briv said:Mayor Menino said:"It's a rare opportunity for a city nearly 400 years old to be able to extend its downtown by 1,000 acres..."
It most certainly is! It's too bad we've largely squandered this amazing opportunity. Before a single shovel went into the ground, the city, property owners, Big Dig highway engineers, the T, architects and urban planners should have gotten together and worked out a compelling, and comprehensive plan for this neighborhood. The fact that this did not happen is truly heartbreaking.
The Seaport couldve been a twenty-first century Back Bay -- a real showcase of modern Boston -- rather than Kendal Square By The Sea. Menino's grand plans are just too little, too late. He shouldve proposed this 10-15 years ago as a central, integrated feature of a far more reaching plan for the Seaport.
Bingo!
IMO, as it currently stands, the South Boston waterfront is destined to be a huge failure, and not serve as an extension of downtown as Menino has touted. Where is the human aspect of the neighborhood? Where is the charm? I realize that a lot has yet to come, and that maybe it is a bit early to draw such conclusions, but so far I've been very disappointed. This is what I believe the neighborhood lacks:
1. A vision. The South Boston waterfront was basically a tabula rasa ten years ago - a piece of low hanging fruit ripe for plucking. With a creative vision and plan, it could have been a terrific neighborhood. The creation of the Back Bay had a vision - reclamation of land, tree lined central boulevard and street grid, and most importantly a set of building requirements that helped shape the neighborhood. This set of building requirements (height, scale, bow fronts, windows, etc) may seem constrictive, but it led to the wonderful Back Bay architectural vernacular that we all love.
2. Human Scale. I welcome tall buildings in cities as they increase density, increase critical mass and create interesting skylines. But for me, its what happens when buildings meet streets that really defines a city. The building heights are fine, its just there are too many mega blocks, and too many breaks in the streetwall. A more intimate street grid with varied architecture would have been better.
3. A destination. We're half way there with the ICA, and I'm glad that it moved to Fan Pier. The BCEC brings a lot of out-of-towners to the area, but its likely that their hotels are downtown, where the action is. The BCEC is also enormous, and not a friendly structure to any neighborhood. In this regard, I think that the idea to move City Hall to the waterfront is a good one. If Menino can put his money where is mouth his, than I support his idea. I only worry about the fate of the current city hall. If the city decides to sell it and its surroundings, the building should be preserved and renovated for another use.