[ARCHIVED] Harbor Garage Redevelopment | 70 East India Row | Waterfront | Downtown

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Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

BostonUrbEx said:
I'm always amazed by how we have quintessential New England fishing village type stuff, such as this lighthouse, with a backdrop consisting of one of the world's important economic engines. I mean, how cool is that?
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It's definitely quite cool. Boston's mix of old & new world is one of the (many) things that makes me love it.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

More renders from the project's website: http://www.harborgarageproject.com/status/

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Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Now I see why the initial renderings included only one angle- these things are beasts! The width of the residential tower in particular is a bit of a shock. Not a nasty shock, but a shock nonetheless.

That said, the facade treatments are beautiful- I love the terracotta.

Interesting to see a bit of a different perspective regarding the original proposal, too.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Equilibria said:
"Don and company co-founder Ted Oatis are refining the project (temporarily dubbed Harbor Square) to pass muster with the city, state, and waterfront stakeholders, aiming to start 36 months of construction by late ‘15."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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I know there is a lot of opposition from the nearby residents but why is it laughable that construction could start on this in about a year and a half from now?
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

I would love for these to get built like this but we all know they will be dumbed down. This looks like the old Gov't Center Garage towers design and we all saw what happened to that.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

vanshnookenraggen said:
I would love for these to get built like this but we all know they will be dumbed down. This looks like the old Gov't Center Garage towers design and we all saw what happened to that.
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New mayor...game on
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

They do seem fat...I like how they look sleek from the water...way too wide from the sides...Boston needs more tall slender structures
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

617 said:
They do seem fat...I like how they look sleek from the water...way too wide from the sides...Boston needs more tall slender structures
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But can he go slender and still get the density he needs without going taller. If the city and neighbors had to pick one, would they pick taller more slender towers (say in the 700 foot range) or shorter but wider towers (in the 500-600 range). I am no architect but must wonder whether he can make the economics work without taller or wider towers.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

It's unfortunate how fat these are but that's what you get when you have to shrink the height (and it would get much much worse if the Harbor Tower residents win and restrict it to 200 ft). That being said, I think the first design was even more horrendous even though they were skinnier.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

I don't think you can go taller bc of the FAA...it seems that's it's these or the garage...they are much better than the previous plan but I can't picture this development in person.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

I think if they can dimple to middle somehow in both buildings (a la 125 High Street) it would make it more aesthetically pleasing.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

BosDevelop said:
I know there is a lot of opposition from the nearby residents but why is it laughable that construction could start on this in about a year and a half from now?
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Because the nearby residents who are opposing him effectively have an ownership stake in the garage until 2022. They have absolute veto power over anything he builds, regardless of whether he intends to replace the parking spaces and HVAC system in the new buildings.

It's conceivably possible that the HT residents could be threatened or cajoled into letting the garage come down before the term is up, but I sincerely doubt that happens by next year.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

KentXie said:
I think if they can dimple to middle somehow in both buildings (a la 125 High Street) it would make it more aesthetically pleasing.
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125 High Street is easily one of the ugliest highrises in our city. Not a fan in the slightest, no matter what side of it I'm looking at. I can't be the only person who feels that way? This does not belong in the same sentence with the words "aesthetically pleasing".
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Kz, thanks for the renders.

It's hard to understand how chunky these appear when they each have a relatively small footprint. The south facade of the residential/hotel is as wall-like as Waterside Place and twice as high.

I'm reviewing a Four Seasons Residences design (by a starchitect) converting an existing building, and based on the major proposed alterations to the window pattern in that building, I can say that Chiofaro's proposed fenestration for the hotel/residences tower would seem to be a non-starter, particularly if he wants high-end tenants. Chiofaro's fenestration pattern is more suitable for a penitentiary.

Other changes, besides shape, form, and cladding, from last month's version: The stairs-to-the sea seem to have gone away, as has the multi-season arcade (though the glass is still there). The open space, as he defines it, is now 50 percent of the site, rather than the 47 percent of last month.

The parking garage entrance and exit is on Milk St, on the north side of the office tower. The existing garage has portals on Milk and on East India Row. There are no loading docks on the site plan..

A minor nit. His 'resiliency' plan calls for sloping the sidewalk on Atlantic Ave away from the building I don't think that's allowed on a city sidewalk. And please, don't cite sandbags as a design feature to protect against storm surge.
 
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Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

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1964, before HT. When the Custom House Tower was the tallest building around.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

stellarfun said:
Other changes, besides shape, form, and cladding, from last month's version: The stairs-to-the sea seem to have gone away, as has the multi-season arcade (though the glass is still there). The open space, as he defines it, is now 50 percent of the site, rather than the 47 percent of last month.
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I'm pretty sure both are still there. All the front page renders are the ones from before, and the gap between the buildings on the floor plan shows the sawtooth exterior wall of the courtyard, as well as cross-beams to support the roof. The steps are still in all of the renders of the building, while the diagrams only show the structures themselves and thus wouldn't show the steps.

Not that I expect either feature to make it to construction, but they're still there at this point.

Also, I'm aware that the inset shows the windows where the opaque walls are most closely spaced, but floor-to-ceiling glass 15 feet high is a penitentiary to you? That's probably where the bathrooms would be in each unit.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

That photo is making my head spin.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

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Now I'm not saying they are perfect but everyone seems to vilify them in a way I can't really understand. The garage is bad and I welcome this new development but why the hate for the towers? I'm a fan of Pei's Silver Towers in NYC, though I will agree that it suffers from the standard post War urban planning mistakes. If anything I think the HT would have been more successful had the third tower been built as it would have completed the harmony between the towers.

The other thing about the HTs is because they have such a small footprint that the harbor really opens up when you are walking though. The plaza isn't perfect (it could be redesigned to be more engaging with the water) but it does have this wonderful pocket park feel to it giving you an intimate experience with the harbor.

While the towers themselves are bland they at least aren't as bad as others, namely the obese 1-5 Longfellow Place in West End.

After seeing the detailed renderings of the Boston Arch 2.0 (we are going to have to change this tread title when they come up with a better name) I totally understand why the residents would be up in arms. These new towers are pretty dense, a density that would work on the other side of the Greenway but is rather dominating right on the waterfront. I certainly don't agree with the low height restrictions imposed on the Greenway today but it seems to me a single tower would be more appropriate.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Looking at the new plan further I think I really dislike the winter garden. Why build it in the middle of the two towers, why not do something more engaging on the Milk St side? There is already a plaza there that connects well with the Greenway and building a winter garden inside the building would only segregate pedestrians. Why not build it perpendicular through the site so that there is a much better connectivity between the Aquarium and the new towers? Seeing the harbor isn't the end-all-be-all. The parallel winter garden gives me the feeling that Chifaro is just trying to capture all the pedestrian activity for himself and have a detrimental effect on the successful public space already there.
 
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