With no news regarding the impasse over the Harbor Garage development, the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Planning Advisory Committee moved to potential area-wide approaches for open space provisions, height and shadow restrictions and impact offsets at its December 16, 2016 meeting, hosted by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Tom Skinner, partner at Durand & Anastas Environmental Strategies, Read More…
City officials and the Chiofaro Company have been unable to agree on the “feasibility” of certain development parameters at the Harbor Garage site, adjacent to the New England Aquarium. Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) Director, Brian Golden, responded today to concerns by members of the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Planning Advisory Committee regarding the lack of progress, Read More…
Concerns regarding a stalled planning process for the Downtown Waterfront are being expressed by several members of the Municipal Harbor Planning Advisory Committee. The planning process will set the guidelines for major development sites, including Harbor Garage and Hook Lobster site. In addition to asking why 14 meetings were cancelled this year, the committee members Read More…
The Friends of Christopher Columbus Park Board of Directors sent a letter this week to the Boston Redevelopment Authority highlighting its concerns with the ongoing Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Plan. Complying with Chapter 91 fulfills the spirit of the law: the waterfront first and foremost belongs to the public at large and the interest of the public Read More…
As reported earlier in the month, the Boston Redevelopment Authority released its recommended guidelines for three key Downtown Waterfront sites including the Harbor Garage, Hook Lobster and Long Wharf. The BRA proposes a maximum height for the Harbor Garage of 600′ (up from 150′ current zoning) and minimum open space of 30% (down from 50%). Read More…
After a long pause, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) resumed its meetings for the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Plan (MHP) Advisory Committee Wednesday at City Hall. The 5th floor Piemonte Room was filled to capacity as the public, mostly Harbor Tower residents, and the press came to hear about the recommendations the BRA is proposing. The three sites discussed Read More…
A new website, Preserve Boston’s Waterfront, is actively lobbying to limit development heights along the downtown waterfront and Greenway District. The initiative is seeking public participation in the Municipal Harbor Planning (MHP) process currently underway by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Eleven major projects are identified as being under development, although only the Harbor Garage (Chiofaro Company) and Hook Lobster Read More…
The Boston Redevelopment Authority has finished presenting individual projects for the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Planning initiative and begins the process of drafting the MHP in consultation with the Advisory Committee. The committee heard a presentation from Mathew Littell, Utile Inc., about the “guiding principles and guidelines for urban design and planning.” Mr. Littell pointed Read More…
At this week’s meeting, the Boston Redevelopment Authority had Bruce Carlisle, Director of Coastal Zone Management, talk about the State’s Chapter 91 licensing process under which the BRA and the Municipal Harbor Plan (MHP) Advisory Committee will prepare recommendations. The state is looking for specific requirements for substitute provisions (when relaxing some requirements) and amplifications (when applying further Read More…
The BRA, with the help of the Municipal Harbour Plan Advisory Committee, responded at a November 5th public meeting to the proposed 305 feet, 22 stories, residential tower on the site owned by James Hook & Co. on Northern Avenue. William Zielinski, the principal partner at SKW Partners Inc, had introduced the design during a previous Read More…
The Boston Redevelopment Authority and its consultants presented a revised proposal for the Marriott Long Wharf hotel at this week’s meeting of the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Planning Committee. The plan would increase the width of the Marriott Long Wharf building by about 20 feet on both the north and the south side of the building and Read More…
At a municipal harbor planning meeting this week, the Boston Redevelopment Authority presented the results of its shadow and open space study regarding the proposed twin towers of developer Don Chiofaro at the Harbor Garage site. The BRA’s study was conducted by consultant Utile Inc., concluding: …. the proposed towers – measuring 615 feet and Read More…