Sorry, for the complete derailment; I'm fairly certain that we're all in agreement that it's inappropriate to just show up at neighborhood association meetings and deliver unsolicited advice (though I wouldn't be surprised if this was a YIMBY tactic in the now hot and contentious SF market).
As the flyer suggested, the meeting covered a number of topics and was mainly to update the member residents on projects where they have representation and/or direct updates from the developer. I'll throw updates in other threads later today when I'm not bleary-eyed if there's anything interesting from my notes.
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Overall, there wasn't any loud opposition to this tower (or the adjacent Back Bay Station proposals). It was noted that the proposed Boston Properties office building on the other side of Dartmouth St from Copley Tower is going to be roughly the same height, hence 'gateway'?... Heads nodded, lightbulbs went off, no particularly negative murmur.
As we all know, below-grade is in progress and as Datadyne has noted on the previous page, the work going on right now is to make that entrance accessible so they can close the entrance on the other side of Neiman Marcus on Stuart Street to do the real prep. I don't remember seeing a timeline disclosed here, but the following windows were announced during the meeting:
- Dartmouth St entrance and pedestrian tunnel under Dartmouth reopens Nov 2016
- Foundation works for tower beings fall 2016
- upper floor facade renovations for existing retail and office area complete in Spring 2017
- Work on Stuart and Dartmouth plaza starts spring 2017
- 4 year construction period for estimated completion in 2020
There was a brief tirade about sewage concerns over the addition of 542 new housing units on the site... calling on BWSC and MWRA to be transparent and assure the neighbourhood that they have the ability to process the new demand, referring to some overflow incident 5 years ago (?). I wanted to allay their concerns, but it was the very last thing on the docket and the meeting had a hard stop (because of all the EPA/MEPA-funded sewer-grey water separations, on-site or local water treatment, reduction in storm surge, etc. MWRA is actually concerned about flow rate to Deer Island treatment facility in the coming decades - last I heard on an MAPC-organised tour I took of the facility 3 years ago...further, of course the developer is going to provide certs/approvals with MWRA and BWSC to comply with waste water treatment laws...)
Of note, apparently the developer or CAC or someone insisted that the enclosed space that will be at the base of the tower shouldn't be called a 'public garden', but rather a 'public square'... mmmhmmm
And finally, my own question a few pages back about the poetry art installation in the now chopped up plaza at the entrance to the Southwest Corridor Path is being moved to other stations along the SWC in favour of art that is 'less interruptive of flow and more welcoming as a gateway to the path.'
Addendum: Oh, speaking of mitigation funds - one update I left out:
- $500k in remediation is being set aside
- 1/2 to Southwest Corridor Park Conservancy and 1/2 to Friends of Copley Square for various neighbourhood beautification projects