Channelside (née P&G) | 244-248 A Street | Fort Point

It sounds like they're not cheaping out, plus they got KPF. Looking forward to seeing what the final proposal is..
 
Suffice it to say that with Related-Beal and Alexandria working in that immediate area -- things will be very very different from the current Acres and Acres of parking lots

and then you have to include the other developments down A Street closer to Dorchester Ave and the Broadway T Stop -- a mini Kendall might be going too far -- but a lot of Tech/Bio will be happening in what used to be mostly warehouses and low intensity development
 
Equilibria -- we do have some details
from the LOI filing:

The Project Site, located off A Street adjacent to the Fort Point Channel, currently contains surface parking and is located over the MassDOT 1-90 Extension Central Artery/Tunnel. The Proponent intends to undertake the development of the Project Site as a mixed-use development of approximately 1.1 million square feet as that term is understood in the Boston Zoning Code and Enabling Act (the “Code”), including laboratory/R&D, office and residential uses and uses complimentary thereto, as well as significant improvements to the public realm, including new parks, improvements to the Harborwalk and other open space improvements (the “Project”). ....

The Project as currently envisioned contains:
  1. a residential building of approximately 366,000 square feet with a height of 180 feet, including ground floor accessory uses and “Facilities of Public Accommodation” (“FPA”) uses consistent with the requirements of M.G.L. Chapter 91 and the MFIPA (described below);
  2. an office building of approximately 334,000 square feet with a height of 180 feet, including ground floor accessory uses as well as FPA uses; and
  3. a laboratory/research & development building of approximately 400,000 square feet with a height of 123 feet, including ground floor accessory uses as well as FPA uses (each a “Component” and collectively the “Project”).

The ground floor uses in each building and the considerable dedicated open spaces within the Project Site will activate the public realm and encourage use and access to the Fort Point Channel and associated tidelands.

On 6 acres I would have guessed they could have been more intensive in development -- but then again the I-90 tunnel runs beneath and there may be restrictions on what can be built above the tunnel
 
PNF:


Residential building, office building, and lab building, all separated from the Channel by a berm.

1595878915354.png

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Awesome awesome news. The seaport has definitely turned a corner as far as architecture, street life etc. That being said its still cut off from the rest of the neighborhood and kind of an island. This will help start to push development further inland and begin to connect it to southie. This is great.

Also I love to see the “park” space, along with waterfront upgrades. These are just as important and its so great to see how well theyve been treating the harborwalk in the seaport. Its really becoming a gem.
 
To save anyone the digging I just did:

The FAA height limit imposed on this site appears to be 274'. It is further constrained by the 100 Acre Plan PDA, which limits G4 to 180', and G5 and G6 to 100'.

http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachment/a993d0c8-b087-413c-91ad-29edfe2d5c75

The 100 Acre plan PDA had heights included on the proposed parcels. Up to 180 feet.
Page 29.

I'm a little confused because this PNF has G5 and G6 surpassing those height restrictions, at 180' and 123' respectively. Not sure what changed since that PDA came out in 2007, but it would be so impactful if the residential portion of this project could also be built beyond the PDA limit and up to the FAA limit. Whenever the city has the opportunity to squeeze in an additional ~100 residential units in the heart of the CBD, it has to be taking it.
 
To save anyone the digging I just did:

The FAA height limit imposed on this site appears to be 274'. It is further constrained by the 100 Acre Plan PDA, which limits G4 to 180', and G5 and G6 to 100'.



I'm a little confused because this PNF has G5 and G6 surpassing those height restrictions, at 180' and 123' respectively. Not sure what changed since that PDA came out in 2007, but it would be so impactful if the residential portion of this project could also be built beyond the PDA limit and up to the FAA limit. Whenever the city has the opportunity to squeeze in an additional ~100 residential units in the heart of the CBD, it has to be taking it.

Typically zoning height restrictions don't include the mechanical crowns on top of the buildings. They are to the highest occupied floors. I think the crown can add upwards of 20% more height.
 
If these don't get VE'd to death, they'll be great additions
 
Now this is quality. I feel like Im seeing a shift away from all glass facades. At least in mid rise architecture. You can still have floor to ceiling windows but instead of the glass continuing over the building skeleton there is facade material there that makes each building infinitely more unique and interesting. Hopefully this continues... forever.
 
Absolutely gorgeous. Where is architecture like that in other parts of the city for upcoming projects?!
 
Absolutely gorgeous. Where is architecture like that in other parts of the city for upcoming projects?!
I wonder if this quality is because the campus is life sciences focused. We've seen some similar quality in some of the Cambridge developments. Do you have to float a high quality campus to get biotech to decamp from Cambridge?
 
These do seem to be quality but the design lacks any boldness. This is what we get in Boston
 
LOVE the architecture. Meh on the massing. Hate the plan (why is no one building housing? I guess that's a different bigger issue.).

Wish they had maybe made a nicer seaside park that people would actually use instead of that pointless block park that will be shaded half the day and the even smaller, darker, connector park. And then used the extra space for more urban human size density.
 

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