far, the restaurant has a pretty strong group of haters.

Anyway, I'm really glad New England Development is doing this. They're a great development company and are responsible for the wildly successful CambridgeSide complex.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Sicilian said:
Yes, this makes me quite happy.

If I were to complain it would be that it's apartments, not owner occupied.

But I'm not complaining.
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This is just what I said would happen. As the place becomes more desirable for people, and not just a transit point, residential development will come, but you can't force it just because we are worried that it won't happen. The market is working.

ETA

I absolutely love the renderings. Every time I look at them, I get excited and think that this neighborhood could turn out pretty well.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Of all the current property owners & developers operating on the Waterfront aka Seaport aka Innovation District, I'm most optimistic that Karp / NE Development will pull something out that sets a new standard.

Good vibes here.

As for the parkspace in the Seaport, I've mentioned before that the greenspace in the Seaport Public Realm Plan is entirely adequate for the 27-30m square feet of development. It is largely useable space and useless plazas/setbacks are discouraged. I have no problem believing those spaces will be well loved and used, particularly if residents are abundant.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

The park in the rendering is quite small and really more of a spot to enable access to the harbor. It appears to be appropriate scale and something that should enhance the human experience. I'll say it again, I really like this.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

There will undoubtedly be Vertex employees living in this tower... It seems like Fan Pier was really the answer to the Seaport all along!
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

this area is going to turn into america's largest gated community

Charles River Park gonna be a drop in the pond compared to this land grab
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Bubbybu said:
this area is going to turn into america's largest gated community
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How so? I'm not suggesting I love the Fan Pier development to date, but there have been some recent successes among the South Boston waterfront district developments that have certainly boosted pedestrian traffic. And as far as can be told, Pier 4 looks good.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

How many people work next door to where they live? I don't know of any. Maybe Vertex employees will move there, I don't know. Not many. Some people who live in the South End work in mid-Back Bay, so maybe I'm wrong. But even that has some distance between the two worlds.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

I think Bubby is referring to the fact that the eventual residential Seaport will be nothing but a luxury enclave. Angers me too. Can we have a residential tower or two without parking, without full-service amenities, without Italian finishes, without the you-can-gaze-off-your-balcony-towards-your-yacht-moored-at-the-marina pretensions? it would go so much further towards diversifying the area than the arbitrary "affordable lottery" can.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Realistically, waterfront real estate is much too expensive for it not to be luxury, unless you live in Miami with a glut of empty luxury condos turned apartments that have invigorated a forgotten downtown. That wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to Boston, either...
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

I think what disappoints me is that, in our lifetimes, we really are only going to get one shot to see the waterfront developed and what we are going to probably get is the same disconnect as if there were still rusty shipyards and warehouses down there.

I don't see what incentive there will be for city residents and tourists to visit the area if city hall is so desperate to get stuff built that they'll just spread their legs for these developers and their half-cocked low density, lousy sidewalk, luxury plans. Look at the ICA...it's destined to be smothered by surrounding developments. Residential docks adjacent to a museum? That is garbage planning.

Jimmy's Harborside was a great addition but to me its still something that has a small radius and none of the other things in the works, with the area's limited public transportation, will get me down there.

It just looks like one big poorly planned missed opportunity that will serve a select few and end up as quiet as Kendall Square
 
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Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Bubbybu said:
It just looks like one big poorly planned missed opportunity that will serve a select few and end up as quiet as Kendall Square
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The very fact Kendall Square is constantly cited as a success and example to follow is why the same mistakes will be allowed to repeat themselves at the Seaport.

The amount of occupied square footage in Kendall is the benchmark of how well things are progressing. No one cares that it's a seemingly random collection of buildings that appear to have arisen with no awareness of anything surrounding them.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

yea, it's all perfectly functional for each individual entity. ppl and companies get the cachet of waterfront living and we get another sign by the road that says 'If you lived here you'd be home now'
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Bubbybu said:
I don't see what incentive there will be for city residents and tourists to visit the area if city hall is so desperate to get stuff built that they'll just spread their legs for these developers and their half-cocked low density, lousy sidewalk, luxury plans. Look at the ICA...it's destined to be smothered by surrounding developments. Residential docks adjacent to a museum? That is garbage planning.

Jimmy's Harborside was a great addition but to me its still something that has a small radius and none of the other things in the works, with the area's limited public transportation, will get me down there.

It just looks like one big poorly planned missed opportunity that will serve a select few and end up as quiet as Kendall Square
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To visit/utilize an area, people have to have a reason to be there and a means to get there. This area will have plenty of reasons to visit, IMO. They're overdoing it a bit on the restaurants, but places to eat provide incentive to visit. The presence of the ICA helps, as does the BofA Pavilion (no one ever seems to mention that). There's also some call for out-of-towners to use this area due to the BCEC and hotels.

Access to the waterfront will be subpar until the T builds a rail-based system to access it... so not in our lifetimes. If they can get the pedestrian bridge fixed up, there could be some fairly easy pedestrian access from South Station and Aquarium. The Harborwalk is not a "lousy sidewalk" in this area and will only get better. From what I've seen, the pedestrian facilities around OneMPD aren't horrible.

There should be a decent pull for local residents to visit from time to time. Bringing more affordable housing options into the picture would be unfeasible on the water and would in all likelihood lower the already mediocre aesthetics in the area.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

All I thought about today was that the Seaport is already too developed to handle the amount of traffic it needs to handle. Without public transportation, all we can hope for is endless gridlock.

Yeah, there's an image for you.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Interesting.

I've noticed a fairly recent steady and marked increase in backups on Exit 23 off 93-S turning into the Seaport, sometimes snaking down the ramp into the right lane of the tunnel.

If I had the energy I used to, I'd suggest convening a forum to revisit public transit on the Seaport.

During the planning dialogs from 1995-2000, access was often seen as the gating factor in density -- not the FAA height limitations. And that made the necessity for residential development greater because it was expected that people would desire "walking to work."

"Walking to work" could be the thing that drives Seaport development in the right direction. Access is a MAJOR issue and builiding wide boulevards doesn't address the bottleneck we're already seeing in the exits, bridges and South Boston streets.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

Walking to work would be fantastic. I find myself daydreaming about it from time to time. The A Street high rise intrigued me if built.

But, I don't think I could go back to condo living.

Probably will never happen because I neither make enough money nor poor enough. Can't afford the going rate, and don't qualify for low income housing. So I stay a commuter into the neighborhood.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

You might want to poke around a bit. There are some gems in the area, particularly those in rehabbed wharf buildings.

For example, in conjunction with the A street high rise will be a smaller apt building at 63 Melcher as part of the project. Apt sizes are smaller and the building is a rehab so it will likely be more affordable. Maybe they'll have some pre-construction offers to build early interest.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

SeamusMcFly said:
Probably will never happen because I neither make enough money nor poor enough. Can't afford the going rate, and don't qualify for low income housing. So I stay a commuter into the neighborhood.
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Ah, the beauty of middle class.
 
Re: New residential mid-tower set for Pier 4

I guess we'll see how the Silver Line functions when the destination is the seaport and not airport -- that D St crossing at grade will need to be be fixed and soon
 
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