Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

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

stellarfun said:
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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And, the conditions for public-private partnering for such an expense are non-optimal for 111 Fed because we'd be talking about an investment to allow for ONE development for ONE developer. One would think that such an investment would have to be part of a bundled package associated with multiple developments to make it worthwhile. Boston should, for example, consider such a public/private collaboration if it identified a certain area of the city that it wanted to zone for height and for multiple developments. An example of this could be the redevelopment of the old central steam plant on the edge of downtown that was announced by Baker/Walsh earlier this year - I would love to see such strategic thinking associated with this, but instead we'll probably see a cluster of small stump buildings and no investment in radar.
 
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Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

i'm going to mention at the meeting; 'please don't cave to millionaire extremists who want their private enclaves preserved for their own selfish interests in the Ladder District, DXT specifically and the Back Bay... or bow to their false narrative that our inner city neighborhoods are about to be flooded with tall highrises and skyscrapers.... it's a flat lie.'
 
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Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

stellarfun said:
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.
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That's not the issue here. Radar coverage is the reason that the Aquarium Garage can't come up to the otherwise-approved FAA limit (which is around 600' there). The 725' limit at Winthrop Square is because of One-Engine-Out go-around procedures from departures over the SBW.

BTW, the FAA does make exceptions for sites surrounded by other tall buildings. If you look at the height map, Downtown Boston gets a big boost in allowable heights compared to areas around it, even further to the west. There's a 400' dropoff in allowable heights once you get past Back Bay (though I assume they'd extend the higher limit if someone proposed an applicable project there).

This is why Boston can even have buildings higher than 450' in its Downtown. Phoenix, San Diego, and Rosslyn cannot. Miami has similar restrictions to Boston that keep buildings below 1,000' in principle. It's not NIMBYism at all, and Boston is absolutely not the only city affected.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

odurandina said:
i'm going to mention at the meeting; 'please don't cave to millionaire extremists who want their private enclaves preserved for their own selfish interests in the Ladder District, DXT specifically and the Back Bay... or bow to their false narrative that our inner city neighborhoods are about to be flooded with tall highrises and skyscrapers.... it's a flat lie.'
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+1. This city NEEDS more housing.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Re: Rosslyn, the FAA said to Arlington County: one more tall and that's it. The last tall is just now topped out. And the issue was spatial coverage from the tower on the river approach.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

stick n move said:
Anyways its gonna be boring in this thread until August.
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I don't think so... if only because the BRA has announced an "Open House" where all 6 developers will present their proposals next Monday, June 13th, at Faneuil Hall.

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/news-calendar/calendar?startdate=06%2f07%2f2016&enddate=06%2f13%2f2016

I anticipate a delightful media horde-seasoned spectacle, with photogs and bloggers and mainstream journalists crowding to snap pictures of the 6 separate scale-models that the developers present that night. [And her eminence Shirley Kressel casting a baleful eye over the proceedings, of course...]

Should be the dog & pony show to end all dog & pony shows!
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Oh true did not know about that. Ill have to try to make it there if possible.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

115 Winthrop Square Request for Proposals Open House...

http://www.bostonredevelopmentautho...inthrop-square-request-for-proposals-open-hou

Jun 13, 2016
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Contact Edward O'Donnell
617.918.6225
Email: Ed.O'Donnell@Boston.gov

Open House Location:

Great Hall at Faneuil Hall
1 Faneuil Hall Square
Boston, MA 02109

Description:

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) will host a public open house to allow the six development teams who are vying for the chance to redevelop the property at 115 Winthrop Square an opportunity to present their concepts and answer questions about the proposals. The six prospective developers responded to a request for proposals (RFP) in April that the BRA issued in order to jumpstart the redevelopment of the city-owned garage in the heart of Boston’s Financial District, which has been closed for about three years.

An inter-agency review committee, comprised of officials from the BRA and staff from several other relevant city departments, is in the process of evaluating all of the proposals. The group hopes to recommend a developer for the garage by the end of the summer, at which point the BRA would begin its standard fine grain review of the selected project, also known as Article 80.

The BRA received a range of proposals for the redevelopment of 115 Winthrop Square that contemplate towers anchored by new residences, offices, hotel rooms, retail shops, or a mix of several of these uses. All of the submissions are available for review on the BRA’s website, and visitors are welcome to submit comments about the proposals online. More information about the RFP process is available here.


WHO: Representatives from the entities proposing to redevelop 115 Winthrop Square:

Accordia Partners

HYM Investment Group

Lendlease Development, Hudson Group North America, and Eagle Development Partners

Millennium Partners

Trans National Group

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

The Accordia proposal looks less green in these renderings which is a huge plus. I think the actual building was probably intended to be this way since the beginning, but they just needed to soften up the color a little bit.

I haven't looked over the other PDFs yet, but I think the Accordia proposal really looks great.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Love those night and ground level shots of LendLease. Accordia is still a hit or miss for me with this new presentation but I do love the setbacks. HYM looks kind of bland in the latest rendering.

I haven't gotten the chance to look at the other proposal because it's taking forever to load but, for me, LendLease is still first, followed closely by Accordia.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Some screen grabs.

Millennium







26536883996_4a94a2c07a_c.jpg






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

HYM











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

It's kind of cool how everyone has strong points:

- Accordia can sell me based on that observation deck, but come on. Get a render from that altitude instead of showing me a tiny Hancock tower from the a weird angle. If they could be held to that interior design, though, it's a big plus. Still too damn green, though I think they're overstating that on purpose through their branding and visual approach in the slides. The facade treatment looks better the closer you get to it, mostly because the green becomes an accent. I also hadn't realized how stacked and cantilevered the building will look from some angles. Kind of like the Independent in Austin.

- HYM has the best ground level, though I notice they don't mention the extended schedule in the slides. They also have the best-looking tower, IMO. Have they checked with the City to verify that there's a need for an elementary school here? I thought BPS was so over-built that they were going to close schools... Also, no observation level.

- Lendlease lost me here. The animation in their presentation is a nice touch, but that view from the Harbor is just... odd. It doesn't mesh. Maybe it would work in real life or with a higher resolution, but I still don't understand why they twisted that building into exactly that shape. The ground level is also just silly looking, and the forms are lazily strange more than innovative. And if the obs deck is going to be on the 38th floor, don't bother.

- Millennium has the best civic space, and it's clear they really believe in this design, but I've never liked it. I'm intrigued by their entire wing of sky lobbies, though I'm not sure how much those would get used by the bajillionaires who will inhabit this tower. They make it look like co-living space for millennials, but could we afford it, especially when they have to jack up rents to pay for their entire wing of sky lobbies?

- I actually don't find Trinity's tower that bad - it looks like a double-size Pierce - but holy crap is that presentation amateurish next to these others. I know they have a plan for affordable housing (which they're promoting more than anything else), but come on. You can hire a high school student to design better slides. Also, putting cars in that connector should be grounds for immediate rejection.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Accordia


BidSubmission-71A[1].jpg




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

Lendlease



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

Trinity







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

Transnational did not have any new renders.

Personal thoughts:

Millenniums public space looks amazing, that would be a huge asset to the city. The tower is not incredible but it looks pretty good. That crown would look very good lit up at night.

Trinitys tower looks like absolute garbage but the overall proposal is strong. The project is good its just hard to get past how terrible that tower looks, that thing would be an absolute dud on the skyline.

Lendlease does not belong in Boston in my opinion, nothing meshes with the fabric of the city at ground level or in the skyline. Too much clashing in every aspect of the proposal. Its a decent Chinese knock off proposal but IMO its not stronger than Accordia, Millennium, or HYM.

Accordia is still too green, but the stacking looks amazing and the observation deck would be a huge asset to the city. Giving tourists and locals that view of the city would be iconic. The interior spaces looks incredible also. That model inside the observation deck would be really cool to see in person. I like how the observation deck is inside/outside, IMO outdoor observation decks are far superior to interior ones.

HYM is an overall strong proposal. Average tower, above average ground level. I like the project but not more than Accordia or Millennium overall.

Hard to call it for me. I would be happy with Millennium, Accordia, or HYM. If Millennium had an observation deck it would have an amazing array of public spaces and the tower is good enough. That atrium would be very hard to say no to, but Accordia's observation deck is so damn good that I really wish we could get both. Overall I probably like Accordia the best and I can only imagine how incredible those interiors and Observation deck would be in person. Its still way too green, but I can almost guarantee that will not make it past the review process.
 
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Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Accordia plant stand ain't gonna make it to the final design. But the tower is very good.

Lendlease is very good.

i think Accordia looks a little better from almost every place you'd be standing in Boston.

If Transnational coulda just get with the program and make the low tower about 710'.... and the other 725-735'.

Jesus, build the asset. in Boston, it's money in the bank.

As it stands, the tall tower just ain't tall enough.
 
Re: 111 Federal St. | Formerly Trans National Place (Winthrop Square) Part 2

Got some nice new info in these presentations.

HYM is proposing a really cool new space in downtown, very European. But what is the timeline for each of their four phases? The tower is simple and elegant, and seeing it next to both Millennium Tower and One Bromfield would inject a very modern new set of structures into our skyline.

Trinity's project has good intentions and clear benefits to the city but the tower is not iconic in any way. If this were New York City, I'd say pass it, as it would just be in-fill and no one would notice, but here it's the biggest thing on the skyline, so it's a no-go.

I like Lendlease more after seeing it from new angles. I don't think new towers necessarily have to blend in or take cues from their neighbors. After all, whatever fills in this spot will become the neighbor to which future towers take their cues. I think it's funny though that two other towers proposed by Lendlease-- TRX in Kuala Lumpur and Barangaroo in Australia-- look exactly the same as this proposal. Little effort was made to make this proposal original or new.

At this point, I would be happy if Transnational, Lendlease, HYM, or Accordia is chosen, so the odds are in my favor to get a tower I like. I think that just goes to show how good development is coming along in Boston.
 
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