Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

LeTaureau said:
After having a long hiatus from the board, I'm quite impressed with the flurry of activity and building in Boston.

I have a question about these proposals for the board. I notice that a number of the designs include greenery, whether on terraces or in other design elements such as winter gardens, etc. There was an interesting article in the FT a few weeks ago making the case that such elements are merely window dressing for uninspired architectural design, and that perhaps it's just a trend where cities are trying to improve their overall "green" image. If you notice, it's popping up everywhere: London, Paris, and of course Singapour.

Is there a "greenwashing" happening with some of these proposals as well?....
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Well stated, and a great question. w/ LEED v2 or even with older building being modernized and re-cladded, it would seem, the taller they are, the greener they are.... When you have all the components working together, it would appear the sky's the limit; http://www.waterworld.com/articles/...-reuse-proves-decentralized-system-works.html
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

hate to put a damper but today's Globe paper edition(could not find online) states decision to pick developer delayed to July or August due in part by complaint by Shirley (over my dead body) Kressel being reviewed by AG Healey.BRA also needs more time to review proposals.In Globes Bold Types Business section
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Here's the article, which was actually part of a bigger article. It's actually not that bad. The truth is that the June 9 announcement date was too ambitious anyway. This will still move quickly.

Globe Article URL

Hurry up and wait, again, on Winthrop Square Garage

The who’s-who of big-name builders itching to get their hands on the Winthrop Square Garage will have cool their heels for at least another month.

Officials at the Boston Redevelopment Authority are now acknowledging that their June 9 target date to name a developer for the site may have been too ambitious. BRA spokesman Nick Martin says the agency is aiming for a decision in July or possibly August.

The delay is due in part to a complaint by BRA watchdog Shirley Kressel, who contends the City Council violated open meeting laws when it transferred the closed city garage to the development agency. That complaint is under review by Attorney General Maura Healey.

It’s also due to the sheer complexity of weighing six ambitious proposals in a compressed window of time. The BRA is juggling bids from influential developers including entrepreneur Steve Belkin of Trans National Partners, Millennium Partners’ Anthony Pangaro and HYM Investments chief Tom O’Brien, himself a former BRA director. And they’ve all hired small armies of architects, and PR gurus to help press their case.

Still, the BRA wants to move fast. Real estate director Ed O’Donnell says they want to launch before the real estate boom peters out. That means signing a developer soon. — TIM LOGAN
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Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

BRA "watchdog", Shirley Kressel..... That's an insult to every watchdog in the world. At least watchdogs do something noble. She seems to justify her existence by obstructing progress, and thinks it's worthy. (?) She needs to find a new hobby. Note to Shirley Kressel: You live in a growing, big city... with lots of people, and lots of buildings, and many others wish to live and work here also. This means new buildings have to go up-whether you like it or not.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Shirley needs to get a life and stop trying to impede economic development in this city. People like her exemplify what is wrong with democracy.
 
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Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

tysmith95 said:
Shirley needs to get a life and stop trying to impede economic development in this city. People like her are exemplify what is wrong with democracy.
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Exactly.....it is amazing how the anti-development crowd in Boston holds so much sway. Community involvement/engagement is one thing. Nonsensical obstructionism is another-especially when it results in stifled growth for no good reason....I would love to know how/why these people think slicing floors off a proposed building benefits anybody. I could understand it if we were talking about a rural area, but this is a large CITY.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

I want this built as much as anybody, and it looks like its going to happen regardless of her input, but I understand where she's coming from. I may be wrong but last I remember she's not being a NIMBY over the height she's pissed that the BRA did shady shit as usual to sell off the garage in a way which the money goes to the BRA and not to the state. I could be way off as Im not following this but thats what I remember.

If thats the case yea it sucks that she's impeding this going forward, and I wish it was a different project, but the BRA is a shady ass group of people. Im not mad about someone watching their every move to make sure they don't fuck the state over, like the DOT does, or basically every single part of the government in this entire state. Tolls still on the pike, insane wages for govt official friends, including toll booth workers making 100k a year and a subway conductor making 350k a year, massive project budget over runs for the same reason, massive welfare fraud, essentially diplomatically immune illegal citizens in Cambridge, insane taxes throughout the entire state that only benefit Boston while Worcester and Springfield...etc rot.

Im going off topic a bit at the end here, but Im not opposed to someone making sure the BRA stays on its toes, because if nobody was paying attention you know they would burn the taxpayers at every turn. She's not going to be able to stop this though, too much money involved, and it will move forward unless outside forces start to weaken the market in the next few years.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

stick n move said:
If thats the case yea it sucks that she's impeding this going forward, and I wish it was a different project, but the BRA is a shady ass group of people. Im not mad about someone watching their every move to make sure they don't fuck the state over, like the DOT does, or basically every single part of the government in this entire state. Tolls still on the pike, insane wages for govt official friends, including toll booth workers making 100k a year and a subway conductor making 350k a year, massive project budget over runs for the same reason, massive welfare fraud, essentially diplomatically immune illegal citizens in Cambridge, insane taxes throughout the entire state that only benefit Boston while Worcester and Springfield...etc rot.
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Jeez, did you just go insane for a minute there?
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

stick n move said:
If thats the case yea it sucks that she's impeding this going forward, and I wish it was a different project, but the BRA is a shady ass group of people. Im not mad about someone watching their every move to make sure they don't fuck the state over...

Im going off topic a bit at the end here, but Im not opposed to someone making sure the BRA stays on its toes, because if nobody was paying attention you know they would burn the taxpayers at every turn.
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The BRA needing an overhaul in the way it does business and 111 Fed getting built during this economic cycle are two separate issues. Call me a cynic, but I had already accepted that most all deals the BRA's ever handled have been shady or semi-shady. The BRA needs reform - we get it. But this is the WRONG project to use as the impetus to redesign the BRA - why? Because we may either make or miss the opportunity to build a great structure on this plot during this cycle. We all know it takes almost a decade to build a skyscraper of this magnitude in Boston. It is not worth missing this economic cycle to use this as leverage to fix the BRA. We can, should, and must fix the system in parallel regardless.

Shirley (and friends), stop holding this project hostage: there are many of us who support government clean-up yet also support this project.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Well put. You couldn't be more correct.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Who said this was the project to use as the impetus to redesign the BRA?
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

stick n move said:
Who said this was the project to use as the impetus to redesign the BRA?
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Stick, I agree with much of what you're saying, but Shirley has implied exactly this:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...uare-garage/GcNdD4yQUHKf5O8h8J4UYP/story.html

She is using this particular project to highlight the taxpayer injustice done by the BRA. I actually don't doubt her allegations, but we are talking about $10's of millions of taxpayer injustice, which is a drop in the bucket versus the billions the BRA has probably cost taxpayers over the past 5 decades.

My point: let's fix the BRA, but let's not miss the economic cycle on 111 Fed. The city as a whole will be all the better for it.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

That was my point also, I said she's not going to be able to stop it, but Im not mad at people like her.


Anyways its gonna be boring in this thread until August.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

If Shirley succeeds in abolishing/grandstanding the BRA let's build something like 340 Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn at this site. That would just be the ultimate FU to Boston NIMBY's in the area.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

tysmith95 said:
If Shirley succeeds in abolishing/grandstanding the BRA let's build something like 340 Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn at this site. That would just be the ultimate FU to Boston NIMBY's in the area.
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She wont. And the FAA is not a NIMBY.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

stick n move said:
She wont. And the FAA is not a NIMBY.
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The FAA doesn't want tall towers in their backyard (logan airport). While their concerns are more valid than the ones proposed by many NIMBY's I would still consider them to be a governmental NIMBY. Downtown Boston doesn't lie in any Logan flight-path so I don't understand why the FAA limits for Downtown Boston can't be higher.

To all readers I apologize for going off topic on this thread.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

You didn't go off topic.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

tysmith95 said:
The FAA doesn't want tall towers in their backyard (logan airport). While their concerns are more valid than the ones proposed by many NIMBY's I would still consider them to be a governmental NIMBY. Downtown Boston doesn't lie in any Logan flight-path so I don't understand why the FAA limits for Downtown Boston can't be higher.

To all readers I apologize for going off topic on this thread.
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NIMBY: opposition by residents to a proposal who dont want development near them. The FAA is in no way a nimby. Im bowing out of this now this is getting ridiculous.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

The FAA has valid safety concerns with having tall buildings in the event of engine failures where buildings above the height limit could have issues with clearing buildings. That is not being a NIMBY.

Is it annoying at times sure, but there is a valid reason for the limits and at least its not as bad as San Diego.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

For the umpteenth time, the FAA has concerns about radar coverage of aircraft approaching from the west. This can be alleviated by building a second radar, but no one is willing to pony up the money for that.

If the FAA declares a building to be a hazard, you can't get insurance for the building. With no insurance, the building won't be built. Its as simple as that.
 
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