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

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Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

^^
Rifleman, you're sounding like the economic development director for Flint Michigan or Gary Indiana - i.e. "it will create taxes and jobs so we should do it." Fortunatey, we're in Boston, where the whole reason the city does so well is that its administration takes care to balance economic development interests with other important considerations. After all, if the city just approved every project that came through the door under the mantra of "more jobs and taxes," we'd be in a pretty sorry state -- terribly overbuilt, terribly designed and planned, and just like every other boring American city. Ever notice that the best American cities are the ones where city government doesn't just fall for the "jobs and taxes" BS and actually make developers do their homework? (which Don still hasn't done, btw....)
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

greenwayguy1982 said:
^^
Rifleman, you're sounding like the economic development director for Flint Michigan or Gary Indiana - i.e. "it will create taxes and jobs so we should do it." Fortunatey, we're in Boston, where the whole reason the city does so well is that its administration takes care to balance economic development interests with other important considerations. After all, if the city just approved every project that came through the door under the mantra of "more jobs and taxes," we'd be in a pretty sorry state -- terribly overbuilt, terribly designed and planned, and just like every other boring American city. Ever notice that the best American cities are the ones where city government doesn't just fall for the "jobs and taxes" BS and actually make developers do their homework? (which Don still hasn't done, btw....)
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Regardless, this doesn't give the mayor the reason not to try to discuss with Don.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

After all, if the city just approved every project that came through the door under the mantra of "more jobs and taxes," we'd be in a pretty sorry state -- terribly overbuilt, terribly designed and planned, and just like every other boring American city.
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Terrible design and planning pretty much sums up the past 60 years in Boston. Also Boston's not like every other boring American city because of it's long history, not because of great planning. Unless you're talking about pre-1900 design and planning, then sure.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

^^Exactly. The best example being the Seaport, aka Phoenix/Atlanta North.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

armpitsOFmight said:
How about this:

Do you guys think castles are architecturally beautiful? Don should build a 200' castle, it'll make both you (big box haters) and the NIMBYs happy.
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Castles definitely.

Look at the ones in New York. Or look at Columbus Ave, but blow it up larger.

You need to replace Shen.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

TheRifleman said:
Does it really matter if the numbers are based on 100% occupancy? The reality of the project is that it will supply jobs, tax revenue for the city & state and NO TAXPAYERS SUBSIDARIES. The Mayor should at least meet with Chiofaro and discuss the possiblities of making a better Greenway.


What are the yearly tax revenues of the PRU and Hancock?
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The Hancock's current property tax bill is $8.6 million, which makes Chiofaro's prediction of $19 million in property taxes even more ludicrous.

__________________________

As for Chiofaro, there is always the possibility, however remote, that he suffers from CTE. He is in a vulnerable class of people*, perhaps even more that he played both football and ice hockey. Among early behavioral manifestations of CTE are impulsiveness and aggression.

http://www.bu.edu/today/node/11495

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1966/11/22/footballers-elect-chiofaro-as-captain-choquette/

* football linemen, linebackers, and fullbacks are thought to have the highest risk.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Boston.com
Chiofaro revises plan for waterfront project
September 20, 2010 12:50 PM
Casey Ross, Globe Staff

Developer Donald J. Chiofaro today unveiled his latest revision of the Harbor Garage redevelopment, proposing a pair of angular towers reaching 470 feet and 615 feet, respectively.

The plan, at a cost of $1 billion, is roughly 20 percent smaller than Chiofaro's initial plan but is still significantly taller than the city's 200-foot building guideline for the property. The garage is situated at a highly sensitive location between the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and Boston Harbor. It also abuts the New England Aquarium.

"The objective is to open the waterfront to the rest of the city in a way that currently doesn't," exist said Chiofaro," adding that he hopes the revised design can be the starting point for a "constructive dialogue" with the city about the property's redevelopment.

But to this point, relations between Chiofaro and the city have been extremely turbulent, a dynamic that promises to make a compromise more elusive. A couple months ago, the city released a study of height limits along the Greenway that established a 200-foot guideline for Chiofaro's property, and city officials have not shown a willingness to be flexible on that front. Chiofaro also unveiled the revised the design to the media before he showed it to neighbors and city officials he must persuade to support it.

Officials at the Boston Redevelopment Authority could not immediately be reached for comment today on Chiofaro's latest proposal.

In addition to reducing the project's height, Chiofaro substantially altered the design. The revised towers, which would contain offices, a hotel, and residences, are more angular than before, twisting upward to sloped rooftops. Chiofaro also changed plans for a promenade between the two towers, making it a zig-zagging pathway instead of straight opening to the water.

Despite the acrimony that has thus far prevented the project from moving forward, Chiofaro said he thinks latest version can open the channels of communication. He said the project would generate 7,000 new jobs and $20 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

"This is the most important site on the Greenway," he said. "It's a place the city and the financial district can make a statement not only about themselves, but about the city's future. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and we shouldn't miss it."
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Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

towers539.jpg
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Millennium Towers on the Habor
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

lol @ this redesign....we go from something unique to The Ritz Towers 2.0: The Laurel and Hardy Version.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Bubbybu said:
lol @ this redesign....we go from something unique to The Ritz Towers 2.0: The Laurel and Hardy Version.
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In my opinion the unique thing would have been the ugliest piece of crap in the whole city. I like the redesign (at least the shape of it, since that's all we really have at the moment) but I'm not holding my breath. With the current administration and prevailing attitudes, nothing of this scale will ever be built here, or anywhere else in the city.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

Commencing with phase one of stumpification process...
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

any renderings or plans we can see of this new design yet?
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

615' and 471' is actually better than I would have expected, although it does nothing to break downtown's flat top.
 
Re: The Boston Arch (Aquarium parking garage)

This is what I would like to see happen in a dream world:

1. Don scraps the mediocre twin towers for one world class structure.
2. The building would be something sui-generis like the Torre Agbar (which is under 500 feet). Something to put asses in the seats.
3. Charge AAA rent.
4. Use the extra space to please the city and the Harbor Wenches with ground level context and also use the space for money making ventures.
5. You won?t be able to fill 2 gigantic mediocre buildings. Why the obsession with 2 towers, Don? 'Recouping costs' as the canned answer doesn't make any sense to me...
 
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