Bulfinch Crossing | Congress Street Garage | West End

Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

Some one had stated it earlier and was correct, these were only done as a massing studdy, that's it.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

type001 said:
I think the best thing about anything being built here is that it will block the views of 1 Beacon from the NW. To me, 1 Beacon is an abominition and clearly does not deserve the privelige of having that address.
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Agreed; All the worse that 1 Beacon "stands alone" on the skyline from many angles. The more it is shielded, the better.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

The only way One Beacon could stand alone is possibly through a re-clad and ornamental top addition.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

...or a tear-down and rebuilt as something good.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

There are building far worse than this one in Boston! Still, I wouldn't mind it getting lost in the mix.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

^^^Not with that height and presence though.

A reclad and new top could make all the difference. Can we start a petition to get the owners to invest in it? :)
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

So Scottie and Grillo have pretty much switched beats.

Boston Herald - November 24, 2008
Sal DiMasi joins Hub opposition to skyscraper project
Skyscraper plan hit
By Thomas Grillo | Monday, November 24, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Real Estate
Photo

House Speaker Sal DiMasi has joined the chorus opposed to a proposed skyscraper for Government Center.

Raymond Property Co. is planning One Congress Street, a 3.3 million-square-foot, mixed-use development. If approved, the existing seven-story concrete garage would be replaced with a 52-story tower - twice the height of the nearby John F. Kennedy Federal Building.

?We are not opposed to replacing Government Center Garage, because it?s an eyesore,? said Aaron Michelwitz, DiMasi?s constituent services director. ?But we have concerns about putting what would be the city?s third tallest building at the crossroads of several neighborhoods.?

The proposed $2.3 billion ?transit-oriented? development, next to the Haymarket MBTA station, would also include a 42-story tower and four smaller buildings closer to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway that would range from eight to 14 stories.

DiMasi is not the only North End resident worried about height and congestion. Naomi Paul questioned the developers at a community meeting late last week.

?Why do you want to bring more people and more congestion into a neighborhood that?s already overcrowded?? she asked.

In response, Stephen G. Kasnet, Raymond?s chief executive, said the city needs to grow. ?We don?t have sufficient office space to meet tenant demand,? he said.

Jane Forrestall, a West End resident and member of the Downtown North Association, said the tower should be in keeping with the nearby neighborhood, where the tallest buildings are 38 stories.

Neighbors may also be disappointed to learn that the city is not considering an elementary school at the project site.

?We have more available seats citywide than we have students, so we?re in a scaling-back mode,? said Christopher Horan, a Boston Public Schools spokesman. ?We have so many other capital priorities for existing schools that it would not be feasible for us to talk about new construction in that area now.?

Residents have asked Raymond to include a school on the four-acre parcel, which intersects the North and West End, Bulfinch Triangle and Beacon Hill neighborhoods.

?Two or three people are very keen on the school idea, but no one from the city has asked us to make a school part of the project,? said Kasnet. ?If they do, we?ll address it.?
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1134444
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Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

This is almost soap-opera level drama here, folks. These developers have done their homework. Start by engaging the community so they have your support, check. Then propose a building much tall than the market can even sustain because you know the public will complain and have it reduced to the actual height you wanted it at, check. Next they say there will be no school but you know they are keeping the door open on that one so they can look like they are acting with the neighborhood when they finally give in and build it.

The dance is alive and well (lets hope it turns out better than NorthPoint)
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

Why is 38 stories the standard? Is there some objective significance to that height?
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

While i think Height in this location isn't a bad thing, I don't think it would be terrible to reduce the building to 38 stories (or thereabouts) as long as the developers have taken community opposition into account and won't widen the building while reducing the height to maintain the sq. footage (read: turn it into a squat box).

I think the height can effectively go into future development at City Hall Plaza. I think if Boston is ever going to get a supertall, It'll probably be there... away from residential areas where it'll cast shadows, away from the landing paths at Logan, and right on top of a major transportation hub and sandwiched between tow major Boston streets. 38 stories on the adjacent parcel will make for good balance and set a good precedent for CHP in the future.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

Sounds like Sal's looking for a 4th mortgage.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

How is height an issue for the neighborhoods here?

There is a clear demarcation in this spot between the North End, the West End, Beacon Hill, etc etc...

there is no encroachment....
this is Boston No Man's Land

wth.....
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

Jane Forrestall, a West End resident and member of the Downtown North Association, said the tower should be in keeping with the nearby neighborhood, where the tallest buildings are 38 stories.
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Was the west end in keeping with the buildings that were their previously. She want to preserve her views, nothing more. At least in an article in the North End News some people had the guts to admit it was about protecting their views of the financial district.

As far as the school, a group in the Back Bay and Beacon Hill had offered to buy the city a building because there are no public school any where near them even though they pay outrageous taxes. The city said no because it was concentrating on building 3 new school in Roxbury and Mattapan.

?We have more available seats citywide than we have students, so we?re in a scaling-back mode,? said Christopher Horan, a Boston Public Schools spokesman. ?We have so many other capital priorities for existing schools that it would not be feasible for us to talk about new construction in that area now.?
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Menino is trying to reduce the city's $14 million dollar busing cost. Once again they are rejecting a free school.

Sal is looking for a diversion and some good press.

Let's not forget many in the North End wanted the elevated artery to stay.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

First thing: the article states that the parking garage is "7-stories" but the new building may rise to 52-stories. But, are the parking levels typical height? It sure looks higher than 7-stories today, no?

Also, you got that right, Paul. Why not open new schools where the new people are living? More importantly, why are they building all those schools while enrollment is down over 15% in ten years?

Also, the three schools going up in Roxbury & Mattapan - you're not including the $40 million Renaissance Charter School, I assume (since it's in Hyde Park)? That's a boondoggle ripe for the picking by some attentive member of the mainstream media.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

The article is full of inaccuracies... it seems like the journalism world has been reduced to political cheerleaders to cover (or cover-up) political news and then low-grade college interns who can barely write to cover all the other stuff....

There are eight levels of parking.

There is a ninth level of private parking.

Then there is the tenth and eleventh floors which are offices.

In no manner, whatsoever, is this a 7-story garage.

It is an 11-story monstrosity that sits above one of the busiest commuter hubs in the entire city - it is a perfect, tailor-made site for density and urbanity.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

Wow, how old is this getting? Projects get proposed- NIMBY Bostonians shoot them down... I'm surprised development firms can even survive in this town. This plan is perfect- too bad it won't happen, or will but in a substandard bastardized form...
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

Aren't the designs for this project supposed to be revealed soon?

It seems like everytime I open a thread for a cool project, there is a new newspaper artcicle posted talking about how terrible the project will be for the city, the entire neighborhood is against the project, etc. This isn't exactly in downtown, but it's damn close. Even TransNational Tower was facing resistance (though the project was short-lived) and it was located in the direct center of downtown. This is getting a bit overwhelming.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

The problem isn't so much the NIMBY's - the problem is that people listen to them and give them so much weight. What kind of review process is this?

If I own private property and my neighbor doesn't like what I put on my land, he has the right to sue me, but the case will get thrown out of court if he can't show he's being harmed. He also has the right to move.
 
Re: Congress St Garage is being sold.

Is this entirely private property, or is some of it leased from the city?
 
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