Critics blast Boston Harbor Garage towers proposal
By Thomas Grillo | Tuesday, February 3, 2009 |
http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
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A proposal to replace the Boston Harbor Garage with a pair of skyscrapers on the waterfront is facing a tidal wave of criticism.
?It?s a disaster,? said Leonard Halpert, a longtime condominium owner at Harbor Towers, a pair of 40-story high-rises adjacent to the garage. ?It will not only block our views, but more importantly, it will destroy the waterfront.?
The Chiofaro Co., co-owner of International Place, is seeking the Boston Redevelopment Authority?s approval for a 1.5 million-square-foot development adjacent to the New England Aquarium on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. If approved, the seven-story garage would be demolished to make way for a $900 million mixed-use development including two towers with 860,000 square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel and 100 condominiums.
Prudential Real Estate and Chiofaro purchased the garage for $153 million in 2007 and floated a plan for an 85-story building. The developer won?t reveal the height of his latest version, but a rendering appears to show towers at 40 and 60 stories tall.
Jane Forrestall, a West End resident and member of the Downtown North Association said the buildings are too tall and too dense. ?I don?t like them,? she said. ?They are much taller than the Harbor Towers buildings and that?s a huge problem.?
Christopher J. Fincham, treasurer of the Friends of Christopher Columbus Park, a nonprofit group comprised of North End and waterfront neighbors whose mission is to preserve the park near the proposed development site, said residents are worried about shadows that such large buildings would cast on the green space.
He also noted that the proposal is ?totally premature? given that the BRA?s study to determine height and density for Greenway parcels is six months away from completion.
?The BRA?s Greenway study has not been completed and it will determine appropriate zoning for parcels along the Greenway,? Fincham said. ?Why is this being presented now??
The trustees of Harbor Towers have hired Colliers, Meredith & Grew as an advisor on the development?s impact. ?The project clearly does not reflect planning or regulatory context of Boston waterfront neighborhoods,? said Yanni Tsipis, a Colliers senior vice president.
David Kubiac, a member of the North End Waterfront Residents? Association exclaimed, ?Oh my God. It greatly violates the planning for the waterfront zoning which calls for 150-foot height limit. Can this kind of a development be built without harming the public access and use and enjoyment of the waterfront? That?s my concern.?
Duane Lucia, president of the West End Civic Association, said he?s confused about why a proposal for such tall buildings is being floated. ?Mayor Menino has said the city will limit the height of any new construction on the waterfront, so why Chiofaro is talking about a huge building doesn?t make sense,? he said.
In 2004, Chiofaro nearly lost International Place to a New York-based firm. He took International Place into bankruptcy and Prudential Real Estate Investors refinanced the project. Additionally, Chiofaro won and later lost development rights to build the headquarters for State Street Corp. He also lost the rights to develop the Seaport site that became Manulife Financial?s headquarters.
Chiofaro did not return a call seeking comment. He is scheduled to meet with several neighborhood groups on Feb. 11 to present the proposal, which he has first floated to the press, to neighbors.
One prominent Boston architect, who declined to be identified, said Boston?s skyline is stuck in the 1980s and could use a bold design. ?Whether this is the bold design remains to be seen,? he said.
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