SBWTC /South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center | Seaport

I think it is awfully outdated. I don't hear many people living in the Seaport referring to it as being part of South Boston. Visitors also have a different place in mind when you tell them "South Boston waterfront" vs. "Seaport."

Agreed, but I think the problem is that "Seaport Transportation Center" makes you think of boats and the like. You know, a "seaport". The last thing you think when you hear "Seaport Transportation Center" is a parking garage for cars.
 
Somehow other neighborhoods can be split throughout the years, but South Boston residents feel that it is a huge insult to "lose" their waterfront.

Mission Hill has established itself as separate from Roxbury.
Mattapan is no longer considered part of Dorchester.
The list goes on.

What's interesting here though, is that the Seaport is in no way "Southie" in character. It is very different compared to the rest of the neighborhood.
 
The Seaport is South Boston in the same way Dunkin' Donuts is a restaurant.
 
You know what the worst thing about this ugly project is? Of all the buildings that you would want to cover a highway a parking garage is probably the cheapest one to build. Just cantilever it over! This still leaves I90 as a gaping hole. What a complete waste.

I agree with the sentiment (as you all know).

Point of clarification - this is in fact built over I-90. The exposed roadway nextdoor is the haul road, which is a level below summer st. and wtc ave here.

Of course, the section of I-90 below the garage was already a tunnel - it was covered when it was built (ie cut & cover). Structurally, this thing is probably the same as it would have been if built over an exposed section. Easier construction logistics though.

The exposed section of i-90 immediately east of here is the entrance to the Ted. Not sure if would have been possible to build over that section - structurally feasible, of course, but i think there are considerations about ventilation (especially smoke) and future access for construction / maintenance / heavy equipment etc. at the portal of the long cross-harbor segment. Maybe. Would likely depend on the layout.
 
They built all sections of the tunnel that had air rights with future development in mind which actually cuts costs and saves time, look at the Merano that thing flew up because the hard part was already taken care of.
 
Somehow other neighborhoods can be split throughout the years, but South Boston residents feel that it is a huge insult to "lose" their waterfront.

Mission Hill has established itself as separate from Roxbury.
Mattapan is no longer considered part of Dorchester.
The list goes on.

What's interesting here though, is that the Seaport is in no way "Southie" in character. It is very different compared to the rest of the neighborhood.

I wasn't really going to get into this, but it's true. Based on the Seaport community meetings that I have attended over the past 2 years or so (and I've been in the area for several years prior), I get the sense that the longtime Southie residents feel some kind of entitlement over Seaport now that it's being built up, and that the area is somehow "theirs" to decide how it continues to be developed. Of course, it's fairly different than the general wants and desires of actual residents (I'm basing this on conversations and discussions with area residents, neighbors, etc. and there is some generalizing here).

It's a different character from Southie for sure. I'd also say the West Broadway part of South Boston is quite different from the East Broadway side.

Anyways, as far as this garage - with the most misleading name since Fan Pier "boulevard" - goes, I still hate it so far. I think some of the above ground garages in Assembly Row look fairly decent, so I know it's possible for a garage to not look like a total turd. Massport probably doesn't give a single fuck though. Pardon my French.
 
I wasn't really going to get into this, but it's true. Based on the Seaport community meetings that I have attended over the past 2 years or so (and I've been in the area for several years prior), I get the sense that the longtime Southie residents feel some kind of entitlement over Seaport now that it's being built up, and that the area is somehow "theirs" to decide how it continues to be developed. Of course, it's fairly different than the general wants and desires of actual residents (I'm basing this on conversations and discussions with area residents, neighbors, etc. and there is some generalizing here).

It's a different character from Southie for sure. I'd also say the West Broadway part of South Boston is quite different from the East Broadway side.

Anyways, as far as this garage - with the most misleading name since Fan Pier "boulevard" - goes, I still hate it so far. I think some of the above ground garages in Assembly Row look fairly decent, so I know it's possible for a garage to not look like a total turd. Massport probably doesn't give a single fuck though. Pardon my French.

I walked up above onto the WTC bridge and boy is this thing bad. I've had numerous people come into the Seaport and ask what the hell that thing is. Its actually embarrassing and Massport should be ashamed.
 
They've started putting the siding on the WTCSBWTC

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Well .... at least we can say that it is consistent with the early-90s ethos and aesthetic that is the heritage of the Big Dig and the BCEC?
 
I thought this was as an appropriate thing atop The I-90 tunnel. It is at its worst because they haven't filled in building around it.
 
It's the least-bad place to put it (and the Waterside place complex wound up with a few hundred spaces fewer than originally planned, so the trend is in the right direction). The "SBWTC Plaza" out front is begging for a building to fill in the gap along WTC Ave, and the other sides have view-blocking developments in the pipeline.
 
I thought the garage looked better and cleaner with just the bare dark grey surface. The vertical panel doo-hickies being added look cluttery and cheap.
 
I thought this was as an appropriate thing atop The I-90 tunnel. It is at its worst because they haven't filled in building around it.

Exactly, its going to be pretty much covered on all sides. The post about the least bad place to put it was about the best way to describe it as you can. Its just a fact of life that with the transit situation and thousands of parking spaces that were once there being removed people are going to have to park somewhere. Its unfortunate but a lot of people who go here cant or wont ride the silver line in. People drive to the Seaport its just something that happens, so this garage was necessary and about it being the least bad place to put it is perfect. It will be out of sight out of mind eventually and people will still be able to park here and go to legals from whatever town they drove in from. No big deal, although it may have blended in even better without the flashy stuff they're adding to it.
 
One thing I do like about this which I wish more garages would employ is horizontal floors. In Assembly for example the floors are angled along the entire garage making it look wonky and hard on the eye. When the entire garage is angled for driving up to the next floors it looks absolutely friggin horrendous, horrible. Yes a garage is a garage for the most part (minus motor mart that thing is beautiful) but at least make it not hurt your eyes to look at.

Look at this absolute shit show of architecture vs the garage above. It should be illegal to do this. Luckily its facing the tracks, but anywhere this is visible it looks terrible and like it should immediately be demolished. Humans like to see order and some semblance of uniformity (unless in nature then its the opposite).

They didn't even keep the angles the same here, this screams afterthought and I have no idea nor do I care at all about how bad this looks as long as it works, pay me. Its angled then flat then angled again. Then look at how it has to meet the roof because of this, its disgusting. It then meets the other half of the garage on the left which is a different design that just happens to be the coveted horizontal type- with pink stripes mind you, as if almost just to tell you- see we actually went out of our way to show you that we could have done this right here, but instead we employed every single parking garage design ever created in history in a matter of 300 feet. Why?

*Bonus points for the random silver poles that serve absolutely no reason whatsoever other than just to make this entire thing make even less sense sticking out for no reason at the 2nd floor. Beautiful piece of artistry right here if I do say so.


Lol and look at this lil gem right here. Who wants to look at something like this even if its out the window of a train? Are views out of your car window that much more important than train your window? Im pretty sure this is visible from the water also, thats a sin. Just make them horizontal and call it a day, its not that hard and you then have the privilege of not making your city look like an uneven falling down disaster. A brand spanking new disaster. This is damn near a world record for clashing pieces and off-center wildness. Get it together.



Now compare this Shenani-ghanistan (should be new nick name for area tbh) to the SBWTC garage. Its nothing special, dark grey, and horizontal. Its not great, not bad, it just is. When your eye travels across the seaport you see it and keep going. Theres nothing crazy to make you stop and think, its just dark grey (for now) and everything is lined up and even. Thats all is has to be, all it is, nothing more and nothing less. /rant. Sorry for the long wind I just really hate when architects make things uneven like this and clash so recklessly. These structures are going to be standing for hundreds of years so I hate to see recklessness. Call it OCD or common sense, doesn't matter to me. Anyways take that how you will, but I think all garages should be horizontal floored, every single time.

 
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Exactly, its going to be pretty much covered on all sides. The post about the least bad place to put it was about the best way to describe it as you can. Its just a fact of life that with the transit situation and thousands of parking spaces that were once there being removed people are going to have to park somewhere. Its unfortunate but a lot of people who go here cant or wont ride the silver line in. People drive to the Seaport its just something that happens, so this garage was necessary and about it being the least bad place to put it is perfect. It will be out of sight out of mind eventually and people will still be able to park here and go to legals from whatever town they drove in from.

Hey, I respect you and appreciate your contributions ..

..but I also disagree with literally every sentence of that post.

- I havent seen any plans to cover the sides
- "The least bad place to put it" assumes it has to be built in the first place. More like 'the easiest way for Massport to turn land into a stream of cash'
- No net parking spaces have been removed
- All of those people have other parking options, and some respond to incentives like this big new garage i.e. one thing increasing supply does is to increase demand. (The real limiting factor for seaport visitors will be traffic, which this will contribute to, not the ability to find a parking spot in a garage.)
- Rather than out of sight out of mind, it will be a giant monolith in between the convention center and the nearest transit stop
 
Hey, I respect you and appreciate your contributions ..

..but I also disagree with literally every sentence of that post.

- I havent seen any plans to cover the sides

Then you haven't been following this thread. The Omni will block the south face, and Waterside B will cover the north (entirely, I might add. Wall-to-wall).

- "The least bad place to put it" assumes it has to be built in the first place. More like 'the easiest way for Massport to turn land into a stream of cash'
- No net parking spaces have been removed
- All of those people have other parking options, and some respond to incentives like this big new garage i.e. one thing increasing supply does is to increase demand. (The real limiting factor for seaport visitors will be traffic, which this will contribute to, not the ability to find a parking spot in a garage.)

This isn't for Seaport parking. It's for Airport parking. Massport is literally valet parking cars under bridges and on embankments during the holidays. In addition to this, they also negotiated with the CLF to build another 5,000 spaces at the Airport itself, either at Terminal E or on top of the existing Economy Garage.

- Rather than out of sight out of mind, it will be a giant monolith in between the convention center and the nearest transit stop

How? The direct path between the BCEC and the entrance to WTC station is over the bridge. This isn't in the way, and it's set back from the sidewalk on that side by a parklike plaza...
 

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