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

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Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Nice! This seems to be one of the biggest developments in Boston by cost. Is there any current project over $900 million? (I think only Columbus Center comes close)
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Yes there are several larger projects currently ahead of Chiofaro - Seaport Square, Government Center Garage to name two. Chiofaro doesn't have a hope for this project because of the regulatory constraints on the site. His partner Prudential will get wise to this pretty fast, it's their money....
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Seems you're new, townie, welcome if you are.

I have the same feeling in my gut. I doubt he could raise $900m in funds in this financial crisis, let alone get approved for such a big project. But one can hope.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

thanks kennedy, I've always read a couple of the threads on here and enjoy folks' views. Just seems awfully ambitious after the Belkin thing went nowhere and even the most experienced developers can't get anything off the ground in the US (certainly not unique to Boston!). Good time to plan I suppose...
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

im not a fan of height between the greenway and the waterfront, i like the waterfront the way it is atm, i think we need to focus the height anywhere between downtown and the prudential center, and not end up with some unsightly mega tower alone on one side of the greenway that ruins the whole skyline.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

I wouldn't expect there to be too much height proposed at this location. I feel like the "85 stories" rumor was started by those who oppose this development in order to kill it before it ever started.

At the same time, $900m is a hefty price tag.

Maybe Chiofaro is planning on using the method that has been mentioned before on this website: Propose something really tall that won't ever be approved, and have it get knocked down to a more manageable height.

Still, I'm excited to see what he's got proposed for this site. This project has the opportunity to become the #1 destination for the waterfront and the new Greenway.

Next prime development opportunity: Long Wharf Marriot. Located right on the Greenway and adjacent to Christopher Columbus park the water.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

I'm conflicted. I think at one point I was pretty anti-tower here but now I think this could be a real landmark like the Goldman Sachs Tower in Jersey City:



Pardon the half-assed photoshop.
 
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Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Chiofaro seeks OK for 2 waterfront skyscrapers
By Thomas Grillo
Thursday, January 8, 2009


A Boston developer wants to transform the Boston Harbor Garage into a pair of towers and is promising $28 million in new taxes and 3,500 permanent jobs for the city.

The Chiofaro Co. is seeking approval for a 1.5 million-square-foot waterfront development adjacent to the New England Aquarium that would overlook the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

?It will be an iconic and dramatic building,? said Donald Chiofaro, co-owner of International Place, a pair of office towers just across the Greenway in the Financial District.

If approved, the existing seven-story concrete parking garage would be replaced with a $900 million mixed-use development consisting of two towers with 70,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, 860,000 square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel and 100 condominiums. Nearly all of the lost parking spaces would be replaced in an underground garage, Chiofaro said.

The centerpiece of the complex would be a 20,000-square-foot courtyard that creates an avenue to the harbor.

Chiofaro declined to provide a rendering of the project or reveal the height of the towers, but neighbors who have seen the latest design say the two glass skyscrapers range from 40 to 50 stories.

Located at 70 East India Road, the existing garage contains 1,380 parking spaces and 30,000 square feet of first floor retail.

Chiofaro and Prudential Real Estate purchased the garage for $153 million in 2007 and originally he floated a plan for an 85-story building.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino and officials from the Boston Redevelopment Authority declined to comment on the latest proposal, but Menino had said the initial design for the project was ?too tall.?

The BRA is developing zoning guidelines for the Greenway that will dictate the height of buildings along the area that was once home to the Central Artery.

Vivian Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association, said the permitting process will take two years and, by then, the capital markets may be more willing to loan money.

?Two years from now, the availability of financing will be much different than today,? she said. ?If not, then we are on our way to another Great Depression.?


Link
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

tmac9wr said:
I wouldn't expect there to be too much height proposed at this location. I feel like the "85 stories" rumor was started by those who oppose this development in order to kill it before it ever started.
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Obviously I'm just speculating, but 1.5m sq. ft. over two towers doesn't lead to too much height (unless super narrow). If like the harbor towers these are similar heights to each other. With relatively small 20,000 sq. ft. floor plates, two 37 storey towers would equal 1.5m pretty fast. Plus the plan sounds like it may have a decent sized (possibly shared) podium where retail, courtyard, and other public spaces would be.

Also, parking is planned, but does not seem to be included in the total square footage mentioned.

Of course maybe they might propose 25 and 45 storey towers to allow for a step up effect either away from the water front or the greenway. Always fun to speculate until they release something a little more concrete (which based on this developers past projects it's sure to incorporate plenty of concrete....)
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Anything would look better at this point than that Garage.

This is a landmark site for the greenway.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Banker & Tradesman - January 5, 2009
$900M, Twin-Tower Project Proposed For Harbor Garage
By Paul McMorrow
Banker & Tradesman Staff Writer

Don Chiofaro notified City Hall today that his company would like to build two towers, with a combined 1.5 million square feet of mixed-use space, on the site of the Harbor Garage in downtown Boston.

The Chiofaro Co. proposes to replace the seven-story, 1,380-car garage with 860,000 square feet of office space, 220,000 square feet of residential space, 70,000 square feet of retail space and a 350,000-square-foot hotel. The project would be spread over a combined hotel/residential tower and an office tower, and include restaurants, retail, and a market on the ground floors, with parking and service docks below grade, according to a letter of intent filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Chiofaro estimated the cost of the project at $900 million.

The letter does not specify how tall the two planned towers would be, but it allows that the project will need variances for height and floor area ratio. Previous descriptions of the project put its height between 40-85 stories, making it higher than the neighboring Harbor Towers. Harbor Towers was originally envisioned as a three-tower complex, though only two were built.

The letter predicts the generation of $30 million in new tax revenue, promising to bring ?new vibrancy and much needed retail? to the waterfront. Chiofaro said the project may also create up to 4,000 construction jobs and will include an outdoor courtyard and indoor public space.

Parking for residents of Harbor Towers will be ?provided at all times,? Chiofaro said. He also said the company has a ?moral obligation? to provide public parking for the nearby New England Aquarium.

Administration officials had no immediate comment. In September, BRA Director John Palmieri called the 1.3 acre parcel ?not a place to accommodate great height,? telling Banker & Tradesman, ?At this stage, Don is interested in doing a fairly substantial development at the garage. Our concern has to do with height, massing and density because of its location.?

The Chiofaro Co. purchased the garage at 70 East India Row, across from the Rose Kennedy Greenway, last year for more than $150 million.

Last fall, Chiofaro also bid on a Massachusetts Turnpike air rights parcel, proposing to build a 30-story tower over the roadway in Boston?s Back Bay.
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Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

When it comes to this location I become somewhat of a NIMBY....

I wanna give them the benefit of the doubt though and wait until a rendering is public before I start yapping...

All I am hoping for is that the towers are neither boxy nor much taller than 40 stories

The ground level being well designed is an obvious must....

I liked reading this:

"The centerpiece of the complex would be a 20,000-square-foot courtyard that creates an avenue to the harbor"

If only they could just implode the IMAX, Aquarium and Harbor Towers and just start that entire Central Wharf over again....


ps why does this get coverage in the papers while from what I gather the latest Congress Street Garage renderings have not?
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Boston Globe - January 8, 2009
Builder plans 2 towers at Greenway; size unclear

By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | January 8, 2009

Donald J. Chiofaro, who developed International Place, yesterday proposed building two towers with condos, offices, stores, and a hotel near the New England Aquarium.

The 1.5 million-square-foot complex would be built on land now occupied by the Harbor Garage, facing the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. Chiofaro would replace the 1,400 parking spaces with an underground garage. While he would not say how tall the towers would be, Chiofaro indicated he would seek the city's permission to build above the 15 stories allowed by zoning. The size of the towers, and how they interact with the Greenway, will be scrutinized by city planners and residents who live in the nearby Harbor Towers condominiums.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, concerned about development overshadowing the Greenway, has hired consultants to create height and design guidelines for parcels along the Greenway, which stretches from Chinatown to North Station.

City officials would not comment yesterday.

Chiofaro said the towers would front on Atlantic Avenue, with a 100-foot gap between them that could be used as a courtyard. According to papers he filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, one tower would have a 200-room hotel and 220,000 square feet of condominiums on its upper floors. The second tower would contain 860,000 square feet of office space. Both buildings would have retail shops on the ground floor, and Chiofaro wants to include restaurants and a food market, such as a Whole Foods.

"We want a lot of activity and vitality going straight through to the water," Chiofaro said of the development. "We want cafes and people eating and listening to music and having a good time."

Part of the existing garage would remain open during construction to comply with legal requirements to provide parking for Harbor Towers residents.

Chiofaro said he hopes to begin construction within three years.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
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BTW, the comments on Boston.com are as always, um, enlightening.
 
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Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

I really hope these aren't twin towers...release the damn renderings!

P.S. I was looking at the Boston.com conversation..why do people seem to hate International Place so much? Was there some amazing architectural gem there before? Why the hate?
 
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Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

funny there was a parking garage there too before International place (which I happen to like!) simular to the now demolished bedford st garage
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

tmac9wr said:
P.S. I was looking at the Boston.com conversation..why do people seem to hate International Place so much? Was there some amazing architectural gem there before? Why the hate?
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I know a lot of people don't like the jokey Palladian windows, other then that I have no idea.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

The jokey Palladian windows were another "F---- You Boston!" by Philip Johnson.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

I like International Place...I know it's not the prettiest development of all time, but some of the people on Boston.com were acting like it's the most devastating project to ever hit the city.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

The jokey Palladian windows were another "F---- You Boston!" by Philip Johnson.
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Um, but Johnson lived here when he wasn't in CT or NY (they just put the plaque on his old house in Cambridge). And the Palladian windows were an expression of the classical kitsch that was tres chic at the time. Thankfully Johnson actually knew how to do pomo professionally; you can't ever really take those windows seriously. Stern's miniature State House dome on Boylston St., on the other hand, looks like a cartoon.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Lurker said:
The jokey Palladian windows were another "F---- You Boston!" by Philip Johnson.
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I remember him saying something to the effect that he couldn't believe the client approved those windows and that city planners accepted them. But hey, I hear there are people who would buy Madonna's soiled underwear on Ebay if they could. And I have no doubt that she would sell, too.
 
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