Bulfinch Crossing | Congress Street Garage | West End
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KentXie
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
All I can say is, FUCK YOU BOSTON. This literally takes the cake. Can't wait for my trip to Philly so I can get out of this backward city for a bit and hopefully I'll be able to co-op away from this small minded shit-hole. Vancouver isn't the whiniest city, it's Boston.
Here's hoping the garage gets demolished and the money runs out before construction. Yes I would cut the nose to spite the face. Boston doesn't deserve anything grand if this is the way people think.
All I can say is, FUCK YOU BOSTON. This literally takes the cake. Can't wait for my trip to Philly so I can get out of this backward city for a bit and hopefully I'll be able to co-op away from this small minded shit-hole. Vancouver isn't the whiniest city, it's Boston.
Here's hoping the garage gets demolished and the money runs out before construction. Yes I would cut the nose to spite the face. Boston doesn't deserve anything grand if this is the way people think.
Beton Brut
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Imagine if there were a refrigerator that, when you put your food inside, it instantly went bad.
That's Boston.
Imagine if there were a refrigerator that, when you put your food inside, it instantly went bad.
That's Boston.
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SeamusMcFly
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Pardon my American, but who the fuck are you to say it's too tall? And, the only thing too dense, is that big fat fucking head of yours....
I digress.
Also, Fan Pier is not building towers. 250' high by 250' wide is a box and not a tower. A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square.
Pardon my American, but who the fuck are you to say it's too tall? And, the only thing too dense, is that big fat fucking head of yours....
I digress.
Also, Fan Pier is not building towers. 250' high by 250' wide is a box and not a tower. A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not always a square.
type001
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
As enraged as I am, I bet nothing comes out of whatever this proposal might be. That garage is going nowhere in our lifetimes, and honestly that is probably the best option. The fact that the review process is going to take so long as well as construction/material prices going up, the developer will have to revise plans to make a profit and, well, we know the rest.
And if this new proposal does not include "Prudential sized buildings", are they just going to build a bunch of landscrapers a la the current thing that's there now? You have to build tall here for the developer to make a profit and to create wider openings that bridge the """neighborhoods""" back together.
I'm sick of making excuses for you Boston.
As enraged as I am, I bet nothing comes out of whatever this proposal might be. That garage is going nowhere in our lifetimes, and honestly that is probably the best option. The fact that the review process is going to take so long as well as construction/material prices going up, the developer will have to revise plans to make a profit and, well, we know the rest.
And if this new proposal does not include "Prudential sized buildings", are they just going to build a bunch of landscrapers a la the current thing that's there now? You have to build tall here for the developer to make a profit and to create wider openings that bridge the """neighborhoods""" back together.
I'm sick of making excuses for you Boston.
type001
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
You do have to like/wonder about the fact that O'Brien will not comment on the height. Rather, he is making it clear that no city-owned property will be taken. Hmmmmmm.....
Ambitious plan for Government Center Garage site
Vast project calls for shops, housing
By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / June 23, 2011
The hulking Government Center Garage in Boston would be torn down and replaced with a massive complex of residences, offices, and stores under an ambitious plan made public yesterday.
The project — which, if approved, would be one of the largest to proceed in downtown in decades — comes from HYM Investment Group LLC, and would bring 2.4 million square feet of development to a key 4-acre plot between Boston City Hall, the TD Garden, and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. For 40 years the garage has acted as a wall between the area around Faneuil Hall and a reemerging neighborhood in the city’s West End.
“The proposed project will remove the unsightly barrier of the Government Center Garage from its current prominent position over Congress Street ,’’ HYM chief Thomas N. O’Brien, a former Boston planning chief, wrote in a two-page letter to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The letter, released by the BRA yesterday, also said the de velopment would include a hotel, a “major residential component,’’ and retail stores that would complement a planned food market above the Haymarket MBTA station.
O’Brien has not said how tall the proposed complex would be. The current garage, which is topped by several floors of offices, is 11 stories.
Even at its smaller size, the development would be the largest in the current pipeline of construction projects in downtown Boston and would bring hundreds of new residents into an area of the city that goes quiet on nights when the Boston Bruins or Celtics are not playing at the nearby Garden. The project is more than double what another developer has proposed building on the site of the former Filene’s department store in Downtown Crossing.
The garage is located on New Sudbury Street and is bounded by Congress, New Chardon, and Hawkins streets.
The new proposal must get multiple city and state approvals before construction could begin, a process likely to take a year or longer. O’Brien, who also must secure tenants for the project, said in a statement yesterday that he intends to submit more details to the city in the fall.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a skeptic of the prior plan for the site, offered general support for the latest version yesterday, saying it would not overshadow the adjacent Greenway parks.
“I think you’ll see a different type of development there,’’ he said. “It won’t take any of the city’s property, and it will be scaled down from what you’ve seen in the past.’’
Menino spoke after a celebration at a different development project — Fan Pier, the 23-acre project on the South Boston Waterfront — for the groundbreaking of the new home for drug maker Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which will lease an $800 million office and research complex on the site. That project involves the largest lease in the city’s history, and is the largest ongoing private development in the country.
He said the progress at Fan Pier and Government Center “shows the economy is getting stronger’’ and that private funding is beginning to reemerge for expensive construction projects.
The Government Center Garage proposal replaces a prior $2.2 billion plan by developer Ted Raymond to build a pair of Prudential-Building-sized skyscrapers that would have required using adjacent city-owned property. In early 2010, Raymond was removed by the garage’s owners, Lewis Trust Group of Great Britain and the National Electrical Workers Benefit fund, after he failed to move forward with the project. O’Brien was tapped to replace him.
The Government Center Garage redevelopment is one of the few remaining opportunities for large-scale development near the Greenway. In his filing with the city, O’Brien steered clear of the project’s most controversial aspects, including the height of the buildings he would construct. Raymond’s towers would have topped out at 42 and 52 stories, a size that raised concerns from its neighbors and the city.
O’Brien said only that the project would be multiple stories and would be built in phases. The development would be built over a new parking facility that would replace the spaces lost from demolition of the existing garage. The work to dismantle the garage would occur in phases, keeping open some sections to preserve parking during construction.
O’Brien confirmed his plans do not include using any of the city-owned parcels in the area, including the one that hosts a recently renovated Boston Police station. Although the project’s details are still being developed, it would include multiple buildings and create new walking paths between Government Center and surrounding neighborhoods.
HYM’s filing also said the work would create several thousand construction jobs and millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the city.
One neighborhood leader said he was pleased to see the new initiative. “It suggests the potential for this site has returned,’’ said Robert O’Brien, executive director of the Downtown North Association, which represents businesses and residents in the area. “There are a lot of problems that need to be worked out, but I think the community has confidence that it can happen this time.’’
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/06/23/government_center_garage_plan_adds_shops_housing/
You do have to like/wonder about the fact that O'Brien will not comment on the height. Rather, he is making it clear that no city-owned property will be taken. Hmmmmmm.....
Ambitious plan for Government Center Garage site
Vast project calls for shops, housing
By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / June 23, 2011
The hulking Government Center Garage in Boston would be torn down and replaced with a massive complex of residences, offices, and stores under an ambitious plan made public yesterday.
The project — which, if approved, would be one of the largest to proceed in downtown in decades — comes from HYM Investment Group LLC, and would bring 2.4 million square feet of development to a key 4-acre plot between Boston City Hall, the TD Garden, and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. For 40 years the garage has acted as a wall between the area around Faneuil Hall and a reemerging neighborhood in the city’s West End.
“The proposed project will remove the unsightly barrier of the Government Center Garage from its current prominent position over Congress Street ,’’ HYM chief Thomas N. O’Brien, a former Boston planning chief, wrote in a two-page letter to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The letter, released by the BRA yesterday, also said the de velopment would include a hotel, a “major residential component,’’ and retail stores that would complement a planned food market above the Haymarket MBTA station.
O’Brien has not said how tall the proposed complex would be. The current garage, which is topped by several floors of offices, is 11 stories.
Even at its smaller size, the development would be the largest in the current pipeline of construction projects in downtown Boston and would bring hundreds of new residents into an area of the city that goes quiet on nights when the Boston Bruins or Celtics are not playing at the nearby Garden. The project is more than double what another developer has proposed building on the site of the former Filene’s department store in Downtown Crossing.
The garage is located on New Sudbury Street and is bounded by Congress, New Chardon, and Hawkins streets.
The new proposal must get multiple city and state approvals before construction could begin, a process likely to take a year or longer. O’Brien, who also must secure tenants for the project, said in a statement yesterday that he intends to submit more details to the city in the fall.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a skeptic of the prior plan for the site, offered general support for the latest version yesterday, saying it would not overshadow the adjacent Greenway parks.
“I think you’ll see a different type of development there,’’ he said. “It won’t take any of the city’s property, and it will be scaled down from what you’ve seen in the past.’’
Menino spoke after a celebration at a different development project — Fan Pier, the 23-acre project on the South Boston Waterfront — for the groundbreaking of the new home for drug maker Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., which will lease an $800 million office and research complex on the site. That project involves the largest lease in the city’s history, and is the largest ongoing private development in the country.
He said the progress at Fan Pier and Government Center “shows the economy is getting stronger’’ and that private funding is beginning to reemerge for expensive construction projects.
The Government Center Garage proposal replaces a prior $2.2 billion plan by developer Ted Raymond to build a pair of Prudential-Building-sized skyscrapers that would have required using adjacent city-owned property. In early 2010, Raymond was removed by the garage’s owners, Lewis Trust Group of Great Britain and the National Electrical Workers Benefit fund, after he failed to move forward with the project. O’Brien was tapped to replace him.
The Government Center Garage redevelopment is one of the few remaining opportunities for large-scale development near the Greenway. In his filing with the city, O’Brien steered clear of the project’s most controversial aspects, including the height of the buildings he would construct. Raymond’s towers would have topped out at 42 and 52 stories, a size that raised concerns from its neighbors and the city.
O’Brien said only that the project would be multiple stories and would be built in phases. The development would be built over a new parking facility that would replace the spaces lost from demolition of the existing garage. The work to dismantle the garage would occur in phases, keeping open some sections to preserve parking during construction.
O’Brien confirmed his plans do not include using any of the city-owned parcels in the area, including the one that hosts a recently renovated Boston Police station. Although the project’s details are still being developed, it would include multiple buildings and create new walking paths between Government Center and surrounding neighborhoods.
HYM’s filing also said the work would create several thousand construction jobs and millions of dollars in new tax revenue for the city.
One neighborhood leader said he was pleased to see the new initiative. “It suggests the potential for this site has returned,’’ said Robert O’Brien, executive director of the Downtown North Association, which represents businesses and residents in the area. “There are a lot of problems that need to be worked out, but I think the community has confidence that it can happen this time.’’
Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.
Link:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2011/06/23/government_center_garage_plan_adds_shops_housing/
Shepard
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Is this literally about shadows, or, similar to the Dainty Dot fiasco, does the Greenway have to be the most EXCITING thing within a five mile radius (Innovation District aside, of course)?
Feeble-minded in either case.
Is this literally about shadows, or, similar to the Dainty Dot fiasco, does the Greenway have to be the most EXCITING thing within a five mile radius (Innovation District aside, of course)?
Feeble-minded in either case.
BostonUrbEx
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Before I throw in my hat, rant about how new development in Boston sucks, and go into a depression....
...let's look at similar sized cities and their new developments. Does San Fran have anything this size going on right now? Do they have anything larger going up right now? When was the last time they had something of this scale going on?
This is not rhetorical, I'm looking for answers. Anything SF can do, Boston can do better. But I don't know that they're doing a single thing.
Before I throw in my hat, rant about how new development in Boston sucks, and go into a depression....
...let's look at similar sized cities and their new developments. Does San Fran have anything this size going on right now? Do they have anything larger going up right now? When was the last time they had something of this scale going on?
This is not rhetorical, I'm looking for answers. Anything SF can do, Boston can do better. But I don't know that they're doing a single thing.
type001
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
@JSic: Very true. I love the emoticon BTW!
@Shepard: Yes, I think that is it, and yes, feeble-minded for sure. But let's not forget that the study that was conducted last year proved that there would be no significant shadow effects no matter what the height was. It's possible that there might be a proposal for significant height here, and Mumbles might know it. O'Briena and Menino are getting people on board by mentioning all of the other positives. I think that mentioning the scale-down might simply refer to the fact the city-owned parcel is not being taken.
@JSic: Very true. I love the emoticon BTW!
@Shepard: Yes, I think that is it, and yes, feeble-minded for sure. But let's not forget that the study that was conducted last year proved that there would be no significant shadow effects no matter what the height was. It's possible that there might be a proposal for significant height here, and Mumbles might know it. O'Briena and Menino are getting people on board by mentioning all of the other positives. I think that mentioning the scale-down might simply refer to the fact the city-owned parcel is not being taken.
Ron Newman
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
I'm happy to see that this doesn't involve taking city property, as that removes a major obstacle to development.
I'm happy to see that this doesn't involve taking city property, as that removes a major obstacle to development.
Re: Congress Street Garage Development
SF actually built a couple of towers around 640-650' in the past 2-3 years. Also, Transbay or whatever isn't technically dead or anything either, although it's been dead to me ever since they picked that shitty Pelli design over SOM.
Oklahoma City is building an 850' tower (previous tallest, 500'). I know that one sure pisses me off! By the way this tower is approx 700' as we speak, so not like it's not happening.
European cities that have either built their new tallest (not tall, tallest) buildings in the last few years, or have them in the short term pipeline include... London, Moscow, Madrid, Warsaw, Rotterdam, The Hague, Paris, Baku, Seville, Vienna, Liverpool, Milan... When European skylines are catching/passing Boston's skyline, you know we are stagnant.
Cincinnati and Austin both just built towers taller than 600'. Calgary just put up The Bow (774) and EAP (~699) right after putting up some 500'+ office towers. Trust me when I say Calgary is booming, and booming right by Boston (not at street level obviously).
Melbourne is about to enter a new building boom, and one of its towers (Prima Pearl) has just gone from 225m (738') all the way up to 251m (823')!!! Gold Coast is building Soul which is just taller than the Hancock. Brisbane is building Soleil (just taller than Hancock) followed by Infinity (just taller than Soleil) followed by 111+222 (~970'). Perth is building BHP (just taller than Hancock to top of "cage").
When I went to Toronto in 2002 it had something like 10 500' buildings to Boston's 16. Now it has something like 30+ 500' buildings to Boston's 16. Again, if you are interested in booming cities, check out Toronto's development sections on SSC and SSP.
I guess what I'm trying to say is "Fuck you Menino", as Boston continues to be stuck in the 20th century... How does this guy keep getting reelected? At least our sports teams are good!
SF actually built a couple of towers around 640-650' in the past 2-3 years. Also, Transbay or whatever isn't technically dead or anything either, although it's been dead to me ever since they picked that shitty Pelli design over SOM.
Oklahoma City is building an 850' tower (previous tallest, 500'). I know that one sure pisses me off! By the way this tower is approx 700' as we speak, so not like it's not happening.
European cities that have either built their new tallest (not tall, tallest) buildings in the last few years, or have them in the short term pipeline include... London, Moscow, Madrid, Warsaw, Rotterdam, The Hague, Paris, Baku, Seville, Vienna, Liverpool, Milan... When European skylines are catching/passing Boston's skyline, you know we are stagnant.
Cincinnati and Austin both just built towers taller than 600'. Calgary just put up The Bow (774) and EAP (~699) right after putting up some 500'+ office towers. Trust me when I say Calgary is booming, and booming right by Boston (not at street level obviously).
Melbourne is about to enter a new building boom, and one of its towers (Prima Pearl) has just gone from 225m (738') all the way up to 251m (823')!!! Gold Coast is building Soul which is just taller than the Hancock. Brisbane is building Soleil (just taller than Hancock) followed by Infinity (just taller than Soleil) followed by 111+222 (~970'). Perth is building BHP (just taller than Hancock to top of "cage").
When I went to Toronto in 2002 it had something like 10 500' buildings to Boston's 16. Now it has something like 30+ 500' buildings to Boston's 16. Again, if you are interested in booming cities, check out Toronto's development sections on SSC and SSP.
I guess what I'm trying to say is "Fuck you Menino", as Boston continues to be stuck in the 20th century... How does this guy keep getting reelected? At least our sports teams are good!
BostonUrbEx
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
That's the only thing Menino doesn't have his hands in.
That's the only thing Menino doesn't have his hands in.
Beton Brut
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Ron, the city would have negotiated a new police station, and maybe a new public school, if the project scope could have included that property. Also, by including the city property, the tallest buildings on the site could have been moved further away from the Greenway, allowing additional height and density.
Ron, the city would have negotiated a new police station, and maybe a new public school, if the project scope could have included that property. Also, by including the city property, the tallest buildings on the site could have been moved further away from the Greenway, allowing additional height and density.
Ron Newman
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Once the development gets going, there's always potential for it to eventually get bigger, as seen over the past few decades at the Prudential Center.
Once the development gets going, there's always potential for it to eventually get bigger, as seen over the past few decades at the Prudential Center.
Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Meaning what, Menino wants a new crown for the stubby 400 footers we are going to end up with?
Meaning what, Menino wants a new crown for the stubby 400 footers we are going to end up with?
Re: Congress Street Garage Development
I would expect that those parcels will be developed eventually when the market is right. There is only so much space the city can absorb at once. I hope that these buildings are tall but this would not be the best spot for the city's tallest, I'd prefer that to be in the financial district or at the back bay station.
One of my favorite comments from the meetings a few years ago was a west ender complaining that the new towers would ruin the west enders skyline view. Nothing like feeing entitled.
I would expect that those parcels will be developed eventually when the market is right. There is only so much space the city can absorb at once. I hope that these buildings are tall but this would not be the best spot for the city's tallest, I'd prefer that to be in the financial district or at the back bay station.
One of my favorite comments from the meetings a few years ago was a west ender complaining that the new towers would ruin the west enders skyline view. Nothing like feeing entitled.
blade_bltz
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Re: Congress Street Garage Development
Uhhh...it's been my distinct impression since moving out here a few years ago that the exact opposite is true. SF always seems to outdo Boston in every conceivable way. A few things that immediately come to mind:
1. Jass posted a picture of Mission Bay in the Fan Pier thread. It's like the Seaport...except with light rail, and with hundreds of housing units u/c and (thousands more on the way that won't mysteriously get converted to commercial by the mayor).
2. As dzh pointed out, SF completed two 650' towers, Millennium Tower (2009) and One Rincon Hill (2008), along with two 450 footers in 2008.
3. Where Boston puts up 3-4 story infill, SF puts up 6-8 story infill....in 3-4 story neighborhoods. And lots of it.
4. Where Boston is overflowing with college kids, SF has super-educated recent college grads. Who actually spend money on stuff.
5. Boston has a master plan for massive housing development (4100 units) on a peninsula in the south eastern part of the city, Columbia Point. SF has a master plan for a much more massive housing development (10,500 units) on a peninsula in the south eastern part of the city, Hunters Point. And it's starting in July.
6. Boston's version of an infrastructure boondoggle is the Big Dig (a highway project), or the Silver Line (BRT). SF's version of an infrastructure boondoggle is building a Central Subway for the LRT (from 4th and King to Chinatown and North Beach). What I would give for such a "boondoggle" in Boston...
Uhhh...it's been my distinct impression since moving out here a few years ago that the exact opposite is true. SF always seems to outdo Boston in every conceivable way. A few things that immediately come to mind:
1. Jass posted a picture of Mission Bay in the Fan Pier thread. It's like the Seaport...except with light rail, and with hundreds of housing units u/c and (thousands more on the way that won't mysteriously get converted to commercial by the mayor).
2. As dzh pointed out, SF completed two 650' towers, Millennium Tower (2009) and One Rincon Hill (2008), along with two 450 footers in 2008.
3. Where Boston puts up 3-4 story infill, SF puts up 6-8 story infill....in 3-4 story neighborhoods. And lots of it.
4. Where Boston is overflowing with college kids, SF has super-educated recent college grads. Who actually spend money on stuff.
5. Boston has a master plan for massive housing development (4100 units) on a peninsula in the south eastern part of the city, Columbia Point. SF has a master plan for a much more massive housing development (10,500 units) on a peninsula in the south eastern part of the city, Hunters Point. And it's starting in July.
6. Boston's version of an infrastructure boondoggle is the Big Dig (a highway project), or the Silver Line (BRT). SF's version of an infrastructure boondoggle is building a Central Subway for the LRT (from 4th and King to Chinatown and North Beach). What I would give for such a "boondoggle" in Boston...