South Station Tower | South Station Air Rights | Downtown

i think adding a few hundred net parking spaces is also a good thing in the big scheme.
We're gong to need this garage when the Harbor Garage is demolished.
You're going to have several thousand new residents taking up Downtown garage spaces.
People will be pushed to make more judicious choices upon when they will depart those garages.
Early birds will have a few options to get vehicles off the streets during blizzards, etc.
Commuters working or making stops in the Downtown area will have a 2nd option for when train service interruptions happen.
 
jass said:
Inconveniencing transit passengers to build a goddamn parking garage in 2020 should have heads rolling

But theres a shiny tower attached so this forum is pleased
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And covered platforms, and a massively expanded intercity bus terminal...

Also (and you know this) the long-term inconvenience is primarily for the tower, not the garage.
 
jass said:
Inconveniencing transit passengers to build a goddamn parking garage in 2020 should have heads rolling

But theres a shiny tower attached so this forum is pleased
Click to expand...
The parking garage is on top of the bus terminal, it does literally 0 marginal harm to anyone in the form of disruption. There’s a whole website with videos explaining this! In this thread!
 
fattony said:
Except for all the auto trips it adds to the streets of downtown Boston... As a pedestrian, I find that disruptive.
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Jass’s post was in the context of construction disruption. 895 spaces primarily used for residential will add some trips, but this generically applies to any project - the ratio here isn’t unusually high even (sadly) for downtown
 
jass said:
Inconveniencing transit passengers to build a goddamn parking garage in 2020 should have heads rolling

But theres a shiny tower attached so this forum is pleased
Click to expand...

This of all things should have heads rolling? Not the ghosts of winter 2015, chronic under-funding, deferred maintenance, delays, derailments, of the rest of transit infrastructure?? Shiny tower or not, this is the least of the problems right now. Hopefully the construction will be well managed enough to stay that way.
 
fattony said:
Except for all the auto trips it adds to the streets of downtown Boston... As a pedestrian, I find that disruptive.
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Fattony -- Just for the record -- the T has setup a website just to assuage the T's user's fears and trepidations

South Station Transportation Center Improvements | Projects | MBTA

Official website of the MBTA -- schedules, maps, and fare information for Greater Boston's public transportation system, including subway, commuter rail, bus routes, and boat lines.
www.mbta.com www.mbta.com

a few choice excerpts which should be shared with the Knee-jerkers and Worry-Worts, etc. [too late for the NIMBYs]

What to Expect During This Work
Construction, expected to last 54 months, will begin in late January 2020.
Starting in July 2020, construction zones are likely to change the way you access South Station and the bus terminal. Here's what you can expect:
  • Atlantic Avenue entrance: Access to South Station from the Atlantic Avenue entrance will be maintained throughout construction.
  • Summer Street entrance: Beginning in July 2020, riders should allow extra time (5 – 10 minutes) for travel to and from the platform.
  • Dorchester Avenue access: There will be access to the South Station platform from Dorchester Avenue via a new walkway constructed between 245 Summer Street (the Fidelity offices) and the U.S. Postal Service building.
  • Bus terminal access: Access to the bus terminal will be maintained through the current bus terminal entrance and Track 1 platform.
All entrances to South Station will remain ADA-accessible.
What Commuter Rail and Amtrak riders can expect

What Red Line and Silver Line riders can expect

What bus riders can expect

What bicyclists can expect

What passengers being dropped off or picked up can expect

Project Stages
The air rights project will be completed in 3 stages.
The construction schedule is still being finalized. Please continue to check back for updates.
Stage 1 (January 2020 – June 2020): Prep work

Stage 2 (July 2020 – June 2022): Bus terminal construction

Stage 3 (July 2022 – June 2024): Tower construction

Construction schedules are subject to change due to weather and other factors.
Learn more about the month-by-month construction plan
Upcoming Events
JANUARY 22, 2020, 4:30 PM
South Station Pre-Construction Open House
BSA Space, Fort Point Room, 2nd Floor, Boston, MA

[/QUOTE]
Click to expand...
 
2.5 more years until the tower starts. There's Boston in a nutshell. To think, everybody here expected no more than like 6-12 months of prep time due to the "foundations already being done" and yet it's pretty much the longest wait yet!

As much as I love this stuff, being a skyscraper fan in Boston is an unbelievably frustrating hobby. Everything takes years longer than it should, and "years" is a pretty long ****ing time to be waiting around.
 
A little gesture from the developers like some funding for needed maintenance to the commuter rail would go a long way toward making this more palatble.

A free coffee stand in SS would be welcome, too!
 
DZH22 said:
2.5 more years until the tower starts. There's Boston in a nutshell. To think, everybody here expected no more than like 6-12 months of prep time due to the "foundations already being done" and yet it's pretty much the longest wait yet!

As much as I love this stuff, being a skyscraper fan in Boston is an unbelievably frustrating hobby. Everything takes years longer than it should, and "years" is a pretty long ****ing time to be waiting around.
Click to expand...

Well, the foundations for the decking of the expanded garage are completed. If that weren't the case, the construction of that deck would take far longer than 5 months. Imagine the process surrounding constructing dozens of foundations between multiple CR tracks.

I think the actual tower foundations aren't done, as they aren't actually in between the tracks, though 2 years is a long time, but as you note, not that long in Boston terms. One Dalton took a long time, Winthrop Square is taking its time, and this will too. Part of this is due to the fact that Boston geology is an absolute mess. We sit on a fault line, glaciers moved tons of material, clay isn't fun to work with, and, this tower in particular, we are right on the edge of the Atlantic. Gotta make sure your foundation isn't going to move any more than you expect it to, which takes time.

I don't understand however, the 7 months of prep work beforehand for the decking, as it seems like it may just be some structural rehabilitation, if any, on the foundation caps, demolition, and putting up fences, signs, moving equipment into place etc.
 
DZH22 said:
2.5 more years until the tower starts. There's Boston in a nutshell. To think, everybody here expected no more than like 6-12 months of prep time due to the "foundations already being done" and yet it's pretty much the longest wait yet!

As much as I love this stuff, being a skyscraper fan in Boston is an unbelievably frustrating hobby. Everything takes years longer than it should, and "years" is a pretty long ****ing time to be waiting around.
Click to expand...
DZH -- That's just the point -- the foundations which were "Done" are only there to support the expanded Bus Station
The Massive weight of the tower has to be supported by new foundations which are not "Done"

In order to do the foundations for the tower -- things have to move about in the vicinity of the platforms and some of the pedestrian connections to the Bus Station and the South Station Waiting Room
and in order to do those things other prep things have to happen such as removing trees, relocating taxi stands, etc.

That is why it will be July before much is visible and about this time next year before major construction starts -- see the very detailed construction sequence drawings and the video
 
I believe the red things in the video are the piles already in place for the tower. The arches will tie into them .
 
Or the piles work will be will be going on as the platform is being built over the tracks. Not sure.
 
DZH22 said:
2.5 more years until the tower starts. There's Boston in a nutshell. To think, everybody here expected no more than like 6-12 months of prep time due to the "foundations already being done" and yet it's pretty much the longest wait yet!

As much as I love this stuff, being a skyscraper fan in Boston is an unbelievably frustrating hobby. Everything takes years longer than it should, and "years" is a pretty long ****ing time to be waiting around.
Click to expand...


I think everyone (including myself) vastly underestimated the foundation work required for the tower. I guessed it would be using the existing but with heavy modifications. Looking at the video it looks like it's going to be almost completely new foundations, and foundation work is not quick work on the best sites. Never mind being this close to the water, constricted site, and vibration of trains & traffic nearby.

I'd also wager that there will be some decent archaeological finds on this site.

BostonBoy said:
I believe the red things in the video are the piles already in place for the tower. The arches will tie into them .
Click to expand...

The red ones are new foundations for the tower. In the video, when it rotates from the waiting area side to the Atlantic Ave view, you can see the red foundations extending into the ground, which would indicate them being new. This is also likely the reason certain platforms are getting shortened and the construction area is laid out the way it is.
 
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BostonBoy said:
Or the piles work will be will be going on as the platform is being built over the tracks. Not sure.
Click to expand...
No -- it's fairly explicit in some of the filings which I quoted in previous posts and also in the construction information on the several web pages -- there are no pilings in place for the support of the arches -- they need to be installed -- apparently using slurry wall tech

Indeed as you view the video showing the construction sequence it tells you when that work will be occurring:

  1. Months 1-6 -- Creation of Construction Zone [prep work for the construction]
  2. Months 7-12 -- Bus Terminal Expansion Overbuild [supported on the existing footings in place between the tracks]
  3. Months 7-30 -- Atlantic Ave Podium
  4. Months 9-21 -- Tower Foundations
  5. Months 22-26 -- Tower Super Columns / Transfer Truss
  6. Months 27-54 -- Tower Construction above level 109
 
As far as archeology , the site is on fill . The original shoreline was where the old Essex Hotel stands ,across the street. I do know there was extensive drilling to test the soil under the station tracks when they were re configured, because I was there for it. I do not remember any archeologists on site.
 
bobthebuilder said:
I think everyone (including myself) vastly underestimated the foundation work required for the tower. I guessed it would be using the existing but with heavy modifications. Looking at the video it looks like it's going to be almost completely new foundations, and foundation work is not quick work on the best sites. Never mind being this close to the water, constricted site, and vibration of trains & traffic nearby.

I'd also wager that there will be some decent archaeological finds on this site.



The red ones are new foundations for the tower. In the video, when it rotates from the waiting area side to the Atlantic Ave view, you can see the red foundations extending into the ground, which would indicate them being new. This is also likely the reason certain platforms are getting shortened and the construction area is laid out the way it is.
Click to expand...
bobthebuilder -- I think you covered it all
my only exception would be the archaeological part -- there might be some old cans of spam or something which the folks building South Station about 120 years ago left behind -- but not likely much of significance -- the site prior to South Station was mud flats which were filled when the South Station was constructed circa 1897-1898

images from Boston Atheneum Collection originally by the Boston Terminal Company [owner / builder of South Station]

Athena Holdings Information

catalog.bostonathenaeum.org catalog.bostonathenaeum.org
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054- Excavating for Sheet Piling on Summer Street. In the South Station Collection [Boston Atheneum] 1897

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062- [General View of the Work – from the intersection of Summer Street and Atlantic Avenue]. In the South Station Collection. [Boston Atheneum] 1897

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087- [Section of Subterranean Areas and Footings]. In the South Station Collection.[Boston Atheneum] 1898


263_1956-08-13-bpl.jpg

circa 1898

01_PC-Germany_BW.jpg

circa 1904
 
DZH22 said:
2.5 more years until the tower starts. There's Boston in a nutshell. To think, everybody here expected no more than like 6-12 months of prep time due to the "foundations already being done" and yet it's pretty much the longest wait yet!

As much as I love this stuff, being a skyscraper fan in Boston is an unbelievably frustrating hobby. Everything takes years longer than it should, and "years" is a pretty long ****ing time to be waiting around.
Click to expand...
An even more frustrating hobby, waiting for transit improvements.
 
tysmith95 said:
An even more frustrating hobby, waiting for transit improvements.
Click to expand...

Where is it not frustrating? Dubai? China? Places where they build quick and dirty, their buildings catch fire, and their workers die?
 
Equilibria said:
Where is it not frustrating? Dubai? China? Places where they build quick and dirty, their buildings catch fire, and their workers die?
Click to expand...
There are other parts of the country, Seattle comes to mind, that are much better.

I apologize for getting off topic.
 
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