Developer takes it to the streets
Chiofaro uses all avenues to gain support for his plans for the Harbor Garage site
Donald J. Chiofaro is using a giant red X on the facade of the Harbor Garage to call attention to his plan to tear down the facility. (Bill Greene/Globe Staff)
By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / July 15, 2009
It is an unusual sight on the facade of a downtown parking garage: A giant red X with a white sign in the middle that reads, ?Open To The Sea.??
The message is probably lost to most passersby. But the display is a novel attempt by developer Donald J. Chiofaro to call attention to his plan to tear down the Harbor Garage on Atlantic Avenue and replace it with a towering glass complex that would open a new passageway to Boston Harbor.
?We?re trying to help people visualize what we want to create,?? Chiofaro, developer of International Place, said of the sign. ?The existing garage blocks access to the waterfront, and we want to reopen that connection.??
The sign is one example of the aggressive public campaign Chiofaro is undertaking to garner support for his controversial development plan. The veteran developer wants to build a 40-story office building and a 59-story hotel and condominium tower on land between the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and the New England Aquarium. The glass corridor at the bottom would be matched with an equally unusual flourish at the top: a 770-foot rectangular bracket, or skyframe, as Chiofaro calls it, linking the two towers.
It is the most colorful development yet from one of Boston?s most colorful builders. Chiofaro built the office tower 1 International Place during the 1980s when nobody thought it was possible to develop a complex of such size and expense. He is well known for his public fight to retain ownership of that development, as well as his blunt quotations and confrontations with city officials and rivals in the real estate community.
In a city as parochial as Boston, with a mayor who dominates the discussion over development proposals, builders largely take a discreet route to winning approval from City Hall. They reach out quietly to neighbors and public officials to assuage concerns or dodge regulatory snags that might leave them mired in a messy political fight.
By contrast, Chiofaro seems to gravitate toward the bold and provocative, even if it generates strong criticism of his proposals. He had plenty of warning about opposition to his plan for the Harbor Garage, but he plowed ahead anyway with a proposal to build some of the tallest buildings in the city.
His filing with the city generated allegations he had a ?tin ear,?? prompting Chiofaro to employ a bit of self-deprecating wit by handing out a doctored image of himself dressed as the Tin Man from ?The Wizard of Oz?? during a meeting with Boston Redevelopment Authority officials. A BRA spokeswoman declined to comment.
The opponents of his proposal include residents of neighboring Harbor Towers and Rowe?s Wharf, along with the president of the Aquarium and other high-profile figures. They argue Chiofaro?s proposal is too tall for the area and would conflict with zoning rules.
His tactics ?are amusing, but our friend Don wants the city and state to break the rules so he can shoehorn a massive complex as tall as the Pru in between Boston Harbor and the Rose Kennedy Greenway,?? said Tom Palmer, a spokesman for Harbor Towers residents.
To critics who complain about the buildings? size and height, Chiofaro suggests that maybe they?re not big enough.
?We?re not hiding behind density and height, we?re embracing density and height,?? Chiofaro said. ?A lot of people say to me, ?Why don?t you just make it shorter?? And I say, ?Why don?t we make it taller?? ??
Both of Chiofaro?s towers would rival the Prudential Center and Hancock Tower in height.
A former linebacker at Harvard, Chiofaro is approaching controversy the only way he knows how: head on. He confronts the opposition using every venue he can to advocate for his vision. He attends events where the mayor is set to speak on development and chats up neighbors and city officials. He hands out business cards with the omnipresent slogan of the Harbor Garage redevelopment: ?Today: Eyesore, Tomorrow: Icon.?? His employees and supporters are often seen wearing T-shirts saying ?Activate the Greenway,?? and he has printed the details of his proposal on place settings he uses for luncheons with area executives and politicians.
Chiofaro is awaiting the city?s response to the plan he filed in April. The response, expected soon, will incorporate hundreds of comment letters the BRA has received about his proposal.
No matter what the reaction, Chiofaro said the process is just beginning. ?I?m hoping to have a very healthy discussion about the right urban design for this property,?? he said. ?We?re trying to deal with a unique site and a unique opportunity to make a big difference in the city.??
Casey Ross can be reached at
cross@globe.com.
