5-Story Hotel & Park Proposal | Lewis Wharf | North End

Re: Lewis Wharf

It does look pretty in the coloring book style render, but with inevitable value engineering and all, it would come out looking like gaudy, fake Disney World shit.
 
Re: Lewis Wharf

I don't know if this is the same proposal:

Oct 6th North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council agenda:

8. *JW Capital Partners, Lewis Wharf: JW Capital Partners has requested an opportunity to meet with the council to discuss their proposal to develop a boutique hotel and approximately 30-50 residential units on the existing pilings of Lewis Wharf. (Atty. Daniel Toscano, preliminary meeting).
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http://northendwaterfront.com/2014/...lapts-sewer-work-sushi-rock-tias-bottle-bill/
 
Re: Lewis Wharf

Just, wow. The NIMBY's here make the Harbor Towers residents look like Jane Jacobs.

You can read the whole North End article and most of the petition before you actually get to the actual objections of the residents. The 'community's' objections are apparently very vehement. As far as I can tell it basically comes down to blocking the residents views. And possibly construction impacts.

Honestly it is very difficult to understand what their objections are. Most of their views are barely changed and at worst become a landscaped driveway instead of a packed parking lot. Maybe it's losing the view from their pool? Or a more expensive parking space?

From the video and the 'petition', some choice quotes:

"their goal is to build two large buildings .... 55 feet high, connected by a 22 ft high connector".

"This development would significantly eliminate the view and natural vistas of many of the residents of the current North End/Waterfront and thousands of residents of Boston and visitors who enjoy the waterfront every day as they walk along Commercial Street and Atlantic Avenue. This massive development seeks to change the nature and character of our historic residential waterfront neighborhood."

"it will set a precedent for others to build hotels or condominiums on other parking lots and wharf pilings along the waterfront in the North End. This may be appropriate for the Seaport District, where they are converting vacant, commercial parking lots, but it is not appropriate for the historical enclave of the North End/Waterfront residential district."

"Many years of extensive construction and its aftermath are certain to create unprecedented traffic congestion, toxic emissions, and other safety and environmental concerns, not to mention an infestation of rats that will inevitably appear during construction"

And here's a recent comment from a recent petition signer:
"Mary Childs-Mayer, Lewis Wharf - Comments: No Development at Lewis Wharf EVER. The environmental impacts, the traffic congestion and air pollution, the devaluation of condo units; none of these impacts are positive. There is precious green space as it is right now on the Waterfront and it needs to be preserved."

What I find most egregious about these objections is pretending to speak for a broader public good (see HarbourTowers residents as well) and the blatant exaggeration.

I think they would be a lot more persuasive if they simply made their objections clear and specific. Like this: I object to displacing the Boston Sailing Center of which I am a member and a business which adds a lot of character, interest and activity to the neighborhood and harbor. And I object to increasing parking (a 300 car under[water] garage) which is a waste of capital, a burden on the city and likely untenable in light of increased sea levels.

But my objections don't grant me a sense of entitlement or outrage to block the project. In fact I think it would be a great improvement over surface parking.

If, as represented in the plan, the property line wraps the existing residential wharf building to within a few feet then this property was always going to be very awkward for both the existing residents and the parking lot owner, wharf owner to deal with. So both parties should have always been forewarned about the potential for dispute here.

Unfortunately I think this project shows the continued growing anti-development pressure, a la San Fransisco, where existing residents fight to keep things as they are and limit supply to increase property values at both a micro and macro level. Sadly, the result is that these waterfront surface parking lots will never be developed in Boston.
 
Re: Lewis Wharf

But this isn't like Harbor Towers, where the garage is housing utilities. There's no real intermingling of interest here. To Walsh and the BRA's recent credit, it seems like NIMBYs are wielding less power than they did under Menino. Not sure why the developer started to cave in this case, but I think there's a good chance something will be built, and relatively soon too. The scale may be cut down but I don't think the NIMBYs can keep these as parking lots against the tide of developer interest.
 
Re: Lewis Wharf

Personally, I don't really like this project. I think having the North and South Building is fine but the connector kind of blocks off the rest of the wharf from the waters.
 
Re: Lewis Wharf

Shepard said:
But this isn't like Harbor Towers, where the garage is housing utilities. There's no real intermingling of interest here. To Walsh and the BRA's recent credit, it seems like NIMBYs are wielding less power than they did under Menino. Not sure why the developer started to cave in this case, but I think there's a good chance something will be built, and relatively soon too. The scale may be cut down but I don't think the NIMBYs can keep these as parking lots against the tide of developer interest.
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I think it has something to do with Chapter 91 in this case?
 
Re: Lewis Wharf

That means more approvals, but not necessarily more power to NIMBYs - just more opportunity to make noise.
 
Re: Lewis Wharf

Found this on Tumblr, a proposal from 1972 for Lewis Wharf by Carl Koch.

tumblr_nj3yyvYCUY1qe0nlvo1_540.jpg
 
I read the comments following the article, do those who object not realize that much better public access via the new public space and continuation of the Harbor Walk around the proposed buildings jutting over and into the harbor is gonna happen? Or am I missing something that the neighbors living there know about? Looks like a great project for everyone.
 
Gotta say I agree with Kent on this one. The connector is a bit odd. Why not have a nice plaza right in front of the harbor for everyone to enjoy? It essentially becomes a barrier intended to privatize an actually public space, because now you have to circle all the way around to get to the "back" on the water. The space still remains public but is intentionally made difficult to access.
 
We need bars along the waterfront for real pedestrian activation in drawing areas..
and I realize that is a seasonal draw in Boston but if there was a waterfront strip along the coast of bars from the north end down to south station I think that would do wonders for the
city
 
Screw south station actually bring the hypothetical waterfront strip from the north end through to the seaport
 
hockey92 said:
We need bars along the waterfront for real pedestrian activation in drawing areas..
and I realize that is a seasonal draw in Boston but if there was a waterfront strip along the coast of bars from the north end down to south station I think that would do wonders for the
city
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Exactly. I'd love to see more waterfront, open air type bars in Boston. You could have a 6-7 month season of them.
 
They have Nyhavn in Copenhagen, and their weather's shittier than ours.
 
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