By Erik Lund
The Dock Square project, as proposed, is much too massive in contrast with the scale of the Quincy market area and will damage one of Boston’s greatest institutions and attractions. It should not be granted the numerous permits and variances it has requested, and the vote after BPDA’s Tuesday meeting should be a unanimous “NO!” — which would reflect the views of both the North End / Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) (see its opposition letter) and of the Boston Civic Design Committee (BCDC), whose task it is to review proposed developments from the perspective of both design and the public interest.
The BCDC voted unanimously against approval of the Dock Square Garage addition project at its last monthly meeting. Despite that, BPDA development is still supporting the project and is bringing it to another vote at Tuesday’s meeting. The Greenway guidelines suggest a structure of no more than 120-125’ in height (a finding which not even all the Commissioners agree with) and the project which began at 165’ is creeping downward to 139’ as of this week. The Boston Preservation Alliance has written a well thought through memo on record in opposition.
Virtually all the stakeholders in this project, other than the developer, oppose it. So should the BPDA.
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