The Hub on Causeway (née TD Garden Towers) | 80 Causeway Street | West End

Re: TD Garden Towers

Hilarious...sad but true. :D:D:D


Bos77 said:
You haven't been on here that long... There is a cycle:

1) Post article from Globe, Herald, or BBJ
2) Excitement ensues for 3-10 posts.
3) Rendering released. 10-30 more posts, possibly from only 2-5 members about the architectural apocalypse being upon us.
4) Community meeting time... NIMBYs/BRA suck, this wouldn't happen in NYC, etc.
5) Revised proposal released. Floors cut, value engineering done, and discussion about alucobond.
6) More community meetings and bitching. Something keeps being posted about "lack of vision and the Krafts/seaport". Thread also derails into some ridiculous topic like this thread, independent movie houses now closed, or DTX BIDs.
7) Construction may or may not start. Surprise BRA or Mass Dep/DOT permitting issue.
8) If construction continues, some awesome folks will do their damnedest to document it all with a gallery of pics.
9) For every 1 pic there is a ration of 5-10 posts judging materials like precast and glazing. 50% chance of thread derailing again. And with construction not even at 10% complete people will declare the building to be the end of Boston.
10) Building complete, it turns out 'not as bad' as people thought or 'better than a parking lot'. Thread dies.
Click to expand...
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Bos77 said:
You haven't been on here that long... There is a cycle:

1) Post article from Globe, Herald, or BBJ
2) Excitement ensues for 3-10 posts.
3) Rendering released. 10-30 more posts, possibly from only 2-5 members about the architectural apocalypse being upon us.
4) Community meeting time... NIMBYs/BRA suck, this wouldn't happen in NYC, etc.
5) Revised proposal released. Floors cut, value engineering done, and discussion about alucobond.
6) More community meetings and bitching. Something keeps being posted about "lack of vision and the Krafts/seaport". Thread also derails into some ridiculous topic like this thread, independent movie houses now closed, or DTX BIDs.
7) Construction may or may not start. Surprise BRA or Mass Dep/DOT permitting issue.
8) If construction continues, some awesome folks will do their damnedest to document it all with a gallery of pics.
9) For every 1 pic there is a ration of 5-10 posts judging materials like precast and glazing. 50% chance of thread derailing again. And with construction not even at 10% complete people will declare the building to be the end of Boston.
10) Building complete, it turns out 'not as bad' as people thought or 'better than a parking lot'. Thread dies.
Click to expand...

This is perfect. Someone could probably program a bot AB and it wouldn't be that far off...
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Bos77 said:
You haven't been on here that long... There is a cycle:

1) Post article from Globe, Herald, or BBJ
2) Excitement ensues for 3-10 posts.
3) Rendering released. 10-30 more posts, possibly from only 2-5 members about the architectural apocalypse being upon us.
4) Community meeting time... NIMBYs/BRA suck, this wouldn't happen in NYC, etc.
5) Revised proposal released. Floors cut, value engineering done, and discussion about alucobond.
6) More community meetings and bitching. Something keeps being posted about "lack of vision and the Krafts/seaport". Thread also derails into some ridiculous topic like this thread, independent movie houses now closed, or DTX BIDs.
7) Construction may or may not start. Surprise BRA or Mass Dep/DOT permitting issue.
8) If construction continues, some awesome folks will do their damnedest to document it all with a gallery of pics.
9) For every 1 pic there is a ration of 5-10 posts judging materials like precast and glazing. 50% chance of thread derailing again. And with construction not even at 10% complete people will declare the building to be the end of Boston.
10) Building complete, it turns out 'not as bad' as people thought or 'better than a parking lot'. Thread dies.
Click to expand...

Wow...absolutely perfect.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Someone should stick that in an announcements thread or something haha
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

I agree. That post should not get buried. One of the funnier ones I have seen here.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Bos77 said:
You haven't been on here that long... There is a cycle:

1) Post article from Globe, Herald, or BBJ
2) Excitement ensues for 3-10 posts.
3) Rendering released. 10-30 more posts, possibly from only 2-5 members about the architectural apocalypse being upon us.
4) Community meeting time... NIMBYs/BRA suck, this wouldn't happen in NYC, etc.
5) Revised proposal released. Floors cut, value engineering done, and discussion about alucobond.
6) More community meetings and bitching. Something keeps being posted about "lack of vision and the Krafts/seaport". Thread also derails into some ridiculous topic like this thread, independent movie houses now closed, or DTX BIDs.
7) Construction may or may not start. Surprise BRA or Mass Dep/DOT permitting issue.
8) If construction continues, some awesome folks will do their damnedest to document it all with a gallery of pics.
9) For every 1 pic there is a ration of 5-10 posts judging materials like precast and glazing. 50% chance of thread derailing again. And with construction not even at 10% complete people will declare the building to be the end of Boston.
10) Building complete, it turns out 'not as bad' as people thought or 'better than a parking lot'. Thread dies.
Click to expand...

You forgot the part where there's no news for months and then someone bumps the thread asking if there is any news, only to be brutally murdered in response. Rinse. Repeat x5.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

jdrinboston said:
Here we go...let the downsizing begin :rolleyes:

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/06/north-end-questions-garden-project.html
Click to expand...

Dear Lord, please grant me the patience..................

IT'S AT NORTH FREAKING STATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Where do these people expect to build up as smart growth??????

They are worried about traffic and energy consumption????????

Can someone.....anyone.......push whoever wrote that letter to the BRA into a pool of rancid tomatoes?
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Pfffft, good luck losers. They're wasting their time and breath.

And yeah, skyline views change no matter. You might as well as complain that the wind keeps blowing too.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

I'm sorry, I have more....

“major implications for traffic, energy consumption, public and private utilities and infrastructure, public realm amenities and impacts, housing, open space, massing and skyline changes, groundwater resources, shadow and wind, and impacts to residential quality and residential and business economies in the North End and other adjacent historical neighborhoods.”

1) ROTFL at the open space. These old grannies from the north end just shot themselves in their own mouth. Are they trying to save the unusable-pedestrian open space for tour buses in front of the garden?

2) Um yeah, a few thousand more professionals near your neighborhood would be great for the quality of your neighborhhood and it's economy. But don't ask me, I only took one semester of economics.

Sullivan should ask them what it is they really want. Because I think we all know.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

They raise legit concerns, especially the parking and state of repair of the N Washington St bridge. Coming from the northeast that's the only way in and traffic will choke the intersection at N Washington and Causeway Sts. If it really is TOD then reduce the parking spots.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Most of the concerns they raise with regard to traffic and utility infrastructure need to be addressed. They are not singling out the TDNorth project as much as they are asking for an assessment of the cumulative effect of several very large proposed projects.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Most of the concerns they raise with regard to traffic and utility infrastructure need to be addressed. They are not singling out the TDNorth project as much as they are asking for an assessment of the cumulative effect of several very large proposed projects.
Click to expand...

Edit: Wrong thread.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

type001 said:
“major implications for traffic, energy consumption, public and private utilities and infrastructure, public realm amenities and impacts, housing, open space, massing and skyline changes, groundwater resources, shadow and wind, and impacts to residential quality and residential and business economies in the North End and other adjacent historical neighborhoods.”
Click to expand...

It's my opinion that NIMBYs rarely care about the list of specifics they trot out to stall or kill a project. The main goal is to ensure that the status quo on the ground is preserved. The secondary goal is the validation of having their voices heard.

The whole building part of it is really not even much of a thing.

It's a scattershot list of reasons for a reason. Not to mention one that would've probably prevented their own homes from existing in the first place.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

stellarfun said:
They are not singling out the TDNorth project as much as they are asking for an assessment of the cumulative effect of several very large proposed projects.
Click to expand...

Unless they brought up the same concerns when the Merano, Victor, 1 Canal, and NSR were proposed, then they are singling it out. You could argue that it's because this particular development was the last proposed of all those, but I get the funny suspicion they would have raised these concerns if this was the first proposal near north station since 1995.

If this was truly about traffic and congestion, I would have expected all the Orange Line commuters to raise the concern first.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

The letter: http://www.newra.org/ZLC/Boston_Garden_Project_ENF_Comments_6-11-13_1_.pdf

It's actually mostly reasonable, I think.
According to the ENF, the Project will increase the number of parking spaces at Boston
Garden by 50%, from 1,375 spaces to 2,075 spaces, and will more than double the average daily
traffic on Causeway Street, from about 12,000 vehicle trips per day to about 25,000 vehicle trips
per day. We now experience serious traffic congestion and attendant public safety risks,
especially pedestrian safety risks all along Causeway Street and especially at the ill-configured
intersections at Nashua Street and at North Washington Street.
Click to expand...

I think NEWRA deserves credit for recognizing that traffic impacts are caused by an increase in parking supply. This is in contrast to the stereotypical neighborhood association that calls for more and more parking.

Isn't there supposed to be a parking freeze in effect here?

NEWRA is also right about the pedestrian safety risks on those streets. They are nasty and really cut off the North End. Causeway and N. Washington is particularly horrible for people on foot.

Another factor that may contribute to increase traffic demands is the scope and type of
retail establishments that will service the new residential population. Traffic can be expected to
increase if residents’ retail needs are not met within the Project or in the immediate area. This is
especially the case with a supermarket, but also applies to every other retail service that supports
and helps define a “neighborhood.”
Click to expand...

Again, NEWRA understands that the point of mixing retail with residential is to replace auto trips with walking trips to local destinations.

The Draft EIR should also describe the needs and demands of the Project’s populations
(residential, office and hotel) for open space and recreational resources, and how these demands
will be met. The North Station area, the North End and other surrounding neighborhoods have
limited amounts of open space and recreational resources for the existing population and demand.
Click to expand...

I find this to be a bit silly too, considering the existence of the Greenway. But! I think they may have a point: most of the Greenway parcels closest to North Station don't feel like a park, they feel like a bunch of disorganized parking lots or dumping grounds, and are used in that fashion. Improvements to those parcels should definitely be part of the plan.

8954533712_6904dd5902.jpg
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Opponents of the Congress St Garage project are upset that it reduces parking spaces, which will make it difficult to park, therefore clogging the streets.

Opponents of the North Station project are crying about how the increase in parking spaces will lead to more traffic, therefore clogging the streets.

Perhaps the developers could talk to one another and devise a plan. Maybe it would help to point out that this will be a lateral move in terms of parking, and emphasize the proximity to mass transit for both of these projects.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

Matthew said:
I find this to be a bit silly too, considering the existence of the Greenway. But! I think they may have a point: most of the Greenway parcels closest to North Station don't feel like a park, they feel like a bunch of disorganized parking lots or dumping grounds, and are used in that fashion. Improvements to those parcels should definitely be part of the plan.

8954533712_6904dd5902.jpg
Click to expand...

Isn't this because those parcels aren't actually part of the Greenway and are all slated for development (i.e. isn't the above supposed to be the Merano?)
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

vanshnookenraggen said:
They raise legit concerns, especially the parking and state of repair of the N Washington St bridge.
Click to expand...

So now you know why this can't be Boston's Time Warner Center ;-)

I kind of like the fact that this proposal is helping to keep the heat off the Gov Center garage, which is the more favorable one. To further tmac9wr's point, they should just declare that they are making up for the loss of spaces at Gov Center.

Nonetheless, this is going to be a very hard battle against Delaware North. Especially since they can simply point out what the traffic was like prior to 1995.
 
Re: TD Garden Towers

If I lived in the north end I can't imagine using my car unless I was leaving the city. I live in Brighton and barely use my car, never if I'm heading downtown. Are people there seriously driving to work, or is this just complaining to complain?
 
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