The Boston Planning & Development Agency held a public meeting Monday night to discuss the planned development area of the dock square building project. Most notably, a change in the plans has reduced the overall addition from ten new stories to seven new stories.
The plan is to build a seven-story, 220,000 square-foot addition on top of the current garage, and add 30,000 square feet of residential space to the lower floors. After several meetings with neighborhood groups, the developers are dropping the height of the building from their original plans. The building would now be 14 stories total (seven new stories built on top of the current seven stories). This would make the building 160 feet tall, down from the original plan of 209 feet tall.
In addition, the proponents are adding more green space around the perimeter of the building and retail space on the side facing the Greenway. Project Manager Michael Sinatra imagines small restaurants and boutiques will reside in the newly designed building.
The parking garage is still expected to remain open during construction.
Despite the changes made, residents are still concerned about the plans.
“We are losing Boston’s historical assets in favor of economic assets,” said Victor Brogna.
Others argued that a 14-story building is not meant for that area of Boston and that it will overshadow the historical treasures in the neighborhood. Some said they don’t like the design of the building, saying development in the city is too focused on heavily glass-only structures.
Clinton Street is expected to remain open during construction that is anticipated to last approximately two years, commencing in the second quarter of 2019 and concluding in the second quarter of 2021.
Some residents are worried about the future of the street performers at Faneuil Hall. Sinatra said residents in the new building would sign a lease that includes explanation of the street performers, and that they should expect noise during the day and evening hours.
Read more NorthEndWaterfront.com coverage of the dock square project by searching the tag: Dock Square Garage.
Was the reporter at the meeting? This article only quotes the naysayers.
Although it’s not my favorite project, I like the new proposal for four reasons:
1. The project adds 175+ homes in the most transit-accessible part of the city;
2. The new designs include retail on the side facing the Greenway and extends the existing restaurant space down North, thereby replacing blank walls at the ground level;
3. The new designs eliminate the proposed slip lane for cars within the plaza in front of the Hard Rock Cafe, thereby retaining space for people to gather outdoors; and
4. The construction methods will allow the conversion of parking spaces within the garage to habitable space (e.g., residences, retail, or offices) when parking demand declines.
I deeply respect the commitment Victor has to our neighborhood, but we are never going to rebuild the fine grain neighborhood that existed prior to the first waves of urban renewal that started in the 1920s.
Mostly because zoning, etc. doesn’t allow us to build the fine grain neighborhood of the past. Oh, and because of all the complainers.
I agree with you Gary that we can and should speak up to make projects better! My letter to the BPDA last April specifically mentioned points 2-4. The project proponent ultimately incorporated those three points in the latest version of their proposal.
Conversely, if left to their own devices and without any kind of local watchdog, developers would do anything they wanted in the name of a buck. Most don’t actually live here, they just reap the benefits from the development, which is fine…I get it.
But some things have been rammed through in years passed and people are wary of what developers are up to. If people want shiny new neighborhoods, the Seaport is their part of the Emerald City.
The North End was built by developers left to their own device without any kind of local watchdog.
A luxury high rise is totally inappropriate for this site. Even at the reduced height of 160 feet, this building would tower over evrerything around it, blocking site lines of the Custom House, and effectively walling off the historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace from the Blackstone Block/Haymarket District. Any development at this location should be more in line with the six-story Haymarket Hotel which is going up on the other side of North Street later this year. Don’t let the BPDA turn the Greenway into a canyon of glass condos.
Ironically, the only reason why the Marriott Vacation Club Pulse… er um… the former Custom House Tower exists is because it was a federal building so it could ignore Boston’s local height limits.
As for towering over everything, 60 State Street is much closer to Faneuil Hall, much taller than the Dock Square proposal, and has not managed to blight the neighborhood
Take a look: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.35973,-71.057144,3a,75y,118.95h,126.68t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s4571j-Jh6tzUx3znUx2Wbg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D4571j-Jh6tzUx3znUx2Wbg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D89.66232%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656
Does the project conform to the master plan for the BRA’s so-called “Market District” (Quincy Market and Blackstone Block)? Does it conform to past planning of the Central Artery Corridor? Most projects the BRA approves don’t conform to a plan. In most areas, there is no plan. How many planners does the BRA employ?
Unlike the Dock Square proposal, 60 State is an office building in the Financial District, not another luxury condo on the Greenway. Developers are not entitled zoning exemptions just so they can maximize their profits.