585 Commercial St | North End

This is the only private development on the water side of this part of Commercial Street. Everything else on that side is public park land. Also, the North End has a 55-foot height limit.

It's definitely going to be controversial; in fact, it has already led to the firing of a reporter from the neighborhood newspaper, the Regional Review.
 
That is a horrible location

That is just about the ugliest corner in downtown Boston. You have the Brinks garage on one side, Strada234 on the 2nd, the skating rink on the 3rd, and a stagnant pool of ocean in the front.

Parking and driving will be nasty. Too much congestion.
 
what a surprise

Condo Plan Meets Grumbling


Residents cite height, prices as over the top
By Will Kilburn, Globe Correspondent | November 26, 2006

To its developers, the luxury condominium building proposed for a site near the Charlestown Bridge would be a vital addition to the North End.

But many who live nearby don't share that view.

Currently on the lot at 585 Commercial St. is a three-story building that most recently housed law offices and a Roche Bobois furniture store. Under the proposal by the developer, Gilchrest Associates, detailed in a public meeting 10 days ago in the former store's showroom, that building would be razed and an eight-story, 62-unit residence built in its place.

The new development, according to developer Byron Gilchrest , would include several benefits for the neighborhood: a better connection between the North End and the North Station area, and creation of much-needed housing and public amenities such as a restaurant, health club, marina, and small inn.

Each of those, however, was quickly shot down by residents who spoke out, sometimes angrily, during a question-and-answer session after the presentation.

Creating luxury condos, one resident said, does nothing to address the housing shortage. Another bristled at one presenter's characterization of the area as a "dead zone" that would be enhanced by the development, adding, to much applause, that the last thing the neighborhood needs is another restaurant, or to be better linked to the crowds and noise of North Station and the TD Banknorth Garden.

But the most frequent and loudest protests were aimed at the prospective 85-foot height of the project -- 37 feet taller than the existing building and 30 more than current zoning allows. Some residents said it would block their views and wall them off from the harbor. Building to such a height would need to be approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority . One speaker, addressing BRA project manager Kristin Donovan , said the variance and the project appeared to be a done deal as far as the BRA was concerned.

"Why aren't you honoring our height limits? Why aren't you helping us to maintain the character of our neighborhood?" asked Mary McGee , who said she has lived in the neighborhood for 32 years. "We don't want to be an enclave of the entitled. Why can't you understand that it's the real people here who make the North End wonderful?"

After the meeting, Sandra Caso , a lifelong North Ender whose family, she said, has lived in the area for 100 years, repeated a complaint heard often in the North End in recent years.

"With all these big high-rises, they're pushing all the little people out. This is supposed to be a neighborhood, and now they're ruining it."

Two of the dozen or so speakers voiced only mild questions and concerns, and no one spoke in support. But former city councilor Paul Scapicchio , a North End native who is advising the developers as part of his work for the consulting firm, ML Strategies , said the project does have supporters in the neighborhood, even if none chose to voice his or her support during the meeting.

"I think we had a real good cross-section of complaints and suggestions," he said, "from 'Let's take it by eminent domain' to 'The sidewalk configuration could be better.' "

He provided two phone numbers of people who he said were supporters; one didn't return messages, the other declined to comment.

Initially hesitant about taking part, Scapicchio said he changed his mind after being impressed by an earlier Gilchrest Associates project a few blocks away at 44 Prince St.

"After trying to build some good will for 8 1/2 years, I would only do it if it was somebody that listened, was honest, and was going to try to do the best he could with his development," Scapicchio said. "I think this is the first stop on a journey."

Gilchrest said neighbors definitely will have a voice in the project.

"This is a process in which the neighborhood has an opportunity to have input as to what should happen, and I respect that, I really do," he said. "I will take all of those comments seriously, and I will respond to them all one way or another."

? Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.
 
With all these big high-rises....
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O yah, I can't stand those giant high-rises that litter the North End. Next thing we know, a 5-story building will be proposed! Unacceptable!!
 
A five-story building would have attracted little or no controversy, since it would have fit into the North End's long-established 55-foot limit. Does this developer really merit an exception?
 
There are so many cases where it seems like the developer would spend much less time and probably make more money if they stuck to the zoning rules. I think finding a way to make this type of project feasible at 5 stories would make the most business sense and probably win quick approval. Neither 5 or 8 stories will have any impact on the skyline. Only the streetscape is affected for short buildings and that's where the design questions should focus, not on height.
 
People may also see an eight-story private development here as an infringement on public space. Everything else on the water side of this part of Commercial Street is a public recreational area -- tennis courts, swimming pool, bocce courts, baseball diamonds, skating rink, and Harborwalk.

The existing office building is uninteresting, but it's also unobtrusive and easy to ignore.

And yeah, the North End doesn't need more restaurants.
 
I don't have a problem with an 8 story building, but when was the last time a building actually had to conform to zoning laws and didn't get a variance? If there are laws they ought to be enforced. The BRA is such a joke.
 
cityrecord said:
It should work out well for the developers because Romney will only need it until about the end of February 2008.
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Good point :)
 
Can DiMasi ignore ties of friendship in fray over height of condo project?
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter

Friday, December 8, 2006

A proposal for an eight-story high-rise in the North End at 585 Commercial St. - where units will start at $1 million - has sparked an uproar in a neighborhood under siege by such projects.

And all eyes are on House Speaker Sal DiMasi. In addition to being one of Beacon Hill?s most powerful players, DiMasi is powerful in his neighborhood as well, critics say.

DiMasi has said he?s not opposed to the project, but has serious concerns about its height - which would rise above the neighborhood?s 55-foot height limit for new buildings by three stories.

But the betting in the neighborhood is that the speaker may be ready to cut a deal, perhaps if the developer throws in a juicy package of so-called ?community benefits.?

Not so, insisted Aaron Michlewitz, DiMasi?s constituent services chief.

?The speaker is opposed to any developer of 585 Commercial St. exceeding the 55-foot limit. Period. End of story,? the top DiMasi staffer said in a statement.

Still, the lead lawyer on the 585 Commercial project is none other than William Ferullo, the campaign finance chairman for the speaker.

Ferullo has been leading the charge for developer Byron Gilchrest on the development proposal, which would tear down an empty furniture store and build an expensive condo high-rise overlooking the new Greenway park system.

A former law partner of DiMasi?s, Ferullo leads a busy life. He?s helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past year for DiMasi - even as he guards the legal flanks of a major development project.

So it?s not illogical for some North Enders to wonder whether DiMasi will bite the hand that feeds him all those campaign contributions.

The speaker?s staffers can point to two neighborhood projects that Ferullo promoted that went nowhere amid concerns raised by DiMasi.

?They have been friends for decades, but that has never prevented the speaker from opposing projects that Bill has supported,? said Michlewitz, DiMasi?s constituent services chief.

Said Ferullo:?The speaker?s history shows he is not lined up with what I do for a living and the record reflects that. He does not support all the projects I represent.?

Interesting that the three extra floors Gilchrest wants to build at 585 Commercial will feature the most expensive units in a project where it takes a cool million to get in.

We are talking millions in potential condo sales.

?Speaker DiMasi always acts in the best interests of his neighborhood - that?s why he has been elected for the past 28 years,? says Michlewitz.

Stay tuned.

OMG a 8 story building is going to break the 55ft limit and we are all gonna die! This is Nimby to the fullest. So what if it exceeds the 55ft mark. It's the future, time has change and so should restrictions. It's people like these that makes me sick. They act as though a freaking 8 story building will affect their lives drastically. They need to just grow up and shut up.
 
Will it cut off the water views of many current residents? I suspect that's the real issue here. The existing building on this site is considerably shorter than the 55-foot height limit (and therefore shorter than many old North End houses).
 
No

There was a Google Earth image, floating around somewhere, showing that block.

The building across the street is the "Brinks" parking garage; I think it is six stories, but maybe only five. A hill rises up behind the garage. Next door to the garage is a funeral home; I don't know if the dead would complain about an eight-story building.

The Strada234 building on the other corner is ten or eleven stories; it will still be higher than the proposed building at 585 Commercial.

Maybe the developer should have to follow zoning guidelines. However, if anyone deserved to get an exemption, it would be this developer - the spot is the most farthest corner of the North End. It shouldn't have to follow the same zoning requirements, because it is practically in a commercial / industrial area.
 
Strange.. I was going to post a screenshot of the area from Local Live, but no matter what direction you try to view it from, that exact area seems to have no Birds Eye view available.
 
Different approach for North End project
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Wednesday, April 18, 2007


A controversial North End waterfront development proposal is getting an extreme makeover.

Developer Byron Gilchrest has scrapped plans to build a condo high-rise on Commercial Street along the North End?s harborfront, after complaints that it looked like a glass and steel ?wall? along the water.

Instead, Gilchrest has unveiled a new proposal that features red brick on most of its facade and is meant to fit in better with surrounding architecture. The design takes a page from what is arguably the Hub?s most distinctive waterfront project - Rowes Wharf.

In another step, Gilchrest is exploring the shift of the project site - at a cost of at least $2 million - to neighboring, state-owned tennis courts.

He would then rebuild the courts on the site where he had initially proposed building, a former furniture store at 585 Commercial St.

The shift would create a contiguous block of state-owned recreation land along the waterfront.

?I started off with something that was very high-style, New York, Miami,? said Gilchrest, an MIT-trained architect who has helped develop a number of upscale Boston condo projects.

?It?s more Rowes Wharfy,? Gilchrest said.

Gilchrest?s dramatic shift comes in the face of neighborhood concern over his plans, which would exceed a 55-foot height limit aimed at protecting the North End?s historic character.

Gilchrest contends he can?t make the numbers work within that envelope. He added that a number of buildings already exceed that limit.

The new design shows a project varying in height from 55 feet on one end to 95 feet at its peak.

The redesign also comes amid a growing backlash against a profusion of New York-style condo high-rises in Boston.

His previous proposal, Gilchrest acknowledges, looked similar to the InterContinental on Atlantic Ave., wrapped in a blue-tinted glass wall. The new design takes its inspiration from his favorite local architectural gems.

They include not just Rowes Wharf, but also One Charles, Heritage on the Garden and the South End?s Atelier 505.



Link
 
Really?

The redesign also comes amid a growing backlash against a profusion of New York-style condo high-rises in Boston.
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Never heard this, ever before.

Plus, even if true, can anyone name more than two developments?

Right. There aren't any.
 
Please, New York style condo high rise, at 95 feet? He must be joking. We'll never see New York style condo high rises in Boston.
 
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