The Parker Boston (nee LaGrange Tower) | 47-55 LaGrange St. | Downtown

not sure. i was speaking with Adam Weiner outside the war room during the presentation. My personal feelings with regards to 47 LaGrange Tower is and probably the Building Dept as well is, the accupied height of ~200' should fall safely within the 'just be a City,' safety margin.....
 
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^ Are you high up in any company related to development in Boston or are you just a citizen who attends these public meetings? Im not taking a jab Im just wondering why these people would go out of their way to talk to some random dude about multi million dollar urban development projects and what weight your opinion holds. Again not a jab and its appreciated that you attend these meetings it just doesn't make a ton of sense to me unless you're behind the scenes in some way vs someone who posts on the Boston Globe website comment section.
 
Most buildings around this are taller then the proposed building. I see no reason why there would be any opposition to this proposal height wise.
 
Most buildings around this are taller then the proposed building. I see no reason why there would be any opposition to this proposal height wise.

Yeah, I agree, but it's nonetheless a 155' zone and the proposal is 240'...so even though there may be little/no opposition from the neighbors, it will still require a variance down the road, and if someone has some objection to this for whatever reason, they could try to stall it. I agree, though, more than likely it should go through.
 
Im pretty surprised that this tower is being praised as is and there is bare minimum talk about it should be taller. If anything that shows that this is a very strong proposal.
 
Im pretty surprised that this tower is being praised as is and there is bare minimum talk about it should be taller. If anything that shows that this is a very strong proposal.

Talk from whom, aB'rs? I like it as-is because I like the concept of a step-up from the public garden/common to the high-spine, and I support a midrise zone between the greenspace and the spine. I do, however, think that the 155' zoning should be about 250' given that practically every third or so building around here is a variance anyway...I am not a fan of build-by-variance, so let's call a spade a spade and make this a 250 zone.

But yea, can't speak for others but I think its a cool & fitting design.
 
I agree. I had pretty much written off LaGrange as a parking access alley. (That is all the Ava and the Kensington use it for.)

I suppose there is a square footage issue with parking, but the ground floor of Ava on LaGrange is disappointing. Were those few spots at street level really necessary? Perhaps for valet service? Or something I'm missing?

Retail there would have been beneficial, particularly in combination with this new development. The street is already much more active than it used to be.
 
I suppose there is a square footage issue with parking, but the ground floor of Ava on LaGrange is disappointing. Were those few spots at street level really necessary? Perhaps for valet service? Or something I'm missing?

Retail there would have been beneficial, particularly in combination with this new development. The street is already much more active than it used to be.

Ground level spaces in the Ava are indeed necessary for the valet service, elevator garage. You cannot run an elevator garage (only option on the site) without a staging area.
 
I don't think all hope is lost for LaGrange in terms of being more than a parking alley. This building is only going on the parking lot AFAICT but the weird warehouse structure between this and the Kensington (not the Garage) might be a redevelopment opportunity at some point.

Also the buildings on the corner of Tremont and LaGrange could possibly be retrofitted at the ground level if the owners thought it was worthwhile. Given how this district is turning into club central for the city of Boston I don't think that's too far-fetched.
 
I don't think all hope is lost for LaGrange in terms of being more than a parking alley. This building is only going on the parking lot AFAICT but the weird warehouse structure between this and the Kensington (not the Garage) might be a redevelopment opportunity at some point.

Also the buildings on the corner of Tremont and LaGrange could possibly be retrofitted at the ground level if the owners thought it was worthwhile. Given how this district is turning into club central for the city of Boston I don't think that's too far-fetched.

The warehouse structure will be demolished for a new affordable housing tower; something of a second phase of the 48 Boylston (I believe, the BYMCU Building) rehab and then extension out back. Planning Office for Urban Affairs development. Could have ground floor retail, though.
 
Soil test drilling rig is in the currently active parking lot with comes around it.
 
Parking lot is still open but there is some fencing up on the site. I'm not sure if this is for the "luxury" tower or the affordable tower.
 
http://www.mattesonco.com/4755-lagrange

If 533 Washington St. [aka former FELT] gets approved with its 94 units, and this 152 unit puppy squeezes into this development cycle as well, that's another 246 units for an area.....

the narrow "533" is an awesome proposal. hope it goes forward.

seems it's gone quiet.


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this one will be really great, in any case.
 
I remember the days when Lagrange Street was known as Vaseline Alley.
 

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