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

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

If this were Belkin's garage, Hizzoner would be excitedly mumbling, "Higher! Higher!" (or is it "Hiyah! Hiyah!").
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

What makes you think Chiofaro and Prudential are turning a profit on the garage?

There are 1,380 spaces, but two floors of parking are reserved for Harbor Towers (basically leased out at very reasonable rates). So the number of spaces available to the public on a daily basis are probably about 1,000-1,100.

Chiofaro and Prudential paid $153 million for the garage.

Boston Common garage has about 1,360 spaces. The Common garage pays the state $2.5 million a year to pay off a $31 million bond that financed the garage. The net cash flow (profit) from the Common garage in 2005 was $5 million a year.

Would seem to me one reason there is only one side of the Arch that has been rendered, and that's because -- if I look at the numbers from the Boston Common garage -- Chiofaro and Prudential are probably losing their shirts on this garage, or soon will.

Maybe someone here can crank the likely numbers better than my attempt above, but Chiofaro and Prudential bought the site (and garage that they would demolish) for about $120 million an acre.

In the phrasing of the Boston Globe, Tom Wolfe portrayed Chiofaro in A Man is Full, as a 'high-living, highly-extended, real estate mogul'.
___________________________________________

Interesting, there was to be a third Harbor Tower, but it was never built. (Presumably approved though.)

The BRA 60 page set of instructions to Chiofaro.

http://www.northendwaterfront.com/storage/post-documents/20090721HarborGarageBRAScoping.pdf
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

After someone paying 300K for parking spot in the back bay. What is the real value for parking in the city.

Say you sell off the parking spots for 99 year lease for 100K per spot 1380.
Thats 138 Million alone. Not including retail.

Gotta wonder what the garage is really worth?
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

The Mayor ought to TRADE garages and say 'here you take mine in Winhtrop with a permit to build to the moon and give yours to me NOW"
That waythe Greenway stays unshadowed and green for activitys and pagents and you get you're tall one you want so bad, NO problem, good ending for all .
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

^ my exact thought! swap garages!
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

we can only dream....

Unfortuantly we will probably end up with a small stump in downtown and a tiny little 2 story thing on the waterfront.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Why am I the only one who thinks it's too tall?

I usually love buildings, small and big.

I was glad I was never asked about this during my campaign because saying I thought it wasn't a good fit for the Greenway would have really confused things, especially when I think the proposal for the Congress Street Garage is absolutely fine, along with the SST and all the development in the Seaport District. And, I thought Russia Wharf could have been taller.

I don't know. I just don't get the point. I'd like to be for it, especially since it would put a thorn in the side of the owners in the Harbor Towers, who need to be taken down a couple notches, but I'm just not feeling it.

Plus, I think it's butt ugly. I had wood paneling like that in my bedroom as a kid.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

John, what do you mean by "too tall"?

What do you think are the negative effects of excessive tallness?
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Excessive Tallness: I love it!

I see where John might be coming from. And he clearly states, as we all agree, that height shouldn't be avoided if the design fits the location (hence his examples). I strongly believe that the proposed design would be a great fit for the downtown area, but that does not mean it is a super or even a good design. It just sort of fits, even if knocked down a couple of hundred of feet (which might even be better). On the other hand, the proposed height is also a statement and protest against the silly politics, developmental red tape, and selfish """neighborhood""" opponents that seems to continuously get worse with each new big proposal in the city.

From a protest perspective, I think this is a super design. From an aesthetic point of view, I agree that it might not be perfect.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Re: John's point, which I agree with.

Why is the only rendering that has been released the view of the building from a point that most Bostonians would only see if they had the window seat on an airplane?

And why the disingenuousness of advertising 'Open to the Sea' when the opening is really a glass-walled lobby?
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

stellarfun said:
Why is the only rendering that has been released the view of the building from a point that most Bostonians would only see if they had the window seat on an airplane?
Click to expand...

539w.jpg

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/05/05/towers_would_threaten_jets_massport_says/
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

When I glanced at it quickly I wondered "why is somebody posting pictures of the government center in Albany?" To be fair, I guess I'd have to see a lot more of the base. Do like the tall parts though!
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Are the first three floors of the left tower used as a prison?

Underneath the prison's grated windows, open to the street, is that a litter dump? A jumble of crashed bicycles?

Where's the sea? Aren't we supposed to be "Open to the Sea"?

Why do these towers resemble incinerators?

Is it just me, or are there two women in the fountain without clothes on?

Who would ever render something like this? Who would pay for such a rendering and use it to promote a project?
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

The fountain part gets the Toby seal of approval.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Actually, I take back some of my critique.

If this rendering is an accurate portrayal of the future, then it answers a MAJOR question I've had since childhood - why you never see the ground floors of buildings in the Jetsons.

This pretty much explains it.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

I do hope thats not what they had planned for the base. That might be as bad as the garage. I would like it if architects would start putting some thought into their designs.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

The garage at least has a 7-11 which can be useful from time to time.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Shepard said:
Is it just me, or are there two women in the fountain without clothes on?
Click to expand...

Perhaps seasonal nudism on the Greenway will be common by the time this project is approved and built.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

^^ If that were the case we would also be seeing random unicorns prancing about the scene as well.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Between the nudists, unicorns and this project, 2060 is going to be an exciting year.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top