115 Federal St. (Winthrop Square)
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Ron Newman
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I've come to like the Pru also, but they've spent the last 10 years correcting their original mistake of building on a platform isolated from the surrounding streets. Why repeat that error somewhere else?
Other than that, I have no objection to this building.
Other than that, I have no objection to this building.
bosdevelopment
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ZenZen said:
A negativist maybe.. a pragmatist probably. If the city isn't willing to part with major tax revenues for projects like these, they don't and won't get done.
I'm sure the final plan will include some residential units, maybe a hotel, which he doens't include in here.
Basically, I agree with him in that we shouldn't hold our breath on a project like this.
cityrecord
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Ron Newman said:
Because historic preservationists are always a convenient punching bag/strawman.
kz1000ps said:
I think it was passed around 10 years ago. The Herald did a shadows-on-the-common story in 1999 when both the SST and Boyston Square were proposed and they mentioned that projects like Millennium Place and One Lincoln were grandfathered in ... both projects were originally proposed in the late 80's.
Ron Newman
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Millennium Place may have inherited some of its permitting from the 'Commonwealth Center' project that was previously proposed for the same site in the 1980s.
Ron Newman said:
I don't see how this project is built "on a platform isolated from the surrounding streets". The write ups I have seen include a ground level green space, with sun light mirrored in from neighboring buildings. Retail is above this level. Its a small lot to build on, its anything but the Pru complex - and there is an existing, intimate street grid around the building. I would see a location like this popular with office workers during the day, and if the building contains housing, residents at night. The top floor observatory would also draw tourists. Its too early to tell if the idea will fail, but the Pru it is not.
whighlander
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Big Surprise
The NIMBY's are going to get a surprise
Governor Romney signed an act last spring that fast tracks the approval process
AND also allowed a proposer to go forward at their own risk while an appeal was filed
This is the big one -- in the past Shadows and other NIMBYs could sue -- lose and then appeal -- the project would be delayed and eventually killed off by delaying tactics
Now there is a new session of the Land Court to reduce the huge initial backlog of cases and the provision for a developer to go forward while an appeal is pending
NIMBY might never be the same
I do have some concerns:
1) no obvious way to make a direct connect to a T stop or multiple T stops
2) doesn't need the ground floor garden -- would do better with an active ground floor retail
3) spire could house high sped elevator taking visitors to the top or it might just be an architectural gimmick
Hopefully the spire will be a glass tube housing a highspeed glass elevator ? sort of Vegas ?style ride to the top where there would be a roof-top Bier Garten ? then Sam Adams, Harpoon, Tremont, etc could buy naming rights for a giant Beer sign ? showing a bier being poured on the exterior of the building ? now that would be Iconic and unique to Boston :idea:
westy
The NIMBY's are going to get a surprise
Governor Romney signed an act last spring that fast tracks the approval process
AND also allowed a proposer to go forward at their own risk while an appeal was filed
This is the big one -- in the past Shadows and other NIMBYs could sue -- lose and then appeal -- the project would be delayed and eventually killed off by delaying tactics
Now there is a new session of the Land Court to reduce the huge initial backlog of cases and the provision for a developer to go forward while an appeal is pending
NIMBY might never be the same
I do have some concerns:
1) no obvious way to make a direct connect to a T stop or multiple T stops
2) doesn't need the ground floor garden -- would do better with an active ground floor retail
3) spire could house high sped elevator taking visitors to the top or it might just be an architectural gimmick
Hopefully the spire will be a glass tube housing a highspeed glass elevator ? sort of Vegas ?style ride to the top where there would be a roof-top Bier Garten ? then Sam Adams, Harpoon, Tremont, etc could buy naming rights for a giant Beer sign ? showing a bier being poured on the exterior of the building ? now that would be Iconic and unique to Boston :idea:
westy
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Wonder if this will play any roll in the process of approving 115 Winthrop or any other proposal?
found here- http://www.boston.com/news/local/ar...ks_and_pay_of_former_menino_operative/?page=1
Critics slam perks and pay of former Menino operative
By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff |
November 16, 2006
Mayor Thomas M. Menino's 2005 campaign manager, who landed a $95,000-a-year job as the chief of staff for the Boston Redevelopment Authority after the election, received a 21 percent raise after six months on the job and was given six weeks leave this fall to work on Democratic senatorial campaigns.
Beth Leonard, 29, worked for several political campaigns, including Senator John Kerry's, before joining the BRA but had no planning or development experience and had never before worked in municipal government. With her recent raise, Leonard is receiving an annual salary of $115,235 to oversee BRA initiatives, development programs, and major projects for the city's planning and development agency, where she is second in command to the executive director, according to her job description on file in the BRA's human resources department.
Leonard was paid a lower rate, corresponding to a three-day work week, during the six weeks she was on leave. She used 18 vacation days, personal days, and holidays to take the leave.
Some critics are raising questions about her salary, raise, and leave, in light of her qualifications and short time on the job.
"That wouldn't happen to any new employee in the city," said Jeff Conley, executive director of the Boston Finance Commission, a business-funded watchdog agency. "This is an excessive example of political payback. It's clearly excessive."
"It's not right on so many levels that it's hard to choose where it's most wrong," said Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. "It seems completely irresponsible."
Menino said that he recommended Leonard for the BRA job because of her organizational skills and that he personally approved her leave to work on political campaigns before the recent midterm elections. The mayor said he felt the director of the BRA, Mark Maloney, could do without her during that period.
Menino said that he had not personally approved her raise but that he did not feel she was being overpaid.
BRA officials say Leonard received the raise as part of an overall compensation review at the agency, designed to bring salaries in line with similar jobs in the private sector. The agency gave raises of 6 to 12 percent to 32 other managers. Officials said Leonard received a higher percentage raise than any of the others because highly trained professionals report to her.
"We're a professional agency that employs lawyers, PhDs, MBAs, and architects, and our salary structure reflects that," BRA spokeswoman Susan Elsbree said.
Her salary now puts Leonard among the top 10 earners at the agency, which has 290 employees and an annual budget of $16 million. She is paid more than many senior managers elsewhere in city government, including the heads of Inspectional Services, Parks, Transportation and Homeland Security, according to payroll records.
Page 2 of 2 --Leonard was recruited in spring 2005 to run Menino's campaign after the mayor's chief political operative, Michael Kineavy, met Leonard while she was working on John Kerry's campaign in Iowa. Her resume lists work on three other campaigns, including a senatorial contest in Louisiana and a governor's race in Washington. Leonard graduated from California Polytechnic Institute at San Luis Obispo in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in developmental psychology and juvenile justice, according to her resume, and earned a master's degree in political management from George Washington University in 2002. During college, she worked at the American Cancer Society as a media coordinator and volunteer organizer, the resume says.
At the BRA, city officials said, Leonard has worked on strategies to draw more businesses to Boston and to connect with those already here and that she has worked on staff development and training programs. They said her campaign experience has equipped her well for her new position and provided her with management tools, including the ability to manage multimillion-dollar budgets, large numbers of people, and motivating people to work together toward common goals.
"Beth Leonard has done a tremendous job as chief of staff and we expect she'll continue to do that," said Kineavy, the mayor's chief of policy and planning.
In an interview this week, Leonard said she did not ask for the raise. "I absolutely chose to come and work for the city," she said. "There were other offers on the table for more."
BRA officials said they believe no other employee has received six weeks' leave or a raise similar in size to Leonard's within the first year of employment, but they could not be certain without sifting through hundreds of personnel files. Elsbree said that the BRA director has the power to make such decisions.
The previous chief of staff at the BRA, Rebecca Lee, was a lawyer with extensive planning and development experience. The experience of four others before her, however, was light on planning and development and heavy on politics, BRA officials said, including Matthew J. O'Neil Jr. who had worked for US Representative Joseph P . Kennedy, and Thomas N. O'Brien, a Dukakis campaign worker whose brother, John, was a state senator. O'Neil resigned after he bought a cut-rate condominium designated for low income buyers. O'Brien, who had been promoted from chief of staff to head of the BRA, also resigned after the condo deal became public.
Wonder if this will play any roll in the process of approving 115 Winthrop or any other proposal?
found here- http://www.boston.com/news/local/ar...ks_and_pay_of_former_menino_operative/?page=1
Critics slam perks and pay of former Menino operative
By Donovan Slack, Globe Staff |
November 16, 2006
Mayor Thomas M. Menino's 2005 campaign manager, who landed a $95,000-a-year job as the chief of staff for the Boston Redevelopment Authority after the election, received a 21 percent raise after six months on the job and was given six weeks leave this fall to work on Democratic senatorial campaigns.
Beth Leonard, 29, worked for several political campaigns, including Senator John Kerry's, before joining the BRA but had no planning or development experience and had never before worked in municipal government. With her recent raise, Leonard is receiving an annual salary of $115,235 to oversee BRA initiatives, development programs, and major projects for the city's planning and development agency, where she is second in command to the executive director, according to her job description on file in the BRA's human resources department.
Leonard was paid a lower rate, corresponding to a three-day work week, during the six weeks she was on leave. She used 18 vacation days, personal days, and holidays to take the leave.
Some critics are raising questions about her salary, raise, and leave, in light of her qualifications and short time on the job.
"That wouldn't happen to any new employee in the city," said Jeff Conley, executive director of the Boston Finance Commission, a business-funded watchdog agency. "This is an excessive example of political payback. It's clearly excessive."
"It's not right on so many levels that it's hard to choose where it's most wrong," said Barbara Anderson, executive director of Citizens for Limited Taxation. "It seems completely irresponsible."
Menino said that he recommended Leonard for the BRA job because of her organizational skills and that he personally approved her leave to work on political campaigns before the recent midterm elections. The mayor said he felt the director of the BRA, Mark Maloney, could do without her during that period.
Menino said that he had not personally approved her raise but that he did not feel she was being overpaid.
BRA officials say Leonard received the raise as part of an overall compensation review at the agency, designed to bring salaries in line with similar jobs in the private sector. The agency gave raises of 6 to 12 percent to 32 other managers. Officials said Leonard received a higher percentage raise than any of the others because highly trained professionals report to her.
"We're a professional agency that employs lawyers, PhDs, MBAs, and architects, and our salary structure reflects that," BRA spokeswoman Susan Elsbree said.
Her salary now puts Leonard among the top 10 earners at the agency, which has 290 employees and an annual budget of $16 million. She is paid more than many senior managers elsewhere in city government, including the heads of Inspectional Services, Parks, Transportation and Homeland Security, according to payroll records.
Page 2 of 2 --Leonard was recruited in spring 2005 to run Menino's campaign after the mayor's chief political operative, Michael Kineavy, met Leonard while she was working on John Kerry's campaign in Iowa. Her resume lists work on three other campaigns, including a senatorial contest in Louisiana and a governor's race in Washington. Leonard graduated from California Polytechnic Institute at San Luis Obispo in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in developmental psychology and juvenile justice, according to her resume, and earned a master's degree in political management from George Washington University in 2002. During college, she worked at the American Cancer Society as a media coordinator and volunteer organizer, the resume says.
At the BRA, city officials said, Leonard has worked on strategies to draw more businesses to Boston and to connect with those already here and that she has worked on staff development and training programs. They said her campaign experience has equipped her well for her new position and provided her with management tools, including the ability to manage multimillion-dollar budgets, large numbers of people, and motivating people to work together toward common goals.
"Beth Leonard has done a tremendous job as chief of staff and we expect she'll continue to do that," said Kineavy, the mayor's chief of policy and planning.
In an interview this week, Leonard said she did not ask for the raise. "I absolutely chose to come and work for the city," she said. "There were other offers on the table for more."
BRA officials said they believe no other employee has received six weeks' leave or a raise similar in size to Leonard's within the first year of employment, but they could not be certain without sifting through hundreds of personnel files. Elsbree said that the BRA director has the power to make such decisions.
The previous chief of staff at the BRA, Rebecca Lee, was a lawyer with extensive planning and development experience. The experience of four others before her, however, was light on planning and development and heavy on politics, BRA officials said, including Matthew J. O'Neil Jr. who had worked for US Representative Joseph P . Kennedy, and Thomas N. O'Brien, a Dukakis campaign worker whose brother, John, was a state senator. O'Neil resigned after he bought a cut-rate condominium designated for low income buyers. O'Brien, who had been promoted from chief of staff to head of the BRA, also resigned after the condo deal became public.
bosdevelopment
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they're all cronies and hacks. I doubt anybody (even the biggest menino sympathizers) thinks otherwise.
Joe_Schmoe
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ablarc said:
Beacuse it's a damn rectangle with a stripe!
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No it's not. It doesn't look anything like the high-modernist buildings that litter downtown.
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Where the hell is the stripe?
The aesthetic problem with the downtown skyline is that it's nothing but flat-topped boxes. Fixing that with another flattop is like fighting fire with fire. It doesn't solve the problem. It just takes it to new heights, and in doing so reasserts the hegemony of the flattop.Scott said:
J
jama
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xec said:
I thought you were supposed to fight fire with fire. A huge building like this would look way too out of character if it was gaudy and crazy. I first thought it was a bit too conservative, but now I think Piano's idea is right - less is more.
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