# BOSTON | Projects & Construction



## Cojapo

Boston Projects & Construction


Boston Skyline (Legoland?) by Nietnagel, on Flickr


Some recent projects in various stages of development:

Millennium Tower | 45 fl | 600ft | 170m | Pro

South Station Tower | 49 Flrs | 690 Ft | 210m | On Hold pending transportation projects

Downtown Crossing | 38 Flrs | 495 Ft | 150m | Com

Columbus Center | 35 Flrs | 400 Ft | 122m | On Hold

45 Province | 32 Flrs | 335 Ft | 102m

The Clarendon | 31 Flrs | 330 Ft | 100m

Russia Wharf | 31 Flrs | 345 Ft | 105m | Com

W Hotel | 29 Flrs | 309 Ft | 94m | Com

TNA | 75 Flrs | 1145 Ft(not including spire) | 349m | On Hold pending new developer

Nashua St | 37 Flrs | 414 Ft | 126

1 Joslin | 31 Flrs | 340 Ft | 104m | Terminal Hold

120 Kingston | 29 Flrs | 325 Ft | 99m | Prep


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## binhai

Finally a comprehensive thread for Boston construction. Also, there's the Boston Apple store in Back Bay (a very historic neighborhood of Boston) which is nearing completion: 



























(both images a few months old, by now they've done the interior and all they have left is the facade)


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## binhai

One Kenmore, a development near Fenway Park (Boston's baseeball park, very historic) over an ugly highway.










This is going to build over number 7 in this pic:


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## binhai

1330 Boylston Street, a tower also near Fenway Park.


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## binhai

Fan Pier, a huge development on a parking lot on Boston's waterfront.


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## Cojapo

Nice! I'll do my best to update this, but it good to see someone else contributing!
Thanks BarbaricManchurian!


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## binhai

Mandarin Oriental Boston, a new hotel (also partially over a highway)


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## binhai

New dorm tower at Boston University:


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## binhai

NorthPoint: a huge master-planned mixed-use development just north of downtown Boston. It includes commercial, residential, and a stunning new all-glass metro station. It used to be stalled due to NIMBYism (neighbors complaining) and fights between the developers. It just got restarted since it got sold to another developer. :




























First buildings complete:


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## Cojapo

Here's a few more:

Avenir

















303 Kendall

















Some proposed:

Hudson St









Grand Marc(Northeastern University dorm tower)









Waterside Place-If approved, would have two towers well over 300 feet!


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## binhai

There's also a lot of infill in Boston (small projects that fill gaps in neighborhoods by building on less dense lots). Here's The Bryant (in the South End, replaces a one story commercial building:



















And here's FP3, a new residential project in Fort Point, a historical neighborhood which is getting revitalized:









Here's Avenir, an infill project on the site of a demolished highway and elevated metro line:





































Here's Battery Wharf, a luxury residential and hotel project which involved reconstructing a wharf so it will support the higher weight of Battery Wharf:


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## PeterSmith

Great job putting this thread together. Boston has one of the best collections of new projects in the United States. I didn't see a single proposal posted here that I didn't like


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## Don Omar

yea again great job


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## Colonel Cadillac

A new Boston thread! Good work. Anybody able to snap some pics of the SST site? I went through the station a couple weeks ago, didn't see any construction. The tower comes out of the station, correct?


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## DShoost88

I love all of this; I'm so glad I go to college in Boston! But just one minute--where's the love for Northeastern?

I don't know the name of the new building, but we're getting a new 24-story dorm built on campus, right behind the Ruggles Station. Here's some progress pics I took on my phone. (Sorry if they're sideways)


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## Cojapo

Colonel Cadillac said:


> A new Boston thread! Good work. Anybody able to snap some pics of the SST site? I went through the station a couple weeks ago, didn't see any construction. The tower comes out of the station, correct?


There is not much to show yet. They are doing prep work. I believe that construction will start in March or April. And I am not 100% sure if it is rising on top of South Station or over the rail lines directly behind it.


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## ZZ-II

boston has more highrises UC than i expected!!


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## Cojapo

MIT, BC, Harvard, Suffolk, UMASS and Berkley all have expansion plans with mid-rise and highrise proposals. No renders yet. There is a garage on the water front that a developer is proposing to redevelop. It is probably going to be between 450 and 600 feet. There is a 500 foot condo tower being talked about next to the Prudential Tower as well, though that will probably be knocked down in height. It's definitely exciting. Boston actually has some large developments U/C or proposed. Were are not used to this!


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## binhai

New Northeastern University dorms:


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## binhai

New high-rise condos in the West End Apartments. This project includes filling in the park in this "towers in the park" development with residential highrises (10-14 stories) and lowrises (3 stories). The existing towers in this development soar up to 40 stories high.


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## binhai

Archstone-Smith, a highrise condo on a former industrial site.


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## binhai

Two Financial Center, an office building going up right next to South Station Tower.


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## binhai

BOSTON RENOVATIONS:

Boston has many buildings being renovated/converted into condos because many people want to live in Boston, the supply of new buildings is not enough!
































































This one's in Chinatown (they added two floors to the top):


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## DrzBrooklynChulo90

Cojapo said:


> MIT, BC, Harvard, Suffolk, UMASS and Berkley all have expansion plans with mid-rise and highrise proposals. No renders yet. *There is a garage on the water front that a developer is proposing to redevelop. It is probably going to be between 450 and 600 feet.* There is a 500 foot condo tower being talked about next to the Prudential Tower as well, though that will probably be knocked down in height. It's definitely exciting. Boston actually has some large developments U/C or proposed. Were are not used to this!


A garage that high?Doubt It.Cars would take FOREVER to get up that high.


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## binhai

^^

They are going to tear down the garage and build a tower (with a garage at the base) between 450-600 feet (150-200m).


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## DrzBrooklynChulo90

OOO OK...sorry about that...GO RED SOX!!!


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## DrzBrooklynChulo90

I admit...i am jealous about that 600 footer you Bostonians have U/C...it looks so nice!I wish that would've been built here in Baltimore.I LOVE IT!


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## Cojapo

Here are some U/C updates:
Columbus Center

























The Clarendon

















The W Hotel


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## phillybud

Kudos for Boston! Some really excellant projects going on there. There has always been a little bit of a rivalry between Boston and Philadelphia, but I think Boston is a great rival! Good luck!

PS, I'll take a cheesesteak over beans anyday!


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## binhai

Scaffolding for the facade of the Boylston Street Apple Store has gone up. The store is scheduled to be completed in Spring 2008.


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## binhai

45 Province Street is up to its 10th floor:










Courtesy of user "Suffolk 83" at ArchBoston.com


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## vancouverite/to'er

Wow, some very tastefully done smaller projects. Any other renderings for the supertall?


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## binhai

One Kenmore is officially filed as a proposal with the City of Boston:



The Boston Globe said:


> Winds of change for One Kenmore
> After 10 years, latest plan emphasizes office space
> 
> By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | January 17, 2008
> 
> After more than a decade of planning and major changes in size, use, and even location, the developer of the One Kenmore project near Fenway Park yesterday again filed plans with the city - this time reducing the number of residential units and adding a substantial amount of office space.
> 
> John Rosenthal, whose previous plans for a mixed-use development over the Turnpike between Kenmore Square and the ballpark emphasized residential use, with more than 600 condos or apartments, is bowing to the current market winds that are strong for commercial development but weak for housing.
> 
> He told the city he now wants to build almost 340,000 square feet of office space plus 100,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants - and only 282 residences. The housing is currently designed as rental apartments, but some of that could be converted to condominiums if the market rebounds, Rosenthal said.
> 
> The expected project cost is about $450 million.
> 
> Rosenthal's development has been in the works almost as long as the drawn-out Columbus Center, an other Turnpike air-rights project, which received its designation for four parcels above the highway east of Clarendon Street 11 years ago - but just started construction late last year.
> 
> One Kenmore evolved from an idea of a hotel and entertainment complex 10 years ago, to a $300 million complex with 29- and 23-story residential towers in 2003, to a more modest proposal that in recent iterations has been well-received by the community and embraced by the powerful Red Sox organization.
> 
> The Red Sox are a minority partner in One Kenmore. The New York Times Co., owner of the Globe, owns 17 percent of the company that owns the team.
> 
> In 2005, One Kenmore was relocated, from east of the Brookline Avenue bridge over the Turnpike to just west of it. With the Red Sox as partners, it will now be located along Beacon Street over the MBTA's Yawkey Commuter Rail station, on land and air space previously designated for team owners' use. "It is literally above and surrounding a regional commuter rail station," Rosenthal said yesterday, "reusing ugly surface parking lots." He said $12.5 million has been OK'd by the state for station improvements, work that could be done simultaneously by his contractor, Bovis/Lend Lease LMB Inc.
> 
> Rosenthal said his latest configuration represents a "dramatic site plan change," with the tower that is closest to low-rise Audubon Circle area reduced to seven floors. He also now intends to build towers of 22 and 10 floors. Months ago, Rosenthal had proposed towers of 20 and 17 floors; before that, his 2003 proposal for the location closer to Kenmore Square was for towers of 29 and 23 floors and five smaller buildings.
> 
> The One Kenmore plans, which must undergo Boston Redevelopment Authority scrutiny over the next year or so prior to construction, call for less total square footage than in previous proposals. In the current plan, One Kenmore would have almost 1.3 million square feet - but more than 500,000 of that would be for parking. The plan includes two garages, with a total of 1,360 parking spaces. About 660 of those would be for use by One Kenmore residents, tenants, and visitors. A public garage with about 700 spaces would serve the surrounding community, including workers in the nearby Longwood Medical Area.
> 
> Rosenthal said medical community workers and local business patrons would use the public spaces during the day; at night, Sox fans and residents would use them. One Kenmore is slated for 3 1/2 acres, about half of it over the Turnpike and half on land near Maitland Street.
> 
> Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at [email protected].


New render:


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## binhai

Construction update for Charles River Park (aka West End Apartments), a high-rise apartment complex in the heart of Boston: (pics by me)

Overview of new construction: (new highrise in back, new 3 story row apartments in front)










New park:










Closeup of the new row houses:



















Workers working on the new highrise:










Overview of the new highrise:










The glass bridge on the bottom will be the most expensive apartment (with 1,111 square meters, 10,000 square feet):










Proof that it's Charles River Apartments:


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## binhai

*Massachusetts General Hospital Building For The Third Century*

Massachusetts General Hospital is building a new building "which will address specific needs of the hospital’s emergency services, radiation oncology, radiology, inpatient and outpatient surgery and related support procedures, and acute and intensive care inpatient capacity." (http://www.mghgifts.org/areas.asp?id=capital)

Pics by me (renders by MGH):

Renders:





































Project notification:










Construction site overview (demolishing historic buildings in front, recladding ones in back):



















Close-ups of the recladding:





































This building will be demolished shortly, you see that it's prepped for demolition:










Buildings already demolished:


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## binhai

New renders of Two Financial Center:


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## binhai

New Wheelock College campus center (http://wheelock.shawmut.com/):

Renders:



















Construction pic:










Construction webcam:










pics by user "kz1000ps" at ArchBoston.com


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## binhai

New Emmanuel College Academic Science Center:

Render:










Construction pics:




























pics by user "kz1000ps" at ArchBoston.com


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## Beiruti

How soon will construction begin at Downtown Crossing? As of today, no real activity is noticeable from street-level...


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## Cojapo

Beiruti said:


> How soon will construction begin at Downtown Crossing? As of today, no real activity is noticeable from street-level...


Most of the work is interior. They have started a little on the outside.
Pic courtesy of kz1000ps from www.archboston.com.


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## BeestonLad

Nice pic I have a similar one from my trip up the prudential. Will be pretty cool with all those buildings completed and hopefully some big ones (250m +) scattered about too, just in time for when I come back in a few years! Whats the yellow crane at downtown crossing? Is that for that building opposite kennedys pub? Hows that one coming along?


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## BeestonLad

also what is this south bay development mentioned at http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b38777? Is it still around?


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## palindrome

unfortunately, i think it is dead. ^^


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## binhai

BeestonLad said:


> Nice pic I have a similar one from my trip up the prudential. Will be pretty cool with all those buildings completed and hopefully some big ones (250m +) scattered about too, just in time for when I come back in a few years! Whats the yellow crane at downtown crossing? Is that for that building opposite kennedys pub? Hows that one coming along?





Cojapo said:


> IMO, I think that you are slowly starting to see that gap fill in a little.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -thanks to burislav for this pic.
> To the right of the Hancock, the red crane is The Clarendon, at about 330'. To the right, over the highway will be The Columbus Center, at 400'. Then going up in the background all on the right side of JHT will be the W Hotel, about 310', the Residences at Kensington, about 300', then possibly 29 Kingston, 325'. Then you'll just be able to see SST over One Financial, as well as Russia Wharf just to the left, at 345'. On the left side of JHT will be One Franklin at 495', *then 45 Province, the yellow crane, at 325'.* Density!! I love it!


If you still don't get the message, it's this:







(one of the best designed residential towers of Boston. fits in, yet still has modern design)


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## binhai

BeestonLad said:


> also what is this south bay development mentioned at http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?b38777? Is it still around?


There hasn't been news on it in a while, and plans for the site have since shifted to low-rise development and parks. This high-rise plan hasn't been talked about since 2004.


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## BeestonLad

BarbaricManchurian said:


> If you still don't get the message, it's this:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (one of the best designed residential towers of Boston. fits in, yet still has modern design)


lol sorry im terrible for just skimming through writing! :cheers:


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## binhai

Here's some more pics of the Mass General Hospital Building for the Third Century demolition of old buildings by me (sorry for the bad image quality, most are heavily zoomed and at night):














































Seems like they're not recladding the brick buildings like I said earlier, but deconstructing them.




























And a bonus shot from the other end of the parking garage where I took these pics:


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## Cojapo

Some updates courtesy of some good people on www.archboston.com.

Filene's:








Fan Pier:








Columbus Center:








The Clarendon








BU Dorm Tower:








Avenir:








45 Province:


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## unvrsty07

Those are some of the best proposals for university dorm architecture I have ever seen, damn that is bad ass lol!


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## binhai

New infill at Jackson Square, in the south side of Boston (border of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, near the Jackson Square metro station)










*EVERYTHING* in beige here is new infill, creating tons of density in one of the less dense areas of Boston.


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## binhai

Demolition of old buildings for new Filene's tower:


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## Cojapo

Copley Place to grow; 47-story tower planned over Neiman Marcus
March 20, 2008 12:25 PM

Copley Place owner Simon Property Group told Boston city officials today that it plans to expand the Neiman Marcus store and luxury shops there and build residential condominiums in a new, 47-story tower.

"The expansion of Neiman Marcus and the specialty shops will ensure the City of Boston's retail pre-eminence within the entire metropolitan region," Simon, based in Indianapolis, said in a press release.

The filing provides details of previously announced plans for Copley Place's final large structure.

The expansion will include a complete renovation of the 115,000-square-foot Neiman Marcus store and an addition of 54,000 square feet. An additional 60,000 square feet of expansion will include new retail shops and restaurant space and a "public winter garden," which will replace the existing Stuart Street plaza.

Residences will take the form of 300 luxury condominiums with 24-hour concierge service, plus a health facility, spa, and residents' library, Simon said.

The first four floors of the tower will be commercial and residential space, topped by 43 floors of residential. The 47-story tower will be slightly smaller than the 52-story Prudential Tower and the 60-story John Hancock Tower, both located nearby in the Back Bay.

Elkus|Manfredi Architects of Bostonis the design firm. The project is forecast to bring 250 new permanent jobs.

No additional parking space is to be built; the new tower is across the street from the MBTA's Back Bay Station.

Copley Place was built in the 1980s on air space over the Massachusetts Turnpike and on a former railroad yard. According to its website, the Back Bay shopping complex houses about 75 stores, including Barneys New York, Louis Vuitton, and Burberry.

Simon Property Group bills itself as the largest public US real estate company, with regional malls, outlet centers, lifestyle centers, and international properties.

It controls 257 million square feet in all.
(By Thomas C. Palmer, Globe staff)

No renderings as of yet. This will be built in the gap between the John Hancock and Prudential Towers.


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## binhai

Here's a rendering of the new 47 story Copley Place tower, that unfortunately only shows the base:










And here's a render showing off my photoship skillz l0l:


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## Beiruti

How many floors is the Prudential tower?


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## binhai

^^52 floors, but it's much taller since it's an office tower with higher ceilings.


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## binhai

Here's the super-high resolution render of (unfortunately only) the base of this tower:


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## binhai

Construction update (all pics by me):

The Clarendon:




























W Hotel


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## binhai

Columbus Center on hold 

Pike tower plan stalls
Builder seeks 18-month delay
By Scott Van Voorhis
Friday, March 28, 2008


An $800 million luxury hotel and condo tower slated to be built on a deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike has hit another snag, this one potentially fatal.

The developers of Columbus Center, which would cover an ugly highway canyon between the Back Bay and South End, have halted work and are requesting a break for as long as 18 months in construction.

The project’s financial backers, which include multibillion-dollar California pension CalPERS, were ready to push ahead with construction of the $220 million-plus air-rights deck over the highway, said spokesman Alan Eisner.

But for the project to move forward, the state has to offer a guarantee of its own that $35 million in promised loan and grant assistance will also be coming through, he said.

So far, that hasn’t happened, prompting the Columbus Center development team, headed by Hub housing mogul Arther Winn, to step back, Eisner said.

The delay is just the latest for Columbus Center, first proposed 11 years ago and subject to years of regulatory reviews, community meetings and intense debate.

“In any other city, this would have been built and occupied right now,” said David Begelfer, head of the local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. “It will end up being a gem for the city. I would like the government to step forward and make this happen.”

However, officials at the Massachusetts Turnpike have not yet decided whether to grant the 18-month moratorium.

If so, Alan LeBovidge, the Turnpike’s executive director, indicated it would require another round of negotiations and stipulations to keep the project on track.

“I don’t want to be 200 years old by the time this one goes up,” he said.

Others want Columbus Center developers put on a much shorter leash.

State Rep. Marty Walz (D-Back Bay) contends a three-month moratorium would be more appropriate. If the developers can’t get their financial house in order, the project should be put out to bid again, she argued.

“They have had the development rights for this for over 10 years,” Walz said. “We need to be able to make a decision on whether they are going to be able to do this. We need to fish or cut bait on this project.”

Meanwhile, Patrick administration officials are not offering any guarantees yet on the $35 million the Columbus Center developers contend they need.

“No final decisions have been made on state funding,” said spokeswoman Kofi Jones.

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1083331


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## binhai

45 Province getting tall:


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## alphachapmtl

Any forthcoming tower higher than what's there already?


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## Cojapo

Today by me


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## binhai

Apple store near completion (opens 6PM thursday); you can't argue that it looks damn STUNNING!


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## binhai

A couple of new updates this week:

West End Apartments (formerly Charles River Park) new construction near completion:





































New Northeastern dorms (look hideous  )



































































































































































New BU dorms (look a lot better than that Northeastern crap!)


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## binhai

And the lowrise update:

Battery Wharf nearing completion:


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## DShoost88

Ladies and Gentlemen of skyscraper city, I introduce to you my 100+ photo-tour of the currently u/c mid-rise project at Northeastern University, the 1200-bed housing and mixed-use wonder: Parcel 18.

And here... we... GO!

































































































































































































































http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/dshoost_88/IMG_0302.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/dshoost_88/IMG_0303.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/dshoost_88/IMG_0304.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/dshoost_88/IMG_0305.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/dshoost_88/IMG_0306.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/dshoost_88/IMG_0308.jpg[/IMG
[IMG]http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk64/dshoost_88/IMG_0309.jpg









































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































*************************************************
Please, feel free to shoot me any questions you have about the project. The tour was EXTREMELY informative, and frankly going on a tour like this really gives you an even greater appreciation for the detail and craftsmanship that goes into under-taking such a large project (and to think this is only a mid-rise, compared to what's going on in major cities around the globe).


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## binhai

^^Nice job, the white exterior looks nice and quite tall, but the brown part is a major letdown, it looks ultra cheap. Of course, most here don't care about the interior, just the exterior but if the interior is great, that's a nice bonus!

Also, a little problem: some of your image tags aren't complete, you need to finish them to post them. I'll post them for now, if you post them later I'll edit them out.


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## stewartrama

*sigh* i wish NY was a little more like boston, ie: beacon hill, back bay *sigh*

bostons a great city, beautiful, with a timeless sense.


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## mbuildings

stunning projects !!!!!


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## binhai

Boston's skyline is much bigger than you think!


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## binhai

New 28 story tower in Downtown Crossing announced:

New Downtown Crossing development proposed
July 8, 2008 12:19 PM 

A New York developer today unveiled plans for a $200 million housing-retail development in Downtown Crossing, a key milestone in the city’s effort to revitalize the central shopping district.

Midwood Management Corp., which has quietly acquired several properties in the neighborhood over the past few years, said it plans to build 200 units of luxury apartments, in addition to three floors of retail space at the corner of Bromfield and Washington streets. The company, which plans to file formal plans with the Boston Redevelopment Authority this week, said it hopes to begin construction in 2010. 

The privately owned developer owns 100 properties spanning more than 3.5 million square feet nationwide, but the development would be its first for the Boston area. The company said it hopes to begin construction in 2010. 
(By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff)

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/07/new_downtown_cr.html


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## binhai

Fan Pier crane finally up:










303 Third St, Cambridge:



























































































New MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) buildings in Cambridge:




































































































New plaza in Cambridge:














































W Hotel:





































Two Boston streetscape pics:



















45 Province has topped out, Columbus Center is asking for more public funding but probably not getting it (currently stalled), the Clarendon is rising at the 7th floor (35 floor tower), the Apple store opened, relocating City Hall is going nowhere, south station tower is delayed some more (early 2009 start, it keeps getting pushed back, 700 feet), west end apartments new construction has opened; Boston is truly on the rise!


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## binhai

stewartrama said:


> *sigh* i wish NY was a little more like boston, ie: beacon hill, back bay *sigh*
> 
> bostons a great city, beautiful, with a timeless sense.


Boston has so many amazing parts, even in the lesser known parts, Allston is nice to walk around, unexpected density but so many nice streetcar suburbs, row houses, densly packed 3 deckers; the South End has ultra dense row houses, Boston is North America's city of pure density!


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## Tim999

I'm content when I see all these photos from Boston, but someone must happen to designed "New Northeastern dorms" and built it - according to me the architecture of this building is horrible. The substancial mistake for city council was to give a building permit. More responsibility for city image!


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## binhai

^^They were rushed through because the city was going to revoke the usage rights for the parcel if they didn't build something soon, and it got special favors since its an LEED-certified (green) building. Anyway its not located in the center, but it will stand out as an ugly landmark for Northeastern University. Boston University's new high rise dorms look much better, and many other colleges are building highrises that look good, but NEU dropped the ball on this hno:.


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## binhai

Updated article on new 28-story tower in Downtown Crossing:

New Downtown Crossing development proposed
July 8, 2008 12:19 PM 

A New York developer plans to build a $200 million housing-retail development in Downtown Crossing, a key milestone in the city’s effort to revitalize the central shopping district, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said today.

Midwood Management Corp. said it plans to build 200 luxury apartments, in addition to three floors of retail space at the corner of Bromfield and Washington streets, where it has acquired several buildings.

The development would replace buildings that are currently home to several stores, including Payless ShoeSource and City Sports.

The company, which is expected to file formal plans for the 28-story building with the Boston Redevelopment Authority this week, said it hopes to begin construction in 2010. 

"We believe rental housing has a role in downtown Boston's continuing growth," said Paul Davis, a senior vice president of privately owned Midwood Management. "We looked at condos, but we think rental housing is more appropriate for us."

Menino used the news to highlight the stream of development projects underway in Boston. He said that there are $4 billion in projects under way.

"Despite the national economic (slowdown), Boston's economy is strong," Menino said.

Midwood Management, which generally keeps a low profile, owns 100 properties with more than 3.5 million square feet nationwide, but the development would be the firm's first for the Boston area.

Midwood Management normally retains properties that it develops, rather than selling them to other investors, and it plans to do the same with the project proposed for Downtown Crossing.

Davis, the Midwood Management executive, said that the firm hopes to work with several tenants, including City Sports and the Bromfield Pen Shop, to accommodate them in the new building, which is expected to have 60,000 square feet allocated to retail space.

"We will try to accommodate tenants if we can," Davis said. "There will be new tenants and there will be relocation of tenants." 
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/07/new_downtown_cr.html


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## binhai

The Clarendon:




























1330 Boylston:


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## DShoost88

The following images and info pertains to a planned 47-story upper-class condominium tower to go up at Copley Place in Boston, right above the Neiman Marcus (which is to be expanded). The project's proposed height is 579' and is to be located at the southeast corner of Dartmouth and Stuart Street. I'll apologize now for the quality.


































































































































Back in my day... (about 1981)... this is what "Copley Place" looked like.









Lastly, although I entered the meeting late, I took the following notes from the last half an hour of questions. (NOTE: '-' indicates community member asking question; '+' indicates knowledgeable person behind the project committee answering it)

BRA meeting
47-floor condo for Copley

-some concern over winter garden... Getting rid of open air space.
+opinion that the plaza is under-utilized, architect believes glass provides plenty of "open space" to the plaza... May be more inviting. More a garden, more vegetation, all about curb appeal. Lighting is important, sidewalk cafe is good for this space.
-guy thinks garden looks "weak, not good for people"; concerned about long term effects to SW corridor park.
+The team welcomes the guy's comments, but agrees they need to discuss further.
-(last question) Kurt sees pos and neg potential with this sight. What's the community's levarage with site? Maids quarters don't count as affordable housing... This shouldn't be all about the big boys $$$. South endies are conceded about the narrow sidewalks.--> improve the sidewalk, a lot of concern over little details.
+CAC will get into more detail with community. Detailing of sidewalk requires more input from community.
+Pro-development dude doesn't think a super-rich condo is necessary. If this is for Neiman Marcus, then just leave it to Neiman. Talks schematics of street-width, how it's very, very close to the street. If you're talking value for the bldg, u need height, which leaves a big question mark.
-Gene is concerned about aesthetics, community events, and the arts...
+They will proceed over the next few meetings to address those details.


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## binhai

Here's some more renders of the Copley Place tower, from archboston by kz100ps


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## DShoost88

For all the Apple nuts out there, I took this one earlier of the Boylston Apple Store.


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## NorthaBmore

When is the Trans National Place going to begin construction


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## desertpunk

*Boston Herald*



> Hayward Place condo tower breaks ground downtown
> 
> By Greg Turner
> Tuesday, November 15, 2011 - Updated 1 day ago
> 
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> Millennium Partners kicked off construction of a $220 million residential tower near Downtown Crossing today with a ground-breaking trumpeted by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino.
> 
> The New York City-based developer and its Boston partners started work on the 15-story Hayward Place that will open in about two years with 256 condominiums and street-level shops. The project will create 450 construction jobs.
> 
> [...]


Really liked this version:









http://www.bostoncondoblog.com/bost...e-project-gets-new-life-in-downtown-crossing/


Hayward Place - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr

Hayward Place Nov. 20


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## desertpunk

*Curbed*



> Rent Check! Boston Apartment Construction Booming
> 
> Thursday, November 17, 2011, by Tom Acitelli
> 
> Wowza! It seems the only job around here busier than Red Sox scout is apartment-building developer (hey, it's early). Due to laughably low financing rates and historically high returns—not to mention Boston's perennial popularity with the young and the restless—apartment construction in the city, from the Seaport District to Back Bay to Chinatown to Fenway, is cresting a wave that shows little sign of crashing. Per Casey Ross in The Globe:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "There has never been a better time in the last 40 years to develop a multifamily project in Boston,’’ said George Fantini, chairman of the mortgage banking firm Fantini & Gorga. “The capital markets are awash in interest for this type of development.’’
> 
> 
> 
> Fantini said investor returns on rental housing projects in Boston are now promising about 5.5 percent, compared with between 3 and 4.5 percent over the past several decades.
> 
> Indeed, this very evening five new projects will go before the city for the green light to build another 1,400 apartments-plus, almost all of them rentals.
> 
> 
> · National rental developer AvalonBay Communities wants to build 404 apartments for $125 million at *45 Stuart Street* in Chinatown near Bay Village.
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> 45 Stuart St.
> 
> 
> · Mega-mall developer Simon Property Group wants to put up 318 condos at Copley Place in Back Bay for $500 million (it would be called *Copley Place Tower* and would include an expanded Neiman Marcus at the base).
> 
> 
> Copley-Tower by dT-779988, on Flickr
> Copley Place Tower
> 
> · Hudson Group North American wants to build 240 apartments and condos at *120 Kingston Street* in Chinatown.
> 
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> 
> 120 Kingston St.
> 
> · Local developer the Drew Company wants to put up a 236-apartment tower called *Waterside Place* at Congress Street and World Trade Center Avenue in the Seaport District.
> 
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> 
> Waterside Place
> 
> · The Abbey Group, another local company, wants to build 210 apartments at *1282 Boylston Street* (along with office and retail) in Fenway.
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> 1282 Boylston St
> 
> These 1,400 are among the 5,000 apartments either proposed or under way since the start of 2011.
> 
> [...]
Click to expand...


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## desertpunk

*Boston Herald*



> Hamilton Co. apartments on way to Downtown Crossing
> 
> By Herald Staff
> Wednesday, November 16, 2011
> 
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> 
> The Hamilton Co. has started converting a Downtown Crossing office building into apartments.
> 
> The Allston real estate company said today that it expects to start renting its “moderately priced” units in July, following an interior renovation of the 12-story building at 8 Winter St.
> 
> The 50,000-square-foot property is located at one of the four corners of Downtown Crossing.
> 
> [...]


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## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual Tower rising:*


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

Pier 4 residential development in the approval pocess right now:

*Boston.com*



> Waterfront in bloom
> 
> *Developers are set to begin construction on Pier 4, one of several projects gaining traction*
> 
> August 11, 2011|By Casey Ross, Globe Staff
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> Pier 4 development plans consist of 3 buildings the tallest of which would be 21 stories.
> 
> After years of delay, the developer of Pier 4 in Boston’s Seaport District will build a $170 million apartment and retail tower, adding to a burst of development activity that is rapidly transforming the city’s waterfront.
> 
> Executives with property owner New England Development of Newton and its partner on the project, Hanover Co. of Houston, said they expect to begin construction next spring on a 21-story tower that would include 357 apartments, retail stores, and an underground parking garage next to the Institute of Contemporary Art.
> 
> [...]


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## desertpunk

*The Globe*



> 47-story Copley tower gets go-ahead
> 
> *Chinatown, Fenway projects also OK’d*
> 
> By Casey Ross | Globe Staff | November 18, 2011
> 
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> 
> City officials last night approved construction of what would be Boston’s tallest residential building, a 47-story tower at Copley Place with 318 condominiums above a retail base that houses an expanded Neiman Marcus store and other shops.
> 
> The board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority OK’d the $500 million project by Simon Property Group, of Indianapolis, after a long debate involving residents, union laborers, and public officials.
> 
> Supporters said the tower will be a striking addition to the skyline and will create jobs and improve the neighborhood. Opponents argued it won’t provide enough affordable housing and will worsen traffic and cast shadows on nearby Copley Square. In the end, however, the board voted that the project should move forward. Simon Property Group hopes to begin construction early next year.
> 
> *The tower was one of several large projects to win approval last night. Others included a 404-unit apartment tower next to the Jacob Wirth Restaurant on Stuart Street near Boston’s Theatre District and a mixed use-project project on Boylston Street that will be developed by Abbey Group. It will have 210 apartments, offices, and stores in a building that will replace a McDonald’s.*
> 
> [...]


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## desertpunk

*Bizjournals*



> TD Garden owner to sell development rights for apt tower
> 
> Boston Business Journal by Thomas Grillo, Real Estate Editor
> Date: Monday, December 19, 2011, 3:04pm EST - Last Modified: Monday, December 19, 2011, 3:26pm EST..
> 
> Thomas GrilloReal Estate Editor - Boston Business JournalEmail
> Delaware North .... , TD Garden’s owner, intends to sell its permits for a 37-story residential tower in the West End to Avalon Bay Communities .. , the Arlington, Va.-based developer of apartment communities with offices in Quincy, according to a source familiar with the deal.
> 
> Nashua Street Residences, a 375-unit residential community, is to be built on land behind the Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr. federal building and next to the TD Garden, down the street from the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital .. and the Suffolk County Jail. In 2005, the Boston Garden Development Corp. won approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority .. for the project.
> 
> Scott Dale, vice president of development for Avalon Bay, did not return a call seeking comment. Christopher Maher, Delaware North’s vice president of development, declined to be interviewed.
> 
> *But a source familiar with the deal, which is expected to close with days, told the Business Journal Delaware North will use the proceeds of the sale to help fund its project slated for Causeway Street. The TD Garden owners have approval for a pair of 400-foot towers with 1 million square feet of apartments, office space, a hotel and ground-floor retail on the site of the former Boston Garden. Boston Properties* .. , the developer of the $500 million Atlantic Wharf, is working with TD Garden owner Jeremy Jacobs to get the project started. Bryan Koop at Boston Properties did not return calls seeking comment.
> 
> [...]


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## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual Tower Rising Dec 30:*


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Boston Globe*



> State hopes to create Southern gateway to Boston
> *Bids to redevelop Big Dig lots sought*
> 
> 
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> 
> Massachusetts officials are moving ahead on development of a large swath of state-owned property between Chinatown and South Boston in hopes it could eventually become a southern gateway to the city, akin to the Zakim Bridge area to the north.
> 
> The development - housing, offices, stores, and public parks - would take place in a 20-acre canyon of weed-strewn lots freed up by the Big Dig, which moved the elevated Interstate 93 expressway underground and created an opportunity to build a new city neighborhood.
> 
> Officials stressed that such a massive undertaking is sure to take many years, especially given lingering weakness in the economy. But they are taking the first step by seeking proposals for 1.7 acres along Kneeland Street that are seen as an entry to the rest of the property.
> 
> Even before completion of the Big Dig, the land became a magnet for development ideas, including a signature park that would tie into the nearby Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway and large buildings with striking architectural features.
> 
> [...]


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## desertpunk

*Hayward Place gets going:*


Hayward Place - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


Hayward Place - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


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## JMruitenberg

WOW, after I saw those pics I totaly love the city!!
Maby I think so because the architcture is almost the same as in Holland 
Most old and than some modern -> LOVE IT


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## el palmesano

great projects!


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## desertpunk

*BostonGlobe*



> Revitalized Quincy Center takes a large step forward
> January 14, 2012|By Casey Ross
> 
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> 
> In newly minted blueprints, a revitalized downtown Quincy looks like this: A pair of high-rise office buildings soar above city streets bustling with workers, tourists, and residents. There’s a farmer’s market, 30 new restaurants, and a sweeping public green.
> 
> At a cost of $1.6 billion, the project will not be easy to finance and build. But after years of planning, the Quincy Center redevelopment is taking a large step forward - the Beal Cos. is signing on as codeveloper, bringing to Quincy its long experience in building and managing large urban properties in Boston, Cambridge, and other Massachusetts communities.
> 
> [...]


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## desertpunk

*Boston Globe*



> Developer plans 600-foot tower for Filene’s site
> By Casey Ross | Globe Staff February 03, 2012
> 
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> 
> The development firm taking control of the former Filene’s property in downtown Boston said it will build a tower of up to 600 feet, rivaling the tallest buildings in the city’s Financial District.
> 
> A tower of that height would be roughly the size of the Federal Reserve building or One International Place, creating a new center gravity in the city’s skyline and filling a giant hole in its central shopping district. The new building will be substantially taller than the 39-tower previously proposed for the Filene’s site at Downtown Crossing.
> 
> Speaking at a press conference today, principals of Millennium Partners said the tower will cost about $500 million and include a mix of uses, from offices to residences to new shops and restaurants along the street. “It will really target all the potential uses that could add vitality to this critical corner,” said Philip Aarons, a founding partner of Millennium. “It will again become the center of downtown.”
> 
> Mayor Thomas M. Menino expressed confidence the firm will begin construction within a year, ending the work stoppage that has left a construction crater on the site for 3 ½ years.
> 
> [...]


** * * * * *

*Curbed*



> Filene's Site to Be Filled! Ritz Developer Behind New 39 Story Tower
> Friday, February 3, 2012, by Tom Acitelli
> 
> 
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> 
> Ritz Carlton and Hayward Place developer Millennium Partners will partner with Vornado Realty Trust to build a large mixed-use tower at the old Filene's site in Downtown Crossing, thus ending one of the biggest brouhahas in recent city memory and perhaps paving the way for a $1 billion casino at Suffolk Downs in East Boston. The Globe's Casey Ross has the details on the mother of all recent Boston towers:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> City officials said several retail stores and restaurants will be built at the base of the building, with offices and residences above. The broad outlines suggest a project of similar scale to the original 39-story complex Vornado tried to build, although officials said it will probably be slimmer and taller. ...
> With Millennium in charge, city officials said they expect a revised development plan for the property will be submitted for approval within 60 days, and that they hope construction will resume within a year. ...
> 
> The new building by Millennium will be designed by architect Gary Handel, who also drafted plans for the Hayward Place building. His firm, Handel Architects LLP of New York, has designed skyscrapers around the globe, including the Aire residential building, a striking 42-story on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami, and The Trump Soho Hotel in New York [and the 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan].
> 
> 
> 
> The Vornado-controlled vacant site has been a pebble in the shoe of Mayor Menino since development there froze amid the credit crisis in 2008, mucking up Hizzoner's touting of the renaissance going on in Downtown Crossing (a renaissance partly due to Hayward Place). Menino has heaped opprobrium upon Vornado chairman Steve Roth, who once bragged to a New York audience that he was letting the site lay fallow to spur public incentives for development. The new deal, set to be announced this morning, puts Millennium Partners clearly in charge, with Vornado in a junior role and its old partner, JPMorgan Chase, getting bought out.
> 
> [...]
Click to expand...


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## desertpunk

*Curbed*



> Seaport District's Big New Apartment Tower Sets a Date
> Friday, February 10, 2012, by Tom Acitelli
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Construction of the first new apartment building in the Seaport District in years, a 1 million-square-foot tower on Pier 4 that could also include hotel and retail space, is set to start this summer. The lead developer, New England Development, is expected to finalize the deal for the 9.5-acre site (pictured) within weeks so the project, which has planning roots stretching to before the Great Recession, can finally get under way.
> 
> It, of course, joins a slew of Boston apartment projects either planned or under construction, including the just-announced mother of all recent Boston towers, the approximately 39-story complex at the old Filene's site in Downtown Crossing. Taken together, these new projects will add at least 5,000 new apartments to the city (the Pier 4 project will reportedly have 357). Whether that tampers rents at all is anyone's guess.
> 
> ---


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## desertpunk

*Work progresses on the Liberty Mutual Tower*


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Curbed*



> Another One! Jamaica Plain's Big New Apartment Building
> Feb. 13 2012
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> Add another new apartment building to the Boston docket. Developer Boston Residential Group signed a deal today to buy the 3.5-acre site of the Home for Little Wanderers in Jamaica Plain to build a full-service apartment building of around 200 units, plus, of course, underground parking. Whether the 98-year-old special ed building goes to make room for the apartment complex remains to be seen, though the developer's plans call for all-new construction.
> 
> The building, at 161 South Huntington Avenue, would be mostly studios and one-bedrooms, with some two-bedrooms scattered about, and there would be some set aside for affordable housing. Construction could start early next year if the Boston Redevelopment Authority signs off, and the architect on the project, local concern ADD Inc., is the same one behind the Goldman Sachs-backed, Portlandia-inspired 319 A Street in South Boston.
> 
> 
> [...]


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## RobertWalpole

I love Boston. It's tied with DC for my second-favorite US city. Unfortunately, most of these new projects are lame, although some are nice.


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## desertpunk

RobertWalpole said:


> I love Boston. It's tied with DC for my second-favorite US city. Unfortunately, most of these new projects are lame, although some are nice.


Blame the NIMBYs. Everything built there has to look like an oversized brew pub. :yes:


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## desertpunk

*Mutual Tower Feb 27*


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual Tower - Boston - Construction by BostonCityWalk, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Boston Globe*



> Seaport District to get new office tower
> 
> *State Street Corp. is in, sources say*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> By Casey Ross | GLOBE STAFF MAY 05, 2012
> 
> The developer of the massive Channel Center complex in Boston’s Seaport District is proposing construction of an 11-story office building, public parks, and a parking garage, adding to the rapid redevelopment of the waterfront in recent years.
> 
> No major office tenant was named in plans released by the city on Friday. But sources with knowledge of the project have said State Street Corp. is negotiating a deal to move into the office building, which would be located at One Channel Center.
> 
> A spokeswoman for State Street said in a prepared statement Friday that the company has several leases expiring soon and is “pursuing various options to meet our business and workplace needs.’’
> 
> The developer of Channel Center, Commonwealth Ventures, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The company filed plans with the Boston Redevelopment Authority calling for a 525,000-square-foot office building, a nine-story parking garage, and two public parks. The firm said it hopes to begin construction by the end of year.
> 
> The complex, located off A Street, already includes more than 200 residential units, restaurants, stores, and offices in a series of former Boston Wharf Co. warehouses. The development of a large new office building would be a major boost for the complex and for the neighborhood, which has been renamed the Innovation District by Boston’s mayor, Thomas M. Menino.
> 
> The area has attracted scores of new businesses in the past two years, and continues to generate interest from a broad range of companies that want to relocate there. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is building a pair of large office buildings nearby at Fan Pier, one of the largest privately funded construction projects in the country.
> 
> A new building for State Street would also add considerable momentum to the office construction market in Boston, which all but died out during the recent economic downturn.
> 
> [...]


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## desertpunk

*Vertex at Fan Pier making a skyline impact:*


Boston Skyline HDR by J-a-x, on Flickr


IMG_1251 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1240 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1218 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1217 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual topping out:*


IMG_1295 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1296 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1292 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0893 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Boston University East Campus Center nearing completion:*


IMG_1650 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1652 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1658 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Spaulding Rehab Hospital in Charlestown also finishing up:*


Spaulding Rehab (new) 5/7 by snagshead67, on Flickr


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## DZH22

Liberty Mutual from Sunday, May 13


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## desertpunk

*The Victor is on its way:*









http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/northeast/bostons-92m-victor-apartments-break-ground/


IMG_0723 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*240 Tremont St.*

*Curbed*



> Micro-Rooms, 3-Story Videos? New Theater District Gateway
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> The Theater District's longest-running drama has taken a fresh twist: The long-empty site at 240 Tremont Street has a new development team in place and a new vision for what it might look like if it ever gets built. The new developers, led by Amherst Media and Robert Gatnick, now see a “tall and slender,” 19-story hotel with 240 rooms, up from 16 stories with 200 rooms, per The Herald's Greg Turner. Tall and slender? No problem!
> 
> The $66 million hotel would offer “micro-rooms,” smaller, cheaper accommodations in a first for Boston. Recently filed plans detail “operable glass panels” along a ground-floor restaurant, three-story electronic video boards and “linear strips” of LED fixtures highlighting the architecture.
> 
> Not only that, but the hotel would be connected to the neighboring Wilbur Theater's Cure Lounge nightclub by a 12-foot-wide alley all done up like Shubert Alley in New York City. Action!
> 
> Actually, given that developers and the city have been trying to get something built at the site since the 1990s, don't hit the box office just yet. The new developers do plan to break ground soon and be done in 2014. Just nobody say, "Macbeth."
> 
> ---


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## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual*


Liberty Mutual Crown 5/20 by snagshead67, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual Skybridge 5/20 by snagshead67, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual May 28*


Liberty Mutual HQ 5/27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


Liberty Mutual HQ Boston 5/27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Mass Art Dorms*


Mass Art Dorm Boston 5/27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Cranes working on The Victor*


Victor Boston 5/31/12 by snagshead67, on Flickr


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## erbse

I really like the Liberty Mutual Tower. What was on its site before?


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## Minsk

*Museum of Medical History and Innovation / Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects*

*Architects:* Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects, Inc
*Location:* Boston, Massachusetts, USA
*Project Team:* Kevin Bell AIA, Susan Crowe Knight, Laura Duncan, Shih-Min Hsu AIA, Hannah Jackson RA, Irene Kang AIA LEED AP, Matt Petrie AIA, Jared Ramsdell, Marley Wright RA
*Project Area:* 12,270 sqm
*Project Year:* 2012
*Photographs:* Anton Grassl/Esto
































































http://www.archdaily.com/246131/museum-of-medical-history-and-innovation-leers-weinzapfel-associates-architects/


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## desertpunk

*Curbed*



> Ladies and Gentlemen, the Millennium Tower
> 
> Tuesday, June 12, 2012, by Tom Acitelli
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The mother of all recent Boston towers is taking shape. When, in early February, Ritz Carlton developer Millennium Partners announced it was taking the lead on filling the old Filene's site in Downtown Crossing, the news was greeted with an admixture of joy and relief. Something at the site! A new apartment tower in a tight housing market! Vornado not leading the building! At the announcement, details were scarce of what exactly would go up. Not anymore. The developer stepped up yesterday and dropped a doozy on us all. Let's see:
> 
> · It will be called Millennium Tower and will be 606 feet tall and about 55 floors.
> 
> · That's a lot taller than the 39 floors and 495 feet Vornado, the New York-based real estate investor, had planned back in mid-decade but never quite got around to building. It will be the fourth-tallest tower in Boston.
> 
> · It will have 500 units, both condos and rentals, again a lot more than Vornado ever planned (163); and, according to the developer, 230,000 square feet of "active and varied retail shopping on the lower floors reaching across the entire site." Target's even a possibility, which means Downtown Crossing's really arrived.
> 
> · To put the 500 units in perspective, the planned 47-story Copley Place, Boston's future tallest condo tower, will have 318.
> 
> · It will have 525 underground parking spaces.
> 
> · The historic Burnham Building will be renovated and incorporated into the sleek, glassy design by Handel Architects.
> 
> · The whole shebang will cost $615 million.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*Curbed*



> Boston's Tallest Tower, Take Two
> 
> June 27, 2012
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's on like Donkey Kong, who might end up climbing it one day. Credit-card kingpin Steve Belkin has resurrected plans to build what could be Boston's tallest tower. Recall, Belkin was the lone bidder in November 2006 for the city-owned parcel at 115 Federal Street in the Financial District (or whatever we'll end up calling it) and he already owned an adjacent parcel at 133 Federal. He pitched a 1,000-foot tower that would easily have been the city's—New England's—tallest (above is a rendering of the would-be Renzo Piano-designed sprout). Then the FAA said um... because the tower might interfere with jets at Logan; and then the Great Recession slammed the financing window.
> 
> But now Belkin's back. According to The Globe's Casey Ross, Belkin has met with city officials in recent weeks to discuss his plans, which remain shrouded largely in glassy mystery. We do know that now is the time to think hard-hats and cranes in prime Boston. The Millennium Tower announcement of earlier this month put a kind of exclamation point on a wave of new big-time construction in the city. Every other day seems to bring a new groundbreaking (yesterday it was Waterside Place in the Seaport). If Belkin can nail financing, it's unlikely his tower can't get under way this time.
> 
> ...


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## desertpunk

*Whole Foods May Be Going Into The Ink Block*


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## desertpunk

*Fan Pier hums along...*


IMG_4297 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_4153 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## Minsk

*WSP Flack + Kurtz bring the new wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to life*

The new wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has been described as Boston's first great public building of the 21st century. Established at its current location for over 100 years, the MFA contains over 450,000 works of art, one of the most comprehensive collections in the US. The fifth most-visited museum in the country, the MFA takes its place as an icon in the cultural life of Boston. The Art of the Americas Wing, and the Shapiro Family Courtyard were designed by Foster + Partners (CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares, Inc., executive architects) opening in November 2010.

The Courtyard is a 10,000sf, 62 foot high, glass-enclosed space serving as visitor centre, dining area and function hall. The design challenge was to ensure, through sustainable solutions, that the glass environment would be a comfortable setting for many differing needs, tolerating Boston's extreme weather conditions. Radiant floor cooling coupled with mass air displacement provides a comfortable environment in the summer months. Radiant floor heating with vertical warm air up the sides of the glass "box" addresses the losses of the glass wall in the extreme winter months for comfort and condensation management. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was a key tool to predict hot/cold spots, prevent condensation, and help design environmental systems.

The MEP systems are complex, due to the close temperature and humidity tolerances they are tasked to maintain. The Building Management Systems (BMS) includes remote monitoring and access to make necessary adjustments and provide space and equipment performance trending. The latter is a valuable tool to predict future performances and energy conservation.

The engineering systems were designed with resiliency in mind to protect the galleries' valuable contents. Prior to final equipment selection, the systems were modeled using historical weather data and programming information. This data was the foundation for arriving at a system sizing and equipment matrix to ensure the reliability of the mechanical systems in maintaining the close environmental conditions of the galleries.

*Source:* www.worldarchitecturenews.com


----------



## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual Tower still under wraps:*


IMG_5750 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_5753 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Residences at Kensington starts climbing the core:*









Gooseberry at http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?p=153701


----------



## desertpunk

*BRA Set To Approve Millennium Tower at Fine's Site Tonight; New Renders Forthcoming*



> The massive Millennium Tower, a $620 million skyscraper development deemed the best bet by many to reverse the fortunes of Downtown Crossing, stands poised to win city approval today.
> 
> The Boston Redevelopment Authority board will vote on the project at this evening’s meeting, seven months after developer Millennium Partners took the reins of the stalled real estate venture that left a crater at the corner of Washington and Franklin streets, an infamous eyesore in the center of the city’s well-traveled shopping district.
> 
> All signs point to a green light from the BRA, given the mayor’s support and the developer’s plan to replace a hole in the ground and renovate the historic Burnham Building, former home of defunct retailer Filene’s. Much of the regulatory review and public input was condensed in the past month, but the developer and city officials insist it was no rush job.


----

City approves 625-foot tower at former Filene's site





















> The stalled Filene’s project in Boston’s Downtown Crossing moved a step closer to construction on Thursday night as the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved Millennium Partners' proposal for a $615 million tower.
> 
> Plans for the Millennium Tower and Burnham Building include 600 condominiums and apartments, up to 218,000 square feet of office space and as much as 231,000 square feet of retail.
> 
> The project will preserve and renovate the historic Burnham Building – home of the former Filene’s department store and Filene's Basement – and add a new, 625-foot residential tower to the Hub skyline. When completed it will be taller than Don Chiofaro’s 600-foot, 46-story One International Place in the Financial District.
> 
> “I am proud of the decisive progress being made by Millennium Partners just eight months after announcing their lead on the Millennium Tower and Burnham Building,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino in a statement. “This iconic development will invigorate the heart of our city with new residents, business owners and private investment, solidifying the promise of Downtown Crossing.”


----------



## desertpunk

*How High Is Too High on the Waterfront? City to Decide*












> How high a developer can build in Boston comes down to an alphabet soup of federal, state and local agencies, and regulations governing everything from shadows to approaches to Logan Airport, as well as often arbitrary aesthetic concerns in a city drenched in superannuated architecture. In short, it ain't easy building tall. The city hopes to streamline the process and create some agreed-upon guidelines for at least a part of prime downtown: 39 acres of land and water along the Greenway between Christopher Columbus Park and the Northern Avenue Bridge. Per Greg Turner at The Herald, the Boston Redevelopment Authority has hired a consultant for $300,000.
> 
> What the consultant comes up with will have a direct bearing on such would-be neck-craners as Aquarium Place, the twin-tiered, hotel-apartment-retail development that Don Chiofaro wanted to plant in place of the Harbor Garage. After famously sparring with Mayor Tom Menino over heights that stretched as high as (gasp!) 625 feet, Chiofaro withdrew his current plans in the late spring and pledged to work in the future within whatever guidelines the city gins up. Thing is, though, as Paul McMorrow pointed out in a Globe op-ed at the time, building tall is sometimes the only way for developers like Chiofaro to recoup the costs of redeveloping sites like the Harbor Garage. Something's gotta give, in other words. And it looks like it's starting to.


----------



## desertpunk

*The Project That Ate the Dainty Dot Gets Under Way*












> A residential exclamation point at the nexus of Chinatown, the Harborfront and the Leather District is set to get under way today. Construction will start on the 26-story, 240-unit 120 Kingston Street, where the 121-year-old Dainty Dot loomed until a few months ago. Needless to type, it's one of many new apartment buildings going up in Greater Boston; and would have been under way a while ago had the Great Recession not cocked up financing.
> 
> The building will feature not only the 240 apartments (and several dozen affordable units tied to the project, though off-site), it will add about 2,000 square feet of green space to the edge of the Rose Kennedy Greenway and will have a 5,000-square-foot restaurant/open cafe at its base that's expected to enliven the streetscape along that edge. It's not clear on what sorts of rentals will be built upstairs, though the building had at one time been O.K.'d with just 147 units, only to see that number (and the building's square footage) expand significantly.


----------



## desertpunk

*More South Station Shenanigans*

While the South Station Tower languishes in purgatory, now comes this:

*All Aboard and Ante Up! Casino Plan Floated for South Station*












> Well, here's an interesting start to your Friday: Rumors are afoot that a casino could be built atop South Station by an unnamed developer. Imagine the possibilities! Before catching the 5:55 to Framingham you could hit the slots or toss a sawbuck down on red to sweep. Seriously, though, per Dave Wedge and Greg Turner in The Herald, a planned tower above the transit hub has emerged as a possible alternate Boston casino site should the plans at Suffolk Downs in Eastie fall through.
> 
> No formal proposals have been made, and the developer of the current project said there are no plans for a casino at the site. But a spokeswoman for Mayor Thomas M. Menino didn't rule out the possibility of the mayor considering another casino site—including the South Station location.
> 
> For its part, the developer of the would-be South Station tower, Houston-based Hines, says it has no plans for a casino. Instead, theoretically, it's still trying to move forward with the residential and commercial complex atop and around the station that it got approval for in 2006.


----------



## desertpunk

*1282 Boylston St.*









http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/fenway-kenmore/2012/09/residential_building_okd_for_m.html

Approved by BRA and ready to go!


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Place rising upwards:*


Millennium Place 9:27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Vertex topped out and gaining its skin:*


Vertex B 9:27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Kraft eyes Somerville's Assembly Square for a Revolution soccer stadium*









BBVA Stadium in Houston, a model for the Revolution's new stadium



> The Kraft Group, owner of the New England Revolution, is exploring the possibility of building a $100 million pro soccer stadium at Assembly Square in Somerville.
> 
> “Assembly Square is an infrastructure-ready site with good highway access and construction is underway on an Orange line MBTA stop,” said Mayor Joseph Curtatone. “We’d love to have the Revolution as a partner and we think the Kraft Group is the best philanthropic community partner anyone could have.”
> 
> The Revolution play at Gillette Stadium which has the capacity for 68,756 fans, while average attendance at a Rev's home game is about 13,300. The team has been looking for a more intimate home since 2007. They first looked at the Brickbottom area, an under-used industrial section of Somerville near the McGrath highway for construction of a 20,000-seat stadium.
> 
> In a statement, Brian Bilello, president of the New England Revolution, said: “I can confirm that we are still in communication with Somerville officials about potential stadium locations in their city, including the possibility of a facility in Assembly Square, which is an attractive site for development with its significant transportation infrastructure and proximity to downtown Boston.”
> 
> Kraft is also considering the 34-acre Wonderland Greyhound Park. A source told the Boston Business Journal that Somerville and Revere are the leading contenders for the soccer stadium. Kraft hopes to make a decision within the next few months, the source added.
> 
> Still, Curtatone said he will not get into a bidding war with any other community.


----------



## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual all cladded up:*


Liberty Mutual Tower 9:27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Watermark II*


Watermark II 9:27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*The Victor, 9/27*


Victor 9:27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Residences at Kensington*


Kensington 9:27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## dexter2

desertpunk said:


> *Liberty Mutual all cladded up:*
> 
> 
> Liberty Mutual Tower 9:27 by snagshead67, on Flickr


This one is stunning!


----------



## desertpunk

Fenway Center Clears Legal Hurdles!












> It looks like the five-building, $450 million Fenway Center project is a go. The Globe's Casey Ross brings breaking word that a legal challenge to the mega-development (we're talking at least 550 apartments, plus commercial and retail space) has exhausted its last state appeal: "The appeals court found that there was no legal basis for HRPT Medical Buildings Realty Trust to block the $450 million project. HRPT had sued, claiming Fenway Center would improperly infringe on property it owns on Brookline Avenue."
> 
> *This is Boston, where legal battles over development are never dead, they're not even past. But, barring further challenges, construction on Fenway Center, including its solar panels, could get under way this coming spring.*


----------



## desertpunk

*Cambridge Hits Ctrl+Alt+Dlt on Google: Expansion O.K.'d*









http://boston.urbdezine.com/2012/03/14/google-looking-to-expand-cambridge-office/



> Tuesday, March 20, 2012, by Tom Acitelli
> 
> Cambridge City Councilor David Maher said it all last night: "We live in a very competitive economic development world right now ... competitive around the country, but also competitive around the area. All of us saw how very quickly Boston was ready to pounce at the opportunity to court one of our companies."
> 
> Yes, indeed. So, partly because of that, the City Council voted 7-2 to approve Google's expansion in Kendall Square. The company will grow to 300,000 square feet, mostly from two connectors amid Three, Four and Five Cambridge Center. Its workforce, which numbered 40 five years ago and now totals about 800, will grow along with the expansion.
> 
> In exchange! Google and its landlord, Boston Properties, agreed to bump up the amount of new parkland that will replace that which will be lopped off by the expansion. The pair also pledged $2 million toward its design and construction; and Boston Properties said it would come with plans for about 180 apartments in the area after the expansion's done in mid-2013.


----------



## desertpunk

*Pier 4 Starts Up Soon*












> The 1 million-square-foot, mixed-use Pier 4 development in Southie has been a long time a-comin'. Plans for it stretch back to before the Great Recession, and construction had been gabbed about for a long while (some speculated it was supposed to start this past summer). But now it's happening: The first phase of Pier 4, a 21-story apartment and retail tower, will get under way in November. It will leave 369 apartments, ranging from studios to family-friendly three-bedrooms, in its wake (and, because this is the Seaport Innovation Fabulous District, the building will include "innovation units"). The entire project, which will include two more buildings and a one-acre park, will pretty much alter the area, making the waterfront there more accessible and the vibe more 24-7.


----------



## desertpunk

*How Millennium Tower Will Look Against The Boston Skyline*








\
Handel


----------



## desertpunk

*Oct 18*


IMG_0578 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*47 Story Copley Place Tower Put On Hold*












> When it got the final O.K. from the city a year ago this month, the new tower atop Copley Place seemed like a miracle: a tall tower in Boston despite vociferous local opposition. Now, of course, there are a lot more towers going up around town; but, through it all, Copley Place's 47 stories and 318 condos, plus 115,000 square feet of additional retail at the existing base, stood out as one of the bolder spires proposed in Boston in a long time. Now it may not happen: the developer, mega-mall builder Simon Property Group, says it has suspended the development. It didn't give a reason, just that it wanted to reevaluate the project. Per Casey Ross in The Globe:
> 
> Simon declined to say whether its inability to proceed is due to design or financial problems, or both. It refused to say whether it intends to significantly change the project. "We're fully committed to a residential option at Copley and looking forward to continuing our work with the City of Boston and all public groups," said Morris, the spokesman.
> 
> Even local pols don't know Simon's reasons for the cessation despite the fact that the site sits on state-owned land (Simon says, "Sit tight!"). The tower triumphed last fall despite opponents so concerned about the shadows and congestion it might create (and what they said was a dearth of affordable housing) that they staged an Occupy the Mayor's Office on the evening of the Boston Redevelopment Authority's vote. The BRA voted for Simon and the Copley Place tower took its place amongst the city's building boom. Now what? If it's a financing problem, that could be a sign of bad news for every other big project attempting to move forward.


----------



## desertpunk

*40 Trinity Plans: 33 Floors of Four-Star Hotel Rooms, Apts.*












> 'Tis official: the Boston Common Hotel and Conference Center at 40 Trinity Place will likely be redeveloped into a 33-story building with both hotel rooms and apartments. The 220 hotel rooms will be complemented by all the whiz-bang of a four-star hotel, according to a release from the developers Jordan Warshaw, Gary Saunders and Jeffrey Saunders, including conference rooms and a gym. More importantly for an apartment-starved Boston, the building's 142 apartments (update: a rep for the developers says they will be condos) will range from studios all the way to family-friendly three-bedrooms (and will have access to the hotel's amenities and there will be 100 parking spaces for residents to fight over).
> 
> Rumors of a 40 Trinity redevelopment first broke nine months ago. The city still needs to sign off on the plans, but the developers so far are doing everything right: they're touting the development as "transit-oriented" and "consistent with smart-growth." The redevelopment also allows for the expansion of the University Club (and Mayor Menino himself has voiced support). And, as we noted, the apartments are not all cubbyholes for techies. The building, too, instantly becomes one of the tallest new ones to go up in a Boston that suddenly seems enamored of spires.


----------



## desertpunk

*Millenium Place ahead of the storm:*









http://boston.curbed.com


----------



## desertpunk

*Clarendon Developer Has 14-Story Plans for Lovejoy Wharf*












> Time to update our New-Development Heatmap! The details are out on what's in store for Lovejoy Wharf under new developers the Beal Companies and the Related Companies. The duo plans a 14-story condo tower at a redeveloped 131 Beverly Street, near North Station, as part of its plans for the site. Also in store is a commercial development at 160 Washington Street, where Converse is reportedly in talks for 187,000 square feet.
> 
> Lovejoy Wharf, recall, was supposed to be entirely condos, with the previous developer earning an O.K. for 240 units in 2008. Then, 21 residents of Strada234 next-door sued, and, though the suit was settled for an undisclosed sum, the Great Recession had intervened to make condo financing that much more difficult. Enter Related and Beal and the commercial part of the project. Related in particular has the sort of track record to make us believe this latest version of Lovejoy Wharf is the final one.


----------



## desertpunk

*Fenway Triangle: Offices, Apartments, Target, Oh My!*












> Work has started on the planned project bounded by Brookline Avenue, Yawkey Way and Boylston Street called Fenway Triangle. Casey Ross of The Globe deep-dives into the details of a project that will produce 172 apartments, 230,000 square feet of office space, plenty of underground parking, and, easily most importantly, the first Target in downtown Boston. Fenway Triangle is brought to you by the producers of the neighboring Trilogy complex, which includes nearly 600 apartments, and the 140-unit 1330 Boylston Street, where studios run $2,200. Samuels & Associates is just generally a catalyst for the whole rebirth of Fenway and it's not afraid to make metaphors.
> 
> _The retail component is expected to be anchored by Target, with smaller shops and restaurants in storefronts along Boylston and Van Ness, which will be connected via a new street. That block currently serves as an alley between Fenway Park and Boylston Street. Executives with Samuels note that the street sits on the same axis as Newbury Street and could develop a similar ambiance._
> 
> The site work under way now includes the demolition preparation for the former Goodyear garage and two other smaller buildings, with construction expected on the complex itself in 2013. It will soon thereafter be joined by 132 Brookline Avenue next-door. That 17-story building is expected to have between 150 and 200 apartments.


----------



## desertpunk

*38-Story Plan Latest Twist in West End Garden Party*


















CBT Architects



> The only constant is change at the proposed Nashua Street Residences near TD Garden. Recall that the tower at one point was to be 375 apartments in a building of around 40 floors; then it was 363 condos in a 37-story building; then, in a $50 million deal involving the air rights over the North Station parking garage, new plans emerged for around 500 apartments in a building of similar size, with the number of parking spaces being cut from 270 to 219. Got that?
> 
> Well, according to plans revealed on Tuesday, the tower is slated to, in fact, be 38 stories of 503 apartments... that may become condos. Developer AvalonBay isn't so sure and awaits the free market's verdict (the $200 million tower is not expected to be completed until 2016). Whatever the type of residences, the building's a corker (and a perfect excuse to update our Boston Towers Heatmap!). The first six floors will include not only parking, but a two-story retail arcade connecting the Nashua Street Residences to both North Station and TD Garden. Then there will be 32 floors of apartments above. Or condos.


----------



## desertpunk

*Suffolk University Building At 20 Somerset St.*












> Suffolk University is shifting its locus a little bit to the right, away from Beacon Hill and more toward downtown Boston proper. In the process, the university's constructing a new building at 20 Somerset Street (creating a public park in the process, too). It's also selling a couple of buildings, on Derne and Cambridge streets, and converting a couple of others into administrative offices from their current classroom use.
> 
> And, boy, is Beacon Hill relieved! "For the residents in the area, it's become the equivalent of living on a college campus," State Representative Martha Walz of Beacon Hill told The Globe's Casey Ross. "Suffolk's decision to pull back from the area will improve the quality of life for residents..."


----------



## desertpunk

*Stalled Lovejoy Wharf project on Boston Harbor could sail in 2013*












> The Beal Cos. and the Related Cos. presented plans on Wednesday to jumpstart Lovejoy Wharf in Boston with a combination of condominiums and office space.
> 
> But the development is dependent on signing Converse, the North Andover-based sneaker giant, to about 200,000 square feet of space in the waterfront development.
> 
> “This project is driven by being able to convert a significant portion of this project to a commercial user,” Beal Cos. senior vice president Peter Spellios told a packed crowd at a Boston Redevelopment Authority hearing Wednesday night, without confirming Converse as the potential tenant. “The reality is the conversion of 160 North Washington St. into a commercial user is what’s allowing this project to happen.”
> 
> If approved by the BRA, the development team would transform the vacant, 11-story Hoffman Building at 160 North Washington St. into about 241,000 square feet of offices. A second phase would replace the 9-story building at 131 Beverly St. just to the west, toward North Station, with a 14-story condo tower containing 104 condominiums.
> 
> The project has had a number of stops and starts. Approved in 2008, the $200 million proposed development by Lexington, Mass.-based Ajax Management Partners was to contain 240 units in the two buildings. But the housing downturn and a lawsuit by 21 residents of Strada234, an upscale residential development next door, delayed the project. While the suit was settled for an undisclosed amount last year, financing for condos remains difficult and the developer has been shopping the development. Beal and Related have a deal to buy the property.


----------



## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual nears the finish line:*


IMG_2201 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Berklee music school tops off Mass. Ave. dorm project *











IMG_2134 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Fresh Fenway Center Drama*









curbed



> Will Fenway Center ever get built? The epic, five-building, solar-powered mega-development over the Mass. Pike, which will include at least 550 apartments, survived a legal challenge from a neighboring landowner earlier this year and looked all set to go as of early October. Now, the developer, John Rosenthal, is locked in a battle with the state over a long-term lease for the property. He could lose his investment partner in the fracas, derailing the development.
> 
> Should Fenway Center, a decade in the planning, disappear, it would not simply be a loss for Rosenthal or the surrounding area (or a booming Boston development scene right now). It would be a further argument against building over the turnpike. Per Casey Ross in The Globe:
> 
> _That would doom another project involving turnpike air rights to failure, undermining officials' long-held goal of transforming the real estate into a string of tax- and job-producing office, hotel, and residential buildings. The last successful air rights project in Boston was Copley Place, which was built in the early 1980s using $19 million in federal grants._
> 
> The state, for its part, denies any impasse, but Ross' source says that it centers around how much money MassDOT should get for the 99-year lease vs. the benefits in permanent jobs, tax revenues, etc. For now, construction's already started on the commuter rail station that's part of Fenway Center


----------



## Minsk

desertpunk said:


> *Liberty Mutual nears the finish line:*
> 
> 
> IMG_2201 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


Great!:cheers:


----------



## desertpunk

*Glass...with a touch of class at Millennium Place:*


IMG_2728 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_2731 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Kensington residences cladding up nicely:*


IMG_2722 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_2780 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Liberty Mutual beefing up the skyline*


IMG_7290 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## Amrafel

^^Looks better than I expected, when I saw it in summer. A lot of good stuff here :cheers:


----------



## desertpunk

*The Casino Race Is On!*









Suffolk Downs Casino proposal



> The deadline for applying for one of the state's coveted casino licenses is 5 p.m. today, though the titanic struggle already seems to be set for the one up for grabs for eastern Mass. (i.e., Greater Boston). The owners of Suffolk Downs in Eastie, in partnership with Caesars Entertainment, filed their application way back in August (including the nonrefundable $400,000 application fee). Vegas impresario Steve Wynn on Monday filed his own application for a casino-resort on the Mystic River in Everett.
> 
> As of this morning, then, it looked like a Suffolk Downs vs. Everett match-up for eastern Mass.' casino license, with Suffolk Downs the favorite as it has the giggly support of Mayor Menino in Boston. Then, however, Chicago mogul Neil Bluhm, who made his money in real estate and who owns casinos in locations as varied as Vicksburg, Miss., and Niagara Falls, submitted an application for a casino in the Hub.
> 
> And here's the plot-thickening part: Bluhm didn't say where he'd build one. The state doesn't require it (all we know is that he picked eastern Mass. to compete in) and a spokesman told The Globe on Monday night that Bluhm's firm, Rush Street Gaming, is "pursuing several very good sites" in the Greater Boston region, but has not yet decided on one. He—and the other contenders—have months to lay down specifics about what they'd build and where exactly.


----------



## desertpunk

*319 A Street Rear coming along nicely:*


IMG_7385 by snagshead67, on Flickr


IMG_7383 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*TD Garden Project Supermarket Could Free Trinity's One Canal To Get Underway *












> The worst kept secret that Boston Properties plans to build a supermarket as part of its proposed development at the TD Garden could free Trinity Financial to break ground on its stalled $175 million residential tower nearby on the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
> 
> A Boston Globe story said Garden owner Delaware North Cos. and Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) are collaborating on a 1.3-million-square-foot mixed-use development in front of the arena that would include a 430-foot tower with apartments, hotel and a 45,000-square-foot supermarket. Construction on the project, which still needs city approval, could get underway this year, the Globe reported.
> 
> One Canal, Trinity’s project, has been on hold because Mayor Thomas M. Menino, the state’s Department of Transportation and the neighborhood have insisted on a signed lease with a supermarket before construction can commence. If Trinity can secure a market, they can proceed with a 435,000-square-foot development with 320 apartments, 21,000 square feet of retail and 159 indoor parking spaces for residents.


Talk about busy!


----------



## desertpunk

*75 Ames in full gear*


74 Ames 1/17 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Work has started on a 20-story apartment tower at NorthPoint, as the massive $2 billion development comes alive in Cambridge.*


----------



## Philipp5

*Two towers to rise next to Christian Science site*

From Boston Globe January 23, 2013:

A prominent local developer will build two towers next to Boston’s Christian Science Plaza, shaking up a signature open space with what will be one of the tallest buildings to hit the city skyline in years.

One tower will rise up to 50 stories, containing a hotel, condominiums, stores, and restaurants. The other will be about 20 stories and include apartments and additional retail space. The city has already approved the broad outlines of the project, and construction could begin by the end of this year.


----------



## desertpunk

*Filene’s leasing deal, restart of project nearing*












> In downtown Boston, it is simply known as the hole.
> 
> The former Filene’s property, with a construction crater two stories deep, has been a scourge on the city’s central shopping area for five years, defying the wave of recovery that has sprayed the city with new towers and renovated buildings.
> 
> But now its developer has a real sign of progress — an emerging deal with a promising tenant that will enable construction to resume on the $620 million project as early as April.
> 
> The advertising firm Arnold Worldwide is negotiating a lease to occupy most of the original Filene’s department store, a commitment that in turn would unlock funding for construction, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction. This individual was not *authorized to speak publicly because the deal is not yet final.
> 
> More than any other project, the Filene’s redevelopment is crucial to the broader campaign of revitalizing downtown Boston and its shopping district. Positioned at the center of Downtown Crossing, it would bring an influx of new residents and stores to an area that has just begun to shrug off a reputation as a *second-rate retail destination. “Starting construction on Filene’s is going to be like a heart transplant for Downtown Crossing,” said Greg Vasil, chief executive of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board. “It will pump life and energy back into the whole area.”
> 
> *The redevelopment of the Filene’s block would proceed in phases. The first is the renovation of the original Filene’s store into an office and retail complex, to be followed months later by construction of a 625-foot tower over the site of the crater, with residences and *additional stores. Due to its size and marquee location, the project is enormously complex in terms of financing and logistics, requiring the developers to break it into phases.*
> 
> An executive leading the project for developer Millennium Partners could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Executives with Arnold Worldwide also could not be reached, and a spokesperson for its real estate representative, Cassidy Turley, declined to comment.


----------



## desertpunk

*Hotel On Albany St. Scotched, Replaced By Two Apartment Towers*












> The lot at 275 Albany Street in the northeast corner of the South End began its developmental life as a plan for a 408-room hotel over two buildings. Then developer Normandy Real Estate Partners said the market couldn't support one of that size. So it kind of disappeared into a haze of rumors and expectations, overshadowed by its more ambitious neighbor, the Ink Block, what with its 470-plus apartments and 50,000-square-foot Whole Foods. Then! The project re-emerged as two buildings, one with 220 apartments and one with 325 hotel rooms.
> 
> Now! Per Greg Turner at The Herald, *the hotel portion is out and 275 Albany is to be (pending city approval) a twin-building project of up to 380 apartments with a parking garage in between. The buildings will be 11 and 19 stories*, with restaurants a real possibility on the ground floors.


----------



## desertpunk

*"The Point"*

*Samuels pitches ‘gateway’ residential project in Fenway *












> Developer Samuels & Associates has filed detailed plans for a 22-story residential building called the Point at the intersection of Brookline Avenue and Boylston Street.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> “This counts as among the most exciting of our projects in the Fenway,” said Peter Sougarides, Samuels & Associates, in a statement today. “In the almost 15 years that we have been working with the neighborhood in the Fenway, this property has always been thought of as a gateway into the Fenway and a key element of the redevelopment of Boylston Street into an urban village,” he said.
> 
> The masonry building will include 320 residential units ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. A two-story retail base will bring more dining and shopping options. And the renderings in the filing show a rooftop pool.
> 
> Samuels first floated the Point back in April and fine-tuned its plan in today’s filing with the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The developer recently started construction of the $325 million Fenway Triangle project that will bring a Target store to 1325 Boylston St., where a Goodyear tire shop once operated.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*Boston officials OK AvalonBay tower near Garden*












> 2/15/2013
> 
> The Boston Redevelopment Authority has approved construction of 38-story residential tower behind the TD Garden that will include more than 500 apartments, restaurants and stores.
> 
> AvalonBay Communities Inc. will build the tower on Nashua Street, filling in empty space between the Garden and the Charles River. The $200 million project, approved by the BRA board Thursday night, also includes construction of a two-story retail arcade that will connect the new tower to Causeway Street and North Station.
> 
> *Executives with AvalonBay have said they hope to start construction this fall.* “We believe the West End neighborhood and, in particular, North Station has tremendous potential to become a true nexus within the city for residents, commuters, and others,” said Scott Dale, AvalonBay’s senior vice president of development.
> 
> The project is one of several large developments expected to transform the area around the Garden in coming years with more than 1,800 new residences, hotels, office buildings, stores and restaurants.
> 
> Converse Inc. recently committed to move its corporate offices into a large new development at nearby Lovejoy Wharf, and Stop & Shop and Target are considering new stores in a pair of towers being planned in front of the Garden by Boston Properties and Delaware North Cos.
> 
> The AvalonBay project, called the Nashua Street Residences, will include a mix of studios, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, and 32 three-bedroom units. The development also includes 219 parking spaces and a terrace on the 35th floor with views of Boston Harbor and the downtown skyline.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*The Victor*









http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2...idential-heatmap-66-projects-and-counting.php

The Victor will have 44 studios; 170 one-bedrooms; and 72 two-bedrooms as well as 17,000 square feet of retail space and 121 garaged parking spaces. It's due to open this summer.


----------



## desertpunk

*Innovation Center at Fan Pier*


Inovation Ctr. S face 2/2 by snagshead67, on Flickr


Inovation Ctr. N face by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## Cojapo

No link yet to the new tower proposed for Dartmouth and Stuart? lol. To much to keep up with right now.


----------



## desertpunk

Cojapo said:


> No link yet to the new tower proposed for Dartmouth and Stuart? lol. To much to keep up with right now.


Posted in Northeast Development News Forum:

*Boston properties Considering New Back Bay Tower Above Garage*



> Boston Properties, owner of the John Hancock and Prudential towers, is floating a proposal for a skyscraper to be built on air rights atop its garage near Back Bay Station, sources told the Boston Business Journal.
> 
> The news comes on the heels of a proposal last fall from the Saunders Hotel Group and Jordan Warshaw, a partner in Trinity Stuart, for a 33-story mixed-use tower at the former John Hancock Hotel & Conference Center on Stuart Street across from the Hancock building. The $225 million proposal, which still needs approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, would include demolition of the conference center and construction of a 220-room hotel, 142 condominiums, 100 parking spaces and multiple restaurants.
> 
> Sources said Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP) has a conceptual idea for a building that could include office space and other mixed-uses above the parking garage at the corner of Stuart and Dartmouth streets. The Boston developer has talked to officials at the Boston Redevelopment Authority about the idea, the sources said.


----------



## Cojapo

I knew I could count on you, desertpunk.


----------



## desertpunk

Cojapo said:


> I knew I could count on you, desertpunk.


Anytime! :cheers:


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Place Nearing the Homestretch*


----------



## desertpunk

*45 Stuart and Its Five-Story Glass Curtain to Start Rising*












> Tuesday, February 19, 2013, by Tom Acitelli
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Construction on the 29-story apartment tower at 45 Stuart Street that the Menino administration says "will tie together the Downtown, Chinatown, and Theater District neighborhoods" could start before April. Per Greg Turner in The Herald, developer AvalonBay, which just last week won city approval for the Nashua Street Residences behind TD Garden, has gotten a foundation permit for 45 Stuart and could start construction "within the next 30 days or so."
> 
> Designed by CBT Architects, 45 Stuart is due to have 404 studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms on floors six through 29. And on the first five floors? Well, that's to be a 198-spot parking garage (89 spots for the public at large). The garage will be cloaked in a five-story glass curtain wall fronting Stuart Street that will align with the facade of the neighboring Jacob Wirth's restaurant.


----------



## Cojapo

My hope this year we will see at least Filene's, Christian Science Center, Nashua St and Copley actually start progressing. All add a little height and more residential. I know Copley is a pipe dream, but one can hope.


----------



## LtBk

I'm impressed with the amount of projects going on in Boston. Did the NIMBYs died or something?


----------



## desertpunk

*An $850 million plan to return South Station to bygone glory*












> When South Station opened in 1899, it had 28 tracks that sprawled from Atlantic Avenue to Fort Point Channel. Today, with only 13 tracks, trains idle outside the station while they wait for other trains to vacate berths, causing maddening delays.
> 
> Governor Deval Patrick wants to change that with an $850 million South Station expansion project, one of the major components of his sweeping transportation plan that includes projects across the state costing billions. Patrick is preparing to brief State House leaders and committee leaders on the plan next Tuesday, as legislators begin to debate the tax increases he has proposed to help pay for it.
> 
> There are vocal critics of a South Station expansion. But on the governor’s lengthy list of what many view as pipe dreams and long shots, the South Station expansion is one being pushed hardest — and one that is considered more likely than most to succeed.
> 
> Governor Deval Patrick’s South Station plans call for adding new tracks to the station’s existing 13, which would require relocating a US Postal Service facility currently on Dorchester Avenue. “It’s one of the stronger components of the plan,” said state Senator Robert Hedlund, a Weymouth Republican, who takes issue with many components of Patrick’s plan but said he knows that overcrowding at South Station is causing problems.
> 
> ‘There are major benefits for the long-term competitiveness of the city.’
> 
> Richard A. Davey, the state’s transportation secretary, said he believes the South Station project is one of the strongest and most persuasive elements of the plan. “I am confident,” Davey said Friday when asked whether state legislators would support that element of the governor’s plan. “South Station really isn’t a choice.”
> 
> The governor’s South Station proposal calls for adding at least seven tracks to the station’s existing 13, requiring relocation of the adjacent US Postal Service’s General Mail Facility along Dorchester Avenue.
> 
> The governor’s proposal would reclaim that waterfront property.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Preliminary renderings of anticipated development on Atlantic Avenue and over the existing rail station.
> 
> [...]


South Station Tower still on the boards!


----------



## el palmesano

^^ the render seems very nice


----------



## desertpunk

*Banned in Boston!*

*[URL="http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2013/02/bar-cars-from-a-boston-apartment-building-bring-it.php']Cars Not Welcome at 37 North Beacon St.[/URL]*


----------



## desertpunk

*ADG Scotia Chosen For Major Back Bay/Fenway Project*












> The Herald's reporting that the state has picked a partnership of Samuels & Associates and Weiner Ventures to build big over the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Boylston Street.
> 
> *The partnership, called ADG Scotia, would build a mid-rise with more than 100 housing units and 40,000 square feet of retail space on the so-called Parcel 12 (on the west side of Mass. Ave. between Boylston and Newbury streets) and a 32-story high-rise hotel and residential complex on what's known as Parcel 15 (on the south side of Boylston between Scotia and Dalton streets) with 111 residential units, 270 hotel rooms, and nearly 10K square feet of retail.* ADG Scotia beat out similarly lusty bids from the Chiofaro Company and Trinity Financial.


----------



## desertpunk

*About That 47-Story Condo Tower Over Copley Place...
*












> Remember this one? The city O.K.'d the 47-story, 318-condo addition to Copley Place in November 2011, despite an "Occupy the Mayor's Office" effort by residents concerned about the tower's affordability and the shadows it might cast. It was to be the tallest condo tower in Boston (this was before the Millennium Tower was announced). Then, about a year later, plans for the Copley Place spire went poof, as the developer, mall-making giant Simon Property Group, suspended its development plans. It was cryptic re: the motives for the suspensions.
> 
> All Simon said, basically, was that it wanted to reevaluate its plans, and never mind the bafflement of pols who had supported the tower against the local opposition. *Now! It looks like the Copley Place tower is back on, but as rentals rather than condos.* Here was Simon chairman and C.E.O. David Simon in a February earnings call for the publicly traded company:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We're still designing the building. And we may need—because of that design, we may need to go back through some administrative approvals that we don't think will be a big deal. But the idea that we're circling right now is to do mostly rentals, though there will be some condo element to it. And so you'd have essentially a hybrid building.
> 
> 
> 
> Simon has been otherwise mum on plans for restarting the Copley Place tower (we'll let you know if we hear back from them). But it's likely, given the fertile environment for apartment-building in Boston...
Click to expand...


----------



## Loathing

Fogg Art Museum looks like crap. Disappointing from Harvard.


----------



## LCIII

Totally disagree. It looks great from the street.


----------



## desertpunk

Loathing said:


> Fogg Art Museum looks like crap. Disappointing from Harvard.


I love the glass roof but the rest is just a big blank wall (which is what art museums need!). $230 million well spent? I don't think so...


I do like the new skybridge at the Liberty Mutual development:


LM bridge 8/21 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*The Victor is completed:*


New by oliva732000, on Flickr


What Next? by oliva732000, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Avalon Exeter Gets Its Skin:*


----------



## desertpunk

*Garden Party! Tower Trio Joining West End's Spire Forest*












> At the dawn of this busy year, TD Garden owner Delaware North and developer Boston Properties pitched a plan to build two towers where the old Boston Garden once loomed. They were even going to have a Target and a supermarket as part of the grand plan, which included heights of (gasp!) 430 feet. Well, the Target soon disappeared. Now other changes have popped up.
> 
> *The developers have filed new plans with the city for three towers rather than two, one of them a 600-foot godzilla with 497 residential units. The other two would be a 320-foot hotel with 306 rooms and an office tower stretching to 420 feet.* All total, there would 668,000 square feet of office space; 142,000 square feet of flex space; 235,000 square feet for restaurant and retail, including maybe that supermarket as well as a cinema; and 800 underground parking spaces.
> 
> Architect? Elkus Manfredi of course!


----------



## Cojapo

*Back Bay tower proposal OK’d*
Developers looking to make their mark on Boston’s skyline win BRA approval for project that would include city’s tallest residential tower

Boston regulators on Thursday approved construction of what will be the city’s tallest residential building, a 691-foot hotel and condominium tower that will rise at the edge of the Christian Science Plaza.

The 58-story building, to be situated at the corner of Belvidere and Dalton Streets, will add another major peak to the Back Bay skyline and bring thousands of new residents and visitors to one of the city’s most celebrated landmarks.

The 950,000 square foot development also includes a 25-story tower with 255 apartments; both new buildings will have retail and restaurant spaces. Construction is scheduled to start early next year. In total, the project will include 425 residences, 170 of which will be condominiums, and about 250 hotel rooms


----------



## desertpunk

*Brutalist shocker!*

*Plans For Apartments, Hotel At Boston's City Hall*












> DOWNTOWN—It's one way to stand out in a crowded campaign field: "Mayoral candidate state Rep. Martin J. Walsh is pushing a dramatic downtown development plan that would put a new City Hall under private ownership and open up Boston's most coveted site to a hotel, apartments and stores."




*Marty Walsh pushes City Hall redevelopment*












> Mayoral candidate state Rep. Martin J. Walsh is pushing a dramatic downtown development plan that would put a new City Hall under private ownership and open up Boston’s most coveted site to a hotel, apartments and stores.“You could put a hotel boutique here. You could put a full hotel here. You could have an office building. You could put so much in this area,” Walsh told the Herald while walking through the vast, deserted brick plaza yesterday morning. “We could have shops … that would fit in with  Faneuil Hall Marketplace.”The Dorchester Dem*ocrat’s plan, which he  unveiled exclusively to the Herald yesterday, involves bulldozing much-maligned Government Center — a concrete fortress built in 1967 that some critics liken to an ugly intergalactic spaceship.The city would sell the site to a commercial developer to build a mixed-use project likely to include a hotel, offices, residences and retail. The sale could fetch a price of between $125 million and $150 million and annual taxes of between $10 million and $15 million, Walsh said.It also would remove the hulking obstacle to views of Faneuil Hall and the North End, allow the city to possibly connect Hanover and Cambridge streets and  allow pedestrians to easily stroll from Faneuil Hall to the Common and Downtown Crossing, Walsh said.“We’re creating revenue, we’re connecting the city, creating green space, open space, and it’ll help again, much like when City Hall was built in the ’60s, allow us an economic engine for that neighborhood,” he said.
> 
> - See more at: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinio..._city_hall_redevelopment#sthash.7b9a8frF.dpuf


----------



## LCIII

It is ugly as sin...


----------



## Cojapo

Ceremonial ground breaking today for Millennium Tower. Getting closer to seeing steel rise


----------



## aquablue

Yay, I hope that happens because that disgusting thing is a poor example of brutalism in my opinion (overly busy and oppressive, there are much nicer brutalist buildings that are tasteful) and they demolished historic structures to build that thing. The facade is horrific. The best brutalist buildings are simple and not overly busy as concrete is too heavy a material to be trying to get all fancy with.


----------



## hateman

Any politician or developer who helps demolish and redevelop Government Center will be held as highly as Paul Revere, Sam Adams, or JFK in Boston.


----------



## desertpunk

*South End's Ink Block Mega-Project Adds Condos*












> Time was the six-building complex on the old Boston Herald site was to be 6 acres of rental apartments and tens of thousands of square feet of retail, including a Whole Foods, and that was that.
> 
> Now the mega-project will include an 83-unit, eight-story condo building at Traveler Street and Harrison Avenue, a market-driven accompaniment to the 392 apartments slated to go up as well.


----------



## desertpunk

Cojapo said:


> Ceremonial ground breaking today for Millennium Tower. Getting closer to seeing steel rise






























All: http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2013/09/the-millennium-tower-groundbreaking-in-photos.php


----------



## desertpunk

*120 Kingston*


IMG_0407 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## SMCYB

desertpunk said:


> *Plans For Apartments, Hotel At Boston's City Hall*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Marty Walsh pushes City Hall redevelopment*


Tear it down. It's a horribly ugly building and the plaza is very uninviting, let alone cold, windy and lonely in the winter.


----------



## dexter2

You will regret that later. I visited Boston few weeks ago and It was one of the most incredible building I've seen in this city.


----------



## ThatOneGuy

Yeah, go ahead, demolish one of the best known brutalist buildings in the world. You know, because it's not up to date. You _totally_ won't regret it later. :|


----------



## desertpunk

*New Brighton Landing Finally Kicks off*












> BRIGHTON—'Twas the big groundbreaking for New Brighton Landing, which will (deep breath) "include a 250,000-square-foot New Balance Athletic Shoe HQ, a 345,000-square-foot sports complex including a 200-meter hydraulic-banked track and field facility, a National Hockey League regulation arena, a 175-room hotel, up to 650,000 square feet of office spread among three buildings, 65,000 square feet of retail, 1,750 parking spaces, and a new stop on the Worcester Commuter Rail Line."


----------



## sbarn

desertpunk said:


> *Garden Party! Tower Trio Joining West End's Spire Forest*


YES! Build it Boston! :cheers:


----------



## desertpunk

*Lovejoy Wharf To Go Car-Less*












> For the second time, Boston is confronting the idea of a parking-less residential complex. This go-round it's the residential component of Lovejoy Wharf near TD Garden, where developer Related Beal wants to build 175 condos now (instead of the apartments originally proposed) without... get this... any on-site parking. The reasoning's simple (and not all that surprising from a Manhattan-based developer): There's so much public transit nearby and it's smackdab in one of the nation's most walkable (and bikable) cities that it's sheer madness to follow the Boston regs of at least one parking spot for every two housing units.
> 
> Related Beal, the folks who brought you the Clarendon condo and the One Back Bay rental, asked the Boston Redevelopment Authority on Wednesday to please allow them to eliminate the 315-space parking garage in their earlier Lovejoy Wharf plans (the complex will still include a new Converse headquarters and a public park). Let condo owners take the subway or walk or bike or hail a cab—behave like New Yorkers, in other words, they can do it!
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*Might It Now Be Go-Time for South Station Tower?*












> Friday, September 27, 2013, by Tom Acitelli
> 
> More Boston developers are switching their apartment plans to condo plans, buoyed by a mad-crazy market that sees condos go fast and for a lot more than they're asking. One of those developers might be Houston-based Hines, which has plans to construct a 49-story tower connecting the train and the bus parts of South Station. The 1.87 million-square-foot spire would be mostly office space, but would also include a 190-room hotel and 155 residential units.
> 
> Hines' website makes clear that it's up to the invisible hand to decide when everything gets under way: "While market demand will dictate the timing of construction commencement, South Station is destined to become a future landmark in Boston." Well, it looks increasingly like the market has spoken: Thomas Grillo at the Boston Business Journal reports that Hines is, indeed, leaning toward condos.


----------



## Cojapo

Such a tease. Lol. It will be a happy day if this ever gets built. Maybe the development around North Station could spur development around this.


----------



## desertpunk

Cojapo said:


> Such a tease. Lol. It will be a happy day if this ever gets built. Maybe the development around North Station could spur development around this.


That and all the other 600 footers going up. Suddenly South Station doesn't seem so "looming" to the NIMBY jihadists!


----------



## desertpunk

*Chiofaro Solicits Public Input For Revamped Garage Plan*












> For developer Don Chiofaro, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die to build something on the Boston Harbor Garage, which his firm has owned since 2007. The developer spoke before an advisory committee on waterfront development last week, acknowledging the delicate history of his fight to build ambitiously on the garage at the tail end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Said Chiofaro: "Our previous approach has obviously not been successful."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That previous approach included sparring publicly with Mayor Tom "Shovels" Menino, who put the kibosh on Chiofaro's mammoth two-tower Aquarium Place plans in early 2012 (rendered above) because they were too big. Now, the developer is back and noticeably more amenable to suggestions re: scope and use, according to NorthEndWaterfront: "[H]e and his team have been 'toiling the vineyards' to come up Harbor and Greenway enhancement ideas for the site that might be received with more enthusiasm."
> 
> *To that end, Chiofaro is asking for feedback. What would the public like to see in lieu of the Harbor Garage?*
> 
> [...]


----------



## LCIII

That site is just begging for a big old tower. It's too bad NIMBYs have such a death grip on Boston.


----------



## desertpunk

*315A*


315A 9/29 (looking very good) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Longwood Center*


Longwood Ctr. 9/28 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Exeter Tower*


Exeter Tower 9/28 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*BCEC Expansion Plans Come Into Focus*












> The folks over at the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority are making another move toward expanding the existing Boston Convention & Exhibition Center with a $1B project. The existing building remains one of the Northeast' largest exhibition centers, but they're arguing it's still not big enough.
> 
> If you've been following along, the authority has been taking steps toward expanding the function and accessibility of the BCEC for a while. First, they pushed hard to lift a 15-year-old hotel development ban in South Boston, a feat which they accomplished. This resulted in the state approving up to seven hotels with up to 2,700 rooms. And, last year, they acquired 5.6 acres on busy, busy D Street across from the BCEC. Two hotels and possible parking garages are planned for this site.
> 
> Their argument: In order to make Boston a top destination for conventions, it has to get bigger and it needs to be competitive.
> 
> The proposed project would increase the existing facility by 60 percent. An additional 1.3 million square feet will include new meeting space, a ballroom, and exhibit space.
> 
> Construction could start as soon as the end of this year and be completed by 2017.


----------



## desertpunk

*One Canal A Done Deal*












> WEST END/NORTH END— Trinity Financial, developer of One Canal, has secured a 99-year lease with MassDOT for the space near TD Garden. It will build a 12-story building with 310 apartments, 147 parking spaces, and a ground level supermarket. The agreement stipulates that Trinity will "diligently" market the available space for a supermarket. The $190M project is slated to be completed in 2016.


----------



## desertpunk

*Berklee College of Music*


IMG_9754 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## LtBk

Great updates man. Boston is a booming big.


----------



## desertpunk

*Another Big Number for Fenway: 550 Apts. at Landmark Center*












> Fenway has been one of the boom-ier neighborhoods during Boston's building boom. Between projects like the five-building Fenway Center (which will happen, promise) and the developments all about the ballpark of the same name, the neighborhood may be changing physically more than any other Boston enclave save Southie.
> 
> Developer Samuels & Associates, they of Fenway projects like 1330 Boylston Street, the Trilogy and the new Point, want to plop 550 apartments in three residential buildings at the site of a five-level garage at the current Landmark Center. And! The project would also bring 110,000 more square feet of retail space, including 75,000 square feet for a Wegmans (the city's first!).



Landmark Center Redevelopment by kz1000ps, on Flickr


Landmark Center Redevelopment by kz1000ps, on Flickr


Landmark Center Redevelopment by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

LtBk said:


> Great updates man. Boston is a booming big.


It's incredible, probably the biggest boom since the 1960s!


----------



## desertpunk

*22-26 W.Broadway*


22-26 W. Broadway (render) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*6 Newbury Street finishing up:*


6 Newbury Str. 9/28 by snagshead67, on Flickr


6 Newbury Str. 9/28 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## ThatOneGuy

The last one looks nice.


----------



## Cojapo

It really is amazing what is going on right now. Seems like every week there is something new approved or construction starting. We may even get some height with a few of these.


----------



## LtBk

I would go as far as say that Boston boom is bigger than Baltimore, but don't tell Baltimorens that.


----------



## desertpunk

LtBk said:


> I would go as far as say that Boston boom is bigger than Baltimore, but don't tell Baltimorens that.


I'd LOVE to see Baltimore go nutso like Boston! :yes:



IMG_0308 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Go Inside the Kensington on Its Big Opening Day*

















































IMG_0324 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*~ liberty Mutual Complete*


IMG_2114 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_2035 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_2047 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Lovejoy Wharf well underway:*


Lovejoy Wharf 10/9 (Steel) by snagshead67, on Flickr









http://newbostonwaterfront.com/2011/lovejoy-wharf-boston/









http://northendwaterfront.com/tag/lovejoy-wharf/


----------



## desertpunk

*Pier 4 development rising:*


Pier 4 10/9 (Steel reaches ground level) by snagshead67, on Flickr









http://www.trulia.com/blog/mariana_..._the_rapidly_transforming_innovation_district









https://www.udr.com/ComingSoon.aspx?pid=12345


----------



## desertpunk

*45 Stuart St. going vertical:*


45 Stuart St. 10/9 (Earth movers very busy) Going Down! by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*One Greenway in prep:*


One Greenway 10/9 (A lot of action at this site. Pile driver on site, S end) by snagshead67, on Flickr


(sorry, BIG)









http://asiancdc.org/content/one-greenway


----------



## desertpunk

*525 Huntington apartments in progress:*


525 Huntington 9/28 WIT Apts. by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Grand Marc at Northeastern rising behind the YMCA:*


NEU dorm 9/28 by snagshead67, on Flickr


NEU dorm 9/28 by snagshead67, on Flickr









http://huntnewsnu.com/2012/08/work-on-high-rise-residence-hall-begins-behind-ymca/


----------



## desertpunk

*Novartis expansion:*


Norvartis 9/24 (Viewed from the NE) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*1325-41 Boylston now U/C in the Fenway Triangle:*


IMG_0891 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Giant Copley Place Tower Almost There*












> It's on: Everybody's favorite rubber stamp, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, is set Thursday to O.K. the 52-story addition to Copley Place.
> 
> Recall that the 625-foot tower, which would be the tallest majority-apartment building in New England, was originally approved back in November 2011, despite vociferous opposition over its luxury bent and its potential shadows. There was even an Occupy the Mayor's Office movement (remember those cats?). Then, about a year later, developer Simon Property Group, most famed for its mall-building, suspended development, saying it wanted to reevaluate the project.
> 
> Then! Simon unveiled fresh plans in the early summer, this time for a tower of 433 apartments and 109 condos (the 2011 plans called for a 47-story tower with 318 condos, period) as well as expanded retail at the base. There's still some tussling over the affordable-housing component of the Copley Place Tower, though (another) BRA O.K. seems inevitable.


----------



## Cojapo

I believe Copley was approved. Exciting news. Hopefully they can get started on it soon. If this, Trinity, CSC get built, Back Bay will have some great additions to this part of the skyline.


----------



## desertpunk

Cojapo said:


> I believe Copley was approved. Exciting news. Hopefully they can get started on it soon. If this, Trinity, CSC get built, Back Bay will have some great additions to this part of the skyline.


Copley Place was an unexpected treat. I thought for sure it was stalled indefinitely! So many towers on tap.... :drool:


----------



## desertpunk

*South Station Re-Imagined*












> DOWNTOWN—The state would like your input on how to redo South Station: "Bringing in more light, opening up space inside the station, offering better services and facilities for passengers, and unrolling better technology for rider information are just some of the ideas that MassDOT officials say they are kicking around."



Here's my humble suggestion: add an 80 story tower!


----------



## desertpunk

*Approved!*

*How the [now approved] Copley Place Tower Will Meet the Street*


----------



## desertpunk

*Approved!*

*Boston Says Yes to Harvard's Allston Expansion*












> *Bring it: The Boston Redevelopment Authority on Thursday approved Harvard's 1.4 million-square-foot expansion into Allston*, capping eons of debate and igniting at least a decade of development, give or take.
> 
> *Recall that the original plan was for 10 million square feet of new space in total*. More than that, Harvard's push into Allston was meant to slake the university's demands for a half-century, a sweeping vision of long-term town-gown planning, including reconfigured bridges over the Charles River; lots of new undergraduate housing; and a performing-arts pavilion at Barry's Corner.
> 
> Then! The Great Recession stepped into the picture and community (and political) concerns proved especially vociferous. So 10 million square feet shrank to 1.4 million.


----------



## LCIII

About time. The waste of space we see everyday along Western Ave has been driving us all crazy here on campus. It's such a deadzone once you step off campus unless you're heading into Cambridge.


----------



## UrbanMyth

Awesome stuff Boston! But, I thought a liberal city in a state with obamaromneycare was supposed to be a failure? LOL.

Seriously, great projects for truly great city! :cheers:


----------



## sbarn

desertpunk said:


> *Lovejoy Wharf well underway:*
> 
> 
> Lovejoy Wharf 10/9 (Steel) by snagshead67, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://newbostonwaterfront.com/2011/lovejoy-wharf-boston/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://northendwaterfront.com/tag/lovejoy-wharf/


I hate to be a debbie downer - but those existing buildings are spectacular. But this looks like a cheap and disorganized attempt at adaptive reuse. Its really sad to see some of those annex buildings demolished (to the right of the photo). They are amazing.


----------



## desertpunk

*Viridian Breaks Ground In Fenway*












> Groundbreaking time again in Boston! This go-round it's for the Viridian, the 18-story tower slated for 1282 Boylston Street in busy, busy Fenway.
> 
> The 348,235-square-foot project will rise to 18 floors and include 342 apartments, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. There will be 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail as well as 295 parking spaces.


----------



## desertpunk

*Busy skies above Fenway*


IMG_3865 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Here's the Millennium Tower with People Around It*


----------



## desertpunk

*Lovejoy Wharf Details Leave Out One Thing*












> Here are new renderings of Lovejoy Wharf, the waterfront project due to connect the North End, the West End and the Charles River Esplanade (oh my!). It comes courtesy of the Architectural Team, which is serving as urban planner and architect. The firm enthuses about Lovejoy Wharf's 187,000-square-foot Converse HQ; its offices, ground-floor shops and 300-seat restaurant; and its new open spaces, including floating docks and a visitor's center. It leaves something out, though, of the grand scheme of Lovejoy Wharf.
> 
> Render3lores.jpeg Not mentioned by the project's architect is that boon and bane of downtown Boston: parking. Indeed, developers Beal and Related have pitched the idea of a New York-style development with no on-site parking for those who will buy the 175 condos also slated for Lovejoy Wharf. The pitch set off a kerfuffle in September, with the developers positing that no one needs a car when they live smack-dab in the middle of a public-transit-, bike- and pedestrian-friendly city and others questioning whether luxury condo owners would, indeed, eschew their Porsches for the T. The city is still considering the idea.


----------



## desertpunk

*Meanwhile, work at Lovejoy Wharf is moving apace:*


Lovejoy Wharf 10/13 (Viewed from E. Boston) by snagshead67, on Flickr


Lovejoy Wharf 10/13 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Novartis Expansion progressing:*


Norvartis 10/13 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Spaulding Rehab largely complete:*


Spaulding Rehab 10/13 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Grand Marc Dorms at Northeastern U. gets cladding*


IMG_4839 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Meddling politicians*

*Menino to Boston Properties: Compromise on TD tower height *












> Mayor Thomas M. Menino urged Boston Properties to lower the height of its proposed 45-story residential tower in North Station on Thursday, insisting the developer consider neighborhood concerns about setting a precedent with a skyscraper at the TD Garden.
> 
> “There has to be a compromise someplace in this development,” Menino said. “I have faith in Boston Properties to work with the community. They have been excellent in other developments in the city and they will work on this one. I believe there will be a compromise.”
> 
> Menino’s comments came following Wednesday night’s contentious meeting hosted by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and attended by representatives from Boston Properties and the Boston Garden Impact Advisory Group, a 13-member panel of residents and organizations appointed by City Hall to advise the administration on the 1.8-million-square-foot project development.
> 
> *While the IAG representatives praised the project’s benefits, they pushed back on the height of the tower, urging that the tallest building be no higher than 400 feet, or about 30 stories. The current plan calls for a tower that would peak at 600 feet.*
> 
> “We are thrilled with this project, but please understand that Boston is not Toronto,” said Kathleen Ryan. “The 600-foot tower will set a precedent for our neighborhood because all the other developments coming after this will say Boston Properties got that height.”
> 
> 
> [...]


What a bunch of retarded NIMBYs. Since when does a single tall tower in a densely developing location "set a precedent for the entire city"? As if La Defense sets a precedent for the rest of Paris! C*nts.


----------



## desertpunk

*Avalon Exeter 11.5*


IMG_4902 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_4911 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*I-93 Improvements a Boost For 275 Albany*









http://bostonredevelopmentauthoritynews.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html


----------



## desertpunk

*Suffolk University Groundbreaking*












> "Suffolk University will break ground for a new academic building at 20 Somerset Street this week. The building, designed by NBBJ architects, will provide a new academic home for Suffolk students and provide technology-enhanced instructional space for science and general study. Eight floors of the 10-story building will hold flexible classrooms designed to support active learning."


----------



## sbarn

desertpunk said:


> *Menino to Boston Properties: Compromise on TD tower height *


Just curious, why doesn't the developer push back against this request? Isn't the current administration on their way out?


----------



## desertpunk

sbarn said:


> Just curious, why doesn't the developer push back against this request? Isn't the current administration on their way out?


Yep, no doubt they will ignore Menino's request and work with Marty Walsh. Given the local permaNIMBYs, a change could happen either way.


----------



## LtBk

Does anybody know if Marty Walsh is pro-development or not?


----------



## Cojapo

LtBk said:


> Does anybody know if Marty Walsh is pro-development or not?


I could be wrong, but I think when he was part of the Back Bay Association, he was quite a vocal opponent of anything built that would cause a shadow in his neighborhood.


----------



## desertpunk

*Massive Government Center Garage Project a Go*












> It's on: The Boston Redevelopment Authority on Thursday O.K.'d the six-building redevelopment of the Government Center Garage into a behemoth of residences, offices and retail sure to reconnect the West End and downtown.
> 
> Just how many residences and how much office and retail? As Casey Ross of The Globe notes, the Government Center Garage development is "among the largest pending in Boston" (and there's a lot of development pending in Boston, y'all). This particular development will open up nearly five acres of space by removing the portion of the garage straddling Congress Street. As it stands now, the development is to include 812 residences; 1.1 million square feet of office space; 196 hotel rooms; and new restaurants and shops, many along the Greenway.
> 
> While developer HYM Investment Group hopes to start construction on the first residential building, a 480-foot, 464-unit tower, by the end of 2014, things could still change. *That is, the BRA green-lighted the project in totem; each building needs its own O.K. and individual aspects might be tweaked.* And they have been tweaked already, including chopping the height of the condo-hotel tower along the Greenway from 275 to 157 feet (heights in Boston, you know).
> 
> Still, it's unlikely now that the Government Center Garage project will be derailed.


----------



## DZH22

LtBk said:


> Does anybody know if Marty Walsh is pro-development or not?


From what I can tell he's a union guy, so I could see him in favor of keeping the construction workers employed throughout the city. Hopefully when some of the taller (fully approved) towers get built, people will see that the city didn't go to hell in a handbasket (wow, did you realize those evil shadows double as sought-after "shade"?!?!?!) and we can get more tall buildings out of the ground in the future.


----------



## desertpunk

*Kendall Tower Inches Forward*












> KENDALL SQUARE—Baby steps, folks: "The residential tower promised for Kendall Square three times by developer Boston Properties – most recently in exchange for taking away 42 percent of a rooftop garden – comes before the City Council on Monday for a step that is small but crucial: the sale of a 20-foot-wide slab of sidewalk that makes possible a 200,000-square-foot apartment building."


----------



## desertpunk

*What a Redone Government Center Garage Will Look Like*












> News dropped on Friday that the city had signed off on the gargantuan redevelopment of the Government Center Garage to create a six-building complex of 812 condos and apartments, 1.1 million square feet of office space, 196 hotel rooms, and oodles of retail. More importantly, perhaps, the project, set to begin by the end of 2014, will take a big, wet aesthetically pleasing paint brush to one of downtown Boston's biggest eyesores. Above is what the garage looks like on Merrimac Street now and what it will look like post-project.
> 
> And here's the before and after planned for the garage on Sudbury Street.


----------



## WA

My only issue is that second rendering looks like a lot like what is going up in Boston recently and it seems very generic.


----------



## Cojapo

desertpunk said:


> *Kendall Tower Inches Forward*


I've never heard of this? And by "tower", I assume a 20 story stub. Lol


----------



## desertpunk

*NIMBYS Attack!*

*BRA Taps The Brakes On 40 Trinity Place*









Cocktails with a view? You'll have to wait...



> The new development 40 Trinity Place is supposed to plunk 227 hotel rooms and 115 condos—not to mention a two-level lobby starting on the 18th floor—in a 33-story glass tower next to the John Hancock.
> 
> It now looks like the development will be delayed, at least a bit, as the Boston Redevelopment Authority has yanked the proposal for the 400-foot tower from its latest agenda. Its would-be developer says the likely BRA vote was not advertised enough in advance, an oversight that could feed discontent toward 40 Trinity. And you know the discontent: It's too tall, dense, yada yada. Per Casey Ross in The Globe:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> "The size of the building they have proposed is so over the top," said Tom Iannotti, a condo owner at the neighboring Clarendon Residences. "The developer and the BRA are so determined to rush the project that they are not taking the time to look at the implications."
> He and others have raised concerns that construction of such a tall building on the site would add to high winds in the area and make traffic congestion even worse.
> 
> 
> 
> The tower that ate Boston? Or just picky neighbors?
Click to expand...

A neighboring tower making up crap to torpedo a project over their lost views? I'm in shock.


----------



## desertpunk

*Boston Public Library’s Copley branch getting a makeover*












> When it opened in 1972, the Johnson Building of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square was hailed as a shining example of noted architect Philip Johnson’s modern design.
> 
> But today, the granite hulk is considered cold and unwelcoming, inefficient and ugly. This month a $16 million renovation is beginning on the building at the corner of Boylston and Exeter streets to make it more user-friendly. It is the first phase of a design that will ultimately include work throughout the Johnson Building.
> 
> “Johnson has not had a significant public service improvement since it opened in 1972,” says library president Amy Ryan. “The way people access information, we really need to move ahead and put the Boston Public Library at the forefront of that change.” Founded in 1852, the BPL is the oldest urban library in the country.
> 
> Mayor Thomas M. Menino vowed to begin the transformation of the central library before he leaves City Hall in January, and the Boston City Council approved $16 million for the first phase.
> 
> The initial phase is focused on the second floor of Johnson, with an expanded and improved children’s library. The plan calls for doubling the space to about 4,400 square feet that will include a tween and a teen section, and the early childhood area.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*345 Apartments Coming To 600 Harrison Ave.*


----------



## desertpunk

*One Greenway, Née Parcel 24, Gets Going*












> Construction has started on the 312-unit first phase of One Greenway in Chinatown (time to update our rental-development mega-map!). One Greenway's North Building is expected to reach 21 stories and contain 217 market-rate apartments, a 135-spot garage and one-third of an acre of new open space accessible to the general public.
> 
> One Greenway's second phase, the South Building, with its 50 affordable condos, is coming "later," according to the developer. Stay tuned.


----------



## desertpunk

*Ink Block's Sepia Boston Comes Into Sharper Focus*












> Sepia Boston, the condo portion of the ginormous Ink Block, is one of the more anticipated developments in a long while in the South End. Developer National Development (clever) is out with fresh renderings of the eight-story project set to drop 83 luxury condos asking around $1,000 a square foot.


----------



## desertpunk

*Taller TD Garden Project Nabs Tax Breaks*












> WEST END—Another Festivus miracle! "The Menino administration is set to announce that they have reached an agreement with Boston Properties and Delaware North Cos. to allow construction of a 45-story residential tower near North Station and provide a lucrative tax break to support the $1 billion development..."


----------



## desertpunk

*One Seaport Square Twins Set a Date*












> The developers behind what's being called "the keystone project" for Boston's Innovation District (whatever that is) have said they will start construction in April. A joint venture led by the Berkshire Group announced Wednesday it had not only the city's O.K., which came last week, but the 3 acres now necessary to get One Seaport Square under way.
> 
> The development will spread over two 22-story towers with 832 luxury apartments and 260,000 square feet of lower-level retail between them. There will be "extensive amenity spaces," according to the developers, including roof decks and a "resort style pool." This being the Innovation District, naturally there will also be innovation units, the cousins-in-law of micro-apartments, where tenants go strictly for functionality (including sharing common spaces). It's supposed to be finished in 2016.


----------



## desertpunk

*Officials break ground on D Street hotels*



> Construction is expected to start soon on the two hotels slated for D Street in South Boston. On Thursday city officials joined developers and officials from the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to break ground on the project.
> 
> The $140-million effort is being led by CV Properties, Starwood Hotels, and Ares Management and will add 510 hotel rooms to the area, according to a release from the MCCA, which manages the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and owns the land the hotels will be constructed on.
> 
> “These hotels will provide much needed mid-priced hotel rooms not only to the South Boston Waterfront but to Boston as a whole,” James E. Rooney, executive director of the MCCA, said in a statement. “This is the first of several groundbreakings we hope take place as we push Boston and Massachusetts towards being among the top meeting and convention destinations in the world.”
> 
> Both hotels, while designed to serve the BCEC and its clientele, will be privately owned and managed.
> 
> The 330-room Aloft Hotel, will be a modern style hotel aimed at serving the “next generation of traveler,” with shorter stays and less amenities.
> 
> The 180-room Element Hotel, will be an extended stay hotel aimed at providing more amenities such as a fitness center, bike-share, and public spaces.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*1341 Boylston coming out of the ground:*


IMG_6735 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Longwood Center*


IMG_6712 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## Cojapo

Some good news from last night. Both the TD Garden towers as well the 40 Trinity Place tower have been approved. Get those damn shovels in the ground so we can see some steel starting to rise!


----------



## desertpunk

*Meet AVA Theater District and Its Bike-Repair Room*












> One of the more gorgeous-looking of Boston's many, many residential projects planned or under way right now is 45 Stuart Street. There, on a parking lot next to Jacob Wirth, the developer behind the Avalon Exeter and 77 Exeter Street plans a $175M, 500,000-square-foot apartment tower reaching as high as 30 stories; it will have 398 studios, 1-BRs and 2-BRs as well as a five-story, 198-space parking garage. Which is where the gorgeous-looking part comes in: Those five floors will be sheathed in a glass curtain that opens just so for a pedestrian walkway connecting Stuart and LaGrange streets.
> 
> ---
> 
> No word yet on what the rents might be, but the AVA Theater District is supposed to be finished in 2015, which seems eons away in this Boston rental market.


----------



## IngMarco

It's incredible how every project in Boston fit with each other, similar but unique at the same time. Boston is the perfect match of clasiness and modernity.


----------



## desertpunk

Old Filene's portion of Millennium Tower site gets glassy:


IMG_7544 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

Radian (120 Kingston) is radiant:


IMG_7523 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

Coming attraction: AVA theater District at 45 Stuart St.


IMG_7477 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## hateman

The asymmetrical facade treatment is a fad that needs to end soon. The window scheme of Millennium Place needs to be more popular in Boston.


----------



## desertpunk

Condos at new Chanel joint on Newbury St. now the city's most expensive: http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2014/01/the-most-expensive-boston-condo-sale-of-2013.php


----------



## desertpunk

*Waterside Place*


Waterside Place 1/1/14 (W face) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Sepia Boston Makes Its Debut*












> SOUTH END—The website for the Sepia Boston (rendered), the luxury condo component of the behemoth game-changer the Ink Block, is up and running. It's got lots of wine-drinking as well as details like this: Its 83 units will run from $459,000 to more than $2,000,000.


----------



## desertpunk

*Landmark Center Redo Faces Big Vote Today*












> The Boston Redevelopment Authority, will likely weigh in on the redevelopment of Landmark Center in busy, busy Fenway at its board meeting Thursday evening.
> 
> Recall that plans call for not only up to 600 luxury apartments on the site but 15,000 square feet of office space and a slew of new retail, too, including Boston's first Wegmans grocery store in a 75,000-square-foot space. The new parts of the Landmark Center would rise from 10 to 12 stories; and there would be an underground garage with 1,500 spaces as well.
> 
> This evening's BRA meeting not only offers the prospect of a major leap forward for Samuels & Associates, the Landmark Center's would-be redeveloper, but also a look into its workings under new Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, who has vowed changes, big changes, at the city's governing developmental authority.


----------



## desertpunk

*Two Towers Planned For South Boston's Parcel K*












> SOUTH BOSTON—Two buildings have been pitched for the so-called Parcel K on Northern Ave.: *"The first building, slated to be located on the eastern side of the parcel, will be a 10-story boutique hotel with 247 rooms ... The second building, expected to be located on the western side of the parcel, will be an 11-story residential rental building with 304 units."*


----------



## desertpunk

*Berklee College of Music at the finish line:*


IMG_8243 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_8246 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Grand Marc at Northeastern University*


IMG_8278 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Meet 345 Harrison Ave.*












> A lot's going on—and up—in that corner of the South End where the Mass. Pike meets I-93: the 160-unit 600 Harrison Avenue, approved by the city just last month; the ginormous Ink Block project with its Whole Foods and its Sepia condos; and the approximately 62-unit 775 Harrison Avenue. *Now add 345 Harrison officially to the mix.
> 
> Late last week, everyone's favorite rubber stamp, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, O.K.'d a two-building plan for the old Graybar Electric site. Together they will have 602 apartments and up to 33,500 square feet of retail, restaurant and amenity space.*


----------



## desertpunk

*An Extraordinary Opening Night for Berklee’s New State-of-the-Art Tower*












> March 4, 2014
> 
> The dedication of Berklee’s new tower at 160 Massachusetts Avenue on Wednesday, February 26, was anything but your standard ribbon-cutting ceremony. For students, the event was a unique interdisciplinary learning experience. For faculty, the dedication represented the dawn of new educational possibilities. For Berklee president Roger H. Brown, it was a deeply personal moment. For all involved, it was the start of something big.
> 
> *A New Chapter*
> 
> Featuring Back Bay views that neighbors pay millions for, Berklee’s new 16-story, state-of-the-art skyscraper will provide housing for 370 students. Spanning 14,000 square feet, the complex includes 20 practice rooms, a fitness center, and 10 recording studios that Brown says “rival any in the United States, including commercial enterprises like Lucasfilm and the major Hollywood studios.”
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*45 Stuart*


IMG_3131 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


*Tata Hall:*


Tata Hall (HBS) 3/16 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

IMG_8157 by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Longwood Center*


IMG_4430 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## Cojapo

It is amazing the amount of projects going on in the city right now. Even Cambridge is in on it. I will be in Boston on a Saturday in a couple of weeks and can't wait to take a bunch of pics. There is steel, concrete cores and cranes going up all over the city.


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower Apr. 4*


https://www.flickr.com/photos/beelinebos/


https://www.flickr.com/photos/beelinebos/


----------



## desertpunk

*45 Stuart - Apr. 3*


https://www.flickr.com/photos/beelinebos/


----------



## desertpunk

*NorthPoint's Twenty|20 Apartment Tower Proceeding Nicely*












> The above photo shows the final construction beam being laid in place Wednesday at Twenty|20, the 20-floor apartment building going up at 20 Child Street (get it?) in Cambridge's NorthPoint neighborhood-in-the-making.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Twenty|20 is expected to have 355 luxury apartments as well as 9,000 square feet of commercial space when all is said and done, which is expected to be this time next year. *It's not entirely clear what the rents will be, but it is entirely clear that the tower will grow up in Cambridge's newest neighborhood. NorthPoint is slated to drop 5 million square feet of residential, office and retail over 45 acres in the Charlestown borderlands.*


----------



## desertpunk

*AVA Exeter Apr.9*


IMG_6243 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Viridian Apr. 8*


IMG_6059 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Ginormous Financial District Tower Maybe Probably On Again*












> It's one of the biggest what-ifs in recent Boston real estate: a 1,000-foot tower off Federal Street in the Financial District on the site of a city garage and an adjoining building (the original design by Italian starchitect Renzo Piano is rendered above). Pitched by would-be developer Steven Belkin in those prelapsarian days of 2006 and 2007, it would have easily been the tallest tower in Boston—in all of New England—but the Federal Aviation Administration said it was a little too tall for Logan and, besides, the Great Recession came and put the kibosh on any of Belkin's—and the city's—ambitions.
> 
> Then! In the summer of 2012 came news that Belkin was meeting with officials in the Menino administration about building at the garage site and at his adjacent building at 133 Federal. Building what exactly, nobody seemed to know. But building something, it certainly looked like. The climate, especially financing-wise, had shifted markedly; and Boston was nothing if not a city of potential spires.
> 
> Yet nothing happened and the Menino administration passed into history at the end of 2013 as development around town picked up even more. Now! It looks like Mayor Marty Walsh wants to plunk something formidable between Federal and Devonshire, and his administration is in fresh talks with Belkin.
> 
> Per Thomas Grillo at the Boston Business Journal, Hizzoner has set aside monies to demolish the 435-space garage on Devonshire Street. Plus: "We will take the garage down and begin the process of looking for somebody. There was some interest in it in the past and we've reached out to that developer [Belkin] to see if they are still interested ... I believe he still is."
> 
> [...]


This supertall proposal went to the wayside after a falling out between Mayor Menino and the developer. With Marty Walsh as mayor and with his newly invigorated and aggressive approach to tower development, this baby may yet see the light of day.


----------



## Sterlyng65

Boston needs more than just one tall building.


----------



## towerpower123

desertpunk said:


> *Ginormous Financial District Tower Maybe Probably On Again*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This supertall proposal went to the wayside after a falling out between Mayor Menino and the developer. With Marty Walsh as mayor and with his newly invigorated and aggressive approach to tower development, this baby may yet see the light of day.


Yes!!!
:banana::banana::banana:
:dance::dance:


----------



## LCIII

A new mayor doesnt mean anything when the real hurdle is the FAA...Something will go on that spot but a supertall would really surprise me.


----------



## desertpunk

*One Greenway Breaks Ground*












> CHINATOWN—The developers set a date and they stuck to it: "The Asian Community Development Corp. and the New Boston Fund broke ground this afternoon on One Greenway, the mixed-income development that will restore a section of Boston's Chinatown that was demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Southeast Expressway."


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower construction:*









http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/...illennium-tower-boston-construction-pictures/


----------



## desertpunk

*Parcel K Approved*












> SOUTH BOSTON—The Boston Redevelopment Authority O.K.'d the development of the so-called Parcel K, a bunch of parking lots, into 304 housing units, including micro-apartments, and an approximately 247-room hotel as well as office and retail space


----------



## Sgt_Pepper

City's third tallest possibly built by 2017? opcorn:









Pei Cobb Freed/ Cambridge 7 Associates

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/06/10/new-residential-tower-will-join-offices-boston-skyline/WVLKv4IqrgfCgq8ldup1kJ/story.html



> The $700 million project — next to the Christian Science Plaza — got a huge boost Tuesday when Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts said it will manage the hotel and residences in the building, promising to bring a new level of opulence to the already pricey Back Bay.
> 
> At 699 feet, the building will be the largest of a new generation of residential towers planned to shake up a skyline that has been the exclusive province of hedge funds, banks, and insurance companies. A 625-foot condominium tower is also under construction at the former Filene’s property. Other residential high-rises are planned at North Station, Copley Place, and Government Center.


----------



## Sterlyng65

Boston need more taller buildings especially in Back Bay Fenway area. I would love to see that happen. Boston needs to make it happen all things are possible. Boston stand tall and Strong!


----------



## desertpunk

*Behold, the Newest Luxury Building Slated For the Greenway*












> Add another luxury tower to the Rose Kennedy Greenway: Developer Boston Residential (clever) wants to build a 12-story condo building on India Street in the Financial District-North End borderlands.
> 
> As if anticipating the opposition that almost any development engenders in Boston, the developer stated in its initial filing with the city that any shadows cast by the mammoth 12-story spire would be limited to nearby streets and sidewalks. Moreover! It's 117-foot height is within the 120-foot zoning for that area known as the Town Cove. Quaint.


----------



## desertpunk

*Back Bay Station Redo Could Come w/ Skyscraper on Top*












> It's raining spires (or proposed spires) in downtown Boston. The latest? The folks behind the TD Garden towers want to plunk soaring buildings above Back Bay Station, one of the busiest stops on the T. In exchange, developer Boston Properties would revamp the station, making it less dudgeon-like and more mall-like.
> 
> Casey "Scoops" Ross at The Globe has the details: "The gray, recessed facade along Dartmouth would be pulled out to the sidewalk and encased in glass to create better retail storefronts. The interior station would receive a complete overhaul, restoring soot-covered architectural details and removing its old cages and turnstiles."
> 
> That's for the station (conceptualized in the image above). As for the two towers that Boston Properties would build atop it, at least one would be a skyscraper, height indeterminate, and together they would be a mix of residences and commercial space.


And from the Globe: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...r-new-tower/sIvpCwX0hQbGpnFQQStFDP/story.html



> Boston Properties, among the city’s largest and most influential landlords, declined to elaborate on its private development plans for the skyscrapers it envisions on the property. Company executives have been exploring development options in the area since it purchased the Hancock Tower and its adjacent parking garage for $930 million in 2010.
> 
> Back Bay Station sits adjacent to the garage, so the deal with the Transportation Department would allow it to expand its footprint to construct multiple buildings in what is currently a dark corner of the neighborhood.
> 
> In addition to the Hancock, Boston Properties owns the Prudential Building and the crown-shaped tower at 111 Huntington Ave., and several other large commercial properties in Boston, Cambridge, and surrounding communities. It is working with Delaware North Cos., the owner of the TD Garden, on plans to build a towering, multitiered complex of buildings next to the Garden at North Station.
> 
> The exact size and design of any new buildings at Back Bay Station has yet to be determined. *But at least one would be a high-rise that could significantly alter the city’s skyline.* Other low to midrise buildings could be included in the project, significantly changing the corner of Clarendon and Stuart streets, and a large stretch of Dartmouth Street.
> 
> Any new buildings would need to be approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. It would probably take several years to begin construction, due to the complications and high cost of building new structures above the Mass. Turnpike and multiple rail lines.


----------



## LCIII

God knows that station needs the work! This is potentially exciting news. Hope it is in fact a skyscraper.


----------



## desertpunk

*45 Stuart - 6/15*


IMG_1730 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1732 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Fort Point*


IMG_1697 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Envoy Hotel*


IMG_1698 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Pier 4*


Pier 4 Residence 20Jun (looking S from the harbor) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Mass College of Art*


IMG_1016 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1017 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1019 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*22 Water St.*


22 Water Str. 20Jun (SE corner) by snagshead67, on Flickr

22 Water Str. (Looking N along Wrn face) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Seaport - 6/20*


Boston Seaport 20Jun (looking S) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Twenty20*


Twenty20 (W face) by snagshead67, on Flickr


Twenty20 (S face) by snagshead67, on Flickr



Twenty20 19Jun (looking SE) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Viridian*


IMG_0972 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0968 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Van Ness - 1325 Boylston*


IMG_0954 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0957 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0952 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower - 5/31*


IMG_0475 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0471 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0468 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0466 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*450 Kendall Square*


450 Kendall Sq. (W face) by snagshead67, on Flickr


450 Kendall Sq. 19Jun (NW corner) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Education First HQ*


IMG_0355 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_0354 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


EF HQ by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Novartis*


Novartis by snagshead67, on Flickr


Novartis 19Jun by snagshead67, on Flickr


Novartis courtyard by snagshead67, on Flickr


Novartis by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*TroyBoston*


TroyBoston (E face of the S bldg.) by snagshead67, on Flickr


TroyBoston (SE corner of the site) by snagshead67, on Flickr


TroyBoston (NE corner of site. Looking S along Albany) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Radian*


IMG_1721 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*One Greenway*


IMG_1723 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


IMG_1717 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*101 Seaport Sq.*


IMG_1692 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Ink Block*


Ink Block 9N Bldg.) Looking W) by snagshead67, on Flickr


Ink Block 19Jun (Looking SW) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower - 6/19*


Millennium Tower 19Jun (Looking from Washington Str.) by snagshead67, on Flickr


Millennium Tower (Looking W at E core.) by snagshead67, on Flickr


Millennium Tower (W core. Steel reaching street level. Getting ready to pour concret.)) by snagshead67, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*New Balance HQ - 6/8*


NB HQ (SE Corner) by snagshead67, on Flickr


NB HQ (Looking NE at E section) by snagshead67, on Flickr




New Balance Rendering by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Waterside Place*


20140602_175916 by Calcio1008, on Flickr


20140602_201900 by Calcio1008, on Flickr


IMG_9123 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## Sgt_Pepper

^^

Nice Job with all the updates, man.

Here and on the Boston Development News page too!


----------



## desertpunk

*South End going great guns:*









http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2...nce-of-the-south-ends-constructionpalooza.php


----------



## desertpunk

*Check Out the Giant Ice Rink and Other Harbor Garage Plans*












> Developer Don Chiofaro on Wednesday unveiled fresh plans for the redevelopment of the Boston Harbor Garage. Recall his earlier plans stalled amid skittishness about the height (what else?) and a public feud with then-Mayor Tom Menino. Well, Menino's out of office and height's not such a scary thing in downtown Boston anymore. So there was Chiofaro & Co. with plans for two skyscrapers, one 600 feet and the other 500 feet.
> 
> The towers together would hold 700,000 square feet of office space; a luxury hotel with between 250 and 300 rooms; 120 condos; three levels of retail and restaurants; and 1,400 parking spaces. All total, we're talking 1,300,000 square feet on the waterfront.
> 
> Plus! As a deal sweetener, Chiofaro is offering to build out "Harbor Square," a "four-season programmable open space with roof that can be closed seasonally." At its widest point, it would be 167 feet across, "large enough," the developer says, "to comfortably accommodate the Rockefeller Center ice rink." Neat.
> 
> [...]













-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


*Here's Why the Harbor Garage Towers Are Likely to Happen*












> A major reason we're even talking about the skyscraper plans unveiled Wednesday for the Harbor Garage is that we've been here before. Developer Don Chiofaro, whose firm has owned the property since 2007, once had plans for even giant-er towers in place of the aged, ugly garage. In 2012, however, after an often rancorous back and forth with the developer, the city, then under the Menino administration, put the kibosh on the proposals. It's been a slow slog back ever since for Chiofaro, who on Wednesday spelled out details for two skyscrapers, one reaching to 600 feet, and a raft of public amenities, including a giant arcade with a retractable roof.
> 
> Such public-friendly flourishes have surely impressed the new sheriff in town, Mayor Marty Walsh. According to The Globe's Casey Ross, the Walsh administration "is open to tall buildings on the site of the Harbor Garage, as long as developer Donald J. Chiofaro's plan also provides adequate open space and public access to the water." Given that Chiofaro has said he would tweak the plans even further with more public input, it's likely the mayor will get the opportunity to put his own stamp on the project, thus ambling away with a victory he can point to years down the road, during construction and certainly afterward.
> 
> *Moreover! The plans for Chiofaro, who did not support Walsh in last year's election (but, hey, bygones, right?), also gel with what Walsh has often stated is his meta-goal for the city: growth. "I want Boston to grow," he told The Herald this week. "In order for me to improve the schools and do all the things I want to do, we have to create growth. I don't want to raise taxes. I want to raise taxes through new development." Plus: Hizzoner has said he wants to re-conceptualize the city's skyline, including with taller buildings toward its edges.*
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

Old Filene's/Millennium Tower looking sharp:


IMG_3087 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Brighton's Massive Boston Landing Wants to Add Housing*












> More big doings in Boston's next It Neighborhood: Sneaker kingpin New Balance wants to add housing to its massive Boston Landing project in Brighton. The Herald's Donna Goodison has the details: "The Boston company is seeking city approval for up to 295,000 square feet of residential space by adding an approximately 2-acre parcel at 125 Guest Street to the development scope. It purchased the property for $10 million in February."
> 
> Recall that Boston Landing is already slated to include a 250,000-square-foot HQ for New Balance as well as a 345,000-square-foot sports complex with an NHL-regulation arena and a 175-room hotel; there will also be up to 650,000 square feet of office space spread amongst three buildings; 1,750 parking spaces; and 65,000 square feet of retail (though this amount might shrink).


----------



## desertpunk

*What Assembly Row's Big New Office Building Will Look Like*












> Above is a rendering of the future Partners HealthCare headquarters at Somerville's ginormous Assembly Row development. The potentially 700,000-square-foot complex will hold about 4,500 employees.


----------



## LtBk

Once again good updates. So much for NIMBYism in Boston.


----------



## desertpunk

Speaking of Boston NIMBYS...

*Harbor Towers: 600 Feet High, Are You Crazy? This Is Boston!*












> Waterfront condo complex Harbor Towers is having none of developer Don Chiofaro's plans for the Harbor Garage. And, if you don't know the reason residents are skittish on the proposed high-rises, then you have not been paying attention.
> 
> Thomas Grillo at the Business Journal has the goods: "In a letter to the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Mayor Martin J. Walsh, residents of the two towers of more than 1,000 people at India Wharf said the massive project is too big for the sensitive waterfront site." (Emphasis is ours.)
> 
> The letter hints that, instead of building his two towers to (gasp!) 600 and 537 feet, Chiofaro should stick near or below a 200-foot limit set for the Greenway and immediate surroundings. Meanwhile, another advisory group, the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Planning Advisory Committee, roundly praised Chiofaro's plans.
> 
> [...]


----------



## SMCYB

I understand the want of a 200 foot limit near the greenway (park space) but I also really like that building.


----------



## desertpunk

111 Federal St. Promises To Boost Skyline












> Remember that gigantic tower slated late last decade for sites on Federal Street in the Financial District? The one stretching to 1,000 feet and designed by starchitect Renzo Piano? It's not gonna happen. But something damn near close might. The Globe's Casey Ross drops the news this morning that Steven Belkin, who controls sites at Nos. 115 and 133 Federal, has resurrected plans for what would be one of Boston's tallest buildings, period, as well as the second tallest of the new crop of spires popping up.
> 
> The 740-foot tower, to be called 111 Federal Street after the city-owned parking lot there, "would contain a wider range of uses, including a 300-room hotel, retail space, offices, and possibly 150 condominiums on the upper floors." Big caveat, though: Belkin hasn't made up his mind whether to include the condos—we think he will—and without those 111 Federal will stretch to 650 feet. If it goes to 740 feet, the tower will be the tallest of the new wave of towers being built.
> 
> *Belkin would like to start construction next fall, and he told Ross that he's already in talks with an anchor tenant for the office space. *




Renzo Piano's FAA-baiting, Mayor Menino-hating 1,000 ft. 115 Federal tower:


----------



## desertpunk

*One Canal*


Construction by Charles True, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*AVA 45 Stuart*


IMG_7185 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*101 Seaport*


IMG_7389 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Brighton Landing*


IMG_7213 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower*


IMG_7463 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*One Canal*


IMG_7479 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*275 Albany*


IMG_7470 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Caesar Pelli's One Congress Tower At Government Garage Revealed*












> This rendering is of the base of the One Congress office tower proposed as part of the mammoth Government Center Garage redevelopment. It would be 528 feet and would also be designed by Pelli. While it's certainly a bold statement for the Boston skyline, it's nothing particularly groundbreaking for its architect.











http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/10/01/govcenter/9rmaCLs89fRlTlM713LRAN/picture.html


----------



## desertpunk

*Here Comes Twenty Two Liberty at Seaport's Fan Pier*












> Another day, another topping-off of another residential building in Boston. This go-round it's for the 14-story luxury condo tower Twenty Two Liberty, part of the 21-acre, nine-block Seaport mega-development known as Fan Pier. The final iron beams were placed during an event on Thursday (photo above courtesy of the Fallon Company, Fan Pier's developer).


----------



## kalel77

desertpunk said:


> *Caesar Pelli's One Congress Tower At Government Garage Revealed*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/10/01/govcenter/9rmaCLs89fRlTlM713LRAN/picture.html


Without doubt Caesar Pelli is one of the best at the moment!


----------



## desertpunk

*Dudley Square*


around the bend by Ir. Drager, on Flickr


Untitled by Ir. Drager, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Brighton Landing*


IMG_7677 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## msquaredb

That Dudley Square project is fantastic, and I love its integration with that old facade!


----------



## LtBk

Is there a map of projects for the Greater Boston area?


----------



## desertpunk

LtBk said:


> Is there a map of projects for the Greater Boston area?


I haven't seen anything comprehensive. Curbed Boston occasionally does them for specific things. http://boston.curbed.com/#


----------



## desertpunk

*South End construction*


IMG_7889 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Construction underway for North Station apartments*












> In Boston’s residential building boom, no developer has been busier than AvalonBay Communities Inc. It recently completed an apartment tower in the Back Bay and is developing another in the Theatre District. Other large projects are under construction in Cambridge and Somerville.
> 
> Now the company is launching its most ambitious project yet: a 38-story tower at North Station that will be the tallest among a new generation of apartment buildings in Boston. The $250 million complex, to be completed in 2017, will also include retail space in a new passageway between Nashua and Causeway streets.
> 
> The 415-foot building will be the first of several towers to rise around the TD Garden, where developers are planning a mix of new homes, restaurants, offices, and stores. On Monday, AvalonBay’s executives will gather with city officials to formally kick off construction, although work on the site has begun.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*888 Boylston underway:*


IMG_8953 by kz1000ps, on Flickr


----------



## aquaticko

Gonna be weird walking to the Pru without a big plaza out front. Decent looking building, though.


----------



## desertpunk

*Tall orders for skyline*









https://twitter.com/bostonglobe



> Winthrop Square proposals aim high
> 
> A new Financial District tower could reshape the Boston skyline under competing redevelopment proposals for the shuttered Winthrop Square garage.
> 
> Eight development teams are vying to change the city’s skyscraper hierarchy with a superstructure as high as 780 feet that would rival the 750-foot Prudential and 790-foot Hancock towers in the Back Bay.
> 
> *The Walsh administration in February called for new proposals for the city-owned garage where former Mayor Thomas M. Menino once envisioned a 1,000-foot building. That call came after Trans Nat ional Group — which originally planned a 1,000-foot project at the site in 2006 — had restarted city talks last fall about a smaller 740-foot project.*
> 
> Trans National and a host of other well-known Boston developers submitted proposals Monday. They include:
> 
> *HYM Investment Group:* A public plaza amid a new 500-seat St. Anthony Shrine Church, a new Friary and Ministry Center, and a new 50,000-square-foot Boston public school. The current St. Anthony Shrine on Arch Street would be replaced *with a 780-foot, 69-story tower* with 700 apartments and condos.
> 
> *Accordia Partners: A 750-foot tower* with 140 condos, a 275-room Le Meridien hotel, retail, civic space and a public gallery.
> 
> *Lend Lease Development, Hudson Group North America and Eagle Development Group: A 750-foot, 68-story tower* with innovation economy offices, 156 condos, 288 apartments, a 300-room hotel, retail and a public green.
> 
> *Millennium Partners: A 750-foot tower* with 360 residential units atop 14 stories of office space, 41,000 square feet of retail, a market arcade “winter garden” with artisanal vendors, restaurants and performance activity that Millennium compares to Leadenhall Arcade in London’s Financial District.
> 
> *Trans National Properties: A 740-foot, 54-story tower* with 700,000 square feet of innovation economy offices, apartments, 100 condos, 300 hotel rooms, a retail-lined public galleria, and a Boston Public Market outpost. It would also have a 21,500-square-foot Entrepreneur Innovation Center, an Innovation Sculpture Park and Innovators Walk of Fame. It would combine the site with 133 Federal St.
> 
> *Fallon Co.: Two residential buildings on a street-level retail podium: a larger 700-foot, 53-story building with 32 floors of apartments and 18 floors of condos; and a smaller 75-foot apartment building.* Plans call for a galleria-style open concourse with 25,000-plus square feet for shops.
> 
> *Trinity Acquisitions: A 51-story tower* with 328 apartments, 261 condos, a 276-room hotel and retail.
> 
> *Lincoln Property Co.: A 47-story tower* with 29 floors of office space, a 250 to 300-room hotel, six floors of condos, and retail.
> 
> ------------------------------


----------



## Sterlyng65

That building fits right in with the skyline


----------



## DZH22

Copied from Archboston, more proposals for 111 Federal



stellarfun said:


> Long Globe article
> http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ntown-tower/6lqufWIgfwPawjbxBXOOTL/story.html
> 
> 
> Accordia
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fallon
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Millennium
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CBT


----------



## hateman

Bit of a waste of a flatiron lot to put a glass box in there. They could have at least curved the base.


----------



## aquaticko

boss-ton said:


> Its called the point. Its approved for the end of boylston st in the fenway area on the triangular parcel where boylston st meets brookline avenue. Going to be much taller than anything in the area and it was recently approved. Retail in the first floor the whole 9 yards. You can see the citgo sign if you look down boylston in the render that should help you visualize about where its going.


Found it. You weren't joking--there's nothing even close to it in height. Boston's skyline seems like it's growing proportionately like LA's is. Good for both cities!


----------



## boss-ton

hateman said:


> Bit of a waste of a flatiron lot to put a glass box in there. They could have at least curved the base.



We just got one about 2 years ago. Not only does it has some flat iron-ness to it but it looks completely different from every angle.






































More renders of one of the proposals for winthrop square.


----------



## Sterlyng65

Boston really needs those buildings though


----------



## erbse

Glassy towers are alright and create some sort of futurist atmosphere, but I think the Boston skyline could definitely need a dominating *postmodern landmark*, preferably with a largely stone-made facade.

Something like the soaring setbacked Minneapolis' Wells Fargo Center would suit Boston well, or a majestic crowned tower like the BoA Corporate Center in Charlotte:









Bank of America Corporate Center, Charlotte, NC by SkylineScenes (Bill Cobb), on Flickr

The perfect centerpiece and focal point. When you have such a building, your skyline becomes instantly recognizable.
So far, that isn't the case with Boston. And if it only gets glass boxes and tubes, it will stay like that.


----------



## aquaticko

^^Honestly, I don't know how you can say that. Doesn't it seem weird to you that you can provide an example of exactly the kind of tower that you say would make Boston memorable and unique, in _another_ city? There's a similar kind of tower in Cleveland--the Key Bank Tower--and really, that style of architecture is no more unique to Boston than it is any other American city, which is to say, really not at all. Ironically, the skyscraper in Boston which is probably the most significant symbol (in the context of its surrounding skyline) is definitely a glass box--the John Hancock Tower.

I don't disagree that there are plenty of glass boxes and tubes around the world, probably more than there should be, but both of the architectural languages on offer here--Post-modern and Neo-futurist--are essentially ubiquitous, and from what I know of both of them, the latter lends more flexibility to design, potentially creating more diverse architecture. Really, I agree with you, and would love to see Boston do something really special, but Streamline Moderne isn't exactly en vogue right now .


----------



## erbse

Streamline Moderne, New Classical, Art Nouveau, Expressionism and Art Deco will always be en vogue, that's the cool thing about it. 

You can always create something new and exciting from the grammar of these styles. Look at what David M. Schwarz did with the outstanding Smith Center! I'm not saying only such things should be built, but the good thing of our times is, we can choose from a greater canon of shapes and styles than _any_ generation before. Let's make great use of that!









The Smith Center for the Performing Arts by odonata98, on Flickr


----------



## hateman

Boston has a rich architectural history and vernacular architecture to mine, including some very prominent architectural heroes like Charles Bulfinch and Henry Hobson Richardson. It'd be great if developers and architects could develop a unique Boston style, instead of keeping up with the latest fads, resulting in the usual random panel and window embarrassments, or outright disasters like Government Center. Re-drawing and modernizing a historical structure like India Wharf vertical would result in a magnificent skyscraper.


----------



## desertpunk

There's plenty of Postmodern buildings in Boston. A few tall, glassy towers will bring a welcome texture break from all this:


Boston Skyline by Meditec2000, on Flickr


----------



## hateman

Those 80s-90s postmodern towers are another example of Boston's embrace of embarrassing fads. The good thing about glass towers is that they're sterile and less susceptible to being dated, e.g. John Hancock.


----------



## robertwood

DZH22 said:


> First off it's maybe the highest quality cladding I have ever seen for a residential tower. So no, it's not "found anywhere". It's really as good as it gets for a resi. Second of all, it kind of resembles a new version of the John Hancock Tower, as in Boston's current tallest building. (for the last 40 years) You going to tell me that one doesn't belong either? At the end of the day, both towers are reflecting the beautiful city around them.
> 
> Yeah, Berlin sure does have some "amazing skyscrapers" there. :nuts:
> 
> Frankly, you could argue that every skyscraper could be built anywhere. Unless we built a giant lighthouse or a 700' cup of clam chowder, any design is not exclusively "Boston". So what? Millennium Tower is turning out great and we are very happy with it over here. If the bottom doesn't drop out, Boston is entering it's largest skyscraper boom in its history, bar-none. We really don't care what you have to say about it. At least we aren't getting the total junk being thrown up willy nilly in Florida. (mostly Miami, yuck, looks 3rd world, while Jacksonville's got nothing going on as far as I know)


To clarify on Berlin, I was referring to the five or six story residential buildings they are building in the "new Berlin" style which is a handsome style unique to Berlin. It is classical, modern, but says Berlin. I know there are no skyscrapers in Berlin. 

O.K. so you dissed Jacksonville architecturally as well you should. I never said my town was great. Miami is another story. It has some really imaginative architecture --not all of it good but that kind of goes to my point. Miami has a "look." Boston should have a look too. I guess you just like glass more than I do so you should be a very happy camper. P.S. I grew up in Weston and used to go into Boston and went to law school there so I am not some outside trying to tell you all what to do.


----------



## DZH22

robertwood said:


> I guess you just like glass more than I do so you should be a very happy camper. P.S. I grew up in Weston and used to go into Boston and went to law school there so I am not some outside trying to tell you all what to do.


I don't blindly love glass. For instance, I hate what Toronto has done to itself. Very bland and soulless, but also low quality.

In Boston's case, as Desertpunk has pointed out, it doesn't have a ton of glass on the skyline at the moment. Millennium Tower is as high quality as it gets, and reflects a vibrant city around it. There's a point where it will be overkill if we get too much, but we are not at that point and Boston's larger buildings seem to hold themselves to a higher standard than a Toronto or Miami. 

The thing is, we have our share of crap (look up The Kensington and Waterside Place as examples) but they are generally under 300'. Miami would build one of these buildings 600-700', and IMO wrecked its skyline by obscuring its gems (SWFC and Miami Tower for starters) with huge, white painted blocks that look like they belong in some 3rd world country somewhere. Toronto has one color (blue glass) and most of the buildings seem to have cheaped out on it big-time. I would hate if that is how we ultimately develop here.

However, right now there's the 790' John Hancock Tower dominating the skyline, the 554' 111 Huntington, the 510' Exchange Place, and.... then what? There's a dearth of glass here, at least in terms of skyline impact. Millennium, the Four Seasons (in prep), and imminent Copley Place Towers are going to change that, but are also aiming for absolutely top notch cladding and strong designs. As long as we keep ourselves to that higher standard, I'm not (yet) worried about too much glass in Boston.

I'd love to see a new pinnacle building like Charlotte's BOA or Cleveland's Key Tower built here in the future. In the meantime, let us enjoy what we have going for a couple more years please.


----------



## erbse

robertwood said:


> To clarify on Berlin, I was referring to the five or six story residential buildings they are building in the "new Berlin" style which is a handsome style unique to Berlin. It is classical, modern, but says Berlin.


Indeed, that's what would be very welcome in Boston as well I think, a vernacular contemporary style. It could use new classical elements as well as others. One of the US marvels with really quite some stretch of unique history should be proud of its achievements and interpret them for the future, Boston shouldn't try to look like a random Asian city with bland boxy towers all over. Because then, in the future, it won't matter anymore if you're in Boston or a similar sized developed city anywhere else, because they likely are (too) much alike. It's the *different characters* of cities that draw people.

Here's an overview of some "New Berlin Style" buildings, as a reference how you can develop a timeless and valuable style, that still says "it's built today" and really gives character at the same time:

*Contemporary Berlin Style buildings*


----------



## desertpunk

*This 12-Story Building Is Coming to Boston's Greenway*












> The Boston Redevelopment Authority signed off Thursday evening on the redevelopment of 102-110 Broad Street, just off the Rose Kennedy Greenway.
> 
> Developer New Boston Ventures, the folks bringing you the Residences at 945 East Broadway in Southie, plan to demolish a five-story building and redevelop an early 19th-century warehouse next-door into a complex of 40 apartments, complete with bike storage, an underground parking garage and ground-floor retail.


----------



## desertpunk

erbse said:


> Indeed, that's what would be very welcome in Boston as well I think, a vernacular contemporary style. It could use new classical elements as well as others. One of the US marvels with really quite some stretch of unique history should be proud of its achievements and interpret them for the future, Boston shouldn't try to look like a random Asian city with bland boxy towers all over. Because then, in the future, it won't matter anymore if you're in Boston or a similar sized developed city anywhere else, because they likely are (too) much alike. It's the *different characters* of cities that draw people.
> 
> Here's an overview of some "New Berlin Style" buildings, as a reference how you can develop a timeless and valuable style, that still says "it's built today" and really gives character at the same time:
> 
> *Contemporary Berlin Style buildings*


There are high quality contemporary buildings that echo historicist lines but the city is currently seeing a surge in rentals that require some budget restraint. When the sale condo market comes back full steam, more structures like this will go up:


IMG_8463 by kz1000ps, on Flickr

But even the best designs can run aground against the NIMBY horde...


----------



## towerpower123

desertpunk said:


> There are high quality contemporary buildings that echo historicist lines but the city is currently seeing a surge in rentals that require some budget restraint. When the sale condo market comes back full steam, more structures like this will go up:
> 
> 
> IMG_8463 by kz1000ps, on Flickr
> 
> But even the best designs can run aground against the NIMBY horde...


That building looks like it was stolen from some of the best urban centers of Europe. The detailing is amazing!!!


----------



## erbse

Oh the irony! 

Boston definitely needs to shape its character more. Soulless "oh-so-hi-quality" boxes won't help all that much. Vernacular style is the way to go.


----------



## boss-ton

erbse said:


> Indeed, that's what would be very welcome in Boston as well I think, a vernacular contemporary style. It could use new classical elements as well as others. One of the US marvels with really quite some stretch of unique history should be proud of its achievements and interpret them for the future, Boston shouldn't try to look like a random Asian city with bland boxy towers all over. Because then, in the future, it won't matter anymore if you're in Boston or a similar sized developed city anywhere else, because they likely are (too) much alike. It's the *different characters* of cities that draw people.
> 
> Here's an overview of some "New Berlin Style" buildings, as a reference how you can develop a timeless and valuable style, that still says "it's built today" and really gives character at the same time:
> 
> *Contemporary Berlin Style buildings*


When you are in any city the high rises are way above you so whatever shape they are doesn't really matter. The street level is what makes cities really unique. The street level in Boston is already about as good as it gets and unique to the city so we could build 20 glass boxes around the city and it will still feel like Boston when you are walking around the city and not like anywhere Asia.


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## robertwood

erbse said:


> Indeed, that's what would be very welcome in Boston as well I think, a vernacular contemporary style. It could use new classical elements as well as others. One of the US marvels with really quite some stretch of unique history should be proud of its achievements and interpret them for the future, Boston shouldn't try to look like a random Asian city with bland boxy towers all over. Because then, in the future, it won't matter anymore if you're in Boston or a similar sized developed city anywhere else, because they likely are (too) much alike. It's the *different characters* of cities that draw people.
> 
> Here's an overview of some "New Berlin Style" buildings, as a reference how you can develop a timeless and valuable style, that still says "it's built today" and really gives character at the same time:
> 
> *Contemporary Berlin Style buildings*


I'm glad that you had the technical savvy to put in the link to exactly the kind of buildings I was talking about in Berlin. A picture, as they say, is worth a thousand words. Now people can understand my point by seeing it.


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## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower*









https://twitter.com/suffolkbuilds


----------



## desertpunk

*Planned 25-Story Tower in Dudley Square Would Be Tallest Building In Roxbury*



> The $200 million development would offer 15 floors of housing.
> 
> By Garrett Quinn	| Boston Daily	| June 30, 2015, 5:24 p.m.
> 
> A 25 story mixed-use high rise is planned for a parcel in Dudley Square currently occupied by a a small bank building on Washington Street.
> 
> The building, proposed by developer Ken Guscott of the Long Bay Management Company, would set aside its first floor for street level retail space and reserve floors two through nine for office space. The remaining floors of the high rise will be designated as residential with a mix of market rate apartments and condominiums. Affordable housing will be located at an offsite location in order to comply with city housing and zoning laws.
> 
> The proposed structure comes on the heels of redevelopment of the Ferdinand Building as the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, home to the Boston Public Schools administrative offices, the Roxbury Innovation Center, and 18,000 square feet of street level retail space available to local businesses.
> 
> If completed as proposed it would be the tallest building in all of Roxbury.
> 
> [...]


----------



## Sterlyng65

Oh that's awesome


----------



## desertpunk

*Check Out the First Renderings of Fan Pier's 50 Liberty*


----------



## desertpunk

*2024 Olympics ideas proliferating:

Athletes' village:*









http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2015/06/columbia-point-olympics.php



> DORCHESTER—It's not just Midtown that the Olympics would supposedly transform forever: "The athlete's village, planned for Columbia Point, would follow a similar private development strategy to build 4 million square feet of new construction. It would be converted to 2,700 new student beds for UMass Boston and 3,000 units of housing, as well as shops, restaurants and community spaces, across a new 30-acre waterfront neighborhood, according to Boston 2024." [Globe]


----------



## desertpunk

And why not use the 2024 games as a springboard for megadevelopment?

*Boston Olympics Pitch Now Hinges on Place Called Midtown*












> We relocated here from New York City, where Midtown is a very distinct thing: a conterminous commercial district and residential neighborhood. Walk too far north, south, east or west and—bam!—you're out of Midtown Manhattan. Boston has a Midtown, too, though it's often the subject of disbelief or derision. Apparently, though, Boston 2024, the private group pushing the 2024 Summer Games for the region, seeks to transform Midtown through billions in investment and millions of square feet of new space.
> 
> 
> With or without the Olympics, Boston 2024 says it wants to build out the 18-block, Widett Circle-centered Midtown area—bounded roughly by West Fourth Street, Dorchester Street and I-93—to the tune of $1.2 billion and 7.89 million square feet of space. Privately driven development (with public subsidies) would unfold all the way until 2040; and features would include 950 residential units by 2024 and a further 525 by the following year. There would also be 440,000 square feet of hotel space and thousands more parking spaces as well as new retail and offices.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*20 Northpoint*









http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2015/06/the-new-cambridge-tower-where-studios-start-at-2615.php


----------



## desertpunk

*Eight New Renderings of the Greenway's 110 Broad Street*


----------



## jow08401

Hello everybody, I am the youngest player in this forum. What a wonderful city! I'm from Brazil. I inted to go live in Boston after college! Congratulations town, very beautiful... Blending modern architecture with classic architecture. I'm excited to see firsthand these buildings and also the Boston skyline!!


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## boss-ton

^ good choice huge Brazilian population in MA. Framingham is a nice town close to Boston with probably the largest population of Brazilians number wise in America. Huge Portuguese speaking population in Ma with large numbers of Portuguese, Cape Verdean, and Brazilians.


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## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower 8/27*


Boston, MA Millennium Tower by army.arch *Adam*, on Flickr


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## desertpunk

*Lovejoy Wharf*


Converse building, Lovejoy Wharf by Leslee_atFlickr, on Flickr


A tree grows in the North End by Leslee_atFlickr, on Flickr









https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/









https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


----------



## desertpunk

*Fan Pier*









https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/


----------



## desertpunk

*One Seaport Square*


IMG_3165 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Avalon North Station*


IMG_3214 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*30 Dalton St.*


IMG_3390 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

Millennium Tower topping out ceremony on Sept. 17:







20150922 USA New England 01945 - Copy by R H Kamen, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Government Center Garage tower developers sick of old Boston architecture; vow bold new designs for a new century *












> The owners of the hulking Government Center Garage today submitted detailed design plans for residential and office towers they say will help lift Boston out of the design doldrums with assertive architecture they say will help put an end to our history of staid buildings.
> 
> In their filings with the BRA, HYM Investment Group and Bulfinch Congress Holdings say their proposed curved, 1-million-square-foot office building is "a world-class cosmopolitan building, where the future collective composition of buildings transcends local scale and context to create a built form that is decidedly of the 21st Century."
> 
> They add:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The building will be especially striking when lit at night as the graceful curves of the inner shell softly glow on the horizon.
> 
> 
> 
> The 31-story residential building, which will house 486 residential units - 64 affordable - is also a rejection of the old Boston idea of fitting in with the surrounding buildings:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Rather than emulating existing Boston architecture, the Proposed Project design will complement the city skyline with a fresh contemporary design based on resiliency and sustainability.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Part of that sustainability will come on the ninth floor:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In addition to improvements to the public Bowker Street Green, open space will be provided to residents in the form of roof garden or deck on the 9th floor of the Proposed Project. This space will act as an important outdoor amenity for the residents and tenants as well as a space for sustainable stormwater management. This roof garden or deck may also extend beyond the 9th floor and out onto the roof of the Government Center Garage. Another amenity space on the 31st floor of the Proposed Project will offer leisure spaces for residents such as a multipurpose room, library, and roof deck.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


----------



## desertpunk

Back Bay cranes


Boston Sunrise from Science Park by matthew macpherson, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*The details on the North End’s building spree *












> November 16, 2015 1:23 PM If your dream is living next door to the home of the Bruins and Celtics, you may soon be in luck. Developers are moving ahead with plans for a trio of luxury apartment towers, one on the site of the Garden and North Station, and two others just across the street. Avalon Bay is well under way with construction of a 38-story apartment tower on Nashua Street behind the Garden.
> 
> *Not to be outdone, Equity Residential is hoping to win approval soon from City Hall so it can begin construction next year of a 44-story apartment tower just across the street from the Garden. Meanwhile, Boston Properties is preparing to start building the “podium” on which a 1.87-million-square-foot mixed-used development is slated to take shape in front of the Garden and North Station on the site of the old Boston Garden.*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A rendering showing potential update to the western facade of the Boston Properties podium. (Boston Properties/Gensler/Delaware North/SCB)
> 
> 
> - See more at: http://www.boston.com/real-estate/n...8dfI/story.html#sthash.aSr0xvoH.f5R7iCP5.dpuf


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## Sprngh2o

Is this city changing or what....amazing.


----------



## desertpunk

*30 Dalton St.*


IMG_5425 by Phil, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*888 Boylston*


IMG_5423 by Phil, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Financial District's 100 Federal Could Get a Winter Garden*












> The owner of the 41-story office skyscraper at 100 Federal Street in Boston's Financial District has pitched plans for a glassed-in atrium that would include an 8,990-square-foot, all-seasons park.
> 
> Boston Properties also wants to plunk 8,500 square feet of retail and 500 square feet for kiosks within the atrium, along with the winter garden.


----------



## desertpunk

*The case for 1,000 feet: Could Kendall Square really get the tallest tower in New England?
*












> Even supporters of increased height and density tend to brush off city councillor Leland Cheung’s floated idea of a 1,000-foot tower at the John A. Volpe National Transportation Center parcel in Kendall Square. I take it seriously, though, and I don’t believe I’m entirely alone.
> 
> The other major component that has been brushed aside is the restoration of the historic Broad Canal – which was partially filled in 1966 in preparation for the sprawling NASA center than never came to fruition – along with creating a wetland on part of a redeveloped Volpe parcel. This concept was featured in the winning submission to the Connect Kendall Square Open Space design competition, a vision for the neighborhood everyone should take a look at.
> 
> The vertical concentration of the tower serves that vision. The value capture includes not just more housing, but more fluid spaces, more open space and a chance to introduce ecological features.
> 
> Yes, the 1,000-foot tower will stand up and stick out and dwarf the Cambridge skyline – and that’s a good thing. It would be a statement and a beacon, drawing and welcoming humanity to Cambridge on its own merit and, by proxy, to everything else Cambridge is...
> 
> [...]


Is this really a thing? Odds are that NIMBYs will strangle this proposal in its crib. But that's nothing new...


----------



## hateman

In Cambridge? Fat chance. It would set off a furor not seen since the days of Samuel Adams.


----------



## odurandina

I have a nice updated graphic of what will be the tallest dozen or so towers (incl 1 Dalton Street reaching a few feet higher than the Pru), Millennium Tower, and the 625 foot Copley place - but i guess i can't post it.

so, i'll post something of current Boston projects as I best understand them to be.... 

Can't help but be disappointed that of 6 likely towers that will eclipse 450 feet; (2) at City Hall, and 3 or possibly 4 at North Station; (Avalon + the 2 TD Garden towers + the 447 foot Equity Residential tower awaiting word from BRA), include *2 final renderings that fall short* of their BRA approved heights of 600 feet... i think mixed heights of 450~480 to 600 feet would greatly contribute to forming a low 'domed' rounded skyline in the Financial District. Instead, what we're seeing are more opportunities lost to reach 600 feet in crucial locations where it is highly appropriate to do so. this will prove to be a mistake. 

example; a few tall towers added near the (McCormack Buiding/gigantic box monolith) would have helped mitigate it's visual (blight) upon our city. The 5 TD Garden buildings including one granted permission to ascend to 600 feet adjacent to the new Converse building and Boston Garden would have been a home run. The BRA was on the right track.

But now, as if willed by forces unseen, not one of the 4 towers proposed near or adjacent to TD Garden reaches even 500 feet, let alone the pinnacle height granted by the BRA. Of all the approved towers in the Financial District, only 2 will rise aboe 500 feet; they are South Station likely to reach 600~620 feet), and the other is the 528 foot cylindrical spire at City Hall.

450-500 foot high rise buildings can be 'boxy.' In Boston, it turned out far worse. But, in the Boston Garden area, what we're going to get look "ok" and should add some density at the shoulders of the high spine.

Govt Center and the Winthrop Garage need to rise near their respective 620~740 foot plateau.

but, after Millennium Tower, it seems all we'll be getting is (1) 620 foot tower at South Station.


*please excuse if i have listed any in error...

list now updated (please see below).


----------



## citylover94

Ava Theatre District is complete as far as I know.


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## odurandina

updates.... please see below.


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## aquaticko

Not bad. Thanks for keeping track of all the stuff going on in the city. I'm sure we're all waiting with bated breath for a tower to knock Hancock off its ever-so-comfy perch.


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## Sprngh2o

More cranes please.


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## LtBk

Despite the NIMBYism, Boston is booming.


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## odurandina

It turns out, the Nimby's may have won after all. 

*a not-so-happy ending to building tall n Boston ?*

I read a lot of comments hoping a few very tall buildings will soon, go up in Boston. 

Sadly, after so many +280~400 foot structures being added in the past few years, i believe we're down to just a few places where 500~700 foot towers can be built. As fantastic as such a state of affairs may seem, imo, the situation looks somewhat grim. 

We've added a lot of density in the last 15 years. Think those Ritz Carlton things are nice? Their construction may someday be included as part of a short sighted, if not reckless chapter of building in Boston... There were too many stubby rectangles built (under 450) feet during the Tom Menino years (+ the permits issued before he left, w/ properties coming into the market, _now_). 

A few big towers on just a few prime parcels would have made a huge impact on Boston's barren skyline - and added critical supply to the market. Instead, precious land was pissed away by Tom Menino's admn caving in to nimby's. Then, i see a lot of 4, 5, 6 story buildings popping up, (seemingly everywhere), where 260~300 foot towers could have gone.

So, what comes after our exciting, present-day build out?

Want to go tall in the Back Bay? Ain't happening without a lot of pain. Those ugly Christian Science buildings will require pallets of ($$$). What about the South End? nope; can't build tall there.... worse than Downtown. the land area south of I-90 is 250~300 ft limit/flight path back all the way to Roxbury, along parts of the Fenway and beyond... build tall south of Chinatown? no. it's within the 200~250 ft flight path (like the Seaport).

We're left with Don Chiofaro's (Harbor) Garage, South Station, Back Bay Station, less than ideal South Bay parcel (if deemed suitable would be a great location to add office space to the market), Kendall Square, another few spots in Cambridge, maybe a few doglegs in Downtown and some nuclear options in Back Bay.

Once again, you have the Menino years to thank for this disaster.

Study the FAA restricted zones; it's almost over. This is why 111 Federal Street is going to the max height limit. If the BRA seems a bit hasty to be open to going tall at the Harbor Garage site, again; this is one of the last places to add a significant amount of density to a luxury waterfront market that's starving for it. By the same reasoning, all the big proposed projects need to go very tall. When the three big parcels at South Station, Back Bay Station and South Bay are eventually developed, they should also reach their respective height limits.

After a very long, long, long, long, long time... like after the South End, Fenway and adjacent parts Roxbury are built out, and 100~150 million dollar parcels in Boston's High Spine are deemed as 'underdeveloped,' Properties along Boyleston Street, or Huntington Ave such as the Greenhouse Apts (1982) ect may be eyed as the next places to go up... but this type of destruction seems quite a ways removed from the current market.


----------



## citylover94

This is a major exaggeration. Yes there is limited space left but there is not no space. Yes we are running out of empty lots but there are a bunch of parking garages that can be redeveloped and there are still some empty lots. Plus there are air rights over the Mass Pike. 

I made a map that I have been trying to keep up to date of lots available for redevelopment in the core. Not all the sites could support a skyscraper but most of them can. It is not complete but it gives a good idea of what is available. 
Here is a link: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z-P0elakuhEs.kZS5pCWvD5k4&usp=sharing

FAA Height Map:









*FAA Height restrictions are not set in stone for downtown/back bay there is some wiggle room. Based on that map the Four Seasons tower shouldn't be able to go above 500' and the FAA approved that tower for 755'


----------



## odurandina

thanks for posting the hi-resolution image. it's been a long time since i've seen it. so i was mostly posting from memory. i see i was off a little. 

still, i say _'grim' _because when i think of FAA height restrictions + nimby + pay the homey's to throw their scant political capital to the dogs (for the developers) + the cost of removing more ++ ($$$) post urban renewal properties + all the impact/traffic studies + can't go near the Charles + ain't goin' mixing with brownstones + shadows + oh my effing God, the trees are gonna die. 

trying to feel your enthusiasm (in sharp constrast to thinking of future developers building 12 stories in Roxbury).


----------



## citylover94

No problem I hadn't seen one that hi-res before so I was very surprised. I tend to be overly optimistic at times but I think between parking lots, parking garages, advances in building really thin but tall towers and potential demolition of buildings that aren't valuable enough historically to retain that there will be enough space to get through a couple more decades. I think by 2030 space could be an issue especially if things are kept too short. But I am still hopeful. 

I do see where you are coming from, but I think with the rebirth of the importance of cities or at least the recent shift in attitudes where cities are seen as important and people have started to see what makes cities work and why they are important again I do have optimism that as time passes it will become easier to build in cities and development regulations will become more sane.


----------



## desertpunk

*Fenway's 17-Story 1350 Boylston to Officially Break Ground*












> Lead developer Skanska USA will be hosting an official groundbreaking this afternoon for 1350 Boylston Street, Fenway's latest apartment project to commence construction. There's a catch to today's ceremony: Skanska is holding it at the nearby Boston Arts Academy, the city's sole public high school for visual and performing arts, to which the developer is donating $10,000. Mayor Marty Walsh will be the guest of honor. As for 1350 Boylston, said construction has been under way in earnest since October.


----------



## citylover94

The Cronin Group has proposed a 22 story development at 150 Seaport Boulevard on the South Boston waterfront. Link to websites: http://croningroupllc.com/en-us/welcome.aspx http://150seaport.com/


----------



## Sprngh2o

Wow...sharp building


----------



## odurandina

squander

verb | squan·der | \ˈskwän-dər\ 

transitive verb

1. to spend extravagantly or foolishly : dissipate, waste <squandered a fortune>

2. to cause to disperse : scatter

3. to lose (as an advantage or opportunity) through negligence or inaction


Q: how do you go 28 years without constructing even 1 600 foot building?


*Is this our last chance at building skyscrapers in Boston?? *

Don't shoot me, but, going 'tall' may soon become an endangered prayer topic in Boston.... And not only because of politics. If you're hoping things will change soon, you might be in for a very long wait.


*updates (up to the minute from the 'source').*

Not long ago, i was nervously optimistic about current/future construction in Boston. i have now been brushed back into despair.... no longer optimistic that i will see the Boston skyline saved after all. I'm not saying that it's effectively ruined. But i'm afraid i won't be getting in the 'wow, they saved it' camp either. Urban renewal in Boston sought to build needed density, modern plumbing and heating, and revitalize neighborhoods.... and to that end, they succeeded. 

But, after the 1990s, what critical few air-rights parcels remain/ed *(where a few 625~750 foot towers would have made a huge difference in giving Boston a minimal, yet striking, drawn-out skyline) - will soon be lost. With the exception of 3 or 4 nice towers, the current wave is just more Menino era 300-490 foot infill.

We have enough cubed-shaped' buildings everywhere. It's not just that land has become scarce. We may someday look back and say, 'what were needed at this time were a few more 'Skyscrapers' in the mix.'


*the critical parcels/current redevelopment situation;*

Despite opposition by a few 'unrealistic' folks in the community, the following projects would have made a huge improvement to Boston, and REALLY left the door open for some kind of 'super wow' in the future.

if only the BRA had remained firm... if...

1. just one 600 foot tower actually could have got built at the Boston Garden. It could have and it should have happened. It's not going to happen, but i'm still happy to see 4 medium height towers fill the West End at North Station. 

2. at least one 650~750 foot tower had been built at Government Center. Looks like we might come close with the cylindrical office tower getting near 600 feet or slightly over (once the mechancal screen/crown spire are topped). I'm not completely sold on this theory. It may turn out... There also might be an issue with driving piles to the depths necessary for +200 meters on this parcel due to potential problems with neighboring properties or underground infrastructure. But, if this one gets to 600 feet or slightly above, it will make a huge impact.

3. if Don Chiofaro can find a solution to going to the 600 feet/900,000 sq ft limit at the Harbor Garage site. We all hope something can be resolved soon, otherwise, it may turn out to be yet, another sad day for Boston if that craphole garage isn't torn down, and the huge hole in the air above it isn't filled.

4. The current footprint of the Ritz Carlton behemoths. (Surely something could have been done to bring some trees that can tolerate a bit more shade, and tall towers been built).

5. Back Bay Station; *Tall isn't going to happen here after all.*

6. South Station; I fear cranes may arrive at just about the same time the economy turns sour.

7. Midwood Development/Bromfield Street; I like to keep an open mind, but nervous the MT partners and residents will turn this into the latest bloodbath.

8. 111 Federal Street; BRA officials will ensure a very tall building gets done here, and the cranes will arrive.  :banana:


*proposed/ or with greater than zero chance of being built etc;* 

1. Midwood Investment/Bromfield Street diagonally across from Millenium Tower likely to seek in range of *625-740 feet. *

2. Harbor Garage/Don Chiofaro 52 stories *600 feet*/900,000 sq ft limit/delayed.

3. Equity Residential North Station/a.k.a. Garden Garage/Boston Garden Tower 4 was 46 stories; proposal now sits @ 44 stories *447 feet *(after 2 height reductions) 

^^^*This project is going to be approved - unfortunately, it's looking like it will occur after yet another height reduction (the 3rd). The once planned +540 foot tower may need to be renamed Stubby Garden Tower 4 to go along with the other 3 medium height towers, but will form a decent shoulder infill where the skyline meets the Zakim Bridge. *

4. 380 Stewart Street/John Hancock Tower #3 26 stories 380 feet (more infill).

5. BACK BAY STATION likely to... *sad to learn, that contrary to earlier hopes, this one will not be the next tall spire riding in on a white horse to help the barren Back Bay skyine. 1 Dalton Street and Coply Tower may be the last significant towers built in Back Bay for a few years.*

6. South Bay Tower; hopeful we will see a tower make an impact at this site in the next 5-10 years; (perhaps during a phase that sees many 180~260 foot appartment buildings in Roxbury, Fenway, Jamaica Plain, etc)... 


*approved, under-construction, topped, +/- cladding or completed;*

1. 111 Federal Street/Winthrop Garage *740-780 feet* (BRA gave tacit approval for "very tall..." currently weighing multiple redevelopment proposals)

2. 1 Dalton Street/Four Seasons 61 stories *755 Feet* (under comstruction)

3. Millennium Tower 55 stories *685 feet* (topped + cladding completed)

4. Copley Place Tower 52 stories *625~650 feet* (w/ mechanical screen, in early construction phase) 

5. SOUTH STATION 41 stories *621~650 feet *(has BRA approval w/ many question marks regarding the timetable and track expansion)

6. Government Center (cylindrical) office tower 38 stories *528 feet + mechanical screen/crown spire* (has BRA approval to reach 600 feet. screen/spire could top at that height or go slightly over.

7. TD Garden Tower 1 (office tower) 33 stories *495 feet* (BRA approved)

8. TD Garden Tower 2 (resident tower) 45 stories *486 feet* (has BRA approval for 1 tower to reach 600 feet)

9. Government Center (residential) Tower 45 stories *480 feet *[mechanical screen could put the roof at +540 feet.(BRA approved)]

10. Avalon North Station/121 Nashua Street 38 stories *450 feet* (topped w/cladding a few weeks away)

11. 40 Trinity Place 33 stories *400 feet* at the roof (approved; construction to commence shortly)

12. The Point Fenway 30 stories 344~365 feet (under construction)

13. 45 Stewart St/AVA Theatre District 29 stories 336 feet (completed/occupancy near full)

14. Radian Boston 26 stories ~300 feet (completed/occupancy over 50%)


Despite rumours of a coming holocaust, Don Chiofaro never proposed any development that would reduce the number of parking spaces available to the New England Aquarium [once the new underground garage beneath (what will now be a single tower) was completed]. The Aquarium isn't the 8th wonder of the world. The City of Boston will never allow visitors to get lost attempting to find the big tank full of snarky see creature employees. This is Boston: THEY WOULD HAVE BUSSED THEM IN from locations all over the city. 


*After the above building sites are gone, I stumble attempting to locate where they will put the next tower, or series of 550-790 foot skyscrapers in Boston.*

sticking to this premise... 



odurandina said:


> It turns out, the Nimby's may have won after all.
> 
> a not-so-happy ending to building tall n Boston ?
> 
> I read a lot of comments hoping a few very tall buildings will soon, go up in Boston.
> 
> Sadly, after so many +280~400 foot structures being added in the past few years, i believe we're down to just a few places where 500~700 foot towers can be built. As fantastic as such a state of affairs may seem, imo, the situation looks somewhat grim.
> 
> We've added a lot of density in the last 15 years. Think those Ritz Carlton things are nice? Their construction may someday be included as part of a short sighted, if not reckless chapter of building in Boston... There were too many stubby rectangles built (under 450) feet during the Tom Menino years (+ the permits issued before he left, w/ properties coming into the market, now).
> 
> A few big towers on just a few prime parcels would have made a huge impact on Boston's barren skyline - and added critical supply to the market. Instead, precious land was pissed away by Tom Menino's admn caving in to nimby's. Then, i see a lot of 4, 5, 6 story buildings popping up, (seemingly everywhere), where 260~300 foot towers could have gone.
> 
> So, what comes after our exciting, present-day build out?
> 
> Want to go tall in the Back Bay? Ain't happening without a lot of pain. Those ugly Christian Science buildings will require pallets of ($$$). What about the South End? nope; can't build tall there.... worse than Downtown. the land area south of I-90 is ****250~300 ft limit/flight path back all the way to Roxbury, along parts of the Fenway and beyond... build tall south of Chinatown? no. it's within the ****200~250 ft flight path (like the Seaport).
> 
> We're left with Don Chiofaro's (Harbor) Garage, South Station, Back Bay Station, less than ideal South Bay parcel (if deemed suitable would be a great location to add office space to the market), Kendall Square, another few spots in Cambridge, maybe a few doglegs in Downtown and some nuclear options in Back Bay.
> 
> Once again, you have the Menino years to thank for this disaster.
> 
> Study the FAA restricted zones; it's almost over. This is why 111 Federal Street is going to the max height limit. If the BRA seems a bit hasty to be open to going tall at the Harbor Garage site, again; this is one of the last places to add a significant amount of density to a luxury waterfront market that's starving for it. By the same reasoning, all the big proposed projects need to go very tall. When the three big parcels at South Station, Back Bay Station and South Bay are eventually developed, they should also reach their respective height limits.
> 
> After a very long, long, long, long, long time... like after the South End, Fenway and adjacent parts of Roxbury are built out, and 100~150 million dollar parcels in Boston's High Spine are deemed as 'underdeveloped,' Properties along Boyleston Street, or Huntington Ave such as the Greenhouse Apts (1982) ect may be eyed as the next places to go up... but this type of destruction seems a few world's removed from the current market.


*
** *these are the original heights i used in my original post. Citylover was kind enough to demonstrate i was off a little, but not enough to where you're able to make a significant impact on the Skyline with big, picturesque towers.


----------



## citylover94

Can you please stop posting things worrying about Boston running out of space for new towers please it is not true and unnecessary. Yes there are limited sites that are already open but more will open up over time there are still plenty of parking garages to be replaced downtown.

Also could you please explain why you think the Back Bay Station tower won't happen. There isn't any reason a 900 ft tower can't go there and it wouldn't cast shadows on any place that isn't already impacted by the Hancock and shadows don't go south so that should take care of the south end. 

This just seems pointless and over dramatic to me. Maybe I am missing something but I think you will be surprised where Boston could be in a few years. I agree to many towers were built around 300 ft tall that should have been taller but that is over we have to work with what is available and crying/yelling about how bad it is doesn't change anything. Yes there are missed opportunities but there are also plenty of opportunities that haven't even been explored yet.


----------



## odurandina

i should have put a disclaimer at the beginning of the post that i'd come off sounding heavy handed. it wasn't my intention, nor to take a big crap on the forum. i'll be the first to say, what an idiot i am, and thank you, when i turn out to be wrong. 

i did leave an out; building in Back Bay will still be possible.... Then Govt Center is really one humongous demo. But we're getting close to things getting prohibitively expensive. Look at how tall they had to go at 1 Dalton. Add in Boston Redevelopment politics to any other possible site/s. So many are just a nightmare. 

I've got friends working with this stuff. I hadn't had the opportunity to get into specifics with one 'in the know' until the last few days. I came to discover they see things in a similar light. It's not just overcoming the challenges of underground infrastructure, engineering, right-of-ways, zoning.... Now, as we move forward, it's the delicate hurdles involved with redevelopment of assets that are already well used *being added to *Logan, shadows, expensive impact studies, the cost of labor, angry neighbors, the Archdiocese, the colleges who own so much property.... then, add the goodies for the city... put it together, it's just a lot. damn perfect storm. a ton goes into these projects. 

Look at 1 Dalton. Why does it get done, and an other one doesn't. Millennium is done, who has the right to say Bromfield Street doesn't? Yet, if it doesn't get built, that should tell you a lot. You're seeing people tearing their hair out because they're gonna do a variance on a 200 foot height rule at the Aquarium. This is happening, because there's no where else to build... Sadder still, you've got the Aquarium ass-douches that can't see Chiofaro is going to help bring a renaissance in this part of the City. Too many people don't see density here as a good thing - *which is insane. *

And there's stuff no one talks about in Boston. You had the Patrick (omfg) admn... You can't begin to quantify the evil that existed in the State House under his regime. Then there's the City. Infighting goes on with the developers that you can't even imagine. Stuff that could will never be repeated. 

choose to believe it or not. 

But, 1 Dalton also shows us a silver lining; where going forward, the purchase + removal of valuable properties gets so damn expensive, they simply have to go huge to make it feasible. I'm saying we're closer to this place than you think, and the Menino-era crap effectivly ends. 

I'm not looking for a showdown, but, are you prepared to get specific? Where are we not looking? I don't see where. I see a few doglegs downtown/where you can do tall and narrow @ 450~620'. So, there's room for optimism there. But, unless you're talking about west of the Pru, then, i just think from here, our prospects start getting very thin. 

Now, if you want to talk about 265-340 foot apartment buildings going all the way back to Hyde Park, yeah, people are thrilled. We'll continue to see these low towers, linkage, and neighborhoods revitalized. 

*Back Bay Station. The up to the minute is B.B.S. is 2 buildings with neither going tall. *

You don't want to know who told me, But, if this is true, and i have every reason to believe that it is, then imo, they're better off setting it aside for a few years. If you want to see a world class skyscraper built here, you all are going to need to get LOUD before they get too far along (Count me in).... If the best path to a great tower requires waiting a few years, then it would be well worth it. It will be a tragedy if at least 1 +650 foot tower doesn't go up there.

Godspeed.


----------



## citylover94

Boston properties said they want to go big at Back bay so I would not expect Hancock #3 there at all in fact financially that wouldn't work because it would likely partially be air rights so the height is necessary financially. 

As far as available lots here is a screenshot of a map I created and provided a link to on the previous page. 









Key:
Purple- easy or likely to be redeveloped
Orange- unsure political or economic factors make redevelopment complicated
Red- unlikely to be redeveloped in the near future
Green- Proposal

Based off of this map I count 18 sites that could fit at least one skyscraper and some could fit several. That is only including the purple lots and does not count current proposals. The FAA height limits on those parcels range from a low of around 700 feet up to around 975 feet. 

When I posted this map on archboston the majority of people agreed with the parcels that I marked as available and I was able to add a couple more sites based on information a member gave me and this is only including downtown and Back Bay. There is potential for height in other areas of the city and this becomes more likely as people get more exposure to well designed skyscrapers and more are built outside of the usual high rise areas such as around north station.


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## odurandina

nice work. 

maybe the orange is for 'next time' in a few years with the go big or go home mantra.

and the City telling the NIMBY's to stfu or move.


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## desertpunk

*Boston Garden Towers *









http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2015/12/boston-garden-towers-boston.php


----------



## desertpunk

*Construction to Start on Big Bulfinch Triangle Project*












> The big-time development of the vacant lot across from TD Garden known as Parcel 1B has taken a big-time step forward. Related Beal, the same folks who brought you the spot-less Lovejoy Wharf, just announced they have enough financing to start construction this month on the apartment portion of the project. The firm has also inked a 99-year lease for the site with Parcel 1B's owner, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
> 
> The apartment portion of the Parcel 1B development is due to include 239 units aimed at those not in the market for a $3,000 studio. Indeed, Related Beal calls their effort "the largest new construction of affordable and workforce housing in downtown Boston in more than a quarter-century."


----------



## desertpunk

*Innovation District Seaport*


Untitled by mahler9, on Flickr


----------



## erbse

Boston getting way too many random glass facades lately. Stones and bricks look much better in this city, suit its appeal!


----------



## royal rose1

Seriously, these blue glass cities like Vancouver will regret the mundaneness of its aesthetic in a few years. It's so generic and dull, so I'm happy Boston hasn't committed to it too much.


----------



## odurandina

i couldn't disagree more. The Brutalist Architecture of Boston from the '50s to the '70s (i.e. Govt Center/Christian Science Tower, much of Downtown, etc), and fugly concrete (i.e. concrete Harbor Towers/Longfellow Place, etc)... gave way to far too much redstone/brownstone/mudstone. 

Millennium, The Hancock Tower, Exchange Place, 33 Arch, 100 High Street, Atlantic Wharf, 30 Dalton Street, and the soon-to-be (1 Dalton St/Four Seasons and Copley Tower), and recent Seaport Dist towers, or mixed glass as you have with Dewey Square/1 Financial or the Radian are all beautiful, imo. 

If it has to be _old look_, i'll take the Seagram Building (New York) which takes on the appearance of Onyx or even the cladding of 1 Boston Place all day long...[I'm petitioning the BRA and BNY to add some type of uncomplicated facade; perhaps something akin to a ringed crown fence closer to the perimeter - to mitigate the cube shaped mechanical screen's offense to the City (and God) in the current regime].

http://www.emporis.com/images/show/521195-Large-fullheightview-elevated-view-from-the-east.jpg


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## erbse

I have no idea what you're talking about. Boston doesn't have a single stone/brick facade landmark tower in classical style, except beautiful Custom House Tower and Old Hancock Tower/Berkeley Building (which are #18 and 19 only on the skyline, see here). The taller ones of the city are all bland glassy/modernist, which is nice and all, but totally random - they could be in any other place of the world.

But even with a glassy facade, they should be able to create something that is more identifiable - like One Lincoln Street or 111 Huntington Avenue. I think Boston's skyline would profit immensely by two, three more postmodern or better classical-style landmark towers (650ft+).


----------



## DZH22

odurandina said:


> ...[I'm petitioning the BRA and BNY to add some type of uncomplicated facade; perhaps something akin to a ringed crown fence closer to the perimeter - to mitigate the cube shaped mechanical screen's offense to the City (and God) in the current regime].
> 
> http://www.emporis.com/images/show/521195-Large-fullheightview-elevated-view-from-the-east.jpg


I love this building and its presence on the skyline. Until Millennium overshadowed it, the cube on top was the most recognizable downtown landmark from the north. (93 South in particular) It's one of the only things that stands out in a sea of flat roofs. Outside of maybe a fresh coat of black paint, I think this building should be left alone.


----------



## odurandina

I read your comment on ArchBoston concerning Back Bay maybe not going tall. They have a backlog on activating accounts, so I can't post. Again, there's more people talking about 900' at Back Bay. But, this looks dead on arrival. I wish it weren't so.

Wish something could be done to change the situation. Instead, it seems like one more "it'll have to be some other place that goes tall..." Only, there never is any other place, and we end up with just more of like what's going up at Boston Garden... Only Chiofaro and a few others recently have managed to hold out, seeing the future, viability, and maybe a vision about creating a landmark. Call me sentimental, but I'm giving Chiofaro the benefit of the doubt that he wants big things for Boston. Not just dollars. 

Failure to go to the max at Winthrop Garage, Bromfield Street, South Station, Harbor Garage, Govt Center or Back Bay - will be a blow. Can anyone speculate where the next big chance to go +650~789 will be after these are gone?


----------



## citylover94

Pike air rights very far in the future and in the nearer future the Gateway center lots are likely to get something tall. The parking garage across from the chinatown gateway arch on the edge of the leather district is a likely spot and could potentially have to thinner towers. The parking garage on Washington across from the Devonshire could reach that. Another parking lot that could go tall although I have no idea how likely it is or who owns it is the one on the corner of Chauncy St and Ave De Lafayette across from the Hyatt Regency. There is also the parking lot on Harrison Ave and Tyler St and the parking lot at Essex St, Ping On St, and Edinboro St in Chinatown. Several towers could be built above the Shaws, Lord and Taylor and the Saks Fifth Avenue at the Prudential Center. As well as any of the Mass Pike parcels between the Prudential Center and the Charlesgate. Likely spots being the air rights parcel on the corner of Boylston and Dalton st although the current proposal is shorter a taller one could be built instead if it is allowed and ever gets moving. I would think any of those could happen either as a last push during this cycle or as the start of the next.


----------



## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower*

Millennium Tower, Downtown Crossing by Leslee_atFlickr, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Avalon North Station*



CIMG0565 by timsox6, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*22 Liberty*


CIMG0556 by timsox6, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*888 Boylston*


IMG_1335 by David Couhig, on Flickr









https://www.flickr.com/photos/kay335/


----------



## desertpunk

*Mosaic*


IMG_1218 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*One Canal*


IMG_1122 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Watermark Seaport*


IMG_1079 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*30 Dalton*


IMG_1316 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Avalon North Station*


CIMG0565 by timsox6, on Flickr


Untitled by ECBrads, on Flickr


Untitled by ECBrads, on Flickr


----------



## desertpunk

*Lovejoy Wharf*


Untitled by ECBrads, on Flickr


Untitled by ECBrads, on Flickr


----------



## erbse

How dull most of these facades are!  Precisely what I moaned about in my last post, but there you go. The only gleam of hope in the recent posts is that last one at Lovejoy Wharf, a textured brick facade that actually *suits Boston* well, at least it has great potential coming from its current state.


----------



## desertpunk

erbse said:


> How dull most of these facades are!  Precisely what I moaned about in my last post, but there you go. The only gleam of hope in the recent posts is that last one at Lovejoy Wharf, a textured brick facade that actually *suits Boston* well, at least it has great potential coming from its current state.


One has to consider that most new construction in Boston occurs on land that is already vacant, occupied by unwanted structures such as parking garages or cleared by such megaprojects as the Big Dig. Historic preservation is paramount in Boston, unlike NYC where old gems keep falling to Billionaire Row supertalls. Lovejoy Wharf is an example of historic preservation in Boston. No way would anything disrespectful of the original structure be allowed to rise at that site.


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## desertpunk

*Millennium Tower*


Downtown Crossing by Bill Dussault, on Flickr


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## odurandina

*current build cycle/update/s;

***** Five huge projects to watch for in the coming weeks are; *

1. 111 Federal Street/awaiting the winner to TBA after eight site proposals.
2. One Bromfield Street/Midwood Investment formal proposal (diagonally across from Millennium Tower).
3. Harbor Garage Redevelopment/Chiofaro Company next step after approval for +600' was granted last summer.
4. decision on the proposed TD Garden Garage Redevelopment/Equity Residential.
5. Back Bay Station Redevelopment.

As if *GE coming to Boston* wasn't enough great news, in the coming weeks, Boston will ostensibly, have three +600' towers under construction, with four or five more likely, well along the approval stage by year's end.


*approved, +/- Boston.gov involvement but delayed....*

1. South Station Tower; *621 feet *@bosgonnabuildit.gov but w/ delayed timetable w/ Post Office relocation + track expansion... 

2. Harbor Garage/Don Chiofaro 52 stories *600 feet*/900,000 sq ft. Chiofaro wanted 2 towers and 1.3M sq ft. After impasse, BRA began speaking with Chiofaro's partner, Prudential. 

^^^*Don don't do stubby turds. Expect something to pop in the coming months... *


*proposed or TBA presently w/ high probability of getting built etc;* 

1. 111 Federal Street/Winthrop Garage *740-780 feet* (BRA gave guidance for +700~780' ...BRA currently weighing eight redevelopment proposals; (all +700~780'). Upon announcing the winner (in early spring) the BRA will begin the tired act of meeting with the Nimby's. In the end, as with the case of South Station, 111 Federal St is going very near or to the max FAA Height limit for Winthrop Square. :banana:

2. 1 Bromfield Street/Midwood Investment 58 stories *710 feet *(diagonally across from Millenium Tower. formal announcement due any day). 

3. BACK BAY STATION has been over-hyped; looks like it will be *2 towers in the 380~490 foot range.*

4. TD Garden Garage/Equity Residential 44 stories *~500 feet/top of mechanical screen.* Second proposal was 46 stories; proposal now 44 stories w/ highest occupied floor deck at 447', after 2 height reductions. 

^^^*I've heard this project is going to be approved-and the 4th +450' Tower at the Boston Garden will rise along with the other 3 to form a decent shoulder infill where the skyline meets the Zakim Bridge. *

5. 380 Stewart Street/John Hancock Tower #3 26 stories 380 feet (more infill).

6. Canvas Downtown (high a/r condo tower) 30 stories 305 feet. 


*approved, +/- .gov/on schedule, under-construction, topped, +/- cladding or completed;*

1. 1 Dalton Street/Four Seasons 61 stories *755 Feet* (under comstruction)

2. Millennium Tower 55 stories *685 feet* (topped + cladding completed)

3. Copley Place Tower 52 stories *625~647 feet* (w/ mechanical screen, in early construction phase) 

4. Govt Center (cylindrical) office tower 43 stories + mechanical screen/tall crown spire *~600-620 feet*
(to be staggered after the first tower)

5. TD Garden Tower 1 (office tower) 33 stories *495 feet + spire to top at ~550 feet* (under construction 1-27-2016) Latest and final rendering for this tower has been changed to a design very similar to the NBC Tower in Chicago shown here –http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=4439&page=62

6. Govt Center residential tower 45 stories *~547 feet at roof* (work to commence ~presently)
^^^*Update: The public announcment says work will begin on residential tower in a few weeks. But, i just heard one of the project/s' spokesman say they'll begin driving piles for the residential tower for the basement structure while the existing garage is still in use.* 

7. TD Garden Point 2 (resident tower) 45 stories *487 feet* (under construction 1-27-2016)) 

8. Avalon North Station/121 Nashua Street 38 stories *450 feet* (topped w/cladding a few weeks away)

9. Atlantic Wharf 32 stories *436 feet* (100% occupancy in 2012) 

10. 3. 40 Trinity Place 33 stories *400 feet* at the roof (approved; in pre-construction awaiting final zoning/traffic plan)

11. The Point Fenway 30 stories 367 feet at the roof (under construction)

12. 45 Stewart St/AVA Theatre District 29 stories 336 feet (2015 completed/occupancy near full)

13. Govt Center Tower #3 29 stories ~336 feet (approved ~2 years away)

14. Radian Boston 26 stories 300 feet (completed/occupancy +80%)

15. The Kensington Apartments 27 Stories 299 feet (2013)


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## PriscillaFlrs

So interesting!!
They are very good views


----------



## dcasataza

*GE confirms it’s heading to Boston*



> General Electric on Wednesday announced it will move its headquarters to Boston, making the iconic industrial giant the biggest company ever to relocate to the city and cementing the region’s reputation as a magnet for innovation.


https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...ith-process/ZYZSu7GorfVTRXM2ZIaabJ/story.html


----------



## desertpunk

New dorms going up in The South End:












> SOUTH END—Northeastern is building a 230-foot dorm on Burke Street full of apartment-style residences. Destined to be the tallest dorm in town? [Boston Mag]
> 
> http://boston.curbed.com/archives/2016/01/northeastern-new-dorms.php


----------



## dcasataza

*General Electric* to Move Headquarters to Boston 



> * Massachusetts offered GE incentives up to $120 million through grants and other programs, while the city of Boston offered up to $25 million in property tax relief, according to the mayor's office. Additional incentives include $1 million in workforce training grants; up to $5 million for an "innovation center" to help forge relationships between GE and Massachusetts research institutions and schools; and assistance to eligible employees looking to purchase homes in Boston.
> *





> The announcement was mourned in Connecticut, but Massachusetts officials rejoiced.
> 
> "We won Powerball today here in Boston by having GE come here," Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said. "For two decades, we've had companies move out of our city. Now we have companies moving into our city."





> The announcement comes three years after the *$130 billion high-tech global industrial company * said it began considering a new composition and location for its headquarters, and more than seven months after* the firm threatened to leave Connecticut, complaining about the state's tax environment *.


http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/general-electric-move-headquarters-boston-36269083


----------



## desertpunk

*Government Center Garage redevelopment project to include the tallest residential rental tower in Boston*












> January 15, 2016 10:26 AM
> 
> Say goodbye to the Government Center Garage and hello to the tallest rental tower in the city. The Boston Redevelopment Authority just gave the final approval for a plan to demolish and redevelop the site of the garage where they plan to include retail, office, hotel, and residential space. National Real Estate Advisors and The HYM Investment Group’s $1.5 billion plan includes six different buildings, two of which have been approved by the BRA. One is a planned luxury apartment building that will be the tallest rental housing building in the city when completed. The 480-foot tall, 486-unit building is set to break ground in the spring.
> 
> *Also approved is a 43-story, 528-foot-tall glass office tower. National plans to break ground as soon as it secures a tenant. Once construction begins on the office tower, the existing Government Center Garage will be demolished.*
> 
> - See more at: http://www.boston.com/real-estate/l...y.html?p1=feature_sec_hp#sthash.mb47sRBD.dpuf


----------



## boss-ton

Here is a rendering with the glass office tower at Govt Center.


----------



## DZH22

boss-ton said:


> Here is a rendering with the glass office tower at Govt Center.


These will be quite a bit higher than the announced 480' and 528'. Boston announces its heights to the highest occupied floors. The shorter residential will be between 520'-547', while the taller office should easily eclipse 600'. We estimated around 620' to the tip over at archboston.



datadyne007 said:


> For those of us that like 2D plans & sections:
> 
> *Residential (WP-B1):*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> --


----------



## odurandina




----------



## odurandina

As to all the speculation about the Dalton Street garage in Copley Sq covered on page 69 of the ArchBoston/1 Dalton thread; umm....... you guys know about the Back Bay Station redevelopment. Well, both these sites would seem almost perfect to go to +800~900'. 

Unfortunately, i don't think the BRA is open to casting any new shadows on Copley Sq/Trinity Church. If anything, when speaking to these people, i got the impression the site and it's adjacent green patch is treated almost like a future national monument up there.


----------



## desertpunk

*Huge Government Center Garage Project Is Just Getting Started*












> One of the most foot-stompingly titanic real estate projects in modern Boston took a major step forward Thursday evening, with the Boston Redevelopment Authority approving the first two towers proposed for a redeveloped Government Center Garage in downtown Boston. One, a 480-foot apartment spire with 486 units and ground-floor retail, is expected to get under way this spring, per Tim Logan in the Globe. Work on the second, which is due to stretch to 528 feet, will start once developers HYM Investment and National Real Estate Advisors land an anchor tenant for what will be the biggest office tower under construction in Boston.
> 
> *Four other shoots are expected to join these two spires, making for a six-building complex with a whopping 812 apartments and condos as well as 1.1 million square feet of office space, a hotel and fresh storefronts. *


----------



## desertpunk

^^
Good info, I've updated the thread.


----------



## citylover94

Renderings of the Boston Properties Back Bay Station Redevelopment.


Downburst said:


> OH HOT DAMN. First reaction is that I'm into it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> https://twitter.com/SteveAdamsTweet/status/714906446610178049


The tallest building will reach to around 400 feet and the shortest will reach about 300. The boxy one will be around 400 feet or just below it.


----------



## reackt

1350 Bolyston shooting up. Taken by me, full sized here -> Imgur
Bonus (Tiny) MT in background


----------



## odurandina

*1 Bromfield St 59 stories 709' *

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/913012ef-029f-4338-ac15-e78f1f04c3d5


here's the first render for what might become Boston's 4 or 5th tallest.


----------



## LCIII

Love the design.


----------



## desertpunk

*Downtown Crossing's One Bromfield: Is This the Year for the Giant Tower?*












> *New plans call for approximately 700-foot spire*
> 
> Plans to replace four low-rise buildings at Bromfield and Washington streets in busy, busy Downtown Crossing with a single tower stretch back to those prelapsarian days before the Great Recession. New York-based developer Midwood Investment & Development bought the parcels in the mid-2000s and set about with plans to construct a 28-story building with around 260 apartments and several floors of retail.
> 
> Said recession made quick work of those plans, but Midwood held on to the parcels. Now the company is back with a fresh idea that is just starting to wend its way through the city's approval processes. *And it's a corker of an idea: a tower with 300 apartments and 119 condos, as well as two floors of retail and lobbies, stretching to 683 feet at its highest occupiable floor and to more than 700 feet when the mechanical whatnot are factored in.*
> 
> Such scope would easily make what has been dubbed One Bromfield one of the five tallest buildings in Boston, in New England, really. Its height would rival nearby Downtown Crossing neighbor Millennium Tower, whose success surely inspired Midwood to try, try again.
> 
> Yet that particular spire, which reaches around 685 feet at its highest point and which is set to open this year, took a famously long while to get going. And One Bromfield has already been stop and go for nearly a decade. Stay tuned.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*Parking-Less 'Pencil Tower' Would Replace Old Felt Nightclub in Downtown Crossing*












> *More than 300-foot spire to have 94 apartments, two floors of startup space*
> 
> Fewer areas of Greater Boston are changing more rapidly and forevermore-er than Downtown Crossing. Additions such as Millennium Tower and the Godfrey Hotel are helping to (perhaps) change the Boston neighborhood into a 24-7 enclave.
> 
> Little surprise, then, that a new plan to plunk a 302-foot apartment tower on the site of the old Felt nightclub at 533 Washington Street leans on that storyline. "The project will add to the significant ongoing transformation of Downtown Crossing from a predominantly commercial district to a mixed-use district with a growing resident population," reads the Rafi Properties filing with the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
> 
> The 30-story building would have 94 apartments on top of a two-story restaurant and two floors of office space targeted toward start-ups. Given the relatively tiny footprint for such a tall spire (3,648 square feet), it is being dubbed a "pencil tower" not unlike those sprouting throughout Manhattan right now.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*Back Bay's 40 Trinity Place Proposal Shrinks, Lowers Its Magical Lobby*












> *Number of hotel rooms drops too, while number of condos rises*
> 
> It's been ages since we've checked in with the seemingly stalled project to redevelop the Boston Common Hotel and Conference Center at 40 Trinity Place in Back Bay. Recall that plans had been put forth for a condo-hotel hybrid rising to 33 floors and containing 220 four-star hotel rooms and 142 luxury condos. The pièce de résistance would be a two-story lobby starting on the 18th floor and looking down on the little people.
> 
> The proposal has faced blowback from area residents, including owners in the Clarendon condo across the street, who fear losing their natural light to the spire, and others who worry about the effects of 40 Trinity on wind (yes).
> 
> *The development team behind the tower has now submitted a revised plan that has shrunk its proposed height by seven feet to 393, or 31 stories.* The number of hotel rooms has been reduced drastically, too, from that 220 to 154. The number of condos, however, has been bumped by 31 to 146. Affordable housing at the site has been scotched in favor of building 39 such units off-site (17 had been proposed on-site).
> 
> Also, and somewhat sadly, the proposed two-story lobby would now start on the 15th floor rather than the 18th.
> 
> [...]


----------



## desertpunk

*South End's Tallest New Building to Rise as Part of 710-Unit Development*












> It's been out there for a while that a major project is planned for a 3.1-acre site centered around 575 Albany Street in the South End. Now we have further details of what will be the tallest new construction in the entire neighborhood, which is undergoing quite a bit of game-change-y development.
> 
> Lead developer Leggat McCall, the firm locked in an interminable fight to redevelop the old Sullivan Courthouse in East Cambridge, filed fresh details Monday with the city re: its plans for the site, which is bounded by Albany Street, Harrison Avenue, East Canton Street, and East Dedham Street.
> 
> *The two-building development is due to include 710 apartments, plus 14,000 square feet of retail space and 40,000 square feet of offices, as well as open space and an underground garage. One of the buildings is slated to be 11 stories and the other 19. That latter would be the tallest new construction in the neighborhood.*
> 
> [...]


----------



## Sprngh2o

Professor Punk, U Da Man.......&#55357;&#56835;, I really appreciate your very informative posts.


----------



## odurandina

*A common misconception about highrise planning in Boston will be debunked here; *

Even most who are opposed to tall construction in the City will admit that building a skyscraper at 115 Winthrop Square on it's own merits probably isn't a bad thing. But, then they claim that building it will incite widespread over-development that will drastically change the character of the treasured neighborhoods of Beacon Hill, the West End, Theater and Ladder Districts, Bay Village and beyond. 

For those who are unsure if this might be true, or if you're generally concerned that such a scenario might happen, i'm going to demonstrate why we're not on any type of slippery slope for the scale of building that would drastically change the character of the neighborhoods near the Boston Common, Public Garden, Commonwealth Ave Mall, or Emerald Necklace... i'll provide all the proof and illustrations that show clearly why this state of affairs won't change in the coming years. 


Part 1. introduction and some background

Part 2. proof 

*
*
*Running very low on land for highrise construction over 390 feet.*

Friends; there is nothing to fear about a slippery slope leading to overdeveloment stemming from one project or other in Boston.

Let's take a look and discover what the future holds.


It takes many years to plan and build a skyscraper, and to bring those offices and residential units to market. The (five) development groups that were (not) selected to build at Winthrop Square have demonstrated an extreme level of confidence in our office and luxury condo market – and the clear desire to invest in building a tall skyscraper in Boston. So then, why don't they just seek the path of least resistance, conduct a careful study – and find a suitable location elsewhere to purchase a property, and build? 

Well, they have searched. But, what few options exist, don't pass 'the test' or work into the correct 'formula.' Developers don't see any buildings or open parcels that first, are not protected as historical – but then possess the scale + unique characteristics where the existing structure can be replaced with a much taller structure of greater density and value, ...but then, not go so tall that other 'problems' would arise.... 

The easy-to-do projects; where a developer can purchase an existing structure (at great expense), then go through the long permitting process (risking failure), discard the asset (demolition), then be able to build the new structure tall enough to harvest an acceptable return–just aren't out there. It's so bad, even 'very hard-to-do' projects are scarce.

The sites either don't possess the capacity (FAR) in sq ft to support 'tall,' can't go tall enough to acquire financing (re; demonstrate profitability well above risk), or for some other combination of reasons the numbers can't be made to work. 

In some cases, the 'step up' to height might be too abrupt; either for the neighbors, or for an important historical building that resides too close to the new project. Or the new highrise might be seen simply as too overbearing to the surrounding neighborhood. In other cases, the new tall proposal would cast unwanted shadows on protected parks or historic buildings.

You might be surprised to learn; when developers bring proposals to the BPDA that fall under these categories, they're often rebuffed with a resounding 'no.' Most folks, never hear about these projects.


*Understanding the market'**s desire to build tall in Boston vs feasibility... *

Boston ranks 3rd nationally behind New York and Los Angeles in foreign capital investment, beating out San Francisco and Seattle the past 2 years. We also ranked near the top in venture capital in 2016.... 




In Seattle; there are 42 highrise buildings either proposed, approved, or under construction, (21 underway, topped or completed) that will rise between 400' and 1100' in height.

We are at the central core of a considerably larger business market than Seattle (see the above diagram). Because we are now building so little in the communities along the RT128 belt, the capital to build an astonishing amount of height and space in both office and residential in Boston exists... We build up to a height of about 264' in the Seaport; but the economics of Boston's market supports stacking this space 2x or 3x taller in the Downtown or Back Bay all the way up to 700' and beyond. Yet, developers seldom attempt to build anywhere near this level of height.

Quite the contrary; there are only 4 such proposals for serious height seeking permitting in Boston; In a few moments, you could be persuaded that we might just as well call them *'Our Last 4...' *


They are....

1. 1 Bromfield Street; proposed to rise 705' 
2. 115 Federal St (Winthrop Garage); w/ twin peaks at 691' + 579'
3. The Harbor Garage; 600' (awaiting the new proposal).
4. Parcel 15; 544' above the Mass Pike (now approved).

*5. Copley Square Tower; 625' was shelved indefinitely by Simon Properties after achieving its final permits to build–but was 'scared off' by the extreme costs of the complex site prep over I-90 (recall a few moments ago when i said, 'or for some other combination of reasons, the numbers can't be made to work.' Copley Tower is one such example). 

These projects are not new. Each of them have been in various stages of development for near or better than a decade. 

These facts tell us a lot.

Friends, there is no more low hanging fruit. Every site where you can put up a tall building is either built, under-construction, already permitted or under review... 

Boston's unique layout of its neighborhoods, historically-protected buildings, parks, waterways, highways, and rail tunnels have left developers with very few options.

When talking in the context of height above 118m or about 390 feet, we're 'wrapping up.' During the current economic cycle, we have transitioned from the hard-to-do, to the near-impossible-to-do, to the totally-impossible-to-do. 

We're not getting 2 dozen more big highrises... or a dozen more... or half a dozen more. In reality, the number is probably more like *(three or four). *They're strung about 2.2 miles of our highrise district. Maybe the number rises by 1 or 2 in a few years. 

Overall, we just don't possess the land for this scale of height... and there does not exist the political supervention to determine new spaces for this class of tall highrises within the confines of Boston.


*(There is an asterisk, but i'll hold off that until the end)–Otherwise, we are probably entering a long pause bereft of anything going taller than about (118m/390') from the neighborhoods to the High Spine. 

 Two resident highrises are planned that reach a height of about 300' and 336' outside the High Spine, but these will be built on 'stump' parcels where the impacts will be moderate. They're spread far about the Fenway and Roxbury and won't change the character of Boston. There is no cause for alarm; their proliferation is severely limited by reticent, conservative planning dating back several decades, and carried over by planners at the BPDA. 

After that, we see beneficial infill projects and a few 200~250' apartment buildings aimed at addressing our housing shortage, such as the BHA housing project in Charlestown, Tremont Crossing in Roxbury, a 236' proposal at 47 LaGrange in the Theater District, and the 199' tall apartment bldg at 212 Stewart St in Bay Village *(both recently approved). We have two hotel proposals of about 240' to 290' in Kenmore Square. You will see height in the 200~250' range done on the 'peaks' of a few housing projects at transit stations such as Boston Landing in Allston, spread throughout the City.

Planning for the redo of Back Bay Station over the Mass Pike is currently underway. But, nothing is going over ~410' that would add shadow at Copley Square or the parks. 

As we've seen, projects over transit often take years (or decades). 


*Boston has many social and economic challenges. *

Planners are tasked with developing new sources of revenue to meet challenges in our community that go well-beyond solving the shortage of affordable housing or the complex economics that fund the MBTA. The metrics get additionally complicated because so much commercial space is taken up by our colleges–that contribute meager revenue. 

There is also the context of the national office market. Boston must hold future business (capacity) in reserve right to the last sq ft; to remain safely-positioned in a dynamic marketplace–and hold serve as a major world innovation city. 

Planners at the BPDA must offer the guidance in the context that what few iconic spaces such as Winthrop Garage, the Harbor Garage and 1 Bromfield St that remain in development–will become world-renown addresses where people live and work. 

The 'big picture' must not be brushed aside when planning at these 'special' sites where we can add significant density. Hopefully these iconic build sites will come to take their place as beloved and unique parts of Boston.


 A shortage of parcels suitable for highrise construction doesn't mean we should go trouncing through historical districts like Bay Village or the Bullfinch Triangle to build a bunch of 140~150m towers. Local activists continue to have their say. The City won't 'go too far.' 

But, at a few sites where height is possible, we can't make a mistake then come back and 'fix it' later. At these special sites, bold planning is practicing 'good urbanism.' Additionally, building up to 200~250' on peak structures throughout the neighborhoods allows us the flexibility to say 'no' precisely where we should say 'no.' 

...and, isn't that just about everywhere? 


------------------------------



*115 Fed/Winthrop Garage*

A bit over a decade ago, the Menino Administration determined the crumbling Winthrop Square garage was one of the best sites in Downtown Boston ideal for the construction of a tower rising above 400~450 feet. But, Tom Menino also determined this site was very important – because he knew it was one of the _only _places left in Boston where it would appropriate to build to a true skyscraper eclipsing 200m (656.2 feet). He tacitly declared this site off limits for building a run-of-the-mill highrise tower by declaring exactly the inverse; 

On February 17th, 2006, addressing the business community, Menino called for the construction of the city's tallest building ever: *topping 1,100 feet *at the Winthrop Garage to demonstrate Boston's economic might on the world stage. 

''We'll be looking for proposals that symbolize the full scope of this city's greatness... We will insist on bold vision and world-class architecture."

Unfortunately, not long after, the FAA instructed the Menino Admn that they could build only to about 750' but no higher. A short time later, the Great Recession hit, and the project went stale.

The Walsh Administration is carrying on Tom Menino's plan; basically treating the Winthrop Square Garage as a 'legacy' site for an iconic skyscraper. And it should be. The site rises above the very high bar set by the City for a 'true skyscraper.' 

Consider a bar of 200 meters. We've built only 3 in our City's history. If you lower the bar to the lowest standard of a true skyscraper (180m), we've eclipsed this threshold only 8 times in the City's history. 

We don't have many of these sites left in Boston that rise to this elite status. After running through a long list of criteria beginning with underground right of ways, infrastructure, FAA restrictions, shadow considerations, then, moving on to historic preservation including the historical significance of abutters, step ups, etc, – there's nothing that works.

 When you factor the costs to purchase the existing premium asset/s, go through the long process of permitting, toss the asset away (demolition), improve them, pay the taxes, affordable housing linkage, then add the construction costs – when you determine how tall you need to go up to make it work, the number of floors/ height is too high.




*The current proposal after late revisions is truly a fine outcome for 115 Winthrop Square;*

It looks very good.... 

*Way more New York-ish!!*

Joe Larkin and Handel Architects didn't just listen to the public's suggestions.; They've acted to bring home a very strong design.

Late revisions just kept getting better. 

No-longer a faux sky bridge – but an actual sky bridge!

renders from Bostonplans site by Datadyne of Archboston.org



datadyne007 said:


>



 The shadow bank is left with a low balance. But, there is one project that shouldn't be too affected by the new Shadow Law. There should be sufficient balance remaining to get this last one done. 




*1 Bromfield Street*


1 Bromfield casts a sliver shadow on the Burial Grounds, and for a few days each June and a bit into July, it's shadow reaches onto the Common until a few minutes past 9. The total time is likely be about 30 days/year that it would violate the new shadow law. But to offer some perspective, it would amount to nothing close to the annual shadow produced by 115 Winthrop.

In all, maybe it's 1/24th of the total shade that 115 Winthrop puts onto the Common/PG.

This is Sept 20th/March 20th at 9:00 am








It's shadow reaches the Common for a few days on each side of the summer solstice, then quickly recedes.
This is June 20th at 9:00 am. it's probably gone by :20 after. 








*No precedent*


We're learning about the distance required to get far enough away from the Boston Common/PG, not to cast significant shadows.

To understand why even building both towers won't set precedent for future construction, consider that just about everywhere else, when you get far enough away from the Common/PG you're backing up into the Mass Pike, Bay Village or the South End. 


But you'll see in a moment, that brings a new set of problems. :banana:

At >$1B, the six developers who responded to the RFP from the BPDA (Boston's construction permitting authority), possess huge capital assets to get into the game of building a skyscraper in Boston.

What is true for the winner, Millennium Partners is also true for the five development groups who were not selected to build at the Winthrop Garage. 

Our metro core economy is very strong, and easily supports the construction of additional residential or mixed use towers in the City. What stopped every one of these developers from building at another site? Because there are no suitable build sites. It's just that uncomplicated. 

But does that debunk the theory that we're truly (not) a slippery slope toward the proliferation of highrises or skyscrapers in Boston? ....It certainly would appear to cast doubt. But, to prove it, we'll need to go a bit deeper. 

Now, we'll examine several lines of demarcation that eliminate most or all of the land that's not already built, under construction – or proposed. Then we'll quarantine the rest by various means + banal logic. 



*(i'll include more illustrations in the coming days when i get into the City's planning for each of the neighborhoods). 


Part 2; 

Have a look out toward Logan, and Runway 9-27.... The air to the right of this demarcation line is the FAA/Massport's 'airway' into Runway 9-27.





You can't put up a skyscraper in the Airway. You can't even put up a 390' tower within most of it. You realize this radically changes the game. You've just taken several hundred of acres off the table for any consideration for the class of height that would raise an eyebrow with preservation nimby's, including nearly all of Chinatown for building anything over 325~360'. 

When you step back far enough to remove yourself from shadow restrictions (after the so-called shadow bank is cashed out), you've either backed up into the confines of Runway 9-27's airway, or the Mass Pike. Cross the freeway, and you've backed into South End row-houses. We don't build highrises in the middle of South End row-houses.

That's why we've never had a 'showdown' in this area of Bay Village or the South End–save for the Columbus Center project from a decade ago, which we'll cover in a few moments. 

But, first, let's take a closer look at all the land we just eliminated....















The area shaded in red (below) is eliminated for the class of construction that would bring any type of fierce neighborhood opposition. We've never built anything over 200 feet in this section of Bay Village or the South End, including the New York Streets. 





Now look at what's left that's not already built with something of at least 8~10 stories. Remember, if you have to buy something of value, you'll very likely have to build anywhere from 350' to 500' (or even taller in some cases) to make the economics work. That won't fly at many of those sites because you're already too close to the Common/ Public Garden, or already bumping up on historic neighborhoods containing many historic buildings. You have too abrupt step-ups in multiple directions. There simply isn't enough 'setback' for highrises at significant scale. 

You've got a few parcels owned by Emerson, Suffolk etc. The City won't issue permits for dorms for much over about 199' of occupied height (with very few exceptions), so that eliminates even more build sites. Maybe 240' is doable on a few other parcels for non-educational resident construction. No big issues there.

The more historic the abutter, the more of a cautionary step-up that you'll need to get to being set back far enough to properly accommodate height. Are we going to start doing any tall highrises in any part of Bay Village, or next to Beacon Hill row-houses? No; That won't be happening (ever). 

What about the Theater District? MP built the Ritz Towers. We owe a huge debt of thanks to Tom Menino for allowing folks to have access to living in the center of it all. We're also done doing height above 90m in the Theater District. Does anyone want to moan about the lasts 1 or 2 going 200~240'? 

Bay Village has 1 project at 199', and there's 1 other rising to 236' in the Theater District. The pencil tower at 533 Washington was axed. What other land is in play? Everything's built. Back Bay and Beacon Hill row-house neighborhoods are historic, highrise restricted. We have 3 proposals in Chinatown for 240 and 289' respectively. There is also a proposal for the Motor Mart Garage to add height up to 300' in Park Square. All these projects are set well back from the Common/PG and won't contribute new shadows. 

Parcels 25 and 26 in the Leather District have planning limited to two towers w/ 300' (max FAA) next to the steam vent at the train yard.

Let's examine a few other possibilities. 

1. 380 Stewart Street. That's going to 390'. As you'll note in this graphic, it's at a safe enough distance not to cast shadow on the Public Garden and Comm Ave. 

as you can see in this illustration, the tower will be low, and set quite a ways back from the Public Garden, and cast nil shade.....





There's no cause for concern about a 390' tower in this part of Boston in the High Spine.... 

2. 1 Bromfield. it's at a safe distance from the Common for shadows, and will only touch the extreme northeast corner of Boston Common for a few minutes on a few days. The project doesn't violate the Shadow Law. 

3. St Anthony's Shrine. after 115 Fed is done, we might be able to tuck a shorter tower in there that effectively rests inside the shroud of 115 Fed's shadow. HYM had struck an accord with the Friars for a possible swap for a future school. That ended when Millennium Partners was selected to develop Winthrop Square. There are currently no plans to develop the site.

4. The former Lafayette Place/Jordan Marsh super-block and the building with all the communications gear. No. That's like, pentagon stuff tied in with MIT and Harvard. It won't be redeveloped in the next couple of decades, at least. 

5. Now, we're heading toward Lord and Taylor and Parcel 15. Lord and Taylor is a legit skyscraper site for about 360' max (like the adjacent Avalon Exeter tower). Can't go taller or you're casting shadow over the Comm Ave mall and PG. Planning at this site won't negatively affect the Back Bay neighborhood, or hit the Public Garden with new shadow. 

6. Parcel 15; is currently the far western outpost set to rise 544'. 

7. Dalton St Garage; With new construction; the Dalton Garage becomes an even more critical parking asset for the neighborhood, and it has been set aside as untouchable. 

8. Christian Science Park & the Midtown Hotel; We could put up a skyscraper at the south end of Christian Science Park where the above ground section of the garage is located. But it's not happening. The current renovations of the site include keeping of the garage structure intact. The Church of Christ Scientist has no plans to redo the Midtown Hotel because they don't want new shadows cast on the park. 

9. Copley Tower is on hold indefinitely. It will require an unprecedented event to revive the project.

10. The fine proposal to build a 360' tower at 2 Charlesgate W has gone quiet. It appears John Henry put a stop to it. 

Are there any other highrises out on the horizon? The Harbor Garage project (now moving forward) looks like it could get done.

There is an early proposal for a tall tower with a 'facadectomy' near City Hall. It could become an actual project in the coming months. Stay tuned. 

Can we put the slippery slope to skyscrapers and NYC nonsense to bed once and for all? 

In Part 3, we'll play debunk the parcel in the Theater District, Bay Village, etc.... fan out, leaving no stone un-turned for historic, school property etc, except that you already know..... wait; why bother. The City is conducting a study i would define as a 'skyscraper study.' 

But, if there's nothing proposed, permitted, under-construction or built already, the forward march of time won't do too much to uproot the laws of physics and economics. 

remember Seattle?

goodnight


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## desertpunk

10 New street Apartments









https://twitter.com/39Swilliams


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## desertpunk

*MIT construction*


Construction by hansntareen, on Flickr


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## odurandina

aquaticko said:


> Praying that this one isn't cut down. Boston needs towers of this height; not necessarily much taller (yet), but if the city is eventually going to accommodate more people--which it should if wants to remain globally competitive--the bar of what constitutes "normal tallness" has to be raised to make room for as many ~100-200m towers as possible. Particularly considering how few plots will actually allow height, it's crucial to get it wherever we can....


well stated.... 



Manitopiaaa said:


> ...I wish it would get a supertall at some point.
> 
> Of the Big 12, 8 will have supertalls by 2020:
> 
> Atlanta
> Chicago
> Houston
> Los Angeles
> Miami
> New York
> Philadelphia
> San Francisco
> 
> The only ones lacking will be Boston, Dallas, Detroit and Washington





aquaticko said:


> Well, we can say almost with certainty that DC won't be getting one. Detroit might, by some miracle, at the end of our lifetimes. Dallas will probably depend on whether or not the city can sufficiently decouple its economy from the energy industry.
> 
> Boston, however, has the present demand for one. We all know it's just a matter of getting all the relevant parties to agree to a supertall, and that's where more skyscrapers of varying height will help, by getting stakeholders to see the positive role that they can play in the city's overall development. Once people adjust to more 200m+ skyscrapers, it'll just be that much easier to push a supertall through.


You can make a technical argument that Boston has the demand for a supertall. However, i don't know if the numbers work. Since 1971 when the JHT topped out, we've built our tall office towers in the 36-46 story range. Someone with whom i put faith, said recently, that it was determined some time ago that 60-65 stories is close to the limit for Boston. Our recent condo towers are near those limits – but, building over 60 stories gets more expensive, quickly. 

With respect to demand, with several, high floor space/mid-rise towers going up in the Seaport, we don't yet have tenants for the 2 office towers approved for 1 Congress and TD Garden... then add to that, all the luxury condo towers planned.... maybe this saturates the market, or proves all the more that very tall construction is viable in Boston.

There was a +15 minute exchange between BRA board member Theodore Landsmark and the representative of 40 Trinity yesterday about the project nearly having to be scrapped due to the severe cost challenges of building at this site. And we're talking just about 40 Trinity! Landsmark added that he'd like to see their lengthy exchange become 'viewable' (my words) such that the people become better informed about the severe cost challenged nature of highrise construction in Boston. 

The easy and semi-hard parcels are gone. Now, all that remain range from next-to-impossible on up. You're dealing with labor costs, a bureaucracy and a process that has simply grown to nightmare proportions. In New York, you're probably a couple of tiers above Boston for the value of completed construction.

to make One57 work, they had some of the highest real estate prices in the world to work with... I realize they paid much more for the parcel than you'd have to do in Boston. Still, i believe you'd have a tough time making the argument to finance a similar, 1005' tower in Boston. i believe we'd more likely be getting taller in baby steps. look at the current valuation for the JHT. Now, build it. An economic model for acceptable return vs risk might drop our skyscraper ceiling to as low as 800~825'. Does that number sound low? maybe.

If Boston added a supertall in Back Bay, it might make the skyline look stunted.... Despite the recent drama over the Garden Garage, the West End might be the ideal place for a 'new tallest.' There's a few turd buildings that can come down. And the FAA limit appears to take you slightly over 900' - a good height for Boston.

After the current proposed highrises and whatever few 190~225m towers go up, it doesn't look like we will see any +150m tall construction _anywhere_ in Boston for the forseeable future. i don't think we'll even see anything top 137m.

Every parcel is either proposed for mid-rise or high rise construction, is approved, under construction or topped.' After that, every build site is either FAA height restricted, a historic building, is extremely cost-challenged due to the value of the property +/- cost to demolish, extreme engineering, creates unwanted shade, requires zoning relief, or a nimby/political nightmare because it gets too close to something deemed sacred..... Study every parcel that remains without a proposal for significant height carefully... Put yourself in the nest of the developer - and you'll be able to debunk them.

When and where is the next tall building going to be? Probably nowhere. 111 Federal St and 1 Bromfield are the very last options. Outside of the Harbor Garage tower possibly getting done, the number of tall buildings coming after this cycle is zero. Unless someone decides it's time for the big monoliths (downtown) to start coming down or one of the next-to-impossible garages in Back Bay is solved, Boston has reached the end of tall construction.


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## StoJa9

What the hell is the "Big 12?" Besides a football conference with 10 teams.


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## citylover94

I think they mean 12 largest metros but I'm not sure even that is correct so who knows... Also the idea Boston is out of space for tall buildings and can't support a supertall tower is crazy. I wouldn't expect an office tower to go that tall, but residential towers could definitely make the finances work out for them. That person has some good info on current projects, but there analysis of Boston's future for tall buildings and there outlook on development is about 100 times more alarmist and negative than is called for. I am not saying they are totally wrong or that it isn't and won't be a challenge to build tall in Boston both now and in the future, but it is not like it won't happen and there are more spots for tall buildings downtown and in Back Bay than they are willing to acknowledge.


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## odurandina

i was in a hurry when i posted; please see above edits.... i cleaned it up somewhat. 

Of the few parcels that remain in Boston not currently sitting with proposals under review, approved or under construction....

80-120m: not sexy, but, we're still going here. They aren't that hard, and Boston is now forced to build upwards. I expect we'll top 60~65 more low towers (including more than half probably going outside of the high spine) than what are already proposed, approved or under construction in the next 15-20 years. 

120-137m: very rough waters, but it wouldn't surprise me if a few, such as 45 Worthington get done. 

Taller than that; we've hit a wall...

For getting above 200m, 180m or just 137m... the matter isn't really hard to delineate;

Of the few parcels that remain in the Fenway and Back Bay not currently sitting with proposals under review, approved or under construction – you're really looking at parcels that would put the nimby/s over the fire. Get close to the Holy Grail/Fenway Park 3rd rail and see how things go... We could try to test the waters at 1065 Boylston. Fair test, as this and the site of the Hynes Convention Center Garage and the Christian Science Garage are the most "doable" of the available land immediately abutting and just _ 'off'_ the Back Bay High Spine. Let's propose a 665' tower (a 550' tower was proposed for this site in 1997).... i think the BRA would send you back and tell you to propose something much closer to the plans for Parcels 12 & 15 (~400'/Weiner Ventures)... in addtion to the necessity of re-zoning, 1065 Boylston could bring a swarm of nimby activists. 

One cool project that very likely will be back in the not too distant future is Columbus Center over the Mass Pike... likely, but, it'll require significant tax relief. (unfortunately, you can't call it new – as it's just being re-introduced). Hopefully, The BRA can sell the people on the _tax relief part _ in order to get the 420' tower originally planned, _done. _

Unless you're talking about one of the big _monoliths, _everything that's left Downtown are either built or older, pristine buildings that no one wants to touch.... I've heard the area between Portland St and the Greenway is a no-zone for tall. Maybe that changes. I'm not sure that it should.... Then, everything down Washington and Columbus are FAA.... That means you're basically left with the Harbor Garage and the West End. I believe there's still a very good chance Don Chiofaro pulls out a miracle and something gets done. The West Enders are angry, but their neighborhood is the TRUE wild card for the future of tall building in Boston. Can we get them 'in the mood for +220m? Or if we threaten to rub them out – maybe they'll move.

So, when i speak negatively about new proposals reaching over 450~500' – short of some extraordinary proposal to demolish/split something massive like Dalton St Garage or 1-3 Center Plaza – whatever plays out in the next 2-3 years should tell you a lot. Why? Because Boston is a HOT zone for huge projects. i believe the answer is between 0-3 +450. And likely, not much taller. still, the easy answer is _'zero.' _

the good news is, when the _monoliths _are finally addressed, many of the nimby have moved on. My theory is a good many of them are getting old (massively subjective speculation). The monoliths could open up space and economic realities that require going very tall.


*for anyone less familiar with Boston, the _'monoliths' _are represented by a tragically misguided part of the Urban Renewal era in the 1960s and '70s that gave us; City Hall Plaza, the State Services Center bldg, 1, 2, 3 Center Plaza, (the low-rise section) of the JFK Federal bldg, and the Govt Center Garage. GCG is the first of the monoliths approved for a +$2B/2.4M sq ft redo.


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## citylover94

My two cents is that if the market can support it, it will get built and the evidence I have seen says that there is plenty of demand for more space and tall buildings in Boston. It has always been hard and there has always been limited areas to build tall in Boston this isn't anything new and it hasn't stopped too many projects especially recently from being built. 

I don't have anything against you Odurandino, I just feel compelled to provide my own very different perspective on the situation in Boston.


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## odurandina

*Some background;*

The Harbor Garage continues to spoil the aesthetic of one of America's truly magnificent urban neighborhoods... 










Pretty bad isn't it.



After the garage is redeveloped, we'll see 50% that cement gone....

This is what 55% site coverage looks like; the actual project will be 50%

You combine it with the front entrance patches + Imax GONE, and now you've created almost as much green space as the playing field of Fenway Park.






The City and State consider Long Wharf a national monument. That means no new shade before the 23rd of October. So Don Chiofaro's tower must be located at the south end of the Garage parcel, with a north/south orientation similar to the JHT.

On the ground, visibility to the harbor is horizontal. If a tower gets built 14 stories or 54 stories, at street level, the view of the waterfront and harbor running back up Milk and India Street/s is the same. 

If you walk to the end of Milk Street, you notice the nice patch of green at Central Wharf... Recall that the tower will be located on ths south side of the parcel – leaving this side as open space. So, now you see it; With this plan, the Greenway would segue onto an aggregate large park.... but most-importantly, the Harbor now opens completely in the background welcoming the pedestrian from the historical district. 

*This is why the single tower idea works.*


Placing the lawn on the north end of the Garage parcel reveals a surprising result.

Next, you use one section of Milk Street adjacent to the Garage as it's new access ramp, and the remainder as a fire lane for the Aquarium, or simply put all of Milk St around the loop in front of the Aquarium below grade and all the parcels are united. Checking off the space of the IMAX Theatre's footprint, reveals the full potential of the site. 

Mr. Chiofaro, the City and the Commonwealth can create a very large, uninterrupted space nearly out of thin air at the front of Central Wharf, the Harborwalk and Aquarium.


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## citylover94

Unless the economy collapses real soon I think there will be several tall proposals I would be surprised if there aren't even if they don't get built for awhile I expect to see at least a couple proposals.


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## odurandina

Up to the minute of Boston's largest projects (frequently updated).

BPDA approved 14.7M sq ft of construction in 2016

*big projects coming up for possible approval in 2017....*

1. 111 Federal St/Winthrop Sq skyscraper 750' 1.4M sq ft
2. Parcel 15 685,000 sq ft + 303 space garage
3. Back Bay Station Air Rights 1.26M sq ft
4. Dudley Sq 393,000 sq ft
5. 2 Charlesgate West 344,000 sq ft

*under construction or construction to begin presently.*

1. 1 Dalton Street/Four Seasons 61 stories 756' (1st level)

2. South Station Tower; 51 stories 677' (construction early 2017)

3. Govt Center residential tower 45 stories 540' (construction)

4. TD Garden resident tower 45 stories 496' (construction)

5. Wynn Tower/Everett 30 stories 386' (construction)

6. 88 Ames St (Cambridge) 23 stories 290' (1st level)

7. 240 Tremont/Marriot Moxy 23 stories 273' (construction)

8. Quaker Lane/ Congress Square 17 stories 228' (construction)

9. Julie Hall dorm/Emmanuel College 691 beds 267,500 sq ft 19 stories 226' (construction)

10. 1350 Boylston/Skanska Fenway 17 stories 225' (cladding)

11. Emerson College/Boylston Place 18 stories 218' (near completed)


construction to commence;

1. Garden Garage/Equity Residential 44 stories 485'

2. 40 Trinity Place 33 stories 446'

3. 380 Stewart Street/John Hancock Tower #3 26 stories 390'

4. Tremont Crossing Tower #1 22 stories 284'

5. Andrews Sq/South Boston Tower 1 21 Stories, 278'

6. 104 Canal/Boutique Hotel 15 Stories 191' 90 rooms (BPDA approved)

7. Burk Street residence hall #1/Northeastern U 21 stories 242'


*Topped +/- cladding or completed;*

1. Millennium Tower 60 stories 685' tip (14 July 2016)

2. Avalon North Station/121 Nashua Street 38 stories 450' roof (Oct 2016)

3. Atlantic Wharf 32 stories 436' (2011)

4. 45 Province Street 31 Stories 386' (2009)

5. The Pierce Fenway 30 stories 378' (topped)

6. The Clarendon 32 stories 373' (2010)

7. Avalon Exeter 28 stories 348' (2014)

8. 45 Stewart St/AVA Theatre District 29 stories 339' (2015)

9. StuVi2/33 Harry Agganis Way/BU 26 stories 331' (2010)

10. 30 Dalton St 26 stories 306' (oct 2016)

11. 100 Stewart Street/W Boston Hotel & Residences 26 Stories 301' (2010)

12. The Kensington Apartments 27 stories 299' (2013)

13. Radian 26 stories 291' (2014)

14. 157 Berkeley Street/Liberty Mutual 22 stories 290' (2013)

15. 888 Boylston 17 stories 286' (2016)

16. The Viridian/Fenway 18 stories 214' (2015)

17. Fenway Trilogy 17 stories 211' 576 units (2009)

18. 160 Mass Ave/Berklee College of Music 16 stories 198' (2014)

19. Grandmarc Tower/Northeastern U 17 stories 198' (2014)

20. The Eddy/East Boston 16 stories 194' (2016)


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## odurandina

a Maximum effort to ‘solve housing…’

There has been a lot of mention of gentrification lately regarding new construction of luxury highrises such as Millennium Tower in DXT and new project sites proposed for Boston’s neighborhoods…

The biggest risk to gentrification surely has it’s roots in a long extended critical shortage of housing….

Fix housing and everything becomes workable.

From the ‘Making Boston Better for Artists’ article posted in the Globe a few days ago, someone wrote,

"Ask artists who’ve been around for a while, and they’ll tell Mr. Mayor that Boston’s cost of living, including high rents and taxes, is what discourages them from staying…"

Judging by what they post in the Globe, the loud nimby solution to housing might be to just offer people coupons to just up and ‘move away’ from Boston.

Or they suggest ‘sensible building.’ Translation; endless, low brick to fill in the vacant lots, nooks, and burnouts around the city.

It won’t work.

53,000 units by 2030. Good idea. Not easy…

For a long time, we grew at a fraction of the rest of the country. But, in recent years, the population rose by ~90,000 people… Yet, through the years dating back to about 1990, residential construction has lagged behind with relatively few housing units added until this current cycle.

The Donahue Institute projects Boston’s population could swell by about 100,000 more people by 2035.

Boston’s high rents are hitting all but the affluent very hard. The share of homeowners who are ’cost burdened; (spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing) has skyrocketed from about 25 percent in 2000 to about 40% in 2016. Over this time, the number of cost burdened renters increased from about 38% to 55%.

So Mayor Walsh called for 53,000 housing units to be built by 2030…

i don’t know if the people of Boston have a grasp on what 53,000 housing units is going to look like. Judging by the way many opposed to development post, they must live in some form of alternative reality…

If we want people to have a place to live, we’re going to have to become more open to building…

Boston is an urban zone with the eminence to build.

On February 11, 2016, when a proposal to build a 44-story residence tower at the Garden Garage site passed by a vote of 5-0, a few West End residents expressed a mixture of amazement and grief. After 30 years of knocking 10 or 20 floors off every last box turd in the city, instead of caving to the anti-development nimby agenda – the BRA made a principled decision for Boston on one of the last high rise parcels in the city….

The decision to let ‘Equity’ build across the street from the 450 ft Avalon tower at TD Garden was an easy one; and not just because the general location is already disrupted with the Boston Properties podium construction at TD Garden. It was made with many considerations about what’s best for Boston.

A few loud anti-development people are back making noise about another ‘Equity’ build site: a proposed 377’/mixed income/385 unit apartment tower at 45 Worthington Street, in Mission Hill.

Activist, Kathleen Ryan has warned neighborhood residents "You’re next…" followed by the oft heard battle cry announcing; "Evil Developer’s proposed tower is out of scale and wrong for the Mission Hill neighborhood."

Actually, this site can handle 377’ easily. It has a bit of separation from other large construction on a non-shade challenged parcel. The low highrise would moderately raise the ceiling of the existing ~230’ neighboring apartment boxes and dorms nearby. It’s a home run.

If not here – where??

Instead of singling out 1 project – we should be talking about exactly what fusion of low, medium and tall building will bring an end to the housing crisis.

To people not fond of development; the real numbers are going to look ‘austere.’

We simply can not reach 53,000 units with infill and mid-rise construction alone. Highrise construction is going to have to be in the picture…. ….When you add up all the infill that will be politically feasible in the coming years, we still come up short by as many as 25,000 units.

You begin to see why we can no-longer build Soviet-era 10 story apartments on our last few +137m highrise parcels… Sites eyed for 10 stories will need to go 18. Others good for 14-18 would need to go higher still.

Before we begin tearing through 2 and 3 story neighborhoods (built of wood) from Allston to Dorchester, we’ll need to build as many as 50-55 ~325 unit resident towers +90-120m throughout the city…. Maybe 15-20 built up to +137m in and immediately adjacent to the High Spine… then each of the neighborhoods getting 2 or 3 going to +90~120m from Brighton to the South End, JP to Dorchester.

We have a few luxury highrises going up and people will move in. It takes many years to plan and build these……. Contrary to what some nimby say, people moving up out of lower cost units into luxury low-skyscrapers most certainly do create vacancies for the next tier below, those people in turn, vacate lower cost units and so on… Luxury housing absolutely contributes to the total number of units coming on line. Still, it isn’t going to make up a significantly large portion of the 53,000. But every bit helps.

Colleges submitted their master plans to bring students in from the brownstones off the Emerald Necklace back into new, tall dorms. More space in the neighborhoods will soon be freed up.

Still, at the present time, it looks like we will not get near to the scale of development (required to bring long-term relief) before the nimby’s will be agitating, hurling endless accusations and slander against Mayor Walsh, Dir Golden, and the BRA/EDIC board.

But the nimby makes a largely, a nonsensical argument that pales in comparison to our housing woes… talking in circles, and defaulting back to a thinly veiled message: ‘the critical needs of Boston are an abstract that does not apply to me or my neighborhood. You can’t build that here because i don’t want that built here. My vote is subject to bribery.’ Then followed by non-denial denials that their mischief isn’t harming Boston. It is.

We can’t fail to provide good, affordable housing where it is critically needed. The large majority of people know we wouldn’t just be telling tens of thousands of talented people who want to come and raise families here ‘sorry, you can’t come…’ Businesses will stop locating to Boston or be forced to leave because their employees can’t find a decent place to live.

With respect to preserving space for office development; we should not build 250 foot box turd offices on our last +180m low skyscraper parcels – or tie them off in nimby red-tape for 15 years;

Decisions on where and how tall for future office and resident highrises cannot be based solely upon 60 year old zoning from the dark ages; a few parcels must be transposed, with more emphasis given to 4 criteria:

1. is it good for Boston?
2. access to transportation that will covered by improvements to the MBTA.
3. shade over green spaces.
4. long term revenue considerations.

City planners know we can’t kick the can down the road any longer.


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## odurandina

Boston's tallest by 2024
1. JHT/200 Clarendon St 790’
2. Pru 749’
3. 1 Dalton St 742'
4. Winthrop Ctr 691’ (topped)
5. Millennium Tower 685’
6. South Station Tower 677’ (u/c)
^^>200m
7. Federal Reserve 614’
8. 1 Congress Street (tip) 611’
9. 1 Boston Place 602’
10. 1 International Place 600’
11. 1 Financial Ctr 599' 
12. 100 Federal St. 591’
^^>180m
13. 111 Huntington Ave 554’
14. 50 Sudbury St. resident tower 539'
15. Exchange Place (roof) 539’
16. 2 International Pl 538’
17. 1 Post Office Square 528’ (after redo)
18. 1 Federal St. 520’
19. Hub On Causeway office tower (u/c) 510’
20. 60 State St. 509’
21. 1 Beacon St. 505’
22. 1 Lincoln St. 503’
23. 28 State St. 500’
24. Hub on Causeway resident tower 496’
25. Custom House Tower 496’
26. Old JHT 495’
^^>150m
27. Alcott/Garden Garage site 485’
28. 33 Arch St. 477’
29. 225 Franklin St. 477’
30. Ritz Carlton Tower 1 475’
31. 125 High St. 452'
32. 100 Summer St. 450'
33. Avalon North Station 449'
34. Ritz Carlton Tower #2 446'
35. 40 Trinity Place 446'
37. Atlantic Wharf 436'
38 1 Devonshire Pl 415' (estimated)
39. McCormack Bldg 401'
40. Keystone Bldg 400'
42. Harbor Towers 1 400'
43. Harbor Towers 2 396'


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## odurandina

ggggggggg


----------



## odurandina

start ups, and multiple X 1,000,000s of sq ft of new office space coming on line in Boston Seaport + Cambridge. 

office space Millions of sq ft

updated Q2 2016 

combined NYC metro - 523.4
Manhattan - 359.3 
combined Washington D.C. metro 288
Washington D.C. - 144.4 
combined Los Angeles + Downtown/Century City/Hollywood/Burbank/Glendale - n/a 
Los Angeles Downtown (4 neighborhoods) - 33.2 
combined Cook County - n/a
Chicago - 159.0 
combined Bay Area metro (S.F./Oak/San Jose + Silicon Valley) - n/a (est 280.0)
San Francisco - 90.5, East Bay/Oakland - 29.5, San Jose - 10.1
combined Boston/Cambridge/Rt 128/495 Technology Belt - 221.6 (87.8 + 134.8)] Q2 2016 updated
Rt 128/495 Boston Technology Belt - 134.8 
Boston/Cambridge - 87.2 (65.4 + 22.44) Q2 2016 updated
combined South Florida metro - 79.8 
Miami - 30.9, Ft Lauderdale - 27.0, West Palm Bch - 21.8
combined Houston metro - n/a
Houston - 43.0
*Seattle - 52.5 *updated only to 2011

Atlanta - 56.9
Pittsburg metro - 51.1
Minneapolis-St Paul metro - 45.9
combined Baltimore Metro - 45.2
Baltimore - 22.4
Dallas/Ft Worth metro - 42.7
Dallas - 32.0, Ft Worth 10.7
Philadelphia - 42.0
Denver - 35.0
Detroit - 33.9
Kansas City MO/KS metro - 33.5
Portland, OR - 24.8
Charlotte - 22.3
Milwaukee - 21.5
Phoenix - 20.2
Columbus - 19.8
Cleveland - 19.6
Cincinnati - 17.8
Jacksonville - 16.1
Raleigh/Durham metro - 12.28
Orlando - 12.27
Sacramento - 12.2
Nashville - 12.2
St Louis - 11.5
Indianapolis - 11.5
Richmond - 11.0
Hartford, CT - 10.7
Stamford, CT - 10.5
San Diego - 10.4
Tampa metro - 10.0
Austin - 9.6


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## reackt

Today's update: Taken 6-25-2016 by myself. Album with full sized pictures here -> Imgur

Conservatory New Building









1 Dalton St









1350 Boylston









Pierce Boston









Bonus: Muddy River daylighting


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## odurandina

absolute disgrace.... 

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ng-revision/LxMS6ovf7ZFnfbtSIv3cFI/story.html


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## odurandina

...........


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## odurandina

disclaimer; This is not an official render; It does not come from the Chiofaro Co, nor is it drawn exactly to scale. It is an illustration to demonstrate that the City of Boston and the developer are not very far apart in being able to solve the $1.3B impasse at the Harbor Garage site.


The Harbor Garage continues to spoil the aesthetic of one of America's truly magnificent urban neighborhoods...

The Garage's construction in 1971 was a capacious mistake with lasting implications for the Boston waterfront. The massive building blocks Central Wharf to great extent, and is a blight on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The cost of smashing it down, added to its forfeiture as an income asset, then replacing its 1450 parking spaces underground is about $325M. 













 Pretty bad isn't it.

Sinking the Garage holds a huge promise for Boston, New England Aquarium and Downtown community. The project is now moving forward. What turned the tide? In 2016, the Walsh Administration and Aquarium took a second look – and apparently had their collective minds blown. A Geometry puzzle had been solved. 

*What they discovered; is that by working together, Mr. Chiofaro, the City and Commonwealth can create a large, uninterrupted pubic space nearly out of thin air at the front of Central Wharf.*


i studied the Central Wharf puzzle in 2015 and discovered what Don Chiofaro probably saw hiding in plain sight... and began posting (loudly) about it in the Boston Globe. 

Two years later, the Garage redo has emerged as a high priority project of the Walsh administration – and not only because it will infuse $1.3B into the local construction economy, and provide $1M's more in future taxes; but because there is now near universal agreement among Planners, the Mayor's office and New England Aquarium braintrust that Don Chiofaro was right all along.

Some might be aware that a single tower would have to be built on the south side of the parcel (to avoid problematic shadow over Long Wharf) – leaving the north side of the parcel as *open space*. As the reader will see, with this plan, the Greenway will segue onto a large aggregate park.... but most-importantly, the Harbor now opens completely in the background over a very wide expanse; welcoming visitors from the historical district to explore Boston Harbor. 














*A surprising result can get even better* 

Next, you can use the section of Milk Street adjacent to the Garage for the main access ramp down into the garage, leaving only the bear fire lane for the Aquarium on that side of the loop, even allowing for dense park foliage.... or simply sink Milk St all the way around the loop in front of the Aquarium *below grade* and 3 parcels will be united; a major breakthrough. Checking off the space of the IMAX Theatre's footprint, reveals the full potential of the site:

*Open space as large as a soccer field added in the public realm. 

These images should make it abundantly clear why the single tower idea works,* and why the Harbor Garage redevelopment is moving forward. 









Friends, that's lot of uninterrupted, green space at the front of Central Wharf replacing the horrible Garage.

The Northwest and North facing walls walls of the Tower would offer spectacular views of the Greenway, Faneuil Hall Marketplace district, Long Wharf, The North End, Zakim Bridge and Marina.





Meeting Chapter 91 guidelines

The site plan and massing conforms to all BRA guidelines, shade restrictions over Long Wharf, and the new Downtown Waterfront Harbor Plan (MHP)/Chapter 91 regulations in every way the spirit of the law is intended. 

The 50% lot coverage is exceeded by about 2~3%. But, by adding the IMAX parcel onto the balance sheet, the project stays below 50% lot coverage with room to spare. 

This plan aggressively pursues the maximum public benefit while achieving economic viability. It is very austere for the development team of Chiofaro/Prudential; at the bare bones of what is realistically possible. If it comes down that the project is halted over a few feet of tower frontage along Atlantic Ave, then planners should step in and solve it. 

The MHP stipulates: "To facilitate the harbor planning process *a range of public benefits and mitigation offsets need to be advanced for projects that propose building metrics that do not conform to Chapter 91 standards."*

This project is pushed past the envelope to meet that challenge.

Of greatest import, it addresses the political challenge. We all know the Harbor Garage has been treated cautiously by many as political dynamite. But this essay demonstrates that it will win the support of the people of Boston convincingly. Therefore it should be the driving force for Mayor Walsh, BPDA, Aquarium to work together. 

Like Copley Square, the City, State and BRA consider Long Wharf a national monument. That means no new shade before the 23rd of October. So Don Chiofaro's tower must be located at the south end of the Garage parcel, with a north/south orientation similar to the JHT.

The shade restrictions dictate the roof's extreme angle of pitch. 

On the ground, visibility to the harbor is horizontal. If a tower gets built 14 stories or 54 stories, at street level, the view of the waterfront and harbor running back up Milk and India Street/s is the same. 

*Tower makes a slight bend towards the setback roof starting at level 21 on the north side of the tower.

**Shade restrictions over Long Wharf dictate the roof's extreme angle of pitch. But, the mechanicals make very efficient use of the narrow floors. 

Total structure height to roof tip; 600'
Total sq ft; 1,050,000
Total floors; 50
Occupied floors; 48
Height at the top of the highest occupied floor 567'
Mechanical floors servicing (residences + offices): 2/33' at tower top
Levels 21-48 Residences; 192 units, 28 stories, 294'
Terrace Restaurant/Bar at Level 21, 273' above the Greenway
Levels 3-20 offices; 18 stories 229'
Level 2 Club Floor; 21'
Lobby/Retail; 23'

***not reflected in all the images: the setbacks on the harbor side of the upper resident tower.


It's been a slow beginning. But as the neighborhood fills in, the newly activated Waterfront will trigger a pleasing increase of pedestrians engaging the Greenway, and allow it to become the departure point for the realization of *the Blueway*.... 









*Downtown Waterfront activism vs levity*

Downtown near the lands end is inherently built. We are down to about the last 2 developable parcels proposed for any significant scale that we'll likely see for many decades... This includes the 305' J. Hook and Co tower – and the Harbor Garage site. 

The real agenda of the CLF and anti-development crowd is exclusion. Millionaires who wield disproportionate influence in our print media apply unyielding political pressure on City Hall. Only a few of the usual suspects were in attendance at the Downtown Waterfront Planning meetings in the Summer of 2016. They must have been entertaining their friends on the Vineyard. The Harbor Tower residents filibustered those meetings, preventing a substantive discussion.

When we get not just the Barr Association's view of life near the Harbor, with the Globe as their sounding platform, but instead, all sides are presented, the people of Boston quickly join the consensus to support developing the Garage site. 

The solution will be seen as austere to a few. But, economics makes sinking ~1450 parking spaces below ground extremely challenging for the development team. The cost of sinking the garage is $325M.

Shrink the project, and shrink it more; i think we can all agree that, at some point, reductions that go further than what can reasonably be done, will not result in something more iconic as the neighborhood activists would have you believe–

Further reductions will kill the project. 


The Harbor Garage project should move forward. 


/


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## odurandina

Globe all in on MT!!

http://apps.bostonglobe.com/unfold/2016/07/millennium/


----------



## reackt

Some pictures from the other day when I took a trip to the islands.
Album with full size pictures and extra general skyline photos here -> Imgur

Seaport Construction



























Avalon North Station


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## odurandina

*
Iconic architecture in Roxbury will have to wait another 100 years.... And you have Tito Jackson to thank.*

Forget the 900,000 sq ft vs 1.1M sq ft conundrum Downtown. The city has put rules up that have made it next to impossible for Don Chiofaro to build at the Harbor Garage site - which, of course, is precisely why he needs the additional 200k sq ft in the first place. 
Terrified of height 
But, the City finally did things right at Tremont and Roxbury Crossing.... but then, something happened, and we have every right to be furious. Terrified of Height.... The city is comprised of somewhere on the order of 5-8% nimby. But, to appease the rabid dogs, planners end up chopping 10 or 20 floors off nearly every damned building topping 150'..... and as a result, not only is there almost no iconic architecture built into these properties (because they're VE'd nearly to death)-

you can take nearly all the buildings done over 150' in the last 25-30 years and chop 30-40% of the taxes right off them, in what clearly amounts to the rationing of sq ft and height in this city..... Endlessly rationalized by the false narratives of a few angry residents, hyper-activist politicians and city planners who cave to their disproportionate demands.

And all of this - put upon a city with too high a ratio of property taxed at extremely low rates. 

They default back to he big 3: "way out of character blah blah blah,' 'will increase traffic blah blah blah,' 'not supported by public transit blah blah blah....' 

Tito Jackson is a jerk. Adding insult to injury, he just might become our next mayor. Make no mistake, If he supported development, i'd support him. But, he's aggressively protested every damned building proposed near his community, including several, much-needed dorms. 180'-200' appears to be the new height limit for Boston's precious transportation hubs. 

Make no mistake; curbing these projects back so sharply will have a disastrous effect down the road. We're going to be in a very dark place on building in and tax revenue in a few years as operational costs continue to spike.... and we'll be looking at dozens of turd towers that have led directly to Boston's dire economic picture.
*
And to whom will the most desperately needy in Boston have to thank? 
That's right, look no further than anti-development extremists like Tito Jackson.*

He just severely cut back two crucial projects, (including* hundreds* of apartment units) that would have elevated OUR community to heights only dreamed a few years ago. Who's getting hurt? You all are. 

Contrary to everything you've been led to believe, it is nimby politics that presents the greatest threat to any community. 

And all you folks who give chopping every damned building in Boston a pass, you're giving* lousy, VE'd architecture in Boston* a pass.... We get an austere environment at the street level, crap aspect-ratio turds, and austere VE'd cladding, half-assed transit cut back community development, and less affordable housing.

So when i seem like such an ass about height, it's because not only is the market screaming for it, but we're behind the 8-ball for new revenue sources, with almost no land with which to do it..... We have a lot of catching up to do for the last 200 or 300 tallest put up in Boston since that Tom Menino took office. This is a very dangerous game these politicians continue to play with our city's economic future. 

In a few years they'll see their error, when we're completely out of land for any serious height or density like Tremont Crossing, They're so dumb, we'll be lucky if they even have a suitable place to relocate the USPS.gov holed up at South Station.

Sorry, Mr. Jackson; This isn't Worcester. People have the right to know you're putting the city's future at risk for your personal gain.




odurandina said:


> If i'm reading/interpreting this correctly (a big if), then, it appears they've knocked about 90'/9 floors off each tower: the 365' has been reduced to about 280', and the other, originally to be about 340' has been knocked down to about 250'.
> 
> see pages 1 and 11.....
> 
> http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/f432a2ce-f666-4d9b-b61b-f85ae0f68b90


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## citylover94

Millennium Partners design has been chosen.

Millennium Partners tapped by city to build tower at Winthrop Square












> City officials have picked Millennium Partners to develop the prized site of the Winthrop Square Garage.
> 
> The Boston Redevelopment Authority said Wednesday that it will start negotiations with Millennium — a New York-based developer that just completed the Millennium Tower luxury condo building— to build Boston’s third-tallest building on the site of a squat city-owned garage on Devonshire Street.


----------



## odurandina

Copley Sq Tower will rise in the coming months... 

Gonna be the bomb!!


----------



## erbse

citylover94 said:


> Millennium Partners design has been chosen.
> 
> *Millennium Partners tapped by city to build tower at Winthrop Square*
> 
> http://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_371w/Bos...siness/Images/BidSubmission1-1A-6200-6206.jpg


Looking great! Finally a more soaring and postmodern, kind of Art-Decoish design for Boston. Are there any more renders?


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## citylover94

There are a few more.


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## geoking66

That concourse is very Calatrava in Toronto. I like it.


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## boss-ton

750'

Will be the third tallest building in Boston when completed. It will be behind the Hancock tower and 1 Dalton-which is under construction and it will be 1 foot taller than the Prudential Tower.


Millennium Tower not included here:


----------



## odurandina

disclaimer; This is not an official render; It does not come from the Chiofaro Co, nor is it drawn exactly to scale. It is an illustration to demonstrate that the City of Boston and the developer are not very far apart in being able to solve the $1.3B impasse at the Harbor Garage site.


The Harbor Garage continues to spoil the aesthetic of one of America's truly magnificent urban neighborhoods...

The Garage's construction in 1971 was a capacious mistake with lasting implications for the Boston waterfront. The massive building blocks Central Wharf to great extent, and is a blight on the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The cost of smashing it down, added to its estimated 4 year forfeiture as an income asset, then replacing its 1450 parking spaces underground is about $325M. 













 Pretty bad isn't it.

Sinking the Garage holds a huge promise for Boston, New England Aquarium and Downtown community. The project is now moving forward. What turned the tide? In 2016, the Walsh Administration and Aquarium took a second look – and apparently had their collective minds blown. A Geometry puzzle had been solved. 

*What they discovered; is that by working together, Mr. Chiofaro, the City and Commonwealth can create a large, uninterrupted pubic space nearly out of thin air at the front of Central Wharf.*


i studied the Central Wharf puzzle in 2015 and discovered what Don Chiofaro probably saw hiding in plain sight... and began posting (loudly) about it in the Boston Globe. 

Two years later, the Garage redo has emerged as a high priority project of the Walsh administration – and not only because it will infuse $1.3B into the local construction economy, and provide $1M's more in future taxes; but because there is now near universal agreement among Planners, the Mayor's office and New England Aquarium braintrust that Don Chiofaro was right all along.

Some might be aware that a single tower would have to be built on the south side of the parcel (to avoid problematic shadow over Long Wharf) – leaving the north side of the parcel as *open space*. As the reader will see, with this plan, the Greenway will segue onto a large aggregate park.... but most-importantly, the Harbor now opens completely in the background over a very wide expanse; welcoming visitors from the historical district to explore Boston Harbor. 














To finalize a beautiful Greenway, and to open the Waterfront requires the build site to possess its vertical component. 

On the ground, visibility to the harbor is horizontal. If a tower gets built 14 stories or 54 stories, at street level, the view of the waterfront and harbor running back up Milk and India Street/s is the same to the pedestrian explorer.

We are going to see a remarkable transformation of Central Wharf. It is the organic waterfront experience for the Greenway and Harborwalk that is 98.3% of what matters; Forget the frivolous CLF noise at this site. This project is a huge win for Boston. 





*A surprising result can get even better* 

Next, you can use the section of Milk Street adjacent to the Garage for the main access ramp down into the garage, leaving only the bear fire lane for the Aquarium on that side of the loop, even allowing for dense park foliage.... or simply sink Milk St all the way around the loop in front of the Aquarium *below grade* and 3 parcels will be united; a major breakthrough. Checking off the space of the IMAX Theatre's footprint, reveals the full potential of the site:

*Open space as large as a soccer field added in the public realm. 

These images should make it abundantly clear why the single tower idea works,* and why the Harbor Garage redevelopment is moving forward. 









Friends, that's lot of uninterrupted, green space at the front of Central Wharf replacing the horrible Garage.

The Northwest and North facing walls walls of the Tower would offer spectacular views of the Greenway, Faneuil Hall Marketplace district, Long Wharf, The North End, Zakim Bridge and Marina.





Meeting Chapter 91 guidelines

The site plan and massing conforms to all BRA guidelines, shade restrictions over Long Wharf, and the new Downtown Waterfront Harbor Plan (MHP)/Chapter 91 regulations in every way the spirit of the law is intended. 

The 50% lot coverage is exceeded by about 2~3%. But, by adding the IMAX parcel onto the balance sheet, the project stays below 50% lot coverage with room to spare. 

This plan aggressively pursues the maximum public benefit while achieving economic viability. It is very austere for the development team of Chiofaro/Prudential; at the bare bones of what is realistically possible. If it comes down that the project is halted over a few feet of tower frontage along Atlantic Ave, then planners should step in and solve it. 

The MHP stipulates: "To facilitate the harbor planning process *a range of public benefits and mitigation offsets need to be advanced for projects that propose building metrics that do not conform to Chapter 91 standards."*

This project is pushed past the envelope to meet that challenge.

Of greatest import, it addresses the political challenge. We all know the Harbor Garage has been treated cautiously by many as political dynamite. But this essay demonstrates that it will win the support of the people of Boston convincingly. Therefore it should be the driving force for Mayor Walsh, BPDA, Aquarium to work together. 

Like Copley Square, the City, State and BRA consider Long Wharf a national monument. That means no new shade before the 23rd of October. So Don Chiofaro's tower must be located at the south end of the Garage parcel, with a north/south orientation similar to the JHT.

The shade restrictions dictate the roof's extreme angle of pitch. 

On the ground, visibility to the harbor is horizontal. If a tower gets built 14 stories or 54 stories, at street level, the view of the waterfront and harbor running back up Milk and India Street/s is the same. 

*Tower makes a slight bend towards the setback roof starting at level 21 on the north side of the tower.

**Shade restrictions over Long Wharf dictate the roof's extreme angle of pitch. But, the mechanicals make very efficient use of the narrow floors. 

My opinion of what a tower large enough to be economically feasible could look like runs a bit over 900,000 sq ft;

Total structure height to roof tip; 600'
Total sq ft; 1,050,000
Total floors; 50
Occupied floors; 48
Height at the top of the highest occupied floor 567'
Mechanical floors servicing (residences + offices): 2/33' at tower top
Levels 21-48 Residences; 192 units, 28 stories, 294'
Terrace Restaurant/Bar at Level 21, 273' above the Greenway
Levels 3-20 offices; 18 stories 229'
Level 2 Club Floor; 21'
Lobby/Retail; 23'

***not reflected in all the images: the setbacks on the harbor side of the upper resident tower.


It's been a slow beginning. But as the neighborhood fills in, the newly activated Waterfront will trigger a pleasing increase of pedestrians engaging the Greenway, and allow it to become the departure point for the realization of *the Blueway*.... 









*Downtown Waterfront activism vs levity*

Downtown near the lands end is inherently built. We are down to about the last 2 developable parcels proposed for any significant scale that we'll likely see for many decades... This includes the 305' J. Hook and Co tower – and the Harbor Garage site. 

The real agenda of the CLF and anti-development crowd is exclusion. Millionaires who wield disproportionate influence in our print media apply unyielding political pressure on City Hall. Only a few of the usual suspects were in attendance at the Downtown Waterfront Planning meetings in the Summer of 2016. They must have been entertaining their friends on the Vineyard. The Harbor Tower residents filibustered those meetings, preventing a substantive discussion.

When we get not just the Barr Association's view of life near the Harbor, with the Globe as their sounding platform, but instead, all sides are presented, the people of Boston quickly join the consensus to support developing the Garage site. 

The solution will be seen as austere to a few. But, economics makes sinking ~1450 parking spaces below ground extremely challenging for the development team. The cost of sinking the garage is $325M.

Shrink the project, and shrink it more; i think we can all agree that, at some point, reductions that go further than what can reasonably be done, will not result in something more iconic as the neighborhood activists would have you believe–

Further reductions will kill the project. 


The Harbor Garage project should move forward. 


/


----------



## odurandina

*Project Summary Sheet*; 

Updated often. Please pm about errors.

*proposed,* rooftop heights; 
**(Boston or mass.gov spearheading projects) *

1. 1 Bromfield St/Midwood Investment 59 stories *709'*

2. *Air Rights Parcel 15 Tower #1/Back Bay/Weiner Ventures w/ Prudential 40 Stories stories *618'*. 

3. *Harbor Garage/Chiofaro/Prudential* 48 stories *600'* approved height... moving forward.

4. *DOT Research Lab on MIT's 10 acre Volpe site 30 stories *~500'* 

5. *Back Bay Station tower #1 34 stories *416'*. 

6. *Back Bay Station tower #2 24 stories *396'* 

7. 45 Worthington/Equity Residential 35 stories *390' *(loi phase). 

8. The Huntington/Fenway 32 stories *375'*

9. 2 Charlesgate West/Transnational 30 stories *367'*

10. Parcel P12 Chinatown development plan rfp *360'*

11. 51 High Street 29 stories ~*360'*

12. *Back Bay Station tower #3 26 stories ~340'. 

13. *Rio Grande/Dudley Square mixed use tower 25 stories 325'

14. 15 Harrison Avenue/Drago and Toscano/Chinatown hotel 26 stories ~325'.

15. *Back Bay Parcel 15 #2/Weiner Ventures/Pru 24 stories ~321' 

16. 436 Atlantic Ave/J Hook tower 24 stories 305'.

17. 533 Washington St 29 stories 303'

18. Assembly Row (Block 8) tower 21 stories 273' 500 units 

19. Waldo Street/Coolidge Corner/Brookline 21 stories 265' 

20. 47 La Grange St/Theatre District 20 stories 262' 

21. *BHA/Bunker Hill Building F; 21 stories 260' 

22. Fort Point Residences/Berkeley Investments 20 stories 255'.

23. *BHA/Bunker Hill Building N; 20 stories 248' 

24. *BHA/Bunker Hill Building O; 20 stories 248' 

25. 212 Stewart St/Bay Village; 19 stories 230' 

26. 73 Essex St/Chinatown hotel 137,000 sq ft 17 stories 235'. 

27. *BHA/McCormack Housing Complex Redo/Old Colony Ave/South Boston *3,200~3,500 units* on 27 acres. 

28. MIT/Volpe residences *1400 units*

29. River Works Station/Lynn/*1200 units *+ rail station upgrade

30. *Allston Yards/60 Everett St/Allston *1000 units *

31. *BHA/Bunker Hill total project; *3,200 units/3.3M sq ft,* incl dozens of row houses.

32. Old Boston Edison Plant residendences/South Boston *2.1M sq ft* 

33. MIT/Volpe offices *1.7M sq ft*

34. *Hood development parcel/480-570 Rutherford Avenue mixed development project total *1.2M sq ft*

35. Quincy Center ~500 residential units (condos + apts)

36. 45-47 Townsend St Roxbury 322 Units 380,000 sq ft

37. 105 W South Street 250,000 sq ft

38. Assembly Row office bldg 250,000 sq ft 

39. Newtonville/Korff 151 1-2 bdrm units.

40. 99 Sumner Street/East Boston 119 units 

*approved, +/- construction, topped, +/- cladding or completed;*
*(*year* = year project completed, *construction* = under construction).

1. 111 Federal Street/Millennium Partners 56 Stories *775'* (construction summer 2017)

2. 1 Dalton Street/Four Seasons 61 stories *756' *(6th level)

3. Millennium Tower 60 stories *685' tip* (2016)

4. South Station Tower; 51 stories *677'* 

5. Govt Center office tower 43 stories + tall mech screen *647' tip*...

6. Copley Place Tower 52 stories *625' roof tip* (construction shelved) 

7. Govt Center residential tower 45 stories *547'* (construction)

8. TD Garden Tower 1 (office) ~21 stories over the podium *~505' rooftip* (podium construction).

9. TD Garden Point 2 (resident tower) 45 stories *495' *(podium construction) 

10. Garden Garage/Equity Residential 44 stories *485'* (construction Sept '17)

11. Avalon North Station/121 Nashua Street 38 stories *449'* (2016)

12. 40 Trinity Place 33 stories *446'* (pre-construction)

13. Atlantic Wharf 32 stories *436' *(2011) 

14. 145 Broadway/Kendall Sq residential 33 Stories *395' *(construction)

15. 380 Stewart Street/John Hancock Tower #3 26 stories *391' *

16. Wynn Tower/Everett 30 stories *386'* (construction)

17. 45 Province Street 31 Stories *386'* (2009) 

18. The Pierce Fenway 30 stories *378'* (topped/cladded)

19. The Clarendon 32 stories *375' *(2010)

20. Avalon Exeter 28 stories 348' (2014)

21. Govt Center #3 29 stories 339' (phase 3 w/.gov)

22. 45 Stewart St/AVA Theatre District 29 stories 336' (2015) 

23. South Station #2 (residential) 28 stories 334' (phase 2 w/.gov)

24. StuVi2/33 Harry Agganis Way/BU 26 stories 323' (2010)

25. 30 Dalton St 26 stories 318' (2016)

26. Fenway Center main tower 26 stories 305' w/ 3 mid-rise towers, 1.1M sq ft 

27. 100 Stewart Street/W Boston Hotel & Residences 26 Stories 301' (2010)

28. The Kensington Apartments 27 stories 299' (2013)

29. 145 Broadway/Kendall Sq offices 19 stories 295' (construction)

30. Radian 26 stories 291' (2014) 

31. 88 Ames St (Cambridge) 23 stories 290' (3rd level)

32. 157 Berkeley Street/Liberty Mutual 22 stories 290' (2013)

33. 240 Tremont/Marriot Moxy 23 stories 286' (construction)

34. 888 Boylston 17 stories 286' (2016)

35. Tremont Crossing Tower #1 22 stories 284' (pre-construction)

36. Andrews Sq/South Boston Tower 1 21 Stories, 278' (pre-construction)

37. Assembly Row 'Montaje' 20 stories 273' (topped) 447 units

38. 150 Seaport Sq 22 stories 266' (delayed)

39. 1 Seaport Square/The Benjamin 22 stories 266' (construction)

40. Waterside Place 1b 23 stories 265' (construction)

42. 121 Seaport Blvd 17 stories 262' (construction) 

43. Parcel M1/M2/Seaport/Cottonwood/$865M/1.3M sq ft Tower cluster #1 spanning 14-21 stories, 275 units 262' (construction)

44. Parcel M1/M2/Seaport/Cottonwood Tower cluster #2 spanning 11-21 stories 180 units 262' (construction)

45. Parcel M1/M2/Seaport/Cottonwood Tower cluster #3 spanning 10-21 stories 280 units 262' (construction)

46. 1 Seaport Square "VIA" 20 stories 262' (to poen presently) 

47. Pier 4 Residential Tower/136-146 Northern Avenue 22 stories 260' (2015) 

48. Waterside Place 1a 20 stories 260' (2015) 

49. 99 Kneeland Street/1 Greenway/Chinatown 21 stories 260' (2015)

50. 315 on A/Berkeley Investments 20 stories/255' 258k sq ft/207 units (2013) 

51. Tremont Crossing Tower #2 20 stories 254' (pre-construction)

52. South Station #3 (offices) 9 stories above garage 249' (phase 3 of South Station project w/.gov) 

53. Burk Street residence hall #2/Northeastern U 21 stories 242' (7 levels)

54. Mass and Main/Central Square 19 stories 308 units (285+23) 236'

55. Troy North Tower/55 Traveler St/South End 19 stories 236' (2016) 

56. Boston Landing Residences/Brighton 17 stories 236' (construction) 

57. 100 Northern Avenue/Fan Pier 17 stories 230' 516,000 sq ft (2016)

58. Lovejoy Wharf Residences 17 stories 228' (2016)

59. Quaker Lane/ Congress Square 17 floors 228' (construction) 

60. Julie Hall dorm/Emmanuel College 691 beds 267,500 sq ft 19 stories 225' (construction)

61. 1350 Boylston/Skanska Fenway 17 stories 220' (2017)

62. Emerson College/Boylston Place 18 stories 218' (2017)

63. The Viridian/Fenway 18 stories 214' (2015) 

64. Andrew Square Building C 18 stories 214' (pre-construction)

65. Marine Wharf/Harbinger Development/Seaport 14 stories 214' 411 rooms 

66. Fenway Trilogy 17 stories 211' 576 units (2009)

67. 50 Liberty 14 stories 211' (topped)

68. 145 Broadway/Kendall Sq #3 14 Stories 200'. 

69. 22 Liberty 14 stories 199' (2015) 

70. Pier 4 Office tower/Seaport 199' (construction)

71. 160 Mass Ave/Berklee College of Music 16 stories 199' (2014)

72. Grandmarc Tower/Northeastern U 17 stories 198' (2014)

73. The Eddy/East Boston 16 stories 194' (2016)

74. 104 Canal/Boutique Hotel 15 Stories 191' 90 rooms (approved) 

75. Burk St Residence Hall 2/Northeastern U 16 stories 189' (construction) 

76. Landmark Tower B 16 stories 189' (BPDA approved)

77. Landmark Tower C 16 stories 189' (BPDA approved)

78. 1325 Boylston/Van Ness 14 stories 180' (2015)

79. Fenway Triangle office 180' (2015)

80. 100 Binney Street 12 stories 417,000 sq ft 180' (2017)

81. Marine Wharf/Harbinger Development/Seaport 14 stories 214' 411 rooms 
(duel branded/Hampton Inn/Homewood Suites hotel complex) 

82. 171 Tremont St residences 13 stories 175' (pre-construction) 

*notable/high density projects underway or completed*

83. Northpoint Cambridge/HYM mixed office/residential 5.2M sq ft: (2.7M sq ft 2700 units +2.5M sq ft office). 

84. Boston Landing Sports Complex and Offices 1.2M sq ft

85. Parcels 1B & 1C Bulfinch Triangle 12 stories 166' 484,000 sq ft (topped Sept 2016)

86. Millennium Place/Theatre District 14 stories 164' [391,000 sq ft (2013)]

87. Fenway Van Ness tower 14 Stories 164' 

88. One Canal St/Bullfinch Triangle 164' 435,000 sq ft (opened spring 2016)

89. 105A S. Huntington/Serenity/Jamaica Plain 14 stories/185 units 164'

90. 65 Seaport Blvd/Yotel Hotel 11 stories 164' 326 units (opening soon)

91. 100 Binney Street Cambridge 12 stories 417,000 sq ft 160' (opening soon)

92. 345 Harrison Street; 12 stories 560 units, 515,000 sq ft 160'.

93. Children's Hospital expansion 11 stories 500,000 sq ft 160'

94. Residences at Alewife Station/Cambridge 320 units 325,000 sq ft

95. 321 Harrison Ave 220,000 sq ft 160' (BRA approved 15 Sept, 2016).

96. Roxbury Crossing/Parcel 25/Mission Hill; 350,000 sq ft office/residential 160'

97. 88 N. Washington St/Valenti Sq/Boutique Hotel 14 stories 160' 72 rooms. 

98. 14 West Broadway/South Boston 152' 180,000 sq ft (topped)

99. Parcel K 11 floors (pre-construction) 149'

100. Mosaic/Mission Hill 180,000 sq ft 149' (now leasing)

101. Inc Block residences South End 315 units 549,000 sq ft

102. 50 & 60 Binney Street, Kendall Sq, Cambridge 10 stories 541,000 sq ft 140' (opened March 2017)

103. Troy South Tower/246 E. Berkeley St/South End (378 units incl North Tower) 140' (2016). 

104. Massachusetts Institute of Technology projects >4.2M sq ft.

105. Harvard University projects >1.5M sq ft

106. Northeastern University projects >750,000 sq ft

107. Boston University projects >500,000 sq ft

108. Boston College projects >500,000 sq ft

109. UMass Boston Dorms/South Boston 1,077-beds 260,000 sq ft

110. 215 First/50 Second/300 Third Sts, Kendall Sq, Cambridge - 622,000 sq ft (opening soon)

111. Harrison/Albany Block 700,000 sq ft incl *710 residential units* (approved 3-02-17)

112. Assembly Row offices/retail 450,000 (250/200 k) sq ft (moving forward at Block 8)

113. 379-380 Harrison St (The Berkeley) 356,000 ft incl *324 residential units* (approved 3-02-17)

114. 75/125 Binney St Kendall Sq/Cambridge, 388,000 sq ft (opening soon)

115. 121-139 First St/Cambridge 325.000 sq ft (construction)

116. 572 Rutherford Avenue mixed development 270,000 sq ft (approved Sept, 2016)

117. The Girard/600 Harrison Ave/South End 193 units 200,000 sq ft

118. 480 Rutherford Avenue/Charlestown 177 units 200,000 sq ft (pre-construction)

119. Boston East/126 Border St/East Boston Waterfront 196 units (construction)

120. 6 West Broadway Hotel (construction)

121. 110 Broad St/The Boulevard/Downtown (construction)

122. Boston Med Ctr/ambulatory care bldg 240,000 sq ft (2017)

123. 55 India St 10 stories (pre-construction) 

124. Faneuil Hall Boutique Hotel + new Marketplace building.

125. GE Headquarters Building/Ft Point (of the 700,000 sq ft office campus).

126. MIT Kendall Bldg #4 (construction)

127. MIT Nano Lab 200,000 sq ft 

128. 262 Monsignor O'Brien Hwy/Cambridge 200,000 sq ft (2017)

129. 150 River's Edge/Malden/ 282 units (2016)

130. 530 Western Ave/Brighton 132 units 130,000 sq ft (construction)

131. Assembly Row Alloy Residences (condos) 13 stories 122 units 

132. Assembly Row Boutique hotel 159 rooms

133. The Chandlery/270 Dorchester Ave/South Boston 114 residential units (board approved 11May 2017)

134. 289 Walk Hill Street/Roslindale 106 units 119,000 sq ft

135. 200 River's Edge/Lab/Malden #1 116,000 sq ft (2015)

136. 200 River's Edge/Lab/Malden #2 116,000 sq ft (pre-construction)

137. 61-83 Braintree St/Allston 80 units 110,000 sq ft (2017)

138. 180 Eastern Avenue/Malden 86 units 120,000 sq ft

139. Somerville/Broadway Apartments 


*Up to the minute Population density of cities or boroughs with at least 75,000 population (my best estimates reflecting recent transactions)....* 

1. Manhattan, NY; 72,826/sq mile
2. Brooklyn, NY; 37,137
3. The Bronx, NY; 34,321 
4. Queens, NY; 21,460
5. Somerville, MA; 18,868 (3,500 residents coming to Assembly Row)
6. San Francisco, CA; 18,451 
7. Patterson, NJ; 17,346
8.* Cambridge, MA; 17,130* (109,694 + 450 grad student residents) 
Cambridge, MA + coll students; *26,648/sq mile* (110,144 residents + 60,000 students)
9. Jersey City, NJ; 16,737
*10. Boston, MA; **14,000* 
11. Daly City (San Mateo), CA; 13,843 
12. Hawthorne (Los Angeles), CA; 13,800
13. South Gate (Los Angeles), CA; 13,090
14. Santa Ana, (Orange County), CA; 12,451
15. Miami; 12,360
16. Inglewood, (Los Angeles), CA 12,323
17. El Monte (Los Angeles), CA 12,139
18. Chicago; 11,868
19. Philadelphia 11,635
20. Newark, NJ; 11,496
21. Washington DC; 11,158/sq mi 

*New York City total pop density; 28,052/sq mi 
**Boston reached 677,880 people in the latter part of 2016 or will do so in early 2017.

*Major US cities w/ >500,000 pop...* 

1. New York, NY; 28,052
2. San Francisco, CA; 18,451 
*3. Boston, MA; 14,000*
4. Miami; 12,360
5. Chicago; 11,868
6. Philadelphia, PA; 11,635
7. Washington, DC; 11,158/sq mi 

*Combined Major US cities w/ New York + Boston/Cambridge/Somerville + SF/Daly City disambigugation >500,000 pop...* 

1. New York, NY; 28,052
2. San Francisco, CA; 17,803
*3. Boston, MA; 14,706* [pop 866,925 (677,880 + Cambridge/Somerville 189,045) 
4. Miami; 12,360
5. Chicago; 11,868
6. Philadelphia, PA; 11,635
7. Washington, DC; 11,158


Boston Skyline 2021~22 (arrow Harbor Garage Tower site)....


----------



## reackt

From yesterday 9-18-16 Full album -> http://imgur.com/a/xdYGR
Pierce Fenway: It's going to be an amazing view from the fens soon


















Skanska rising fast..









Taken today 9-19-16
Wynn doesn't take breaks because of a little rain. Assembly in the background.


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## hotwheels123

Plans Filed for 29-Storey Boston Tower



> The Boston Redevelopment Authority has received plans for a 29-storey tower proposed for the Fenway neighbourhood at 2 Charlesgate West. Trans National Properties is the developer behind the envisioned 344,000-square-foot building, which would usher in 173 apartments, 122 condominiums, and 7,500 square feet of office space.


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## odurandina

Anyone following the Harbor Garage project?

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/...-waterfront/rJgp6aUoNzzGVnJiqMqrjM/story.html


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## reackt

Full album here Imgur


Some older pictures from wynn




























Base for the tower crane was set up today 10-11-2016










And one from the top of mission hill from a few days ago


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## reackt

Boston update 12-4-2016 Taken by me today full Imgur album here

Pierce Boston



























Skanska Fenway



























Emmanuel College new dorm tower


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## odurandina

http://www.bostonherald.com/busines.../boston_now_ranks_third_in_foreign_investment

*Boston now ranks third in foreign investment *

Donna Goodison Wednesday, January 04, 2017

Boston is the country’s third-most desired city for foreign institutional real estate investors — ranking behind No. 1 New York and Los Angeles, a new survey says. ....The Hub moved up from last year’s fifth-place tie with Seattle in the survey of Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate members who hail from 22 countries. Seattle ranked fourth this year, followed by San Francisco, which held the No. 3 spot last year.

Ninety-five percent of the survey respondents said they would maintain or increase their U.S. investments this year, although just more than a third said their outlooks about the U.S. market had become more pessimistic. The U.S. maintained its top ranking as the country providing the most stable and secure real estate investments and the best opportunity for capital depreciation by wide, double-digit margins. More than half of survey respondents said Brexit would have a positive effect on the U.S. real estate market.

“We’re a hot, hot market,” said David Begelfer, CEO of NAIOP Massachusetts, a commercial real estate development trade group. “Obviously we’ve been having a very strong economy here in Boston, so it’s very desirable.”

Purchases by foreign buyers in Boston’s central business district totaled nearly $1.25 billion in the first three quarters of 2016, up from $724.3 million in the same period of 2015, according to commercial real estate services firm Savills Studley. Foreign investments in Boston have totaled $9.15 billion since 2012, growing from $261.2 million that year to $3.07 billion in 2015.


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## odurandina

*Parcel 15..... a 625' tower and a second, 321'..... *






Could go a bit taller..... From the long project pnf, going by pixels, the images render a height of 637' to the tip. (i added it to the image).








There is also this image from publicity articles, suggesting a lower height to the top; ~625'.... so i guess, somewhere between 625' and 637'.


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## odurandina

The Government Center Garage redevelopment; two main towers....

with a 3rd, 340' tower in the 3rd phase in a few years.

Site prep is underway on the lower, resident tower.


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## aquaticko

They may not be especially tall, but each new residential tower will be a boon to the housing market in the city.


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## odurandina

1 Dalton 61 stories 756' u/c currently at the 2nd level 

photo courtesy of 'Suffolk,' ArchBoston.

model shows the tower + the mechanicals floors and screen....


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## StoJa9

Where is this one? Back Bay?


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## Sterlyng65

StoJa9 said:


> Where is this one? Back Bay?




Yeah next to the Prudential Center


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## odurandina

big infill in the Bullfinch Triangle over the Big Dig decking;

The Merano, Victor and 


20161128_150431 by J Sinclair, on Flickr

20161128_150451 by J Sinclair, on Flickr

20161128_150453 by J Sinclair

https://flic.kr/p/QBZk5h

https://flic.kr/p/QBZaj5



Converse Headquarters at Lovejoy Wharf.....


https://flic.kr/p/PyFT4G


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## odurandina

*City and Don Chiofaro agree in principle to build the Harbor Garage Tower.... *

https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...t-into-gear/XEd7QgM2om7ZeyWn1Co7TM/story.html

*City moving forward w/ 600' low skyscraper at 50% lot coverage. not on hold any longer! *

Chiofaro says "Ok. we'll do it!" 

This really opens the door!


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## odurandina

http://northendwaterfront.com/2017/...-petition-winthrop-square-garage-development/

*City Council Votes to Pass Home-Rule Petition for Winthrop Square Garage Development* 
By Matt Conti - 
Thu, Apr. 27, 2017 

The Boston City Council approved the purchase of the city’s vacant Winthrop Square garage for $153 million by Millennium Partners to build a 775-foot-high tower. The home-rule petition needs a State Legislature vote because the $1 billion development would add shadows to the Boston Common.

Here is a summary of Wednesday’s debate from City Council President Michelle Wu, one of three councilors to oppose the deal. Below also find the statement from Joe Larkin of Millennium Partners.

Winthrop Square debate and vote by Council President Michelle Wu:
We voted 10-3 (Councilors Jackson, Zakim and myself opposing) to pass an amended home-rule petition that would clear the way for the Millennium Partners proposal to redevelop the current city-owned garage structure at 115 Federal Street into a 775-foot skyscraper. This proposal currently violates state shadow laws protecting sunshine on Boston Common and the Public Garden, as it would cast a shadow on many days of the year extending from downtown across the Common, across the Public Garden, and onto Commonwealth Mall. On the worst days of the year, the shadow would last until 9:30AM on the Common. The home-rule petition provides an exemption for this project from these state laws, as well as capping additional development near the Common from creating additional shadow, and adding formal state law shadow protection for Copley Square. Councilor Flaherty reported back on Monday’s well-attended 7-hour hearing where we heard from many stakeholders.

Several Councilors spoke on the issue today: Councilors Linehan and LaMattina spoke to emphasize that this was a great deal for the city, providing $153M for affordable housing in East Boston and South Boston and parks investments in the Common and Franklin Park that would not otherwise be possible, as well as $12M anticipated in annual tax revenues. Councilors Zakim and Jackson stood to oppose the measure, describing this as false urgency and pitting neighborhoods against each other. Councilor Pressley explained that she would be supporting the measure because of the incorporation of goals and metrics for the inclusion of Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), and Millennium had agreed to quarterly rather than annual reporting. Councilor Campbell described her support as based on the idea of equity, that Franklin Park and her constituents deserved investment, and even though the process was not ideal, the city should learn from the mistake and move on. Councilor O’Malley dismissed impacts on flora and fauna from the additional shadow and lauded funds for maintenance of the Common and Franklin Park. He dismissed the process concerns, citing that the Council had voted last year to engage the BRA in managing the process.

I didn’t speak on the matter at the meeting since I was presiding over the discussion, but I had explained my position in this op-ed. I’m most concerned about the fact that at least some employees within the BRA seemed to recognize that there would be major legal changes needed due to the shadow laws (since they are quietly referred to in the RFI and RFP), but did not disclose this to the Council or the public until after a developer was designated. The language we voted on today include two minor formalities correcting language, and one clarification that projects that have received Zoning Board of Appeals approvals but haven’t received permits for construction will be grandfathered in, which applies to particular projects near Copley Square.

The home-rule petition will now move to the Mayor for a signature and then to the state legislature for approval.

From Joe Larkin, principal at Millennium Boston:

First and foremost, we would like to thank the City Councilors for believing in this project and for understanding the many ways that it will benefit all of Boston.

Today’s Home Rule Petition vote marks an important step forward and is a remarkable win on multiple fronts. Among the projected wide-reaching economic benefits, our parks and affordable housing will receive a critical influx of funds. And having inspired a broad and unprecedented coalition of supporters from every corner of Boston, this project has brought our city closer together.

Looking ahead, we are hopeful that the State Legislature will join the City Councilors in supporting this vastly beneficial and transformative project.

Larkin recently presented 115 Winthrop Square to the North End / Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) in the video.....


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## odurandina

Pheldy34, Blackdog and Boston02124 posted these on AB....


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## geoking66

*One Dalton* | Back Bay

Official website: http://onedalton.com

Project facts


Address: 1 Dalton Street


Status: Under construction


Developer: Carpenter


Architect: Pei Cobb Freed


Residential: 180 units


Hotel: 215 rooms


Height: 756ft (230m)


Floors: 61


June 9:


IMG_7111 by David Z, on Flickr


Rendering:


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## geoking66

*Winthrop Square Tower* | Downtown

Project facts


Address: 115 Winthrop Square


Status: Proposed


Developer: Millennium


Architect: Handel


Residential: 460 units


Office: 635,000 s.f. (58,993 sqm)


Retail: 60,000 s.f. (5,574 sqm)


Height: 775ft (236m)


Floors: 55


Rendering:


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## Adm.Adama

Recently passed by Bullfinch tower. And i saw some activity like they're brought a mobile crane to the site.


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## geoking66

*Tremont Crossing* | Roxbury

Project facts


Address: 1200 Tremont Street


Status: Proposed


Developer: Feldco


Architect: Cambridge Seven


Residential: 727 units


Office: 108,000 s.f. (10,034 sqm)


Retail: 405,808 s.f. (37,701 sqm)


Rendering:


----------



## BBoerman

PROJECT: Custom facade access solution for the Wynn Boston Harbor Casino

https://facadexs.com/blog-custom-facade-access-solution-wynn-boston-harbor-casino/

Via XSPlatforms


----------



## hotwheels123

OMA to Make Boston Debut with Mixed-Use Seaport Project



> The Office for Metropolitan Architecture will make its debut in Boston with a partnership by WS Development producing a mixed-use commercial project. Sited at 88 Seaport Boulevard in the city's evolving Seaport neighbourhood, plans for the 18-storey project call for 425,000 square feet of office space, approximately 60,000 square feet of retail on the first two floors, and 5,000 square feet of civic/cultural use.


----------



## DZH22

Just dawned on me, but it looks like Cambridge is set to add 3 300'+ buildings over the next few years! Compare this to the current total of....1? 0? 2? This doesn't even include the 2nd MXD 395' tower, or any of the Volpe complex. I believe all 3 are in prep phase.

I searched for all years, Cambridge only on the faa site and sorted by height. This is going to be a pretty serious visual upgrade for Kendall!

One Broadway (MIT) 300'

All 3 links listed 300' structure height on the dot. Here's one.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328511418&row=11


I believe the site is going to be the right side of this shot, sourced from here:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/marc72/sets/72157625895092864/

one broadway by David Z, on Flickr

More info on this thread:
http://www.archboston.com/community/showthread.php?t=4893&page=9

I think this is it:


Lrfox said:


>





145 Broadway
4 links all showed 300' on the dot. Here's one.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=330383104&row=10

This is the shorter MXD Tower by Boston Properties. See more here:
http://www.archboston.com/community/showthread.php?t=5335

Capture by David Z, on Flickr


MIT Building at 264-292 Main Street. Height 334' (or 381', or 382'?)

This one has radically different heights at different corners. I have no idea where or what the high point is. Here's the total list, shortest to tallest.

NW Corner 313'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902657&row=6

NE Corner 314'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902684&row=5

SW Corner 334'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902656&row=19

"High Point" 381'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902687&row=13

Filing a couple months earlier for 382'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=323543956&row=12

I believe it would be the 381' over the 382', but the only question is what actually comprises this height. So it's either 381' or 334'.

It's this thing. See this thread. 
http://www.archboston.com/community/showthread.php?p=280533#post280533



34f34f said:


>





stellarfun said:


>


If the 381' is to the top of the box on the right side of the second picture I would say that's the height. 

Wow. Prepare yourselves for the next evolution of Kendall Square.


----------



## geoking66

*Pier 4 (Residential)* | Seaport District

Project facts


Address: 140 Northern Avenue


Status: Approved


Developer: Tishman Speyer


Architect: SHoP/CBT


Residential: 106 units


Floors: 9


Rendering:


----------



## odurandina

*March 31st, 2018 update for 115 Winthrop Sq*

These images represent the latest update for 115 Winthrop Square for the BCDC meeting on the final Tuesday 
of March, 2018. The design has undergone significant improvements that solve a number of issues. One of 
them being breaking up the top/residential section in such a way that suggest two distinct tower peaks. 









At the meeting a few weeks ago, Millennium had a 365 day video of the shadow impact. The video shows that at ~691', 
unwanted shadow is very minimal. No shadow on the Mall, and the Public Garden receives almost nil shadow. 

Millennium and Handel have done a fine job to soften the massive quantity of space to be built. ....It's not Hudson 
Yards w/ twisting asymmetrical peaks. It's not a sky bridge, but once built, where the second peak is visible (like the 
general area of Rt3), at a glance, visitors peering up at the skyline will perceive the deep indent as a sky bridge
connecting two distinct towers up there. (i think that's no accident)....







kz1000ps said:


> Well damn.


----------



## reackt

Boston update today 7-1-17. Full sized pictures/album here

*The Hub on Causeway* | West End










____________________________________

*1 Dalton St (Four Seasons)* | Back Bay










CSC Church and Reflecting pool renovations










____________________________________

*Pierce Boston* | Fenway



















____________________________________

*1350 Boylston St* | Fenway










____________________________________

*Julie Hall* (Emmanuel College) | Longwood










____________________________________

*35 S Huntington Ave* | Mission Hill










____________________________________

*Serenity* | Mission Hill



















____________________________________


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## JohnFlint1985

Very nice


----------



## BJX

*1 Dalton St (Four Seasons) | Back Bay*

10 days ago 

Sorry for the quality hno:


----------



## odurandina

*approved, +/- construction, topped, +/- cladding or completed;
*(year = year project completed, constr = under construction).
(scores of dense infill and lab mid-rise projects truncated)

black ink* denotes not yet u/c.....

1. 115 Winthrop Sq Downtown 52 Stories *691' *(40 of 54 levels).

2. South Station Tower; 51 stories *677'* (site prep)

3. One Congress office tower/Downtown 43 stories *611' *tip (2022)

4. One Post office Square *re-clad* from concrete precast to glass 41 stories* ~528' *

5. Residential tower on MIT's 10 acre Volpe site 30 stories *475'* (construction in ~2023)

6. 40 Trinity Place/Back Bay 33 stories *446'* (29 levels)

7. 135 Broadway resident tower/Kendall Sq/Cambridge 33 Stories *430'* (construction 2022)

8. Back Bay Station tower #1 (residences) 34 stories *413' *(approved Nov 16, 2017)
(work has begun to shore up the rail lines row under BBS)

9. Back Bay Station tower #2 (offices) 24 stories *408*' (approved Nov 16, 2017)

10. The Huntington/Fenway 32 stories *400'* (approved Dec 14, 2017)

11. 380 Stuart Street/ Back Bay 26 stories *390'*
(new massing/ curtain wall approved Feb 10, 2022)

12. Govt Center #3 residential/Downtown 27 stories ~*365'* (garage demo)

13. Car Gurus offices/Back Bay 20 stories *352'*
prep for the first Air Rights project in Back Bay in 39 years

14. Parcel 12 condominiums & hotel 182' (constr)

15. South Station #2 (residential) 28 stories *349'* (constr)

16. 290 Tremont St/Chinatown 171 units 30 stories *348' *(approved Feb 13, 2020)

17. Back Bay Station tower #3 26 stories *~348'* (approved Nov 16, 2017)

18. Fenway Ctr Air Rights office (bldg 3) 337' (site prep)

19. Fenway Ctr Air Rights Office (bldg 4) 197' (site prep)

20. 540 Albany Street/ Flower Exchange main tower 321' (approved/on hold)

21. One Kenmore Hotel/ Kenmore Square 29 stories 315' (approved Dec 12, 2019)

22. US2 "USQ tower" residences/ Union Square/Somerville 25 stories 300' (u/c)

23. 700 Comm Ave/BU Data Sciences/ Fenway 21 stories 293' (2023)

24. Middlesex Court mixed use/Cambridge 430K sq ft 20 stories 284'/after redo (constr)
tower reclad to brick/glass incl offices/ incl 48 affordable residential units

25. Andrew Sq/South Boston Main Tower D 21 Stories, 278' (site prep)

26. Andrew Square Bldg C/South Boston 18 stories 214' (site prep along with):

27. Andrew Square Bldg B/South Boston 16 stories 190' (site prep)
(+ 4 infill apartment bldgs/total: ~700 units/792,400 sq ft (in prep)

28. 74 Middlesex Ave (labs)/Assembly Sq/ Somerville 15 stories 277' (constr)

29. Sky Everett/ Harbor/ Everett 366 units 21 stories ~275' (constr soon)

30. 325 Main St/ Google offices/ Cambridge/ ~275' (2022)

31. 350 Summer St/Parcel N 422,000 sq ft 267' (constr)

32. 400 Summer S/Parcel P 626,000 sq ft 263' (constr)

33. 150 Seaport Sq/St Regis Residences 22 stories 266' (2022)

34. 88 Seaport 425,000 sq ft 18 stories 265'
(In development)

35. "10 World Trade" Seaport 518,500 sq ft 18 stories 264' (constr to begin)
"Perimeter of the mechanical floors will be an indoor track...."

36. 333 Dorchester Ave West parcel lab tower/ 16 stories South Boston 260' (approved Dec 16, 2021)

37. 345 Dorchester Ave East parcel labs/ South Boston 11 Stories 225' (approved Dec 16, 2021)
Total for 333-345 Dot Ave: 674,500 sq ft

38. 345 Dorchester Ave [West Residential]/ S. Boston 15 stories (approved Dec 16, 2021)
*315 apartment units are spread over 345 Dot Ave W. Residential & 333 East

39. 333 Dorchester Ave East parcel Residences/ South Boston 11 Stories 160' (approved Dec 16, 2021)
Total for 333 & 345 Dot Ave labs is 674,500 sq ft
Total project of 315 residential units + labs = ~1M sq ft

40. 401 Park Drive/Landmark Offices 16 stories 250' (constr)

41. Cambridge Crossing "Parcel i lab tower 250' (2022)

42. South Station #3 (offices/lab) 9 stories above garage expansion 249'
(phase 3 of South Station redevelopment w/ garage structure now u/c)

43. 441 Morgan Avenue/Cambridge Crossing lab 209' (2022)
+
44. 8 mid-rises (labs + residential) of 149'~209' (total 4.5M sq)

45. Arsenal Yards bldg G/ 130 units 18 stories 242'
total:1.1M sq ft incl resident tower, lab space, Residence Inn/Marriott & retail

46. Academic Laboratory tower at East Gate site/ Cambridge 16 stories 235' (Demo of East Gate)

47. 41 LaGrange St Residences/ Chinatown 126 units 19 stories 232' (approved 2-14-19)

48. 150 Kneeland St/Leather District 115 units 22 stories 231' (starting soon)

49. L Street Station/776 Summer St/adaptive re-use/ South Boston 17 stories 228'
Total: 1.68M sq ft: 860,000 sq ft of labs, 635 units w/240 hotel & retail

50. 15 Necco Street Lab/ Ft Point/Southie 317,000 sq ft 12 stories 216' (constr)

51. 540 Albany Street/Flower Exchange site bldg #2 215' total project 1.6M sq ft

52. 540 Albany Street/Flower Exchange Bldg #3

53. MIT East Campus "SoMa Building 2"/ Ke
132. 61-69 Hancock St/Quincy 240 units 16 stories 195'

54. 104 Canal Street/Bulfinch Triangle/ West End 15 Stories 190' (approved Oct 16, 2014)
was near groundbreaking pre-COVID-19

55. 15 McGrath Highway/SAV-MOR Lab Bldg/ Somerville 10 stories 187'

56. Parcel 12 condominiums & hotel 182' (constr)

57. Cambridgeside Galleria Mall redo to labs/ Cambridge 180' (constr)

Greenway:

58. 55 India Street 180' (approved Oct 16, 2014) now u/c

59. 88 N. Washington St/Valenti Sq/North End 13 stories 172' (approved 2017)
This one seems to be back..... may return as apartments with no parking.


----------



## odurandina




----------



## elidijon

Amazing


----------



## odurandina

111 Federal Street/Downtown 52 Stories 701' (site demo underway).




DZH22 said:


> 701', although only to one corner. The rest of this is in the 690's.
> 
> https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=329169789&row=13
> 
> The determination is in "circularization" and the preliminary study says it will pass at 701'.
> 
> https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/WebBlobServlet



They're doing "up/down" to get the tower going vert faster....

"The use of steel sheet pile walls and drilled shaft foundation elements to enable up -down construction methods will be used....."


----------



## odurandina

If you plan to attend a meeting this year to ask a developer, *'wtf are you doing, and what is this shit?' or possibly read the original RFP* – 

this might be it....

http://www.bostonplans.org/news-cal...winthrop-square-impact-advisory-group-meeting

Impact Advisory Group (IAG) 115 Winthrop Square

Feb 01, 2018 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
BPDA Board Room, Boston City Hall, 9th floor, Room 900

Contact: Casey Ann Hines 617.918.4244
Email: [email protected]


http://www.bostonplans.org/news-calendar/calendar/2018/02/06/boston-civic-design-commission-meeting

Boston Civic Design Commission (BCDC)

Feb 06, 2018 5:15 PM - 7:05 PM
BPDA Board Room, Boston City Hall, 9th floor, Room 900

Contact: David Carlson 617.918.4284
Email: [email protected]



05-30-2007


dirtywater said:


> ...this building is very cutting edge. The future is about sustainable design and this building incorporates innovative approaches to sustainability as well as other design features that make it very cutting edge for a skyscraper....
> 
> Shape and form are not the only things that make a project cutting edge, but if you look at the top of the tower and the bottom of the tower, you will see that it is far from a simple rectangle with an appendage along the side. From the terrace-like form at the top, to the cut outs of the tower at the bottom, to the appendage along its side providing express elevator service to which the "spire" is attached, this building has its share of idiosyncrasies to make it a unique object as well. While not cutting edge in this sense, the visual interest is enhanced by the use of glass with visible structural elements from bottom to top.
> 
> I think that it will be a breathtaking addition to the Boston skyline, if it is constructed. I don't know whether it will be, or in what ways the design will be modified if it is, but I certainly hope that it is built - and built in a manner that retains the essence of the proposed design.



,


----------



## odurandina

my letter to the developer and City

*115 Fed/Winthrop Garage*

A bit over a decade ago, the Menino Administration determined the crumbling Winthrop Square garage was one of the best sites in Downtown Boston ideal for the construction of a tower rising above 400~450 feet. But, Tom Menino also determined this site was very important – because he knew it was one of the _only _places left in Boston where it would be appropriate to build a true skyscraper eclipsing 200m (656.2 feet). He tacitly declared this site off limits for building a run-of-the-mill highrise by declaring exactly the inverse; 

On February 17th, 2006, addressing the business community, Menino called for the construction of the city's tallest building ever: topping 1,100 feet at the Winthrop Garage to demonstrate Boston's economic might on the world stage. 

''We'll be looking for proposals that symbolize the full scope of this city's greatness... We will insist on bold vision and world-class architecture."

Unfortunately, not long after, the FAA instructed the Menino Admn that they could build only to about 750' but no higher. A short time later, the Great Recession hit, and the project went stale.

The Walsh Administration is carrying on Tom Menino's plan; basically treating the Winthrop Square Garage as a 'legacy' site for an iconic skyscraper. And they should be. The site rises above the very high bar set by the City for a 'true skyscraper.' 

Consider a bar of 200 meters. We've built only 3 in our City's history. If you lower the bar to the lowest standard of a true skyscraper (180m), we've eclipsed this threshold only 8 times in the City's history. 

We don't have many of these sites left in Boston that rise to this elite status. After running through a long list of criteria beginning with underground right of ways, infrastructure, FAA restrictions, shadow considerations, then, moving on to historic preservation including the historical significance of abutters, step ups, etc – there's almost nothing left that works.

The Boston regional economy is seeing exceptional growth. Boston's peer cities are not only growing, but (exponentially) in height and design... while Boston stagnates dismally.

Soon, the only significant parcels left in the core of Boston (might be) a few approved low highrises, with many left unbuilt. i find this state of affairs in a major American city, especially one with the economic status of Boston _stunning._

It is now going past 12 years. We thought we were (finally) going to add something unique and beautiful to the Downtown Core at Winthrop Square. But now, Millennium Partners is planing build something completely different than what they originally presented to the public; 

Millennium sold an acceptable design (while closing the space above ground off from the public) on the strength of the substantial public benefits.

They have withdrawn the original tower design, slashed the height (3 times) – and substituted it with a bland building that clearly does not meet the standard of the stature, urban size, eminence, or economic significance of Boston for its signature Downtown Tower. 

As one observer writes, "Not only did they knock the height down several times, (when the original purpose was to build something incredibly tall) but, then they took every architectural step to make it appear shorter than it is, while widening the upper portion of the tower. We need vertical lines–not grouped together windows. This parcel needs to show its height; its not Allston...." 

Another observer coins, "a '70s background building like you see in the opening for the 'Bob Newhart' show... The first and second designs are much different, better and more elegant than the latest." 

i sometimes think; at some point we receded from greatness to become a stodgy, obsessive community in our architectural pursuits.

We should keep the promises made to all the beneficiaries. But, also keep the promises made to the people of Boston that something truly great would be built here. What is now being presented is ill-designed to meet the future. We need a much better/more-beautiful design. 

Business is good. Millennium Partners and Boston already possess the needed additional funds from this unprecedented boom. MP and Boston must consent to a deal to improve the massing and curtain wall at Winthrop Square.

Millennium Partners and Boston must demonstrate to America and area residents that we can do the right thing – and deliver a skyscraper worthy of the people of Boston... despite that they will never set foot above the first floor.


----------



## odurandina

.................


----------



## DZH22

I found an interactive map called "Boston Crane Watch" here:
https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/maps/crane-watch

It looks like there's around 65 project U/C! I had no idea there were so THIS many, although a lot of them are for smaller projects. Still, it's an unprecedented level of construction around here.


----------



## odurandina

chjbolton said:


> So, why am I getting the feeling that Boston will never get a supertall, much to my sadness... I mean, if this wasn't the PERFECT occasion... what is?!





DZH22 said:


> There are also places that are prime spots to go at least 800'-900', mainly near North Station and in what was once the West End (now Charles River Park). Sadly, a perfect candidate for 800'+, the Hub on Causeway's residential tower, was cut down to ~490'. The office tower next door will be slightly higher, but the residential was a big step back from an already pre-approved ~650'.


65 Martha Road could become the site of Boston's new tallest skyscraper. 

Nothing yet, but the site has very few shadow problems. The FAA height limit is somewhere between 860' and 875'. Marty Walsh has made it no secret that he wants very tall (by Boston standards anyway) buildings to be built all over the city. His political power has grown exponentially. 

65 Martha may be the focus of the next round of permitting for a very tall tower. Stay tuned.... 



*115 Winthrop Sq update: They've fixed it!! *

It will almost be like two towers added to the skyline. The 691' tower and its ~600' companion. 

Notice the slender joint making it look much more like two distinct towers (above the office section). The layout of the office floors remain unchanged (except for the corners). 

There was never any reason to take out the 'vertical lines' of the mechanical floors... They're back It looks tall again! So there it is. Joe; Very nice! Much better. Absolutely thrilled. It's probably as tall as it's ever gonna be given the FAA height limit. But i wouldn't be shocked if it ends up going a few feet higher... Build it! 



datadyne007 said:


> It actually talks to Millennium Tower!


Twin peaks will now become reality!












At the meeting they had a 365 day video of the shadow impact. The video shows that at ~691', unwanted shadow is very much under control. No shadow on the Mall, and the Public Garden receives almost nil shadow. 

it's safe to say the architects have done a very fine job to hide the massive quantity of space to be built. 

It's not a sky bridge, but once built, at a glance the indent might accomplish it's goal to strongly suggest a sky bridge. (correct; it's no accident).


----------



## odurandina

chjbolton said:


> So, why am I getting the feeling that Boston will never get a supertall, much to my sadness... I mean, if this wasn't the PERFECT occasion... what is?!





hateman said:


> Definite improvement. I wonder why they changed the design in the first place. Is this a reverse bait and switch to make it look like the developer made concessions and make it easier to get approval?


The changes from several months ago (w/ the building getting much shorter & fatter) had been the result of cutting the tower by roughly 84 feet from 775' to 691' due to FAA height restriction/s.... but still be able to reward the beneficiaries as promised by the developer. 

There is still a chance the tower might be allowed to go a few feet taller.... It would be a very modest increase, but it could theoretically be added in, all the way out to late in the construction phase. 

Included in the $160M benefits package is a 348' tower in Chinatown comprised of almost all affordable housing, significant improvements to Franklin Park, and to take on part of the maintenance of the Boston Common (the oldest public park in the US) and the Public Garden. 

It's not what i wished had happened. But the City really wants the $160M (sigh). i personally wish the tower was more slender..... 

In any case, after 12 years, it's just about set to go...

http://boston.siretechnologies.com/sirepubbra/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=409&doctype=AGENDA

w/ final design approval date set for April 12th, foundation/site prep could commence nearly directly from the demolition phase, now all but complete.

here's a couple of shots of the parcel i took the other day from the 29th floor of 33 Arch St....


----------



## odurandina

photos of 1 Dalton courtesy of "Beeline" from ArchBoston.....


https://flic.kr/p/25C4YNH 


https://flic.kr/p/25yeDW9





chrisbrat said:


> ...it's been said before, but this is the slowest moving, actively in-progress development i've ever witnessed.





stick n move said:


> Globe: "The project has been underway for 2½ years, but until now most of the construction work *had *been quiet... unnoticed beyond neighboring blocks, as crews dug 165 feet into the ground for the tower’s foundation."


The townsfolk had a very long time to see this rising, w/ most unconsciously expecting it to stop after reaching Sheraton height.



stick n move said:


> "Now they’re heading up, and fast. Soon the whole city will see it."
> 
> ....I remember hearing about Millennium Tower from random people who don't follow architecture once it started becoming noticeable on the skyline. I'd imagine this will follow suit, but then it will keep going, and going....


What number on the scale are we at now? 



Hubman said:


> The public is going to be like:
> 1. Oh, a new building going up.
> 2. Hmm, new building still getting taller.
> 3. Wow, that's really getting up there.
> 4. Jesus, that thing is tall!
> 5. OMG IT'S STILL GETTING TALLER.
> 6. WTF, HOW TALL IS THIS THING GOING? WHO GAVE THE OK ON THIS??
> 7. HOLY SHIT, IT'S AS TALL AS THE PRU!



Tower now rising past 111 Huntington.....


----------



## odurandina

Boston's 5th 200m is out of the ground. 
FYI i'll do another list at some point and include everywhere within 3 mi of the Boston Public Garden. 

Boston's tallest by 2024
1. JHT/200 Clarendon St. 790’
2. Pru 749’
3. 1 Dalton St. 742'
4. Winthrop Ctr. 691’
5. Millennium Tower 685’
6. South Station Tower 677’ (u/c)
^^>200m
7. Federal Reserve 614’
8. 1 Congress St. (tip) 611’
9. 1 Boston Pl. 602’
10. 1 International Pl. 600’
11. 1 Financial Ctr. 599'
12. 100 Federal St. 591’
^^>180m
13. 111 Huntington Ave 554’
14. Exchange Place (roof) 539’
15. 50 Sudbury St. 539'
16. 2 International Pl. 538’
17. 1 Post Office Square 528’ (after redo)
18. 1 Federal St. 520’
19. Hub On Causeway offices 510’
20. 60 State St. 509’
21. 1 Beacon St. 505’
22. 1 Lincoln St. 503’
23. 28 State St. 500’
24. Hub on Causeway residences 496’
25. Custom House 496’
26. Old JHT 495’
^^>150m
27. Alcott/Garden Garage 485’
28. 33 Arch St. 477’
29. 225 Franklin St. 477’
30. Ritz Carlton Tower 1 475’
31. 125 High St. 452'
32. 100 Summer St. 450'
33. Avalon North Station 449'
34. Ritz Carlton Tower 2 446'
35. 40 Trinity Pl. 446'
36. Atlantic Wharf 436'
37. 1 Devonshire Pl. ~415' (est)
38. McCormack Bldg 401'
39. Keystone Bldg 400'
40. The Huntington 400' (u.c)
41. Harbor Towers 1 400'
42. Harbor Towers 2 396’
43. 100 Cambridge St. 396’
44. The Westin Copley Pl. 395'
45. 100 High St. 394’
46. 75 State St. 390’
47. 380 Stuart St 26 stories 390’ (u/c soon)
48. JFK Federal Bldg 387'
49. Marriott Copley Pl. 382'
50. 101 Federal St. 381'
51. 1 Longfellow Pl. 381'
52. 4 Longfellow Pl. 381'
53. The Pierce 378'
54. The Clarendon 373'
55. 45 Province St. 367'
56. Church of Christ Scientist offices 355'
57. Car Gurus offices/Back Bay 352' 
58. South Station #2 349' (u/c)
59. JW McCormack/Post Office 345'
60. Govt Center #3 residences ~342' (u/c)
61. Ellison Bldg 342'
62. 45 Stewart St./AVA 338'
63. 3 Blackfan Cir. lab tower 338'
64. Fenway Ctr. lab bldg #3 337' (u/c)
65. Avalon Exeter 336'
66. 101 Huntington Ave 336'
67. 157 Berkeley St./Liberty Mutual 335'
68. StuVi2/33 Harry Agganis Way 331'
69. 500 Boylston St. 330'
70. Suffolk Courthouse 330'
71. 260 Franklin St. 323'
72. Jamaicaway Towers 320'
73. The Kensington Apts 313'
74. 100 Stewart St. "W" Hotel & Residences 310'
75. Sheraton North Tower 310'
76. Sheraton South Tower 310'
77. 30 Dalton St. 306'
78. 700 Comm Ave/BU Data Sciences 305'
79. 145 High St. 301'
80. 888 Boylston St. 301'
81. 125 Summer St. 300'
82. 160 Federal Street 300'
83. 50 Post Office Sq/Telephone Bldg 300'
84. 660 Washington St 300'
85. Radian 291'
86. South Block 1 289'
87. 265 Franklin St. 283'
88. 99 Summer St. 282'
89. Tree House/Mass College of Art 280'
90. Andrew Sq main bldg 278' (u/c)
91. 101 Arch St. 276'
92. 240 Tremont/Marriott Moxy 273' 
93. 10 St James Ave 272'
94. Burke Street Dorm #1/ NU 272'
95. 11 Harbor Way 270' 
96. 10 World Trade 270' (u/c)
97. South Station Tower #3 270' (u/c)
98. Allston Yards residential tower (u/c)
^^>82.296m
about 48 more >77m (re; nimby neighborhood supertalls)












Boston Skyline 2023~25...



http://boston.siretechnologies.com/sirepubbra/mobilemtgviewer.aspx?meetid=393&doctype=AGENDA

http://boston.siretechnologies.com/sirepubbra/mobilemtgviewer.aspx?meetid=393&doctype=AGENDA


----------



## FabriFlorence

^^ The Boston skyline is becoming more and more beautiful every year! :cheers:


----------



## JMS9

F**king hell man, way to put in some work. :applause:


----------



## odurandina

here's 2 aerial shots posted recently by DZH22 and chrisbrat on ArchBoston.... 

DJI_0263 by Jeff Murat, on Flickr


----------



## odurandina

345 Harrison Ave, South End

https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...fcd688f6115d23!8m2!3d42.3523482!4d-71.0465781





1 Greenway, Chinatown

https://www.google.com/maps/place/S...fcd688f6115d23!8m2!3d42.3523482!4d-71.0465781





Assembly Row, Assembly Square, Somerville.... 

https://www.google.com/maps/place/A...4dd2f8ec1a18c1b3!8m2!3d42.394131!4d-71.079673


----------



## odurandina

we have *another major design update* for what could be final changes at 115 Winthrop Square..... 

Looks really good...

Compare it to 3 months ago..... 

*Way more New York-ish!!*

Joe Larkin and Architect Stephen M haven't just listened to our suggestions.; They've DONE our suggestions. Joe was kind of pissed. But, now he's done it. This is insane. 

We now have a world class '2-Tower' design. Combined with MT..... it's sort of a multi-peaked, miniature version of Hudson Yards – something i wouldn't have dreamed just a few years ago.

Just need Millennium Partners to buy the block at 1 Bromfield St and build that.... get SST and the Harbor Garage up, and the Downtown area will be f__ing incredible.

No-longer a faux sky bridge – but an actual sky bridge!








datadyne007 said:


> The Great Hall is great again!!!
> 
> renders from Bostonplans site provided by Datadyne of Archboston.org


----------



## odurandina

12 years to approve a 691 foot, twin peaked skyscraper!!

Development vs nimby bs in Boston; yes; the moment is finally here.

115 Winthrop Square on the agenda for final BPDA Board approval at 5;30 pm (Thursday) 

http://boston.siretechnologies.com/sirepubbra/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=420&doctype=AGENDA


----------



## odurandina

115 Winthrop won BPDA Board approval last night..... 

GLOBE story.... 

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/05/17/winthrop/RON2DT06mN9zLnJaWZoO6L/story.html


----------



## odurandina

First reaction: when you clear the CAT southbound by 1 Greenway at NIGHT is HOLY SHIT that's Back Bay! It's INSANE! Problem is, you probably can't stop on the deck even in the wee hours to get the shot without getting killed.


Here's Burke St at Northeastern.... w/ my crappy android cam







And Washington St a block over from Melnea Cass....


----------



## Sterlyng65

If Logan Airport wasn’t so close to the North End skyline. Boston could have a lot more taller buildings. The Airport could of been relocated. Like somewhere on the Rumney Marsh Area which would make it a bigger and better Airport.


----------



## odurandina

The site plan is ~as predicted. Render is imminent... 

Times change; 2 years ago, after strong urging's by concerned citizens, 3 entrenched parties came back to the table (to shut out the noise and get down to business) while separately, the open review process to forge a new Downtown Waterfront Harbor Plan was being shaped. These meetings between Boston Planning/Development Agency, the development team and New England Aquarium's Board of Trustees played a crucial role to forge a consensus that would gain public support. 

Now, the most critical obstacles have been cleared to redo the Harbor Garage to become an iconic property. 

After 13 years, the project is finally set for Article 80 ...and this time–w/ the Mayor's blessing.

The Aquarium and people of Boston are down with it too. 

A small unhinged group of 'blockers' anchored by a billionaire and his puppet agent; The Conservation Law Foundation want to sue.... But, the State & Boston is having none of their silly antics. 

Garage/1480 spaces sunk underground, a single 600' tower, huge open plaza at Central Wharf opening the Greenway to the Waterfront–exactly as predicted 2 1/2 years ago.  

The agreement between Don Chiofaro and the City is quite very similar to the planning that gave NYC its iconic Seagram Bldg & plaza at 375 Park Ave 60 years ago (before plazas became overdone, oversized dystopian blight)..... 

i think Chiofaro plaza/ Blueway should get a heavy helping of foliage.


The unsinkable 1950's plaza/ from Breakfast at Tiffany's/ Seagram Bldg.... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihorQAluDA4


----------



## odurandina

*Can Boston get taller??*

*How tall can Boston actually get? We know the answer is 'not very.' 

Nevertheless, let's explore what is actually possible. Here's a list of what is built 
+ construction over 400’ (that are theoretically possible) by 2030~50??*

(?? = does not exist; w/ nothing close to being proposed or filed)


1. 1076 Boylston St?? 990' 

2. JANES (just another non-existent site)?? ~870’ 

3. North Station #1?? 800~880' 

4. North Station #2?? 800~880'

5. JHT/200 Clarendon St 790’

6. Pru 749’

7. 1 Dalton St/Four Seasons 742’

8. 26 Court St?? ~720’

9. 1 Bromfield St (stale proposal @ Midwood Development) 709’

10. 125 Lincoln St Garage ~700' (current proposal for ~370')

11. 115 Winthrop Square West Tower (site prep) 691’

12. South Station Tower 690’ 

13. Pi Alley Garage?? ~690'

14. Millennium Tower 685’

15. a yet to be named Downtown site?? ~675’

16. Copley Tower (approved/put on hold in late 2016) 625’

17. Sheraton Towers East Wing?? ~625'

18. Federal Reserve 614’

19. 1 Congress St (demo/site prep) 601’ 

20. 1 Boston Place 601’

21. Low section @ O'Neill Federal Building redo?? 600~700'

22. 1 International Place 600’

23. Tower at Central Wharf (tacit approval @ BPDA) 600’

24. 1 Financial Ctr Dewey Square (actual height?) ~600’

25. BU/i-90 air rights?? ~600'

26. 100 Federal St 591’ 

27. Winthrop Square East Tower 579' 

28. Christ Scientist Garage site?? ~575'

29. Hynes site resident tower Back Bay?? ~570' 

30. 111 Huntington Ave 554’

31. (needs an improved/slender proposal) @ 2 Charlesgate W?? ~550'

32. 50 Sudbury St resident tower at the GCG (u/c) 547'

33. 1000 Boylston St (approved) 544’

34. Exchange Place (actual height) ~542’ 

35. 2 International Place 538’

36. 1 Federal St 520’

37. 1 Post Office Square (actual height after redo) 516’ 

38. Hub On Causeway office tower (u/c) 510’

39. 60 State St 509’

40. 1 Beacon St 505’

41. 1 Lincoln St 503’

42. 28 State St 500’

43. Midtown Hotel site 1?? ~500’

44. Midtown Hotel site 2?? ~500’

45. Hub on Causeway resident tower (u/c) 496’

46. Custom House Tower 496’

47. Old JHT 495’ 

48. Garden Garage Tower (u/c) 485’ 

49. 85 Essex Street 480'

50. 33 Arch St 477’

51. 225 Franklin St 477’

52. Ritz Carlton Tower 1 475’

53. 125 High St 452'

54. 100 Summer St 450'

55. Avalon North Station 449'

56. Ritz Carlton Tower #2 446'

57. 40 Trinity Place Back Bay (approved) 446'

58. Atlantic Wharf 436' 

59. Columbus Ctr Air Rights returns?? (approved 2007) 425'

60. 1 Devonshire Place ~415'

61. Back Bay Station residences (approved) ~413'

62. Tremont/Washington St Air Rights?? ~405'

63. McCormack Bldg 401'

64. Keystone Bldg 400'

65. The Huntington (approved) 400'

66. 45 Worthington St returns ?? ~400'

67. Harbor Towers 1 400'

sites i left out....

1. City Hall, Govt Center 
2. Low rises @ JFK Fed office bldg, Govt Center
3. State Service Center site, West End
4. Center Plaza, Downtown
5. CW56 bldg, West End
6. 60 William Cardinal O'Connell Way, West End
7. several parcels in the West End in the general area of Charles River Park and Mass General
8. i-90 between Allston and Kenmore Square

1-3 can all be planned for >725' when Boston reaches a bit closer to 'Big Dog' status the stage might finally be set, and economics demand the old monolith sites be replaced--and reach their economic/ useful potential. 

Boston has a couple of hundred buildings between 200~399'.

Sites covered in (5-8) could likely be developed for ~250-400' adding more density in the urban core.


----------



## odurandina

meanwhile over at Winthrop Square – we have what appears to be a bonafide dig site......




BeeLine said:


> https://flic.kr/p/28HVcPS
> 
> Looks like they are getting ready for some slurry wall action.
> 
> https://flic.kr/p/27GQZzW




Let's not even have an official groundbreaking..... :cheers:

Marty (Walsh) in CHARRRRGGGE!!


----------



## Biman773

Is the archboston forum down? or is it just me?


----------



## citylover94

It is down I just tried to get on it has been a few days. Hopefully it will get fixed soon it has happened before and the issue has always been resolved after a little while.


----------



## odurandina

^^SKYNET is closing in.....


*re; too many architects complaining about Alucobond.


----------



## odurandina

aB IS BACK UP !! :bash:

http://www.archboston.org/community/forumdisplay.php?f=20

photos courtesy of Beeline at Archboston...


----------



## geoking66

*NEMA* | Seaport District

Official website: https://www.rentnemaboston.com

Project facts


Address: 399 Congress Street


Status: Under construction


Developer: Crescent Heights


Architect: Group One/Stantec


Residential: 414 units


Retail: 12,000 s.f. (1,115 sqm)


Height: 231ft (70m)


Floors: 22


August 2:


IMG_1687 by David Couhig, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Bulfinch Crossing (Phases 1 and 2)* | West End

Official website: https://bulfinchcrossing.com

Project facts


Address: 50 Sudbury Street


Status: Under construction


Developer: HYM


Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli


Residential: 423 units


Office: 1,012,000 s.f. (94,018 sqm)


Retail: 10,800 s.f. (1,003 sqm)


Height: 528ft, 480ft (161m, 146m)


Floors: 45, 43


July 27:


IMG_1313 by David Couhig, on Flickr


Renderings:


----------



## geoking66

*2 Charlesgate West* | Fenway

Project facts


Address: 2 Charlesgate W


Status: Proposed


Developer: Trans National


Architect: Elkus Manfredi


Residential: 295 units


Office: 7,500 s.f. (697 sqm)


Retail: 10,000 s.f. (929 sqm)


Height: 334ft (102m)


Floors: 29


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Echelon* | Seaport District

Official website: https://echelonseaport.com

Project facts


Address: 133-135 Seaport Boulevard


Status: Under construction


Developer: Cottonwood


Architect: Kohn Pederson Fox


Residential: 733 units


Retail: 125,000 s.f. (11,613 sqm)


Height: 256ft (78m)


Floors: 21


August 2:


IMG_1727 by David Couhig, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*St Regis Residences* | Seaport District

Official website: https://srresidencesboston.com

Project facts


Address: 150 Seaport Boulevard


Status: Site preparation


Developer: Cronin


Architect: Elkus Manfredi


Residential: 124 units


Retail: 10,700 s.f. (994 sqm)


Height: 250ft (76m)


Floors: 22


May 8:


IMG_0646 by David Couhig, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*MXD* | Kendall Square

Project facts


Address: 145 Broadway


Status: Near completion


Developer: Boston Properties


Architect: Pickard Chilton


Office: 443,738 s.f. (41,225 sqm)


Retail: 10,037 s.f. (932 sqm)


Height: 250ft (76m)


Floors: 19


April 2:


IMG_7422 by David Couhig, on Flickr


----------



## geoking66

*MassMutual HQ* | Seaport District

Project facts


Address: 10 Fan Pier Boulevard


Status: Site preparation


Developer: Fallon


Architect: Elkus Manfredi


Office: 315,000 s.f. (29,264 sqm)


Retail: 10,000 s.f. (929 sqm)


Height: 239ft (73m)


Floors: 19


May 11:


IMG_1946 by FitchburgLine, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Philips HQ* | East Cambridge

Project facts


Address: 250 North Street


Status: Near completion


Developer: DivcoWest


Architect: Jacobs


Office: 355,000 s.f. (32,981 sqm)


Retail: 15,000 s.f. (1,394 sqm)


Height: 143ft (44m)


Floors: 11


May 11:









(@etik)


----------



## geoking66

*Fenway Center (Phase 1)* | Fenway

Official website: http://fenwaycenter.com

Project facts


Address: 801 Beacon Street


Status: Under construction


Developer: Meredith


Architect: TAT


Residential: 312 units


Retail: 34,583 s.f. (3,213 sqm)


Height: 146ft, 80ft (45m, 24m)


Floors: 13, 7


May 3:


IMG_0908 by David Z, on Flickr


Rendering (left two buildings):


----------



## geoking66

*Galbes Seaport* | Seaport District

Official website: https://www.gables.com/communities/massachusetts/boston/gables-seaport

Project facts


Address: 501 Congress Street


Status: Under construction


Developer: Gables


Architect: CBT


Residential: 312 units


Retail: 1,800 s.f. (167 sqm)


Height: 248ft (76m)


Floors: 23


May 8:


IMG_0876 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


----------



## soren5en

_The Whitney Hotel. Hacin + Associates. (2016- 2019)_























































http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=5424


----------



## geoking66

*State Street HQ* | West End

Official website: https://bulfinchcrossing.com/buildings/one_congress

Project facts


Address: 1 Congress Street


Status: Demolition


Developer: HYM


Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli


Office: 1,001,200 s.f. (93,015 sqm)


Retail: 10,800 s.f. (1,003 sqm)


Height: 528ft (161m)


Floors: 43


May 8:


IMG_0430 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Cambridge Crossing (Parcel I)* | East Cambridge

Official website: https://www.cambridgecrossing.com

Project facts


Address: 300 North Street


Status: Site preparation


Developer: DivcoWest


Architect: CBT


Residential: 468 units


Retail: 27,000 s.f. (2,508 sqm)


Height: 220ft (67m)


Floors: 20


May 20:









(@BeeLine)


Rendering:


----------



## DZH22

Thanks for all of the updates! You have some of the heights wrong, due to Boston's strange way of reporting them to the "highest occupied floor" as opposed to roof/crown heights.

State Street HQ looks like it's about 570' to the top of the mech and just over 600' to the swooping crown (ie 600'+ official height).

MXD Cambridge is 294' (not 250').

East Campus Gateway (MIT Cambridge) Building 5 is 280', not 250'.

Bulfinch Crossing Residential is approximately 532' to the crown envelope (not 480'). 

Some of the others, such as Fenway Center and Philips HQ also look a little low but I don't know the correct amounts.

Check this post out for Bulfinch Crossing and note that it's built on a hill which is why the residential is likely ~532' and not 520'. Either way you can see the 480' is well below the mechanical levels and crown envelope.
http://www.archboston.org/community/showpost.php?p=247716&postcount=1821


----------



## geoking66

*Seaport Square (Block L4)* | Seaport District

Official website: https://www.wsdevelopment.com/our-properties/boston-seaport-2

Project facts


Address: 390 Congress Street


Status: Excavation


Developer: WS


Architect: Gensler


Office: 444,000 s.f. (41,279 sqm)


Retail: 81,000 s.f. (7,525 sqm)


Height: 274ft (84m)


Floors: 17


June 15:


IMG_2306 by FitchburgLine, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Winthrop Center* | Financial District

Official website: https://winthropcenter.com

Project facts


Address: 115 Winthrop Square


Status: Site preparation


Developer: Millennium


Architect: Handel


Residential: 500 units


Office: 750,000 s.f. (69,677 sqm)


Retail: 31,000 s.f. (2,880 sqm)


Height: 691ft (211m)


Floors: 53


June 12:


IMG_4235 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Raffles Boston* | Back Bay

Project facts


Address: 40 Trinity Place


Status: Approved


Developer: Trinity Stuart


Architect: TAT


Residential: 146 units


Hotel: 154 rooms


Height: 446ft (136m)


Floors: 33


Rendering:


----------



## hateman

Seaport Parcel P
In Design









https://www.instagram.com/morrisadjmiarchitects/


----------



## geoking66

*LaGrange Tower* | Theater District

Official website: https://www.mattesonco.com/4755-lagrange

Project facts


Address: 47-55 LaGrange Street


Status: Approved


Developer: Matteson/Qianlong/Fortis


Architect: Stantec


Residential: 176 units


Retail: 10,800 s.f. (1,003 sqm)


Height: 240ft (73m)


Floors: 21


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*NEMA* | Seaport District

Official website: https://www.rentnemaboston.com

Project facts


Address: 399 Congress Street


Status: Topped out


Developer: Crescent Heights


Architect: Group One/Stantec


Residential: 414 units


Retail: 12,000 s.f. (1,115 sqm)


Height: 264ft (80m)


Floors: 22


August 11:


IMG_6139 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


----------



## geoking66

*The Alcott* | West End

Official website: https://onedalton.com

Project facts


Address: 35 Lomasney Way


Status: Under construction


Developer: Equity


Architect: Elkus Manfredi


Residential: 469 units


Retail: 2,300 s.f. (214 sqm)


Height: 485ft (148m)


Floors: 44


August 18:


IMG_7144 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## DZH22

geoking66 said:


> *1000 Boylston Street* | Back Bay
> 
> Project facts
> 
> 
> Address: 1000 Boylston Street
> 
> 
> Status: Approved
> 
> 
> Developer: Weiner
> 
> 
> Architect: Elkus Manfredi
> 
> 
> Residential: 108 units
> 
> 
> Retail: 45,500 s.f. (4,227 sqm)
> 
> 
> Height: 484ft (148m)
> 
> 
> Floors: 27
> 
> 
> Rendering:


Bad news. This beauty, which would have been 544' to the top of the crown, has been cancelled. It was supposed to begin soon too. Hopefully they come back with a bigger proposal because they gave up way too much for this. (original one included a taller main tower, 290' midrise, and well over double the total residential units)

https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/...pointing-decision-weiner-ventures-scraps.html


----------



## odurandina

Hopefully the property gets sold and we start over with a real proposal pushing 700~980'.

aB is down. i think they might be doing the software upgrade.


----------



## geoking66

*State Street HQ* | West End

Official website: https://bulfinchcrossing.com/buildings/one_congress

Project facts


Address: 1 Congress Street


Status: Demolition


Developer: HYM


Architect: Pelli Clarke Pelli


Office: 1,001,200 s.f. (93,015 sqm)


Retail: 10,800 s.f. (1,003 sqm)


Height: 528ft (161m)


Floors: 43


August 16:









(@DowntownDave)


Rendering:


----------



## odurandina

Czervik.Construction said:


> Can we get back to fussing over VE, why nothing cool ever gets built, etc.?



*20~25 unbuilt highrises.... lost, failed, cancelled, stale, gone--
not for a lack of trying. Lost with these projects were many public amenities, several thousand affordable housing units, and a few mid-rises that would have been superlative additions for Boston*


1. South Bay Tower ~800' planned in the early 2000's cancelled due to market factors around the time of the Great Recession. The Recession undoubtedly was the main killing factor, but the FAA limit is 300' over there at Parcel 27. The city & DOT returned 10 years later with a determination that would allow (2) 300' towers and a few mid-rises on Parcels 25~28, but failed to find a buyer to develop the parcels.

2. 1 Bromfield Street 709' killed off by the Boston Civic Design Committee and 45 Province St nimby's in 2016 after numerous starts & restarts. The FAA height for this site is 710'. A pencil luxury tower covering a spat of land next door to 2 luxury towers was a bridge too far. 

3. Boylston Square originally planned for 59 stories and 650' at the edge of the Pike opposite the corner off Mass Ave and Boylston St. Proposal was reduced to 550' then, killed off by intense nimby opposition and BRA planning authority under guidance of Tom Menino cerca 1998. The FAA height for this site is ~990'.

4. 1000 Boylston first planned to reach a pinnacle height of ~627' then was reduced to ~544'. Cancelled in 2019 due to (we assume) risks of ballooning costs for scheduling construction for the decking, vs severely limited height/ volume, market uncertainty and timing. The the FAA limit at this site is ~990'

5. Copley Tower 52 stories/ 625' was set to go u/c. Cancelled in 2016 due to ballooning costs for site prep, risk vs limited scale and height. This tower is the last tower in Back Bay to have been allowed to cast its shadow upon Trinity Church, Copley Square, PG, etc.

*Leaving off the list is the Hyatt at Fan Pier, which obviously would have impeded air traffic in and out of Logan. Came back a decade later to reach the FAA limit of ~264'.

6. East Tower at Winthrop Square 579'. Fell victim to the COVID panemic.

7. New Herald Square 500' another relic of the old Menino administration would have exceeded the FAA height restricted airspace for runway 9-27 by about 160',.w/ ~340' being about the max height it could have gone. That would have been a fine outcome for this site. The 9 super-blocks were eventually rezoned for a 149 for a completely dead area along the Pike and Expressway's w/ no shadow issues. A couple of allowances were made alongside I93 to go few dozen feet taller to spur development. 

8. Columbus Ctr main tower: 35 stories/ 420', + a mid-rise cluster over the Mass Pike. After a long approval process, broke ground in 2008--but,was cancelled just weeks later due to the Great Recession. Project would have supplied 750 res units and 250 hotel. The developer failed to secure additional loan funding from the State when the main partner pulled out.

9. 45 Worthington St 35 stories/ ~396' died during early planning phase.

10. 20 Somerset/ Suffolk U dorms 31 stories 355'. reduced to 22 stories before being kiilled off. Only in Boston can a University asked to consolidate students living in neighborhood housing, to put them back on campus--not be allowed to build 355' dorm withing walking distance of multiple multiple modes of transit, next door to 400 and 500 foot downtown towers, just because a bunch of nimby's say so. 

11. Tremont Crossing main tower 373' reduced to 284', approved then cancelled.

12. 2 Charlesgate W, a ~365' transit oriented development w/ several hundred units killed off by Red Sox owner John Henry, despite the tower to have risen 1500' distant from the rear of the Center Field bleachers, and adjacent to 2 T stops. *Returned at ~120' to be developed by Scape Studen Housing--a huge blow to urbanity on the south side of the pike (minimal shadow impact).

13. 51-53 High Street 360'. This was always a long shot: needs NYC-esque levels of planning. But, if the next door building is included, a development pushing 660' may be attainable.

14. 171 Tremont first proposed as a slender ~355' tower was reduced, reduced again, and yet again. Eventually was absorbed by Emerson.

15. Tremont Crossing tower #2 342' reduced to 254', approved, then cancelled

16. 1 Joslin Place, Longwood Med Area 29 Stories ~350' (cancelled in 2008)

17-18. a 340' hotel and 280' micro hotel were proposed for Chinatown
(they have since gone quiet)

19. 533 Washington St 29 stories 303', very hard to do: (sacked after neighborhood pushback).

20 ~21. Dot Parcels 25, 26, 27 & 28, Leather District (2 X 300') + mid-rise..... unfortunately no developers wanted to participate due to concerns over costs, politics and numerous design challenges area residents would have pushed.

22. 7 Channel Center/Ft Point Channel/Berkeley Investments 20 stories 255' (has disappeared)

23. One Charlestown/ BHA/Building F/Charlestown; 21 stories ~250'

24.~25: One Charlestown Bldgs N and O in Charlestown (2) X 20 stories 236'
Project lost the towers, and has a only a few low, mid-rises proposed.

26. GE headquarters main tower/ Seaport, cancelled.

27, 28, & 29: 55 India St along with 104 Canal & a boutique hotel off the Greenway in Valenti Square in the Bulfinch Triangle have gone quiet. No updates or signs of life yet, but expect them to re-emerge when the economy improves.

*__

height/ density reductions;*

1. South Station Tower >800 reduced, then increased to 690' FAA height limit. There's much optimism this project will get underway later this year.

2. Bulfinch Crossing main tower ~745' to ~710' to 601'

3. Winthrop Square 1105' to ~702' to 691' West Tower

4. Hub on Causeway Residential 659' to 496'

5. Garden Garage 46 stories to 44 stories/ 485'

6. 1 Joslin Place 29 stories, was to have reached a pinnicle height of ~350',
eventually came back for a ~280' lab building

7. Tremont Crossing, lost 8 floors/90' off each of the 2 main towers.

8. Harrison-Albany Block lost several floors.


----------



## odurandina

*Columbus Center is back!! *



> http://thebostonsun.com/2019/09/20/...plan-for-site-of-former-columbus-center-site/


*Main tower: 425' *

The old project:

http://archive.boston.com/news/specials/columbus_center/flash_graphic/


----------



## DiogoBaptista

*Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and the College of Fine Arts Production Center / Elkus Manfredi Architects*

















































































































> SOURCE: https://www.archdaily.com/924938/jo...s-production-center-elkus-manfredi-architects​


----------



## geoking66

*MassMutual HQ* | Seaport District

Project facts


Address: 10 Fan Pier Boulevard


Status: Under construction


Developer: Fallon


Architect: Elkus Manfredi


Office: 315,000 s.f. (29,264 sqm)


Retail: 10,000 s.f. (929 sqm)


Height: 239ft (73m)


Floors: 19


September 29:


IMG_2188 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Winthrop Center* | Financial District

Official website: https://winthropcenter.com

Project facts


Address: 115 Winthrop Square


Status: Excavation


Developer: Millennium


Architect: Handel


Residential: 500 units


Office: 750,000 s.f. (69,677 sqm)


Retail: 31,000 s.f. (2,880 sqm)


Height: 691ft (211m)


Floors: 53


October 3:


IMG_2475 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*MXD II* | Kendall Square

Project facts


Address: 325 Main Street


Status: Demolition


Developer: Boston Properties


Architect: Pickard Chilton


Office: 343,123 s.f. (31,877 sqm)


Retail: 42,300 s.f. (3,930 sqm)


Height: 268ft (82m)


Floors: 18


September 22:


IMG_1057 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## odurandina

Already reduced by 5 floors: *NOW 279' *
because it's Pleasantville, USA and we don

14. 88 Seaport 425,000 sq ft 18 stories 265'
(FAA documents recently filed)

15. 2 Charlesgate W 21 stories (reduced from 30 stories) 249'. 

16. 409 Huntington Ave residential 19 stories ~247'

17. The Viola residential highrise 17 stories 241' (nimby's are still attempting to kill the 241' supertall across the street from a 352' Car Guru's Back Bay megatall/ diagonally across from 286' 888 Boylston & 749' Prudential Tower: (only in Boston). 

18. Simmons Univ dorm two mid-rises: 225'/190' expected to move forward

19. 17 story apt bldg South Boston (reduced from 24 stories)

20. 15 story apt bldg South Boston (reduced from 21 stories)

21~23. 244-284 A Street/Ft Point/South Boston 3 mid-rises 1.1M sq ft 200'~220' X 3


*approved, +/- construction, topped, +/- cladding or completed;
*(year = year project completed, constr = under construction).
(scores of dense infill and lab mid-rise projects truncated)

black ink* denotes not yet u/c.....

2. 115 Winthrop Sq Downtown 52 Stories *691' *(40 of 54 levels).

4. South Station Tower; 51 stories *677'* (site prep)

5. One Congress office tower/Downtown 43 stories *611' *tip (cladding 90%)

_ One Post office Square *re-clad* from concrete precast to glass 41 stories* ~528' *

10. Residential tower on MIT's 10 acre Volpe site 30 stories *475'* (construction in ~2023)

12. 40 Trinity Place/Back Bay 33 stories *446'* (11 levels)

14. 135 Broadway resident tower/Kendall Sq/Cambridge 33 Stories *430'* (construction 2022)

15. Back Bay Station tower #1 (residences) 34 stories *413' *(approved Nov 16, 2017)
(work has begun to shore up the rail lines row under BBS)

16. Back Bay Station tower #2 (offices) 24 stories *408*' (approved Nov 16, 2017)

17. The Huntington/Fenway 32 stories *400'* (approved Dec 14, 2017)

18. 380 Stuart Street/ Back Bay 26 stories *390'*
(approved Nov 11, 2015, new owner Skanska awaiting approval
of new massing and curtain wall)

24. Govt Center #3 residential/Downtown 27 stories ~*365'* (garage demo)

25. CG offices/Back Bay 20 stories *352'*
prep for the first Air Rights project in Back Bay in 39 years

26. Parcel 12 condominiums & hotel 182' (constr)

27. South Station #2 (residential) 28 stories *349'* (constr)

28. 290 Tremont St/Chinatown 171 units 30 stories *348' *(approved Feb 13, 2020)

29. Back Bay Station tower #3 26 stories *~348'* (approved Nov 16, 2017)

30. Fenway Ctr Air Rights office (bldg 3) 337' (site prep)

31. Fenway Ctr Air Rights Office (bldg 4) 197' (site prep)

37. 540 Albany Street/ Flower Exchange main tower 321' (approved/on hold)

38. One Kenmore Hotel/ Kenmore Square 29 stories 315' (approved Dec 12, 2019)

42. Motor Mart Garage development 26 stories 310' (approved Oct 17, 2019)

45. US2 "USQ tower" residences/ Union Square/Somerville 25 stories 300' (site prep)

46. 700 Comm Ave/BU Data Sciences/ Fenway 21 stories 293' (topped)

48. 345 Dorchester Ave [West Residential]/ S. Boston 20 stories 290' (pending)
*345 apartment units are spread over 345 Dot Ave W. Residential & 333 East

50. Middlesex Court mixed use/Cambridge 430K sq ft 20 stories 284'/after redo (constr)
tower reclad to brick/glass incl offices/ incl 48 affordable residential units

55. Andrew Sq/South Boston Main Tower D 21 Stories, 278' (site prep)

56. Andrew Square Bldg C/South Boston 18 stories 214' (site prep along with):

57. Andrew Square Bldg B/South Boston 16 stories 190' (site prep)
(+ 4 infill apartment bldgs/total: ~700 units/792,400 sq ft (in prep)

58. 74 Middlesex Ave (labs)/Assembly Sq/ Somerville 15 stories 277' (constr)

59. Sky Everett/ Harbor/ Everett 366 units 21 stories ~275' (constr soon)

67. DOT Research tower on MIT's Volpe Sq development site ~270' (2022)

68. 350 Summer St/Parcel N 422,000 sq ft 267' (constr)

69. 400 Summer S/Parcel P 626,000 sq ft 263' (constr)

73. 150 Seaport Sq/St Regis Residences 22 stories 266' (constr)

74. 88 Seaport 425,000 sq ft 18 stories 265'
(In development)

75. "10 World Trade" Seaport 518,500 sq ft 18 stories 264' (constr to begin)
"Perimeter of the mechanical floors will be an indoor track...."

86. 333 Dorchester Ave West parcel lab tower/ 16 stories South Boston 260'

87. 345 Dorchester Ave East parcel labs/ South Boston 11 Stories 225'
Total for 333-345 Dot Ave: 674,500 sq ft

88. 333 Dorchester Ave East parcel Residences/ South Boston 11 Stories 160'
Total: 1.15M sq ft/ 675,000 sq ft comm space + 345 residential units,

92. 47 La Grange St/"The Parker"/Theater District 21 stories 255' (2022)


94. 401 Park Drive/Landmark Offices 16 stories 250' (constr)

95. Cambridge Crossing "Parcel i lab tower 250' (2022)

96. 111 Francis St/Beth Israel/Deaconess W Bldg/Longwood/ 10 stories (+mech flrs) 254' (2022) 

98. South Station #3 (offices/lab) 9 stories above garage expansion 249'
(phase 3 of South Station redevelopment w/ garage structure now u/c)

101. 20 Child Street/"Twenty/20"/North Point/Cambridge 355 units 20 stories 236'
+
102. 441 Morgan Avenue/Cambridge Crossing lab 209' (2022)
+
103. 8 mid-rises (labs + residential) of 149'~209' (total 4.5M sq)

104. Arsenal Yards bldg G/ 130 units 18 stories 242' 
total:1.1M sq ft incl resident tower, lab space, Residence Inn/Marriott & retail

107. 212 Stuart St/Bay Village; 19 stories 235' (2022)

108. Academic Laboratory tower at East Gate site/ Cambridge 16 stories 235'

109. 41 LaGrange St Residences/ Chinatown 126 units 19 stories 232' (approved 2-14-19)

110. 150 Kneeland St/Leather District 115 units 22 stories 231' (site prep)

114. L Street Station/776 Summer St/adaptive re-use/ South Boston 17 stories 228' 
Total: 1.68M sq ft: 860,000 sq ft of labs, 635 units w/240 hotel & retail

115: 819 Beacon St/ Fenway 503 units 400,000 sq ft 15 stories 228' (approved Oct 14, 2021)

117. 160 Mass Ave/Berklee College of Music 16 stories 224' (2014)

120. 15 Necco Street Lab/ Ft Point/Southie 317,000 sq ft 12 stories 216' (constr)

121. 540 Albany Street/Flower Exchange site bldg #2 215' total project 1.6M sq ft

122. 540 Albany Street/Flower Exchange Bldg #3

132 15 McGrath Highway/SAV-MOR Lab Bldg/ Somerville 10 stories ~195'

135. 104 Canal Street/Bulfinch Triangle/ West End 15 Stories 190' (approved Oct 16, 2014)
was near groundbreaking pre-COVID-19

136. Parcel 12 condominiums & hotel 182' (constr)

141. 55 India Street 180' (approved Oct 16, 2014)
was near groundbreaking pre-COVID-19.

142. 1767-69 Washington St/Alexandria Hotel redo/South End 13 stories 180' (on hold)

143. 88 N. Washington St/Valenti Sq/North End 13 stories 172' (approved 2017)
This one seems to be back..... may return as apartments with no parking.

144. Dock Square condo addition


----------



## BoulderGrad

odurandina said:


> *1. South Station Tower is starting up......... 677'
> 
> 2. New renders up at the Pelli-Clark-Pelli site;*
> http://pcparch.com/project/south-station/
> 
> *Let's roll!* :cheers:


Awesome, so that's over the train platforms behind the main station building?


----------



## binhai

He is a troll so it’s uncertain if it’s starting up quite yet. Yes it will be over the train platforms if it does actually get built. It’s been delayed for a verrrrryyyy long time.


----------



## geoking66

*The Quinn* | South End

Project facts


Address: 370 Harrison Avenue


Status: Under construction


Developer: Related Beal


Architect: Robert AM Stern


Residential: 273 units


Retail: 8,500 s.f. (790 sqm)


Height: 150ft (46m)


Floors: 14


September 18:


IMG_0463 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Volpe Exchange* | Kendall Square

Project facts


Address: 55 Broadway


Status: Site preparation


Developer: MIT/GSA


Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill


Office: 375,000 s.f. (34,839 sqm)


Height: 217ft (66m)


Floors: 15


October 8:


IMG_2693 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## citylover94

BarbaricManchurian said:


> He is a troll so it’s uncertain if it’s starting up quite yet. Yes it will be over the train platforms if it does actually get built. It’s been delayed for a verrrrryyyy long time.


There appears to be activity at the station with some of the foundation pilings being uncapped as well as people in surrounding offices being told work is starting soon. It is still to early to tell for sure but it appears that this is moving.


----------



## geoking66

*St Regis Residences* | Seaport District

Official website: https://srresidencesboston.com

Project facts


Address: 150 Seaport Boulevard


Status: Under construction


Developer: Cronin


Architect: Elkus Manfredi


Residential: 124 units


Retail: 10,700 s.f. (994 sqm)


Height: 250ft (76m)


Floors: 22


September 29:


IMG_2105 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*100 Shawmut Avenue* | South End

Official website: https://100shawmut.com

Project facts


Address: 100 Shawmut Avenue


Status: Under construction


Developer: Davis


Architect: TAT


Residential: 541 units


Retail: 16,600 s.f. (1,542 sqm)


Height: 150ft (46m)


Floors: 43


September 18:


IMG_0429 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


Rendering:


----------



## geoking66

*Hub on Causeway* | West End

Project facts


Address: 80 Causeway Street


Status: Under construction


Developer: Boston Properties


Architect: Gensler/Stantec


Residential: 440 units


Office: 826,500 s.f. (76,784 sqm)


Hotel: 269 rooms


Retail: 210,000 s.f. (19,510 sqm)


Height: 510ft, 496ft (155m, 151m)


Floors: 38, 31


October 12:


IMG_2971 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


----------



## odurandina

re; Back Bay Station; announcement of site prep may begin soon





3 towers going up at Back Bay Station.
resident tower 413'
office tower 402'
& mixed use 325'

BPDA project page, approved Nov 16, 2017

Back Bay/South End Gateway Project | Boston Planning & Development Agency



FAEE71 B0 2 A82 4878 8 A80 EDD8 ACD0 E745 — Postimages


----------



## citylover94

This isn't actually under construction. There hasn't even been an official groundbreaking or work. The account likely confused this with the Raffles project which has started demolition of a building next to the garage where their hotel will be built.


----------



## odurandina

Indeed. That's exactly right.
False alarm.


----------



## odurandina

*Gillette appears to be preparing to sell their enormous World Headquarters Bldg in South Boston for development. As incredible as it may seem, this sounds like a preliminary announcement for "We're going to be in Andover–or heading to parts unknown......" *

This will ultimately, have a huge effect on development at Fort Point Channel & Seaport neighborhood, adding a potential 34 acres of develop-able land for labs and innovation space. 

The FAA height limit for the site ranges from ~275-280' 

https://www.bostonglobe.com/busines...-properties/pohxCpmeYWQgor7Sf5HLFK/story.html

*Amid reinvention, Gillette rethinking its Boston, Andover properties 
Jon Chesto – Globe*

Procter & Gamble has been busy reinventing Gillette under pressure from lower-cost competitors. Think: big changes to marketing, innovation, online sales.

Now comes phase two of that reinvention – one that will probably bring changes to Gillette’s prominent complex on the Fort Point Channel in South Boston as well as its lower-profile sibling campus in Andover.

Gary Coombe, chief executive of P&G’s grooming business, told the company’s 1,300 Massachusetts employees Thursday that it is reassessing its two properties here. The stated goal: investment in new high-tech manufacturing equipment, R&D labs, and modern offices.

But with excess space at the 34-acre campus in South Boston and the 150-acre Andover location, real estate savings will be part of the equation.

contd


----------



## odurandina

cancelled project/s of the moment:
1. 1000 Boylston St
2. Tremont Crossing Tower #1 22 stories 284' (approved 3-03-17)
3. Tremont Crossing Tower #2 20 stories 254' (approved 3-03-17)
4. Tremont Crossing mixed use retail and public amenities projects


----------



## BoulderGrad

MarciuSky2 said:


> Why you posting China News in "*Boston | Projects & Construction Forum* " ?


I guess they're kindof involved in the South Station project, but uhh... the rest seems pretty unrelated?


----------



## MarciuSky2

BoulderGrad said:


> I guess they're kindof involved in the South Station project, but uhh... the rest seems pretty unrelated?


yeah a bit , but ok


----------



## boss-ton

Can you stop posting the unnessecary long lists in here over and over?


----------



## odurandina

Back Bay in the fog from Tang Hall rooftop, MIT

click for larger images




Downtown from Helicopter above the Seaport.....






from Helicopter above Ft Point Channel


----------



## JMS9

odurandina said:


> 2. 115 Winthrop Sq Downtown 52 Stories *691' *(25 of 54 levels).


Was just in Boston for a few days this past weekend. Is this the building close to TD Garden?


----------



## odurandina

^^You're probably referring to One Congress, or The Alcott, of the 6 recently built
highriises in this part of Downtown & the West End.

One Congress office tower






Photos
top "Phil/Flickr"
[url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/]Phil, on Flickr
bottom "Neon" aB




hkskyline said:


> * Suffolk Hires Trammell Crow's Boston Head To Lead New Investment Push*
> Bisnow _Excerpt_
> Oct 5, 2021
> Suffolk, one of the nation’s largest construction firms, has hired a former Trammell Crow leader to spearhead the company's real estate investment efforts.
> 
> The Boston-based firm named Charley Leatherbee as president of Suffolk Capital, it announced this week. Leatherbee will focus on co-general partner investments with developers nationwide. Coinciding with the hire, Suffolk rebranded its investment arm from Suffolk Ventures, a representative said Tuesday afternoon.
> 
> Suffolk, founded in 1982 by Fish, has grown to include a massive nationwide construction footprint. Its Boston projects include the 51-story South Station tower and the billion-dollar Winthrop Center and various multifamily, educational and healthcare facilities.
> 
> More : Suffolk Hires Trammell Crow's Boston Head To Lead New Investment Push



John Fish was co-partnered on the 544' *[1000 Boylston]* highrise project in Back Bay. The name _Suffolk Ventures_ is a curious one (to say the least).
His partner decided not to move forward.
Having worked with the development team seeking BPDA permitting in 2016/17, the project was visionary, and ambitious. It was very disappointing to see so much forward progress, in the end, to be stopped. Mr. Fish wanted the tower built. I know his partner, Adam Weiner did too.
You can be very sure Fish still has 1000 Boylston very much on his mind.
The condo tower has niche features that make it attractive for wealthy empty nester's desiring large spreads, or professionals wanting large family space to stay in the City.
It's possible the project will return with a new partnership, propose a few changes that the BPDA will accommodate. Maybe even an extra floor or two.
Everyone involved knows the tower should have gone the full ~627' originally proposed.
One of the senior members on the BPDA Executive Board, Ted Landsmark expressed concern and disappointment after the tower had been scaled back, not only fearing it would languish if construction costs tilted in the wrong direction, but that the site was deserving of a skyscraper with more prominence. He wasn't alone. Board members were not happy how things played out.
The developer proposed appropriate/feasible height to cover the loss of the 2nd tower, and cost of the decking, and someone gave the IAG board the pens to slash 82 feet---and you know the rest. .
Much work had gone into planning, just to see it drown in nimby corruption. At least 3 or 4 members of the Board will be "Yes" votes for changes to make the project feasible---should it make a return.
A frowning new mayor or not: the project was approved, and this is going to have a lot of light on it, not just with the people who weld steel.
Anyway, who'd have thought a few years ago, Boston would have made so much progress.....

re; Phil's/Neon's incredible vertical shots of 1 Congress:


NEC aB said:


> Looking at this... makes me feel like Boston has _finally_ dipped its toe into the 21st century.


----------



## odurandina

*re; Winthrop Center & One Post Office Square (redo)*












photo E-Hwnn_WUA wzlIKTwitter

^^Winthrop Square above + One Post Office square redo, Govt Center, etc will be
a lot of new glass for Downtown, The West End and the Midtown Cultural District!

A most good thing w// Winthrop Center: the closer people are to the (office only) street wall, the more it'll look like 2 distinct towers, and the large office part, less grandiose than its actual massiveness.







w/ Winthrop Square 691', 1 Post Office Sq (~528' after redo), and Millennium Tower 685', Exchange Place (539'), & 100 High Street (384') all closeby, it'll be glassy!!
photos Boston02124 aB, Poolio aB.....


----------



## odurandina

For anyone who follows the construction picture in Boston: Grab your socks and hose and pull. Michelle Wu/ a champion of all nimby's planetary wide/ is now the Mayor-elect.
Including approved development in the pipeline, and considering the residential + office + lab space that will gain occupancy during Michelle Wu's time in office--will be significant. Highrise construction will noticeably trickle off toward the end of her 4 years--but modest infilling should continue. The highrise, mid-rise/low-rise growth of what we might coin, "North Boston" (Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Malden, Revere & Chelsea) should continue for some time. Cambridge has a 475' & 430' tower/s expected to go u/c soon. Malden, Everett & Somerville all have >300' highrises planned as well).
All of this will contribute Boston gaining a more big City feel by ~2025/26 (a triumph after just 400 years). Adding Boston + North Boston together would equate to be more or less where San Francisco's was a few years ago--before it's dramatic, recent highrise additions.
The time period following Wu's first term is expected to be punctuated by a noticeable retreat from tall construction. By then, if Wu has moved on to Washington, or is still mayor, there will be a continued absence of tall construction for an extended time--at least, as there won't be anything tall in the development/planning pipeline.
Now that Wu has achieved power---hopefully she comes to her senses and backs away from her threats of blowing up the BPDA. I hope she retains the current leadership. Something i doubt will happen. A return to the Dark Ages ostensibly has begun.

On the topic of the 'at-a-glance' list. It's to make it easy for people who might be looking for info in discussions taking place in other media sources where information and updates is hard to find, or pull up from behind paywall/s. I like to show the progress & process. If i post below articles about construction in the Boston Globe, i sometimes link back to a page at Sky City, which, unfortunately doesn't link directly to an numbered post down the page. 
You don't please everyone. Boston is a tough town. I feel it important to elucidate nimby extremism as it is taking place, and thereafter. Nimby's come/ and go--but the damage they do is permanently imprinted on the built environment. Yet the Yimby remains steadfast in his efforts to elucidate to urban dwellers possessing a willingness to 'reason' that there is no cause to believe there is a "Manhattanization" of Boston, or even a Vancouver-zation of Boston taking place that will harm the City or significantly change its unique character.
I use the "list" to debunk non-sequiturs made by extremists who desire to push a narrative and dominate the public process. What makes Boston's nimby process so grotesque, is the age and $$$ demographic of participants.
Their extremism has done measurable damage to Boston--that should be documented. I hope the majority of visitors to the site can accept it in lieu of what it is being used to do.


----------



## Mansa Musa

odurandina said:


> For anyone who follows the construction picture in Boston: Grab your socks and hose and pull. Michelle Wu/ a champion of all nimby's planetary wide/ is now the Mayor-elect.
> Including approved development in the pipeline, and considering the residential + office + lab space that will gain occupancy during Michelle Wu's time in office--will be significant. Highrise construction will noticeably trickle off toward the end of her 4 years--but modest infilling should continue. The highrise, mid-rise/low-rise growth of what we might coin, "North Boston" (Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Malden, Revere & Chelsea) should continue for some time. Cambridge has a 475' & 430' tower/s expected to go u/c soon. Malden, Everett & Somerville all have >300' highrises planned as well).
> All of this will contribute Boston gaining a more big City feel by ~2025/26 (a triumph after just 400 years). Adding Boston + North Boston together would equate to be more or less where San Francisco's was a few years ago--before it's dramatic, recent highrise additions.
> The time period following Wu's first term is expected to be punctuated by a noticeable retreat from tall construction. By then, if Wu has moved on to Washington, or is still mayor, there will be a continued absence of tall construction for an extended time--at least, as there won't be anything tall in the development/planning pipeline.
> Now that Wu has achieved power---hopefully she comes to her senses and backs away from her threats of blowing up the BPDA. I hope she retains the current leadership. Something i doubt will happen. A return to the Dark Ages ostensibly has begun.
> 
> On the topic of the 'at-a-glance' list. It's to make it easy for people who might be looking for info in discussions taking place in other media sources where information and updates is hard to find, or pull up from behind paywall/s. I like to show the progress & process. If i post below articles about construction in the Boston Globe, i sometimes link back to a page at Sky City, which, unfortunately doesn't link directly to an numbered post down the page.
> You don't please everyone. Boston is a tough town. I feel it important to elucidate nimby extremism as it is taking place, and thereafter. Nimby's come/ and go--but the damage they do is permanently imprinted on the built environment. Yet the Yimby remains steadfast in his efforts to elucidate to urban dwellers possessing a willingness to 'reason' that there is no cause to believe there is a "Manhattanization" of Boston, or even a Vancouver-zation of Boston taking place that will harm the City or significantly change its unique character.
> I use the "list" to debunk non-sequiturs made by extremists who desire to push a narrative and dominate the public process. What makes Boston's nimby process so grotesque, is the age and $$$ demographic of participants.
> Their extremism has done measurable damage to Boston--that should be documented. I hope the majority of visitors to the site can accept it in lieu of what it is being used to do.


I'd rather have a republican yimby than a democrat nimby. This is just shameful.


----------



## odurandina

i don't condone it, less hardly believe it.
But the visuals are well, illegally.... .







night photos of Winthrop Square progress by David Z, aB......


----------



## odurandina

on exhibit:
some photos by David Z, aB.....

Foreground: 'Cambridge-lands cranes' from his perch on Mt Auburn.....

 Boston Conservatory at Berklee, in Back Bay


Reflecting Pool, Christian Science Park

1 & 30 Dalton St


One of the weird things about Boston: the daylight reveals much 'forced,' ugly, tallish architecture, hopelessly and forever turdy from so many vista's. But, at night the Darth Vader towers and street wall frame Boston's urban identity, and (God forgive me), its undefeatable human scale. If Love Story were to be filmed in the Urban Core today, the cinematographers would be 'lost' in the abundance. David captures Boston's goodness again and again.










Two photos by Beeline, aB from his keen digital lens









Muddy River in the Back Bay Fens

and these from Subdivisions (top), Boston02124, & KZ1000ps of aB (below).....


The Pierce, in the Fenway


----------



## odurandina

Echelon, Seaport Boston 3 residential bldgs 
by Atlantaden, aB.....



by David Z, aB.....

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2mCwvi2]



by Poolio, aB.....


----------



## odurandina

The massing and curtain wall glass at 40 Trinity Place looks very good.
Sometimes it's fun to look ahead to see where it's gonna be, and how tall it's gonna get.
i've taken a liberty with one of David Z's photos from the past week at 40 Trinity Place to show it.
The top photo shows the current progress of construction............
The bottom photo isn't real----- we're not there yet!!
but show's 40 Trinity's future prominence on the Back Bay skyline for when it finally tops out.


depiction of 40 Trinity when it tops out/inclu the mechanical floors.....


----------



## odurandina

Building proposed alongside Faneuil Hall








There’s a new office building proposed between Quincy Market and the Greenway - The Boston Globe


The owners of Marketplace Center are hoping the building will soon stand out when compared to its more famous neighbor, Faneuil Hall Marketplace.




www.bostonglobe.com





Maybe go for something more attractive a la Lovejoy Wharf or maybe even "Deco-modern-meets-snooty-Boston" down here to liven things up instead of the endless, dull, terra-cotta Alucobond play on post-Colonial Boston.
There's this certain, insufferable lawyer who i won't name. He secretly runs the development equivalent of the "Black Hand." Perhaps he's not as awful as i make him out to be. He's known to [throw] tirades at those Nimby friendly Design Commission meetings, berate the Boston development community...... He can be a real p.i.t.a. He's a big reason there's no more skyscrapers getting done in Boston---particularly at 1 Bromfield, where 709 feet of steel and glass was lost due to the actions of a few and the lopsided power they wield........
He'll soon be seen/heard throwing a fit over this up on the Ninth Floor of that ugly cement building masquerading as some type of City Hall. He's the Nimby Warlord, Nothing gets built in this town unless he approves it.


----------



## odurandina

re; 40 Trinity Pl


DZH22 said:


> .....#1 problem with allowing glass towers right next to the JHT. One has glass from the 1970's, the other glass from the 2020's. We are basically making our best tower look worse in comparison.
> Not to mention, the whole purpose of JHT to begin with was for the glass to reflect the more historical city surrounding it! This never should have been allowed. The Back Bay Garage buildings will only make things worse. There's an ongoing issue where the city's overall aesthetic just isn't taken into consideration with many proposals, for instance creating a new blob plateau by North Station where everything is the same height.


i think the glass at 40 Trinity, its proximity to the JHT, and the 446' building (itself) all looks fine. Development of (this very modest) cluster of highrises near the JHT was inevitable (other than surprised it took so long). We can be quite happy about* 380 Stuart's bold design redo *(expected to be approved next Thursday btw). *
There are a total of (5) buildings ranging from 348 to 446', including 40 Trinity Pl, the Back Bay Station redo, and 380 Stuart St. Due to it's a/r when you walk up to 40 Trinity it looks a little taller than it is. Then you look over/up at the Hancock (yikes): such a contrast in scale.
In the discussion about "oh it's amazing what's been built" vs sooo many (towers) that haven't/aren't getting built -- Columbus Ctr (420' on top of I-90--to help fill the gap of the Midtown Cultural District, Parcel 15 (627' to 544' to nothing) that would have covered I-90 and stepped down Back Bay to the Fenway, 1 Bromfield (709' to ~340'), **possibly the most egregious planning failure the City's history, after the Harbor Garage (600' to zero'), 45 Worthington St (398' to zero), Hook Lobster (326' to zero), 2 Charlesgate W (370' to ~220), and a dozen other 290~340' highrises are tough blows
But Copley Tower would have filled the giant cavity between the Hancock and the pitiful Pru cluster, and balanced out Back Bay. Losing that is/was a crushing blow.
If forced to choose between Central Wharf vs Copley Tower for the 2 remaining >600' proposals that still technically exist, i think w/ all the glass/ and the facades inclu those 2 residential towers for Back Bay Station, and stack of books will help connect Back Bay to the MCD, and add needed volume to the area. But having the 625' cylindrical, sectioned Copley Tower (Lhotse) stepping up to face Everest, and fill the void would have been epic.

photos by kz1000ps, aB



390' 380 Stuart St render


----------



## Tucson2018

I'm getting a bit tired of these iconic show-off look-at-me type of buildings. Am I the only one?


----------



## aquaticko

^^Honestly, if it was anywhere besides Boston, yes, but this and Bullfinch are the only two buildings that don't essentially present as boxes from most angles.


----------



## odurandina

55 India Street is going u/c, and 1 Bromfield Street is back!!
Spoiler: It's less than 1/2 as tall as the previous design. And now a hulking mess!
It's a thing. And this is Boston!.
In my hubris, i couldn't help but putting out a few lines for the Brahmin/ nimby Globe readers:








Building an office tower in downtown Boston right now? Maybe not as crazy as it sounds. - The Boston Globe


A New York-based developer is pushing ahead with a $350 million, 22-story office tower in Downtown Crossing, albeit one that will differ from typical high-rises in a few key ways.




www.bostonglobe.com





*tosh331/18/22 - 4:34PM
This thing will be the bane of the residents at 45 Province Street in ways that have architectural/ development observers all over this City rolling in uncontrollable laughter. You see, the previous iteration from 5 years ago: the ghastly, 59 story/ 709' (1' below the FAA cap) didn't actually have widespread opposition as the Globe article suggests. This oversight is wholly acceptable since it's only a bunch of millionaires quarrelling with other millionaires about projects like this.
What the previous proposal did have:
1. a thoroughly shocked deer in the Headlights BCDC member, stating, "oh, wow, a high a/r design tower/ this is quite a bit outside our experience here in the City......." (paraphrasing). indicating it being so tall and skinny might be just a bit too much for Boston.
2. challenges to make the podium more Boston friendly, and the deliveries, sanitation scheduling, and residential parking transfers to be cleaned up (an engineering challenge)/
3. Preservation activist Greg Galer lawyer who represents someone (i'm still trying to figure out whom) in complete tirade (no seriously), index finger-shaking like a 9.6 temblor, blathering on about how this 59 story, 709 foot tower diagonally across the street from a 60 story 685' tower would end life as we know it in Boston.
(i mean, gosh (5) 200m towers in Downtown Boston instead of (4), the world would have thought we'd lost our collective minds.....
4. 45 Province St owners hitting the roof, (tower folks not living with the prospect of other tower folks spoiling their views of the Burial Grounds and Pemberton Sq turd 60's fatties).....
5. Tosh countering Galer going full yimby for the union shops and making the argument for an iconic address in Boston with it's 2nd high a/r, world class, 200m, residential skyscraper.
6. reminding those at the meeting, it doesn't violate the Shadow Law (a hunch). Adrian Smith put up a plan that did indeed conform to the Shadow Law, but did put a few Beacon Hill snobs under brief sweeping shadow in the dead of winter.
7. The massing wasn't quite right (nothing we haven't seen before): and if we're honest, the cantilevers needed to go. We build fat here in Boston. Wouldn't have set any unusual precedent, getting slightly fatter.
Nobody died. But forces behind the scenes, killed it with no reasonable explanations given. It was to have been a high a/r, iconic address,..... This wasn't grounds for killing the project.
No: don't lie: It was nimbyism/ Brahminism run amok/ pure and simple.
The approved design from the Great Recession was quite a bit taller than the current turd. But this one got MUCH FATTER than both previous proposals, and will utterly destroy the iconic views of 45 Province St residents 7 times worse than the previous, slender design tower would have.
Surely only in Boston.
Like(1)Dislike(0)*


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## odurandina

Winthrop Square ~45/54 levels photo John Costello, aB
(right click for full size)


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## odurandina

Sheraton towers, the miserable, aged out, Lenin-era monstrocity on Dalton Street, in a scenario i couldn't have dreamed up, has been sold by the Corporate Slumlords. The corporation known famously for rarely improving/renovating their properties, after siphoning money from the site successfully for decades, read the tarot cards and apparently didn't like what they were reading.
Investment firms Värde Capital and Hawkins Way Capital closed this week on a $233 million deal to buy the 1,220 room key site.

In a perfect world: i hope to see from the new investors:
1. a huge cladding redo.
2. possible switch/ to lease as dorm space for Northeastern/ Wentworth U/ general use? as it would free up more housing in Back Bay, Fenway, Mission Hill, etc.....
3. The North tower gets a diet: 2~3 rows of rooms come off the East side of the morbid tower
4. to make space for a new 640~760 foot condo tower aptly called the "East Wing"
5. rebranding of the site to be a 2nd St Regis, Four Seasons or like such?
well a Yimby can yimby??


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## odurandina

*re; Cambridge Twin Towers: *
Well, sort of: If things go as planned, there'll be an [infusion] with 2 highrises not many blocks apart in Kendall Square similar in height and scale to the residential towers abutting TD Garden.
shown at top: *135 Broadway*, proposed for 36 + 1 stories of residential + club floor rising *~456' *to the rooftop.... shown at the bottom (the unveiling is expected soon): is an early rendering for its nearby twin/ the *Volpe Square *residential tower being built by MIT expected to go *~475' *to the top. By such time, MIT will have other tall buildings going up at the Volpe site, and several more academic buildings including a large new [fat] thing at the ~330' East Gate tower site (now undergoing demo). *sad to see that one go. Apparently it had aged out--and it was not possible to make corrective repairs to the life safety and service/electrical/plumbing systems of the 30 story grad student tower.

135 Broadway

It's way more glittery and blue than the above render is indicating. Make note:
the curtain wall appears as if they robbed the supplier for Winthrop Square! 



https://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/Files/CDD/ZoningDevel/SpecialPermits/sp315/Amend2/sp315_amend2response_20211108.pdf




*The discrepancy is due to the basement level as 0' and ground level as 22'.
It's about 456' to the roof.






Early render for the Volpe residential tower, part of MIT's 10 acre/.gov joint venture.



*Short List of current and 'approved' shows the end of Boston's tower Gold Rush coming soon. The key element here being speed. Boston's review/ zoning appeals process is glacially slow. While Cambridge, just approves and calls for the shovels. 

But: for the few approved projects >260' remaining (black ink), it will be years before many go u/c. Add to that the illegally cancelled Harbor Garage and Hook hotel project/s, and anything that could be proposed >400, 500 or 600' (is effectively nil). 

It becomes easy to see; at some point after South Station tower tops out, the tallest towers rising in the Metro going forward will be in Cambridge, w/ labs pushing as high as 380' and residential getting up there and beyond. Despite that modest height, we won't see that height being done for labs/ offices or residential in Boston for the foreseeable future + a great many years. 

That said, Boston will continue increasing density with dozens of 180~220' (not listed below) labs. medical buildings, commercial/university ventures, intra-institutional dorms, residential infill-- and hopefully more major capital transit projects, TOD, and dedicated/streamlined bus routes to follow.

There's a bit of imbalance of low-rise vs highrise that lends to highrise projects being slower to start up, or nixed (inclu legendary disappointment/s)---which is why the State should have been digging the big air right's projects heretofore to ensure they were completed, and why they should plan for it now. There has been talk of doing just that. The first owner they should talk to is Simon at Copley Place. 

The Longwood Medical Area is another neighborhood getting tall and big. It will make quite an impression to visitors after new construction finishes up. (If) the gigantic Simmons University lab corridor goes in (oh my God): the Metro will have a whole other core extending from Brookline Village/ Longwood/ Mission Hill/ and the Fenway effectively filled in. 


Left off the list below: about (90) 180~360' lab and apartment bldgs in development or u/c, and dozens of other large projects, labs etc 150~600' topping, finishing out, etc 
Just in the past couple of weeks: 5 new lab towers pushing between 300 and 400' are readying unveiling in Kendall Square. Just nuts. *


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## odurandina

click for full image

Winthrop Square had about ~85 feet to go when this was taken last week.


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## odurandina

To bring a bit of cheer on this tragic day: courtesy of David Z's recent shots from the hills above Quincy..... Additions only months from fruition/ rendered for your viewing pleasure: South Station Tower, 115 Federal St and The Huntington (on Mass Ave). These renders are of course, ballz accurate. click for the large images.


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## odurandina

Photos Beeline aB.....


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## A Chicagoan

Several of Boston's newest skyscrapers can be seen in this photo:

Boston at night by Isaac S, on Flickr


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## A Chicagoan

The actual tower of the South Station air rights project is finally getting underway:











__ https://www.facebook.com/SFConcrete/posts/10158610465461517


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## odurandina

^^Yup: South Station is about to roar.
The 400' "Lyra" on Huntington Ave is set to break ground.
The fun isn't over yet.

Speaking of fun, David Z took some great photos from Chelsea the other day. But had to move a few feet to get in the full view (requiring 2 shots). Merging the foreground and clouds was a p.i.t.a. i deleted the crane at 1 Congress. Otherwise, the composite is 99.999% good.

open in Flickr for 6954X2852 image.

Downtown and the West End from Chelsea


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## odurandina

Over the past couple days, work on the 8 super-columns of SST began
w/ the craziest rebar work we've seen outside of Hudson Yards.
It will be slow going for a while getting them up to the level where
they meet the tower's superstructure. 
In any case, *South Station Tower is out of the ground. *

The 8 legs of the tower will be something akin to the 4 legs
that support the 915' Citicorp Tower in NYC.
For the millions of people who pass thru South Station, it will be quite something to see.


A write up about the complex foundation work below the 8 super columns/ 360° arches
that will support the 51 story tower was offered by Treviicos:








Treviicos constructs LBEs for Boston’s South Station Tower project | Ground Engineering (GE)


The South Station Tower is a 51-storey mixed use skyscraper under construction atop Boston’s historic South Station complex as part of the South Station




www.geplus.co.uk














YOU ARE HERE:NEWS
*Treviicos constructs LBEs for Boston’s South Station Tower project*
31 MAY, 2022 BY AILBHE GOODBODY

Trevi Group’s North American subsidiary Treviicos has revealed that it was involved in the South Station Tower project in Boston, Massachusetts, US between September 2021 and February 2022.

The South Station Tower is a 51-storey mixed use skyscraper under construction atop Boston’s historic South Station complex as part of the South Station Air Rights project, which includes other upgrades and improvements of the historic South Station Transportation Center.

Construction on Phase 1 of the project began in January 2020 and is expected to last four years.
New foundation elements were required for the 51-storey tower, and load bearing elements (LBEs) were selected as the most appropriate foundation system based on load support, constructability considerations and economics.

The new tower will be supported on eight super columns, which will in turn be supported by a continuous array of LBEs that are 3ft (0.91m) thick and extend over 120ft (36.58m) deep into bedrock. Treviicos’ scope of work included construction of 46 LBEs, which will serve as the main foundation for the tower.

Treviicos said that it was a challenging plan due to very tight site working conditions between the historic South Station headhouse and the active passenger platforms for Amtrak and MBTA commuter rail lines. The LBEs were installed through an operational personnel service tunnel.

The company has previously constructed LBEs for the 400 Summer Street project, also in Boston. In early 2021, it undertook foundation work for the North Washington Street Bridge Replacement project.

Treviicos stated that subsurface conditions at the South Station Tower project site consisted of fill, organic deposits, marine deposits, glacial deposits (glacial till, glaciomarine, glaciofluvial) and bedrock. The bedrock was classified as Cambridge Argillite with average and maximum compressive strengths of 4,034 psi (27,813kN/m2) and 5,485 psi (37,818kN/m2) respectively.

The LBEs were constructed with combination of a mechanical clamshell grab and a Soilmec Hydromill SC-135 cutter. The clamshell grab was typically used to excavate the overburden soils down to the top of the bedrock, while the Hydromill cutter was used to excavate the bedrock down to the designed LBE tip elevation.
contd


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## odurandina

Towering risks: As development rises above the Mass. Pike and MBTA stations, the complexity of such mega-projects is in focus - The Boston Globe


Several of the largest projects in Boston are underway atop highways and transportation hubs, highlighting the cost and complexity of such huge developments.




www.bostonglobe.com





David Simon had had enough. 

It was fall 2016, and the CEO of Simon Property Group — the largest owner of shopping malls in the US — had spent nearly a decade trying to build a skyscraper at Copley Place. Developing a 52-story tower in Boston’s Back Bay is complex under the best of circumstances, and this one was made far more complicated by its proposed location: On a deck above the Massachusetts Turnpike, with tens of thousands of cars a day whizzing underneath. The safety and engineering review was endless. Eventually, Simon pulled the plug.

“We are excellent project managers and had obtained 14 out of the 15 required approvals needed to proceed with the tower and expected to get the last one,” Simon told analysts on a conference call a few weeks later. “Unfortunately, the goalpost kept moving.”

It was the latest in a long string of failed plans to build so-called “air rights” projects above the Pike. And Simon’s words served as a wake-up call to Governor Charlie Baker’s administration, said Scott Bosworth, undersecretary and chief strategy officer at MassDOT.

“Simon had some very critical points they made, and our answer to the governor was: They’re right. We’re not a great partner on these things,” Bosworth said. “That changed everything. It changed our focus and our drive to get this done.”

MassDOT has since streamlined the intensive review process and devoted more attention to pushing these projects — which sit atop some of the most valuable pieces of undeveloped “land” left in Boston — across the finish line. Today some of the largest projects underway in Boston are towers rising over the Pike along Massachusetts Avenue and near Fenway Park, as well as over a submerged portion in the Seaport. At South Station, a long-planned skyscraper is finally underway over the railhead where thousands board commuter rail trains daily. More are in the works.

The failed Simon project at Copley Place was one wake-up call. But last month the Baker administration got a wake-up call of a different kind, when inspectors found a severely deteriorated support beam for a different, and far older, type of air rights project: the Government Center Garage. 
contd


to the City and State: 
stop bitching and do your jobs


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## A Chicagoan

State Street HQ by Boston02124


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## A Chicagoan

Winthrop Center (211 m)

IMG_2483 by David Z, on Flickr

South Station Tower (205 m)








By Dr. Rosen Rosen









By bigpicture7

Raffles Boston (122 m)

IMG_8666 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr

Parcel 12 (99 m)

IMG_0263 by Phil, on Flickr


DJI_0702-HDR by Phil, on Flickr

Boston University Data Sciences Center (93 m)

IMG_8527 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr


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## A Chicagoan

Winthrop Center and One Post Office Square (renovation) on right side of this photo:

Boston Skyline from Lopresti Park by sdave_1998, on Flickr

Four horsemen of the North Station area skyline: The Hub on Causeway office + residential, Avalon North Station, and The Alcott

220408114502 by Jesse James, on Flickr


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## odurandina

photo David Z


photo William Verguet


photo Chris Rycroft


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## odurandina

btw, DZ alerted me; the blogosphere is posting the North End Flat Earther's are fuming over a proposal for a >700' mixed use pencil tower on the Triangle parcel directly across from the Old Stop & Shop bakery re; the far east corner of the West End here.
West End · Boston, MA

story;


700-Foot Development Raises Eyebrows – North End Regional Review



A tower topping 700' for the corner at Causeway & Washington would give a strong boost to Mayor Wu's housing funding, so naturally she'd be all for it,

haha (Faye Dunaway voice)


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## odurandina

feeble rant: Boston housing crisis near big transit:
moribund, broken nimby process, downward spiral (you trying to find housing), dark ages, etc
This: *Old Colony housing project*, South Boston








20220809 Mary Ellen McCormack Redevelopment BCDC Presentation.pdf | Powered by Box







bpda.app.box.com




The City where it takes 7 years to break ground on 12 floors (7 years on this--and *still *no shovels)........
except *height is no where to be found *here:
another to be built _squat, _while endless tens of 1,000s are forced to flee the City....

Cue Wu's stoogieees up on UHub, aB, etc offer, 'oh look how great, and pretty it is..........'
Globe posters: "developers are ruining Boston......"
[discussion below the article (Globe subscribers), *in case you happen to need to vomit (anyway)]








Boston mayors have had an open-door policy with real estate developers. Not Michelle Wu. - The Boston Globe


Since her election in November, developers have been clamoring to set up one-on-one meetings with Mayor Michelle Wu about big projects that would create thousands of jobs and add millions in tax revenue, but many have been redirected to meet with other members of her administration.




www.bostonglobe.com





actually: we're seeing quite a turn from the Walsh years w/ urban malpractice (re; nimby)
by design from Quincy to Somerville, Brookline to the Seaport
and, maybe they can increase height by two floors every 60 years in the Neighborhoods, and like,
by 2150 they should be up to 8, maybe 10 floors *as of right* in Roxbury, JP, Mission Hill, Dorchester, Southie,
South End, Eastie, Charlestown, Allston, Brighton, etc.........
Hell, maybe Bay Village and Chinatown see a few highrises by then.


***The Toronto project (shown ) looks _really_ nice. Would have been apropos at 7 or 8 large sites in Southie recently lost to _squat _planning.....
**Boston housing developments vs good urban practice/TOD, etc: just above pig vomit.


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## odurandina

The Fenway Rising
Foreground: Boston Univ Data Sciences bldg, ~300'
Background: 401 Park Drive/ Landmark Ctr lab - 252'
The Pierce resident tower - 378'
I held my nose during planning. Well, for lucky sky riders jetting out of Logan--the onset of night offers a thoughtful kaleidoscope of colors off the "stack of books" academic bldg, as it processes lights from Cambridge + reflections off the Charles and sends them back out toward the north sky......


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## odurandina

From above the Charles over by Harvard Univ


proceeding closer to Back Bay.......


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## A Chicagoan

93 m BU Data Sciences Center, with 99 m Parcel 12 under construction in background








Boston from the Charles River by David on 500px.com


----------



## odurandina

Winthrop Center cladding completed

photos by Bigpicture7, aB


photo dhawkins, aB





bos77/aB said:


> Well, that was fun.. Sixteen years since the city's first official announcement: design competitions, bidding wars, actual wars, terrorism, pearl clutching, pandemic, financial calamities, and here we are with the crane coming down on a glass box. Tommy Menino's dream really has inspired a bright confident future of Boston! 🙃
> 
> Somehow through all of this the FAA flight maps NEVER changed. 🏗


The [crane] has come down......
And after SST and 1 Post Office Square, nary a crane was seen downtown again.


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## odurandina

Another pair of huge fatties is coming to Boston. 

*TACTICAL PUBLIC REALM*
"We’re creating “tactical” interventions that transform the public realm through low-cost projects that are easy to put in place."

The irony is striking: by means of pedestrian architecture, the Value Engineered Hurley project provides the ultimate anti-public realm/ anti-pedestrian anti-human scale contradiction.









Baker administration picks developer to give the Hurley government building a makeover - The Boston Globe


Leggat McCall Properties will oversee the massive renovation project off Cambridge Street.




www.bostonglobe.com





RFP announcement brief:
https://www.mass.gov/doc/hurley-redevelopment-partner-selected-0/download

Banker and Trade:
*Leggat McCall Wins Hurley Redev Rights*
By James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff | Aug 24,

Developer Leggat McCall Properties has been selected to redevelop the Charles F. Hurley Building in downtown Boston with a $1 billion pair of towers.
Renderings of the design included in the announcement from the state Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance shows two towers – one including 200 units of mixed-income housing and the other containing an unspecified amount of lab space – dropped on top of the 1971 Brutalist landmark.....
The 5-acre property, which takes up a city block roughly halfway between Boston’s City Hall Plaza and Mass. General Hospital, has around $225 million in differed maintenance needs, state officials say, leaving a redevelopment the only way forward.
Preservationists had vowed to block any attempt to demolish the building, designed by noted Brutalist architect Paul Rudolph, but the building’s design has also been blamed for an inefficient interior layout that is tough to reconfigure without major demolition. The renderings appear to show significant interior demolition on the site to make way for the towers and other changes.
The property is zoned for building heights up to 400 feet. The height of the two towers included in the proposal weren’t specified in the announcement, but the lab tower rises what appears to be 17 stories above the existing ground level of the Hurley building’s south side, while the multifamily tower rises 25 floors above the north side.
contd






quotes from the Macadamia Gallery architecture forum...
"Does anybody know (approximately) when public comments on this wretched incarnation/proposal will be formally invited?"

"My expectations for this project weren't too high to begin with, but I didn't think it would be THIS bad. Wow."

"Yikes. Way to consistently aim for hardly ever anything daring or interesting, Boston. Here's to embracing not-even-as-good-as-mediocrity."

"As I’ve said before, call in the bulldozers, level that existing concrete monstrosity, and use that blank, level canvas to build something that Boston can be proud of!"

"I can't think of a scenario that's much worse than this one. They technically keep the existing Hurley Building, but they just haphazardly slap some generic new boxes on top. They butchered the thing and they still did next to nothing to address the most problematic aspects of the Hurley Building - the absolutely anti-human scale of both the building and the site. If preservation and thoughtful modernization and renovation are not options, they need to just level it and start from scratch. Break up the block to create new pedestrian corridors, build a human scale street wall with retail along Staniford and Cambridge, and utilize some of the dead plaza space to build upward, creating a stepped increase in height as you move away from Beacon Hill. .....this proposal sucks....."

"You know things are bad when the buildings look ugly and the plaza looks unpleasant in the first rendering. .....Talk about setting expectations low..."


The nimby's and Beacon Hill Black Hand is rejoicing after height, and iconic, inspired architecture was successfully thwarted again.... The blighted Hurley Bldg redevelopment has rendered the latest, expected, lackluster garbage;
The macadamia gallery up on aB is livid, w/ a litany of furor and pitchforks....
The Boston Civic Design Commission is afraid of it's own shadows pun intended,
But, this takes the cake: and epitomizes the endless garbage we're getting.
But for the crime this is: *attempting to preserve this wretched building *
because a few purists say they ought to--is deserving of special status:
people should lose their jobs and be subjected to public embarrassment.


----------



## odurandina

* Project Summary Sheet (active/new projects)

*(constr = under construction), approved/ or u/c over 200 feet, topped, etc
black ink denotes not yet u/c, year denotes soon to be or completed.....

0. 125 North Washington/ West End 54 stories 705' (proposed)*

1. 115 Winthrop Sq Downtown 52 Stories *691' *(2023).

2. South Station Tower; 51 stories *677'* (vertical constr ongoing)

3. MIT/Volpe residential tower 38 stories *475'* (construction in ~2023)

4. 135 Broadway residences/Kendall Sq/Cambridge 37 Stories *456'* (site prep)

5. 40 Trinity Place/Back Bay 33 stories *446'* (2023)

6. 380 Stuart Street/ Back Bay 625k sq ft 26 stories *417' *(tip)
(site demo expected to begin)

7. Back Bay Station tower #1 (residences) 34 stories *413' *(approved Nov 16, 2017)
(work recently completed to shore up the rail lines row under BBS)

8. Back Bay Station tower #2 (offices) 24 stories *408*' (site prep has begun)

9. The Huntington/Fenway 376 units 34 stories *400'* (approved Dec 14, 2017) 

10. Hurley Bldg site residential tower 200 units 25 stories *~365'* (state approvals)

11. Hurley Bldg lab tower addition 17 stories *~340*' (state approvals)

12. Govt Center #3 residential/Downtown 27 stories ~*355'* (garage demo ongoing)

13. Car Gurus offices/Back Bay 20 stories* 352'* (topped/cladding)
w/ condominiums & hotel (bldg 2) 182' (also topped out)

14. South Station #2 (mixed use) 28 stories *349'* (podium constr)

15. 290 Tremont St/Chinatown 171 units 30 stories *348' *(approved Feb 13, 2020)

16. Back Bay Station tower #3 26 stories *~348'* (approved Nov 16, 2017)

17. Fenway Ctr Air Rights office (bldg 3) *337*' (constr)
w/ offices (bldg 4) 197' (constr)

18. Longwood Pl. Building 1/Longwood 20 stories 333' (in development)

19. NU Dorm/ 840 Columbus Ave/ Roxbury 800 beds 25 stories 336' (in development)

20. 540 Albany Street/ Flower Exchange main tower 321' (approved/on hold)

21. 74 Middlesex Ave (labs)/Assembly Sq/ Somerville 15 stories 321' (constr)

22. One Kenmore Hotel/ Kenmore Square 29 stories 315' (approved Dec 12, 2019)

23. Mass General Medical Bldg phase 1 20 stories 311' (constr)

24. Motor Mart Garage development 26 stories 310' (approved Oct 17, 2019)

25. 290 Binney/ MXD labs 20 stories 307' (approved on April 19, 2022)

26. 700 Comm Ave/BU Data Sciences/ Fenway 21 stories 304 (2023) 

27. 585 Third Street/ Takada lab tower 600,000 sq ft 17 stories 303' (constr)

28. 250 Binney/ MXD labs 20 stories 300' (approved on April 19, 2022)

29. "Zero Greenway"/ Parcel 25 218 units 21 stories 300' (in development)
*w/ a 309,000 sq ft lab podium

30. US2 "USQ tower" residences/ Union Square/Somerville 25 stories 300' (2023)

31. 1240 Soldiers Field Rd condo tower 22 stories/ 300' (in development) .

32. Mass General medical bldg #2 18 stories 285' (early site prep)

33. 401 Landmark Ctr lab bldg phase 3 15 stories 285' (constr)

34. Middlesex Court mixed use/Cambridge 430K sq ft 20 stories 284'/after redo (cladding)
tower reclad to brick/glass incl offices/ incl 48 affordable residential units 

35. Wentworth I.T. Life Sciences/Dorm complex 640,000 sq ft 24 stories 280' (board approved)

36. Andrew Sq/South Boston Main Tower D 21 Stories, 278' (constr)
+ (2) 218/190' bldgs/ ~700 units/792,400 sq ft (in prep)

37. 45 Morrissey Blvd "Southline"/ South Boston Ph3 228 units 22 stories 277'

38. 53 Morrissey Blvd "Southline"/ South Boston Ph1 188 units 18 stories 250'
w/ 4 lab buildings + 10 story 169 unit mid-rise/ total: 1.6M sq ft.

39. Sky Everett/ Harbor/ Everett 366 units 21 stories ~275' (constr soon)

40. Longwood Pl/ Longwood/ Building 5 18 stories 270' (in development)

41. 350 Summer St/Parcel N 422,000 sq ft 267' (constr)

42. 400 Summer S/Parcel P 626,000 sq ft 263' (constr)

43. 150 Seaport Sq/St Regis Residences 22 stories 266' (2022)

44. 88 Seaport 425,000 sq ft 18 stories 265' (constr)

45. "10 World Trade" Seaport 518,500 sq ft 18 stories 264' (constr)
"Perimeter of the mechanical floors will be an indoor track...."

46. 333 Dorchester Ave West parcel lab tower/ 16 stories South Boston 260' (constr/ total 4 bldgs 2M sq ft). 

47. Allston Yards tower C residences 22 stories 260' 

48. Eli Lilly IGM/ 15 Necco Street/ Ft Point/ Southie 13 stories 255' (constr)

49. 401 Park Drive/Landmark Offices 16 stories 250' (2023)

50. Allston Yards bldg B labs 18 stories 250' (constr)

51. Allston Yards bldg D 18 stories 250' (constr)

52. The Sofia/ 380 2nd St/ Everett 624 units 21 stories 250' (constr)

53. 99 South Street lab/ Somerville 12 stories 248' (constr)

54. 409 Huntington Ave/ Fenway 19 stories 243' (in development)

55. Arsenal Yards bldg G/ 130 units 18 stories 242'
total:1.1M sq ft incl resident tower, lab space, Residence Inn/Marriott & retail

56. Longwood Pl./Longwood/Building 3 16 stories 239' (in development)

57. Academic Laboratory tower at East Gate site/ Cambridge 16 stories 235' (Demo of East Gate)

58. 41 LaGrange St Residences/ Chinatown 126 units 19 stories 232' (site prep has begun)

59. 150 Kneeland St/Leather District 115 units 22 stories 231' (starting soon)

60. L Street Station/776 Summer St/adaptive South Boston 17 stories 228'
Total: 1.68M sq ft: 860,000 sq ft of labs, 635 units w/240 hotel & retail

61. 119 Braintree St/ Allston 401,000 sq ft office + 97 units 12 stories 215' feet

62. 76 Ashford St/ Allston 254 units 15 stories 215' (in development)

63. 100-112 Western Ave/ Allston lab building 207' 

64. 100-112 Western Ave/ Allston 900K sq ft 17 stories 205' 

65. 104 Canal St boutique hotel 15 stories 192' (construction to begin)

66. 80 Smith St./ Mission Hill 13 stories 170' (construction to begin)

67. *Dorchester Bay City*
* 
Bayside Site/180 Mount Vernon Street*

1,657 residential units
2,449,020 sf office/research space
130,500 sf retail/restaurant space
12 development blocks
*2 Morrissey Site *

313 residential units
1,865,700 sf office/research space
34,500 sf retail/restaurant space
7 development blocks

***moved & updated from previous page


----------



## Tiberiumm

odurandina said:


> Another pair of huge fatties is coming to Boston.


Is there any chance that this is not going to be built? As far as I'm concerned, there is literally nobody who would admire this project in the slightest.
I've read an article saying that the construction process should not begin before 2025 and people on the archboston forum have mentioned that it has not yet passed the public talks.


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## odurandina

^^unfortunately, it's quite far along in the process:
my guess: is we'll likely end up with this, more or less. 
.....or if it receives inordinate backlash: (then, nothing), because
1. There were not enough takers:
the winning bidder can exert leverage in lieu of what $$$ can be done vs height constraint/s.
The height constraints of 400' over a large area near Pemberton Square stems from the desire not to cast shadows over the historic Beacon Hill neighborhood. That's not going away.
2. the footprint of the (2) proposed buildings amounts to how much of the structure they're willing to demo.
Tom O' Brien, the developer of the One Congress/ 50 Sudbury towers told me back in 2016:
"The cost to demo the building/s is prohibitive."
i heard >$70M. The site under development isn't the whole smash, but enough for 3 towers, in an ordinary scenario. But it's VE'd to be huge turds.

i'm quite curious how that complex/ partial demo would even go.
The construction area looks to be at a safe enough distance from the MBTA structure,
But, it looks like a nightmare.  .


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## ThatOneGuy

There should be a single tower twice as tall, with a ribbed concrete facade in line with Rudolph's original plans. It would preserve more of the existing building as well.


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## odurandina

The office tower musical chairs has accelerated in recent months; State Street's big move from One Lincoln Street in the Financial District to One Congress Street in the West End left a signage vacancy..... Fortuitous: a fast growing equity firm, *Harbour-Vest *is planning the latest big move; relocating from the 599' One Financial Ctr to the 503' One Lincoln, and seamlessly putting it's name right where everyone will see and take note (that was fast)

Boston's giant laboratory megaplexes (typically of late), are keeping to the part urban/ part _'Irvine'_ office park look re; Seaport, Northpoint & Somerville laboratory megaplexes. We can expect much of the same when the area near the planned *West Street Station *(Harvard's Allston campus) gets going.
Enormous lab communities are underway for the Allston-Brighton I-90 corridor, Huntington Avenue, and over I-90 in the Fenway. The vast network of buildings that comprise the Longwood medical area will soon connect seamlessly to the Fenway (in progress) and Back Bay skyline/s.
the Longwood Medical Area. 

Add the infilling, ongoing in Allston/Brighton the Fenway, Mission Hill, JP and Roxbury: it's rapidly transforming to a significant, continuous urban zone.
*Back Bay Station* may be ramping up soon.
Boston Properties received approvals for the *"acquisition & subsequent conveyance of air rights parcels on Stuart Street & Trinity Place necessary for the Back Bay South End Gateway Project" for (3) towers; inclu/ a 413' residential tower, a 408' office tower, and 348' residential highrise. *(source: Buildup).

Add this on the other side of the City....

^^*(Five) big/huge developments* (not fully rendered above) for the DotAve/South Bay/South Seaport corridor of South Boston will change the landscape off the I-93 freeway & MBTA rail yards w/ roughly a 'score' of mid-rises.
Two huge projects, the *L-Street Station and Andrews Square* sites, launched in the past year, (see #52, #30 at the top of the page).... additionally, National Development will soon build (4) more lab and residential buildings, totalling *1.2M sq ft* (#40 above) on 6 acres of defunct industrial land adjacent to the recent, Iron Works site redo.
But, *two *quite massive proposals totaling *>8M sq ft *are currently, under review.
One of which is called, *Dorchester Bay City* [2 Morrissey Blvd and 180 Mount Vernon Street]: a 35 acre site/ proposed for* 6.5M sq ft*, that will become commercial office/research space, residential housing, restaurant & retail space, with 6-acres of parks and plazas to join onto a 21 acre public realm and open space plan--
Then, a property at 35-75 Morrissey Blvd. alongside of the former Boston Globe headquarters, recently renamed as* Southline Boston,* is planning 4 big lab buildings and 3 residential highrises/ mid-rise of 22, 18, and 10 stories, totaling ~*1.6M sq ft. *
It will be interesting to see how long, in months/ years it takes for 'X' number of residential buildings to be approved, go up etc. They _all_ should have gone 20~27 stories right to their ~310' FAA limit/s . But, a few quite bad, nimby extremists usually see the projects cut by as much as 40%.

There are huge labs u/c adjacent to the *Gillette complex *off Ft Point Channel, and* 1.6M sq ft/*4 bldg/s approved at the *Flower Exchange* site in the South End,








Massive South End project wins key approval - The Boston Globe


The Boston Planning & Development Agency board approved Exchange South End, a four-building, 1.6-million-square-foot complex.




www.bostonglobe.com




except, it's been in a holding pattern for a while.

Finally, there's *"Zero Greenway"*/ a.k.a. Parcel 25 for 21 story/300' w/ 218 units set atop a 309,000 sq ft lab podium/ proposed within the Leather District blocks of Chinatown known as the "D.O.T. parcels...."
Five development teams bid on the project.

Add 1-score lab and residential going up in Cambridge, Somerville & Everett,
Overall, quite a lot happening in the Boston zone.


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## A Chicagoan

South Station Tower (205 m)













Facebook







www.facebook.com


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## odurandina

From David Z's latest visit to Mission Hill, a neighborhood wedged between Brookline, Roxbury & The Fenway where he captured a few images of the Boston skyline around sunset on a recent fall afternoon. He's too busy finding new angles to shoot, so posted on his behalf with the odd crane/s removed, and (2) in 16X9 a/r. 
view responsibly


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## A Chicagoan

South Station Tower (205 m)
























S&F Concrete Contractors


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## DZH22

A Chicagoan said:


> South Station Tower (205 m)


677' = 206.4 m


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## A Chicagoan

Good progress on Parcel 12 (99 m office + 56 m hotel)

Some photos from the past month


















By @DZH22

IMG_0790 by David Z, on Flickr

















Parcel 12 - McNamara • Salvia


© Elkus Manfredi Architects © Elkus Manfredi Architects © Elkus Manfredi Architects © Elkus Manfredi Architects © Elkus Manfredi Architects Market Sectors Owner/Developer Architect Related Projects Mixed-Use office Hospitality air rights/overbuild retail




www.mcsal.com


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## odurandina

an aerial drone clip taken sometime last winter
w/ some interesting angles..........


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## MarciuSky2

*Work begins on SGA’s ultramodern Boston life sciences building.


















Work begins on SGA’s ultramodern Boston life sciences building - Global Construction Review


Work has begun on a $500m life sciences building in Boston designed by US multidisciplinary consultant SGA.




www.globalconstructionreview.com




*


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## MarciuSky2

*KPMB’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences for BU, now open, changes Boston’s skyline*
































































KPMB’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences changes Boston’s skyline


KPMB has designed the Center for Computing & Data Sciences for Boston University, a noticeable addition to Boston's skyline.




www.archpaper.com


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## odurandina

> I _really _hope that traditional EMU's make their way to the MBTA instead of the BEMU's they want to use.
> But I digress...


"And our price to replace that battery is:
* One BILLION Dollars."*


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## aquaticko

The MBTA’s incompetent leadership is only leading well in being one of the major causes of all of New England’s slow protracted decline into irrelevance. NIMBYism is doing most of the rest of the work for them.


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## odurandina

re; Fenway Center reconnecting neighborhoods (severed) eons ago by the building of the Boston and Albany line, and for many decades dominated a large section of Back Bay



FK4 said:


> The byline of this article is,
> *'The Fenway District is the foundation of a new life sciences hub in the City of Boston and will reconnect Kenmore Square with Longwood Medical and Academic Area.'*
> It's interesting and sort of sad that there is this mentality and assumption that every single thing that exists anywhere in any city that's not the epitome of enlightened urbanism is a product of some unenlightened (auto-centric) decision made in the recent past that undid some idealized earlier paradise. People forget that the idealized past (pre-car) had plenty of shittiness to go around. Urban poverty, wealth inequality, seriously dangerous industries with awful pollutants right in the middle of city's (like on the Roxbury Canal)... and some areas that were just undeveloped wastelands. The area between LMA and Kenmore was such a wasteland: first it was a swamp, then it was filled in, and it never was developed into anything other than some piecemeal buildings of light industry in the first half of the 20th century (when of course there was also no such thing as the LMA, the LMA being mostly a mix of residences in Roxbury and undeveloped parcels speckled with institutional buildings). Therefore, nothing is being "reconnected" here; rather, the two areas are being _connected_ for the very first time. I know many people read stuff like this and feel it's a ridiculous diatribe making a mountain out of molehill, but little things like this byline reveal the deeper workings of collective psychology and embedded assumptions. They are clues to how people think of the past and the present. And in contemporary urbanism circles (which are pretty much reflective of contemporary liberal circles' ways of thinking more generally), there is a collective romanticization of the past prior to the 1900s, and a an antipathy to the recent past circa 1920s-1970s. While it is true that the era of the car destroyed much that was good, the urbanism of the past also had many problems. We shouldn't be so quick to simply assume that every great project that knits two areas together is "re-knitting" as opposed to knitting for the very first time.



i (finally/ strongly) agree with something this rude/ pompous ass dropped on the interwebs.


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## aquaticko

I've been out of the Boston urbanization loop long enough to not get it, so my initial reaction to " We shouldn't be so quick to simply assume that every great project that knits two areas together is "re-knitting" as opposed to knitting for the very first time." is...so what? This feels like a response _against _a celebration of a good thing: a new area has been intra-connected for the first time. This is good, right? Regardless of an area's past, urbanism's conclusion is that connectedness, at every level, is inherently a good thing. Why rail against people who misconceive of a new connection as a repair of an old one when the ultimate point is that connection, ceteris paribus, is good?


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## odurandina

FK4's post is quite accurate.
The Fenway Center air rights project is connecting opposite sides along a few hundred feet of the I-90 fwy, we're actually applauding a 'knitting' vs a 're-knitting' within the Fenway neighborhood.
Is he a bit finicky, pointing out revisionist hypocrisy & naïveté burrowing alongside urban progress in the our woke-ish development era?
Why not? Boston was no paradise throughout:
much of it was a sooty, industrial mess 100 yrs ago--with crumbling, decaying neighborhoods, splintered by scores of rail lines, train yards, and its air soaked in coal dust. Hardly anyone remembers the 21 souls who perished in the Great Molasses flood--but may remember a predominance of charcoal stained brick buildings along Atlantic Avenue, the Leather District, South End, Back Bay & Roxbury before acid baths washed the ancient stains away. 
The area was transmuted from marshlands to lands consisting of tenements and train tracks to support the building up of the periphery of the Shawmut Peninsula in the Industrial Age, and what is (today) Back Bay, the Fenway, etc from the late 1850s to the mid 1880s.
The I-90 freeway replaced most of those rail yards that had since outlived their usefulness. The passenger & freight corridor is the old Boston & Albany line, later having the "BC1-2-3" NY Central/Penn Central piggyback/ intermodal freight to Chicago, and Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited, & the MBTA Commuter trains in the latter day.
The Boston-Chicago intermodal trains are (now) built at the CSX intermodal base in Worcester. The old intermodal yards will be enveloped by Harvard's expanding universe at their Allston campus.


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