Seaport Square (Formerly McCourt Seaport Parcels)

As far as I am concerned parcel G is by far the biggest offender to the developing urban fabric here. I'd much rather they develop that first.
 
Smartiro said:
As far as I am concerned parcel G is by far the biggest offender to the developing urban fabric here. I'd much rather they develop that first.
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I agree, but Parcel G was complicated by the realignment of Northern Ave. It used to cut through Parcel G and now it frames parcel G. But some of the utilities still run though Parcel G. Not insurmountable but it takes time to relocate them.

I think the last one is the one being relocated right now (you can see current construction in front of Ocean Prime and the courthouse). Eversource owns two 115kV circuits that are being relocated. Both are pipe type cables. That means each circuit consists of three conductors inside an 8" steel pipe that is filled with pressurized oil to insulate and cool the conductors. So the process of replacing it is time consuming:
  1. Cast new splice vaults where the new pipe will meet the existing pipe.
  2. Install new pipe. For these two circuits it was something like 800' each circuit.
  3. Wait for an outage window (those are critical circuits so only one can be de-energized at a time and it needs to occur in either fall or spring - not during peak loads).
  4. Install 2 freeze pits once outage begins. Freeze pits uses super-cooled nitrogen to freeze the oil "upstream" (i.e., on the substation side) from where your cutting into the existing pipe. So you only lose the oil between the two freeze pits and not all the oil back to the substations/terminations.
  5. Drain oil and remove section of conductors.
  6. Pull in new conductors and splice to existing conductors at the manholes.
  7. Re-energize line.
  8. Wait for next outage window so you can repeat steps 4 through 7 on the second circuit. The good news is I think Eversource is planning to get both outages done this fall. I don't think they need to wait for the spring for the second outage.
TL/DR - Eversource needs to finish relocating 2 underground transmission lines before work can start on Parcel G.
 
AmericanFolkLegend said:
I agree, but Parcel G was complicated by the realignment of Northern Ave. It used to cut through Parcel G and now it frames parcel G. But some of the utilities still run though Parcel G. Not insurmountable but it takes time to relocate them.

I think the last one is the one being relocated right now (you can see current construction in front of Ocean Prime and the courthouse). Eversource owns two 115kV circuits that are being relocated. Both are pipe type cables. That means each circuit consists of three conductors inside an 8" steel pipe that is filled with pressurized oil to insulate and cool the conductors. So the process of replacing it is time consuming:
  1. Cast new splice vaults where the new pipe will meet the existing pipe.
  2. Install new pipe. For these two circuits it was something like 800' each circuit.
  3. Wait for an outage window (those are critical circuits so only one can be de-energized at a time and it needs to occur in either fall or spring - not during peak loads).
  4. Install 2 freeze pits once outage begins. Freeze pits uses super-cooled nitrogen to freeze the oil "upstream" (i.e., on the substation side) from where your cutting into the existing pipe. So you only lose the oil between the two freeze pits and not all the oil back to the substations/terminations.
  5. Drain oil and remove section of conductors.
  6. Pull in new conductors and splice to existing conductors at the manholes.
  7. Re-energize line.
  8. Wait for next outage window so you can repeat steps 4 through 7 on the second circuit. The good news is I think Eversource is planning to get both outages done this fall. I don't think they need to wait for the spring for the second outage.
TL/DR - Eversource needs to finish relocating 2 underground transmission lines before work can start on Parcel G.
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Thanks for the info on this. The lane closures on Seaport Blvd and on Sleeper St for this have been a giant headache over the past number of months. At least I now know what they're for, though it sounds like it'll continue being a headache for quite some time.
 
Wow - never knew this about underground electric cables. This is awesome. Thank you for the info.
 
NPC to firm up the rest of the site: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/dzsslkazo926tycdtjv7bg1r728ico1q

Major points: the other low building next to Parcel G is gone, the 88 Seaport design has apparently survived, and 120 Seaport (G) may be done in the same vernacular as N and P.

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Not sure if the few feet of park space gained is better or worse than the structure that was proposed, but its interesting to see it removed. What was supposed to go there again a museum or art gallery? Must not have been that important to begin with and definitely a cost cutting measure by removing it.
 
stick n move said:
Not sure if the few feet of park space gained is better or worse than the structure that was proposed, but its interesting to see it removed. What was supposed to go there again a museum or art gallery? Must not have been that important to begin with and definitely a cost cutting measure by removing it.
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The elimination of the 30,000 square foot Block F mixed-use [described as retail] building will increase the size of Seaport Common by nearly 70% from its current condition and 50% from the currently approved plan for Block F, dramatically adding to the public realm in the Seaport. The removal of the Block F building will also open up a diagonal view corridor and create a direct pedestrian connection between the Harbor Way linear park and Fan Pier Green, further enhancing and making more legible the open space network in the Seaport. The previously-planned Block F mixed-use building included an interior Massachusetts Fallen Heroes interactive space. With the elimination of the previously proposed Block F building, the Block F plan proposes instead the opportunity to construct a freestanding structure with a footprint of approximately 1,800 – 2,000 square feet, adjacent to the Memorial obelisk. No changes are proposed to District Hall, which will continue to operate pursuant to the 2017 NPC and the PDA Plan.
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Thanks, sounds like a positive change. The building seemed like it was being built just to have something there and didnt really have the most defined purpose. No idea what a “fallen heroes interactive space” is and Im a veteran. I think once they permanently install the rest of the names of fallen service men/women (half are on temporary stands) that the memorial will be sufficient, the obelisk is a nice touch.

The extra green space is going to benefit the community much more than some generic retail and an interactive space imo. One change I do hope to see is less excessive walkways and more grass and trees. Itd be more functional as park space with a bigger chunk of unbroken grass for people to lay out on, read a book etc. Either way though looks like a win for the seaport.
 
stick n move said:
Thanks, sounds like a positive change. The building seemed like it was being built just to have something there and didnt really have the most defined purpose. No idea what a “fallen heroes interactive space” is and Im a veteran. I think once they permanently install the rest of the names of fallen service men/women (half are on temporary stands) that the memorial will be sufficient, the obelisk is a nice touch.

The extra green space is going to benefit the community much more than some generic retail and an interactive space imo. One change I do hope to see is less excessive walkways and more grass and trees. Itd be more functional as park space with a bigger chunk of unbroken grass for people to lay out on, read a book etc. Either way though looks like a win for the seaport.
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I agree - was sitting in post office square the other day thinking this could easily be in the seaport if they committed to unbroken space as you mentioned. Seaport Common feels way too programmed instead of just creating a space and leaving it to people to decide how they want to use it. I think removing that building is a big step in that direction.
 
Equilibria said:
I'd go more with "critically-needed contrast to all that glass", but hey, everyone has a different taste.
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Whatever about the façade detail, we'll see what is actually designed, the massing is terrible for this site. Especially when the original design had that really cool 'cut-through' for Northern Ave.
 
stick n move said:
Thanks, sounds like a positive change. The building seemed like it was being built just to have something there and didnt really have the most defined purpose. No idea what a “fallen heroes interactive space” is and Im a veteran. I think once they permanently install the rest of the names of fallen service men/women (half are on temporary stands) that the memorial will be sufficient, the obelisk is a nice touch.

The extra green space is going to benefit the community much more than some generic retail and an interactive space imo. One change I do hope to see is less excessive walkways and more grass and trees. Itd be more functional as park space with a bigger chunk of unbroken grass for people to lay out on, read a book etc. Either way though looks like a win for the seaport.
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Replacing 30,000 SF of non-income producing space, in return for losing 700 residential units, to be replaced with, what, 500K SF of lab space, is positive? It's purely driven by economics, and I think it sucks for this location.
 
My opinion was only that trading a 2 story retail podium for more park space was a fair trade. I didnt say anything about losing residential units or adding lab space.
 
Equilibria said:
Major points: the other low building next to Parcel G is gone, the 88 Seaport design has apparently survived, and 120 Seaport (G) may be done in the same vernacular as N and P.
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FWIW, I’m pretty sure the design of 88 Seaport has changed. It’s quite similar with the diagonal feature, but it appears they shrunk the gap considerably where now the building looks more like it’s crunched together rather than cut out.

[Edit] Here are some screen shots for comparison:

Old design:

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NPC design:

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