Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.
Thomas Menino blasts harbor tower plan
Donald Chiofaro defends ?concept?
By Thomas Grillo
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Hub developer Donald Chiofaro?s harborfront high-rise project appears dead in the water.
?The chances of Don Chiofaro building (it) is about as likely as an 80-degree day in January,? Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday. ?It?s too big. His chances are slim to none.?
Menino?s comments came a day after North and West End residents unleashed a torrent of criticism over the Chiofaro Co.?s proposal to replace the seven-story Boston Harbor Garage with a $900 million development featuring two towers with 860,000 square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel, 100 condos and ground-floor retail.
Residents, caught off guard by a rendering of the project first floated in the press, blasted the tower heights, which in a rendering appear to rise up 40 and 60 stories. Neighbors said the project is premature, considering the Boston Redevelopment Authority has yet to complete a zoning study of the adjacent Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
?Don is not exempt from that process,? Menino said. ?Don should take into consideration the development rules in the city of Boston. He has to adhere to the rules. But more importantly, the neighborhood. The residents have spoken against this development many times.?
A new bill in the Legislature could effectively outlaw the proposal by restricting the shadows cast on the Greenway.
Chiofaro declined to be interviewed. But his company issued a statement saying its design is ?still conceptual.?
?We look forward to working with the city of Boston and Mayor Menino on this important project that will create a new gateway to Boston, improve the pedestrian experience along the Greenway and serve as a catalyst for economic development and job creation.?
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