Pinnacle at Central Wharf (Harbor Garage) | 70 East India Row | Waterfront | Downtown

[cburns]

Done!!! Thanks rj for the reminder!!! I encourage all active members of AB to send in a statement of support.

done!

 

[chrisbrat]

also done

 

[Massachoicetts]

What are points you guys are bringing up? I'm going to do another comment again tonight...

 

[rjacobs]

What are points you guys are bringing up? I'm going to do another comment again tonight...

FWIW, here's what I wrote (not the most articulate, but it is what it is):

For the length of my life, a hulking garage has sat, like a monolithic block, providing nothing of value to the public except the utilitarian function of parking. Today, there is a chance to finally 'bury' this eyesore - WITHOUT losing its utilitarian function once the underground garage is built.

In its place, the public gets a large plot of land that is 50% totally open to the sea (unlike the Harbor Towers, with their fenced-off swimming pool blocking out the public for the length of the property, AND the Blue-way! AND park space and major cosmetic improvements to the nearby pier. AND the skyscraper is an addition to the Boston skyline. Skylines are one of the most iconic aspects of a city's identity, celebrated on post-cards and movie scenes. What is the logic of keeping an ugly, anti-social concrete parking garage instead of the excellent alternative that has been there for the taking for goodness knows how many years now. Enough is enough.

If this tower fails, Boston will be stuck with an eyesore for the length of my child's life (she's 7), rather than 'just' my own.

 

[chrisbrat]

Thank you for submitting your project comment for Harbor Garage Redevelopment.

Opinion:
Support

Comment:
I may not live within the city limits any more, but I lived -- and owned property -- in Boston proper for over 17 years and, before that, went to high school in the city. As someone who loves Boston, the waterfront, architecture, and urban design I wholeheartedly support this project. Aesthetically, it's a stunner. I wish it could be taller, but FAA restrictions (and other factors) make that an impossibility. However, even if it was far less attractive than the current design is (I really hope this is the FINAL design and that it doesn't get VE'd or forced to reduce height) it would be an improvement over the hulking, ugly parking garage. The garage cuts off access to the harbor, ruins sightlines on both sides, has no meaningful street-level activity or appeal, and speaks to an already long bygone age where car travel was the only option. The Harbor Tower residents who oppose this project are being wildly selfish. This is a city. If you want unobstructed views and no development near your home, then move to Concord or Bedford -- anyone owning a condo in HT could easily do that with the profits of a sale. Please green-light this project ASAP.

 

[Suffolk 83]

I also wrote a quick note in support, screw the harbor tower people

 

[Gunner02]

 

[shawn]

Hey guys, just to confirm before I submit my own: Pinnacle will have about as much on-site parking as the current garage has, and Harbor Tower residents who have parking now will get spots in the new facilities?

 

[Patrick Winn]

Wind is a valid concern. It shouldnt mean "no building" but "adjust the facade to ensure theres no wind tunnel"

There are multiple studies that will be run with wind simulators and a report on this before construction starts

 

[stellarfun]

Hey guys, just to confirm before I submit my own: Pinnacle will have about as much on-site parking as the current garage has, and Harbor Tower residents who have parking now will get spots in the new facilities?

A little less on-site parking. Chiofao stated demand has dropped, even prior to COVID.

HT residents have spaces allocated to them, in the sense if they pay for a monthly parking permit which is a 24/7 permit, that space is 'reserved'. But unlike the present situation, HT residents gain no property right with any such allocated spaces. That could change, hypothetically, if HT paid for part of the cost of construction of the garage. In effect, HT would then be purchasing spaces which would convey a property right. 300 spaces @ $200,000 a space = $60 million. Not exactly chump change.

 

[Patrick Winn]

Oh good. Social Justice as the new NIMBY battle cry.

This is what happens when people don't understand how money works.

isn't it absurd? something tells me these folks arent actually interested in social justice. if they are, they'll be happy to know there is a huge mixed development for affordable housing being planned for charlestown. Folks interested in social justice should pay closer attention to projects like bunker hill .

 

[rjacobs]

Mike, I hope you shared similar sentiments (and the visual exhibits that you wonderfully captured) with the BRA and the state. Your rant was full of lucid sanity; it's the evidence on the ground (which, again, you perfectly captured) that renders the NIMBY arguments to be sheer lunacy.

 

[itchy]

"SAVE BOSTON'S WATERFRONT" - the elderly white people yell.

Let's assume for a moment that every detractor of this project is white (which is probably not the case). They are wrong. But what does it matter what color their skin is? Would their wrongness be right if they were a different race?

 

[JeffDowntown]

Let's assume for a moment that every detractor of this project is white (which is probably not the case). They are wrong. But what does it matter what color their skin is? Would their wrongness be right if they were a different race?

Their wrongness would not be any different if they were a different race.

But it is not incorrect to point out that most NIMBYs in Boston are hyper privileged old white people. Systemic white privilege is alive and well in Boston.

 

[HenryAlan]

Let's assume for a moment that every detractor of this project is white (which is probably not the case). They are wrong. But what does it matter what color their skin is? Would their wrongness be right if they were a different race?

It speaks to the system backed power held by the NIMBYs.

 

[Vagabond]

Is this not an IMAX anymore? Website says its "newly renovated" and has stripped all IMAX references. If its newly renovated, doesn't sound like they want to move it to create their coveted Blueway...

Simons Theatre - New England Aquarium

At the Aquarium’s state-of-the-art Simons Theatre, visitors are immersed in 3D films and spectacular cinematography on a giant screen.

www.neaq.org

I remember when it opened in 2001.
"Designed by E. Verner Johnson and Associates, a Boston-based firm, the theatre boasts a screen which is 65' tall by 85' wide, making it the largest in New England."

The Boston Globe
Boston, Massachusetts
07 Dec 2001, Fri

 

[393b40]

Is this not an IMAX anymore? Website says its "newly renovated" and has stripped all IMAX references.

Im not sure IMAX is much of an attraction anymore in the age of affordable 80” tvs and home theater setups. IMAX was a cool thing in the 90s/00s

 

[cjbski]

Mike - great photos. That area is AWFUL and is a place that many tourists see. Residents alike don't deserve such ridiculousness in this central area of a world-class city. We need the Pinnacle project. And for the Aquarium to come back to planet earth.

 

[rjacobs]

With tomorrow being the deadline for submitting comments, please note that the Pinnacle website now has a 'fool-proof' system for submitting comments (for those who, like me, spent a few minutes trying to find the correct location on the BRA website). From an email I received today:

"Submit your comments via the newly-updated PinnacleCentralWharf.com, your “one-stop shop” for information on the project, and they will be distributed directly to the BPDA, as well as City and State officials and departments.

Thank you to those have participated in the Article 80 process for The Pinnacle at Central Wharf to date. We look forward to keeping you apprised.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions on the project - info@chiofaro.com"

 

[itchy]

It speaks to the system backed power held by the NIMBYs.

What does that mean? It's nonsense. Don Chiofaro is white. So are 80% of people in Massachusetts, the vast majority of whom are normal middle-class people.