Copley Place Expansion and Tower | Back Bay

[Beton Brut]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

I'm with Ron, her disqualification doesn't come from her Cambridge status. It comes from her being wrong and simplistic.

I won't excuse her use of the term boulevard. Readers of Atlantic Cities should understand what a mall is. But the real transgression is her endorsement of the legislative end run around home rule. If she were a real Bostonian, she'd understand the history behind such moves and why they shouldn't be viewed through a favorable lens, regardless of result.

^^ This.

 

[Lurker]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

I'll disagree, unless you want me to stop writing here about anything on the Boston side of the Charles.

You get around, this woman appears to live a PROC/GentryEnclaceofManhattan neighborhood bubble. Similar to the people that live on the hill or JP and never visit any other parts of the city beyond highly specific destinations.

 

[mass88]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

http://www.boston.com/Boston/busine...-units-site/yf2pcMngfDSnRNoJ3GzE6M/index.html

 

[Ron Newman]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Glad to read this; it addresses the only really valid objection to the developer's plan.

 

[HenryAlan]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Okay, so who do I have to know to get one of these?

 

[Bubbybu]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Okay, so who do I have to blow to get one of these?

Sign me up...the waiting list is probably going to be nuts if the word gets out.

I have a question though for anyone in the know...how many people apply for these affordable housing openings in new the luxury buildings? Does demand far exceed supply? It seems like not a lot of people would know about such opportunities. But I am pretty ignorant as to the scope of the word of mouth for these units.

 

[sidewalks]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

how does this make sense, ron? You really think it makes sense for some housing lottery winner to get a $2 million unit, with all the same bells and whistles? That money could go much farther in a different location and subsidize more units. The city should not be in the business of handing out lottery tickets at the expense of a developer. It's ridiculous.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Sign me up...the waiting list is probably going to be nuts if the word gets out.

I have a question though for anyone in the know...how many people apply for these affordable housing openings in new the luxury buildings? Does demand far exceed supply? It seems like not a lot of people would know about such opportunities. But I am pretty ignorant as to the scope of the word of mouth for these units

Most get advertised in at least the Metro. I remember posting the one for Atlantic Wharf here.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

how does this make sense, ron? You really think it makes sense for some housing lottery winner to get a $2 million unit, with all the same bells and whistles? That money could go much farther in a different location and subsidize more units. The city should not be in the business of handing out lottery tickets at the expense of a developer. It's ridiculous.

Chill bro, chances are they are NOT going to build the affordable apartments to the same standard as the high end ones. There may even be a separate entrance for them and certainly the finishes are going to be more down to earth.

 

[kmp1284]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Glad to read this; it addresses the only really valid objection to the developer's plan.

Valid by what standard?

 

[Ron Newman]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

More valid than complaints about shadows, for instance.

 

[Sicilian]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Chill bro, chances are they are NOT going to build the affordable apartments to the same standard as the high end ones. There may even be a separate entrance for them and certainly the finishes are going to be more down to earth.

The so-called affordable units are mixed in with market units throughout the buildings. The developers can't segregate these units or fit them out differently. Since the unit total (not square footage) matters, they tend to be the smaller units.

Affordability criteria for these units is not the same as, say, Section 8 housing. Salary qualification for a studio might be, say, $50k per year -- not $20k per year. And the renter soon realizes that they can't capitalize on market rate escalations, sometimes in a position where they can't afford to move within the same neighborhood.

My impression of BRA-qualified "affordable" units has been that they are usually occupied but not always in high demand. IMO, the net effect based on the numbers (as I've hinted in another thread regarding "microunits" and "BRA artist live/work") is that they are more of a public relations gimmick than having a substantive impact.

 

[RobKSU]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Greetings, in the spirit of disclosure I am the Senior Architect from Elkus Manfredi who has been leading this project from it's inception as a tower expansion almost seven years ago and I've been following the discussion here on archBoston since it's inception in 2006 and have truly enjoyed it.

You may or may not know that tomorrow we will have a hearing with the Zoning Board of Appeals to allow the project to be designated as a Planned Development Area and to accept the approved Draft Project Impact Report as the basis for the new Zoning parameters. This is necessary because the Turnpike Authority that previously governed the site is no longer in existence and the site will now be under the jurisdiction of Zoning.

Just as the BRA Board hearing is part of the open public hearing process, the ZBA is also a public hearing and the approval of this project by the ZBA is a critical step in our process.

You all have discussed the benefits of the project from the sustainable design and smart growth aspects to the impacts on the public realm and many community benefits as well as the design and it’s impact on the Boston skyline, it would be great to have you voice those opinions at the hearing.

I know that it is very difficult to fit these things into your schedules as previously mentioned, but I suspect this may be an opportunity that won't come around again in a long time.

We expect to begin our presentation at City Hall at 10:30am and will have public testimony around 11am, if you have a flexible lunch schedule please come down and be heard!

 

[Boston02124]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Welcome and thanks for the info! As you know most of us here want and support this new tower and I hope some of us are able to be there,I for one can't wait to photograph this rising into the skyline!

 

[RobKSU]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Thank you, I'm sure I've bumped into several contributors from this forum at the various public presentations over the years and have been impressed with how accurate the debates have been. We've worked very hard to design an iconic project that is deliberately juxaposed in curvalinear form to one of the most successful tower forms on any skyline in the John Hancock Tower.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Yes, definitely a warm welcome and thanks for revealing your presence. The effort the Elkus team has put forth on this tower is evident. It is by far one of the most well-thoughtout development/towers ever planned in this city. It is really unfortunate that you have had to face the barrage of claims that the sun casts shadows to the south for this long. I honestly don't know how you guys are able to put up with it.

I like that you took in the prime location and juxaposed the tower with the Hancock. Since the early renderings of this, I have been calling it the Hancock's little sister.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Yes, definitely a warm welcome and thanks for revealing your presence. The effort the Elkus team has put forth on this tower is evident. It is by far one of the most well-thoughtout development/towers ever planned in this city. It is really unfortunate that you have had to face the barrage of claims that the sun casts shadows to the south for this long. I honestly don't know how you guys are able to put up with it.

I like that you took in the prime location and juxaposed the tower with the Hancock. Since the early renderings of this, I have been calling it the Hancock's little sister.

Welcome -- as you might have observed there are a lot of huge egos masquerading behind sometimes silly sounding nom-de-forum

But I think nearly everyone on the Forum has a serious interest in a more vibrant, more economically sucessful and pleasant Hub to live /work / visit -- and that means mixing appropriate modern architecture in with the traditional

I for one am looking forward to the new iconic view from the MIT shore with Pru + R2D2 and Hancock + your new tower (we'll get a good name for it)

Bravo

 

[bbfen]

Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Thank you, I'm sure I've bumped into several contributors from this forum at the various public presentations over the years and have been impressed with how accurate the debates have been. We've worked very hard to design an iconic project that is deliberately juxaposed in curvalinear form to one of the most successful tower forms on any skyline in the John Hancock Tower.

While you're here please address the evil, awful shadows you'll create on Tent City to the south of the project site?

/sarcasm/

Good luck moving ahead and welcome.

 

[BostonUrbEx]

Re: Rose Kennedy Greenway

Tent City isn't satisfied.

Email:

the concession by simon to build the affordable units on site is positive , but i'm still not buying the height or the wintergarden on public land. there are many accessibility questions that remain unanswered. if anyone thinks that traffic and parking have been resolved, then check with tent city management on the recent underground parking problems. what about the unanswered pollution , health, and environmental issues?

anyone walking around the hancock over the last few days, realizes that another tower in this area will increase the wind tunneling to paralyzing effect. i want a southwest corridor to enjoy not be blown away on.

neighbors who have some time, please go to copley park (trinity church), and check how much sun actually hits the park. when simon group tells us that we will lose only 2 hours, what is left is a mere 1 1/2 hour of sun as it goes by the westin for 2 hours, the condo beside the library for 45 minutes , then barely gets halfway across the library before disappearing. the spring and fall sun will be effected similarly. we will lose 2 hours of the best time of day for that area.

this fight is not finished.

 

[BostonUrbEx]

Re: Rose Kennedy Greenway

Copley Neighbors,

We have just learned that the Zoning hearing has now been set for 10:30am Wednesday in Room 900, City Hall.

1) We still hope you will be able to come to support the Copley Neighbors position that the project, as currently proposed by Simon Properties, does not meet the necessary requirements to be granted zoning under Planned Development Area regulations.

2) Please also note that today's news is that Simon Properties now says that they will provide the affordable units (15%) on site. While this is indeed good news, we do not know the details and the number falls short of their lease requirement of 25%.

3) The proposed privatization of federally financed public open space remains a significant roadblock to any development on this site.

Ken

and

Second Wednesday Meeting regarding Copley -

Representatives from Simon Malls, the largest real estate company in the United States, will be attending the meeting of the Boston Commission for Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday, December 14, to discuss the accessibility of its Copley Place expansion project.

Simon has owned Copley Place for the last 10 years, but has not met its obligations under the ADA, and has not adhered to the 1983 maintenance agreement with the state of Massachusetts.

See attached photos recently taken around Copley Place. The all-brick surface has been dangerous for many years, but Simon has not made repairs until now.

The meeting will be at Boston City Hall , in the Piemonte Room on the 5th floor. The meeting runs from 5:30 to 7:30, and we will hear from Simon shortly after 6 PM.

Thank you very much,