The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for the City of Boston voted on May 9th to approve the request by LIMAC Realty, LLC to erect a new hotel at 86-88 N. Washington Street. The ZBA approval follows a supportive vote by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) in March 2017. Property owner Thomas MacKay plans Read More…
Neighbors concerned about the size and scale of the proposed Chiofaro Co. Harbor Garage project thought they had achieved a victory when the draft Municipal Harbor plan increased the open space requirement from 30% to 50%, complying with Chapter 91. They still weren’t thrilled with a 600 foot high tower, but at least there would be Read More…
With its seemingly infinite legal budget, the Boston Redevelopment Authority filed an appeal this week of a Superior Court judgement protecting Long Wharf from development. The March 2017 ruling was the latest loss by the BRA in the “Long War of Long Wharf” versus a North End resident group (dba “North End Ten“) and the National Park Service. At Read More…
The decade-long effort to protect Long Wharf‘s open space by a group of current and former North End residents (dba, the North End Ten) received another win this week with a Superior Court judgement against the Mass. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA, now known as the Boston Planning & Development Agency). [See Mahajan et al. Read More…
LIMAC Realty LLC’s plan to build a 64-key, 14-story hotel at 88 N. Washington St. in the North End was approved last week at the Boston Planning & Development Agency board meeting. The proposed hotel project structure will be 128 feet tall, occupy 36,000 sq. feet and cost $16.5 million to develop. Community feedback resulted in a reduction Read More…
Last minute revisions were released Tuesday to the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Plan draft by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA, formerly the BRA). The BPDA Board is expected to approve the plan on February 9th so it can go to State review. The 11th hour revisions are substantial, an effort to incorporate public comments and guidance from the State, said Read More…
An overwhelming number of residents opposed the Municipal Harbor Plan, proposed by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA, formerly the BRA), at the January 2017 meeting of the North End / Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA). The plan is a set of guidelines for zoning and a vision for development and open space for Boston’s waterfront between the Read More…
As the City wraps up its recommendations for the Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Plan, we recently received a letter from the National Park Service (NPS) to the State asking about Long Wharf Park … not just the small pavilion at the end, but ALL of the activities / uses / structures around the Marriott hotel and the commercial building on Read More…
The Wharf District Council (WDC) is pushing for a significant increase of 200,000+ square feet in open space on the waterfront as part of its own Public Realm Vision plan released this week. The draft document shown below in its entirety comes in response to the public realm initiative being put forth by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA, formerly the Read More…
The September 28th meeting of the Downtown Municipal Harbor Plan Advisory Committee, hosted by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA), formerly known as the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), heard a presentation from the New England Aquarium (NEAQ). The team presented their concept for a corridor, 1000 feet long and about 80 feet wide, dubbed the Read More…