115 Federal St. (Winthrop Square)

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It had nothing to do with any of those things - not because it is a bad idea or because of a lengthy and difficult approval process. The only reason it received only one bid is because a 1,000 footer on the Winthrop Square Garage site really only works (i.e., becomes a good idea) if it is combined with an adjacent developable parcel; there is only one such parcel and Belkin controls it. There were many developers interested in this project - many who called on Belkin to team up with him, but Belkin wanted to go it alone.
 
@Dirtywater- Exactly. The garage site alone doesn't provide many options for a 1000 foot tower.

The catch, however, is that the man who owns the adjacent parcel won the bid and wants to develop it (Belkin) is now facing opposition against knocking down the building on that lot. It's amazing how difficult it is to get anything done here.
 
Lrfox said:
The garage site alone doesn't provide many options for a 1000 foot tower.

The catch, however, is that the man who owns the adjacent parcel won the bid and wants to develop it (Belkin) is now facing opposition against knocking down the building on that lot. It's amazing how difficult it is to get anything done here.
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A little creative architectural thinking might allow both a profitable tower and preservation of Rudolph's building.
 
Creative thinking? You're probably right, but what are the odds of creative thinking actually taking place on this? Especially since Piano's gone.
 
Lrfox said:
Creative thinking? You're probably right, but what are the odds of creative thinking actually taking place on this? Especially since Piano's gone.
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Might be a job for Pelli.

Or Stern?
 
Pelli would be nice. 181 West Madison always struck me as the type of building that would work in Boston (maybe because it resembles 1 Lincoln to me a bit). SST is also looking like a good fit. Sign him up. He's done wonders for London.
 
SST is gonna look great. We need a new really tall skyscraper in downtown. I was getting sick of looking at the same skyline my whole life haha
Where is 181 West Madison?
 
Unbelievable...

Tower shadow an issue: Boston Common law lies in way
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Thursday, May 24, 2007 - Updated: 12:59 AM EST

A proposed 1,000-foot tower in downtown Boston, dubbed Tommy?s Tower, could run afoul of a state law that bars new buildings that would cast additional shadows on Boston Common, the project?s developer is now acknowledging.

Travel and credit tycoon Steve Belkin, in a recent appearance on the local public affairs show ?Greater Boston? on WGBH-TV, said preliminary studies show the proposed 75-story tower, would cast a shadow for roughly 15 minutes in the morning. Mayor Thomas M. Menino proposed the 1,000-foot tower last year, earning the project its nickname.

A 1990 law prohibits additional shadows being cast on the Public Garden, while severely limiting the amount of shadows that can be cast on the Common from new development.

The Herald first reported the tower, seen as a legacy project for Menino, could face problems under the Boston Common shadow law.

?It really does not cast that much of a shadow, but there are rules,? Belkin told ?Greater Boston? host Emily Rooney. He later called it ?one of the hurdles we have to get over? but said he was ?optimistic.?

The tower project is being closely watched by the Friends of the Boston Public Garden, the group that helped push the shadow law through.

?There is a law in place that we all worked very hard to put in place,? said Henry Lee, head of the nonprofit, who has met with Belkin. ?It?s very hard to look the other way for any particular development.?

Belkin could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman, in a statement, said a new study on the tower?s shadow impact is now being prepared.
 
I love when SvV writes things like "dubbed Tommy's Tower." Talk about self-reference.
 
15 minutes, eh? Seems like they can just cut off one of the top corners of the building to get around that haha.

nyc035.JPG
(I never said it would make the tower look better :) )
 
I'm told that the Globe Magazine this sunday will be about Boston developments in 10 years and will have a large diagram of 115 Winthrop.
 
It's laws like this that make me hate people so very much. This is why we can't have nice things.
 
That shadowmonger Belkin needs to be stopped from further smothering our beloved Public Garden in cool and pleasant shade.

After that, we should move on to removing the far-and-away most egregious shadow-casters on the Public Garden: Trees -- or as I like to call them, the Sun Thieves. No Bostonian should ever be denied their God-given civil right of having the scorching, blinding, blazing summer sun relentlessly beating down on their face like a white-hot hammer.

Amen.
 
Anything that stops this un(in)spired monstrosity from happening is welcome.

justin
 
It's amazing how stupid some people can be. Why not level all the highrises around the park? THEY ALL CAST SHADOW ON IT! It's 15 freaking minutes. They might as well complain that the earth casts a shadow on the park at night.

Is there a way to form our own group in support of this tower because the only groups in Boston are all anti-growth.
 
I would be interested in joining and contributing to a group to counter the NIMBY's.


I think that is the only way we can get things done. If NIMBY's can form a group i sure think we are capable of it.
 
I dont see any reason why we couldnt start some sort of lobby group. I'd be down.

but i think theres one slight problem. most of 'us' are under 25 and have no pull whatsoever. unless there's some high rollers I'm unaware of amongst us. besides we dont have the numbers.
 
Bobby Digital said:
I dont see any reason why we couldnt start some sort of lobby group. I'd be down.

but i think theres one slight problem. most of 'us' are under 25 and have no pull whatsoever. unless there's some high rollers I'm unaware of amongst us. besides we dont have the numbers.
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you don't need pull, you need initiative, time and a little ingenuity about how you get your word out. you'd be surprised how much the Mayor of Boston will pay attention to a group that is persistent enough to make a little noise.

i ran one such group at 23. what it took was two committed unpaid part-timers, and the time to do the forms for a 501(c)(3) non-profit + bylaws and walk them in to Ashburton Place w/a small check. we then got fancy with a fax modem and started soliciting the business community using overnight fax blasts asking for donations and for people to sit on the "advisory committee". with that (and a ink jet printer) we were off and running, all the way, eventually, to an evening at the Parkman House attended by the Mayor.

Can be done if you want to do it. why not take the board a bit further?
 
You'd really have to be motivated to follow through on this. Fact is, I would suspect that this is more of a hobby for most of us. We don't need a 1,000 ft. tower, we'd just really like to see it. NIMBYs are fighting to save something that they love.
That being said, I love to help any way I could. First thing you need is a name. Any ideas?

And are most of you really under 24?
 
yea your right we dont necessarily need pull, but it helps a whole lot. that being said.... if one person stepped forward (someone responsible and with some SERIOUS inititive) we could get the ball rolling. I'd support it and help out where I could. Who wants to spearhead it? And it doesnt JUST have to be about this tower. That could be a start and then we could go after more projects.

maybe one of the college kids on here with a bit more time on their hands could step forward.
 
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