Iconic architecture in Roxbury will have to wait another 100 years.... And you have Tito Jackson to thank.
Forget the 900,000 sq ft vs 1.1M sq ft conundrum Downtown. The city has put rules up that have made it next to impossible for Don Chiofaro to build at the Harbor Garage site - which, of course, is precisely why he needs the additional 200k sq ft in the first place.
Roxbury just lost their very own, 'Pierce;'
The City finally did it 'right' at Tremont and Roxbury Crossing neighborhood hubs - but then, something happened, and people should be furious.
The city is comprised of somewhere on the order of 5-8% nimby. But, to appease the rabid dogs, planners end up chopping 10 or 20 floors off nearly every damned building topping 150'..... and as a result, not only is there almost no iconic architecture built into these properties (because they're VE'd nearly to death)-
And this is precisely what Tito Jackson has done to Iconic architecture in Roxbury - where it might as well be Game Over for 2 fantastic projects at Tremont Crossing and Roxbury Crossings;
Frankly this might spell the two last chances for architectural greatness in this Neighborhood. Where else are you going to build the infrastructural centerpoints Roxbury so desperately needs?
You can take nearly all the buildings done over 150' in the last 25-30 years and chop 30-40% of the taxes right off them, in what clearly amounts to the rationing of sq ft and height in this city..... Endlessly rationalized by the false narratives of a few angry residents, hyper-activist politicians and city planners who cave to their disproportionate demands.
And all of this - put upon a city with too high a ratio of property taxed at extremely low rates.
They default back to he big 3: "way out of character blah blah blah,' 'will increase traffic blah blah blah,' 'not supported by public transit blah blah blah....'
Tito Jackson is a jerk. Adding insult to injury, he just might become our next mayor. Make no mistake, If he supported development, i'd support him. But, he's aggressively protested every damned building proposed near his community, including several, much-needed dorms. 180'-200' appears to be the new height limit for Boston's precious transportation hubs.
Curbing these projects back so drastically will have a disastrous effect down the road. We're going to be in a very dark place on building in and tax revenue in a few years as operational costs continue to spike.... and we'll be looking at dozens of turd towers that have led directly to Boston's dire economic picture.
And to whom will the most desperately needy in Boston have to thank?
That's right, look no further than anti-development extremists like Tito Jackson.
He just severely cut back two crucial projects, (including
hundreds of apartment units) that would have elevated OUR community to heights only dreamed a few years ago. Who's getting hurt? You all are.
Contrary to everything you've been led to believe, it is nimby politics that presents the greatest threat to any community.
And all you folks who give chopping every damned building in Boston a pass, you're giving
lousy, VE'd architecture in Boston a pass.... We get an austere environment at the street level, crap aspect-ratio turds, and austere VE'd cladding, half-assed transit cut back community development, and less affordable housing.
So when i seem like such an ass about height, it's because not only is the market screaming for it, but we're behind the 8-ball for new revenue sources, with almost no land with which to do it..... We have a lot of catching up to do for the last 200 or 300 tallest put up in Boston since that Tom Menino took office. This is a very dangerous game these politicians continue to play with our city's economic future.
In a few years they'll see their error, when we're completely out of land for any serious height or density like Tremont Crossing, They're so dumb, we'll be lucky if they even have a suitable place to relocate the USPS.gov holed up at South Station.
Sorry, Mr. Jackson; This isn't Worcester. People have the right to know you're putting the city's future at risk for your personal gain.
