0 Northern Avenue Bridge Renovation Billed as ‘Postcard for Boston’

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Boston Seaport continues to be a destination for those who want to live, work and play in Boston’s newest neighborhood. The result of this influx has been traffic and headache. The Northern Avenue Bridge rehab won’t reduce traffic, but it will add a vibrant pedestrian connection back to the Financial District.

According to the Boston Globe, “the City of Boston has come up with this concept: an elevated, steel-truss bridge with dedicated lanes for pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars. The fixed span could be covered, and piers could be built to extend over the water. Cafes, shops, and public art could also line the bridge.”

‘It has the potential of being one of those places that serves as a postcard for Boston,’ said Rick Dimino, the president of A Better City, a Boston business group, and chair of the city’s advisory task force on the bridge.

The full Globe article is available on its website, here.

0 Boston Real Estate Continues to Battle Height Restrictions

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

The city of Boston will no doubt entertain towers that exceed the 790-feet of 200 Clarendon Street, formerly known as the John Hancock Tower.

The location of Boston’s next tallest tower will most likely fall in the Back Bay neighborhood. This is due to the restriction imposed by the FAA from the Seaport and Financial District, as well as the shadow effect on Boston Common in the Mid-Town area.

According to the Boston Globe, “many Bostonians have come to love the relatively modest scale of the city’s neighborhoods. That affection surfaces every time someone proposes a building of substantial height. Invariably, issues like shadows and wind are raised.

‘Our neighborhoods, from the North End to the Back Bay to the South End, are full of people who love living in what appears to be a 19th-century community,” said Robert Brown, managing director at architecture firm Perkins+Will. “To them, tall buildings mean more density, more parking, more shadow.’”

0 Boston Office Building Shadows Draws Consternation

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Wil Catlin

Boston residential building casts shadows

Credit: NYTimes

Should it be built or not? Will it cast a deep shadow? Is too much being made of this issue or are not enough people rallying behind the drive to maintain a view of the sky?

From the New York Times:

Boston is riding the crest of what city officials say is the biggest building boom in its history, with cranes lifting glassy towers into place and raising the city’s unassuming profile. The surge of construction is also plunging some of its most cherished sites into deepening shadow, testing state laws that have long balanced economic development with protection of sunlight and open space.

The concern is not merely about preserving a glimpse of sky in the increasingly vertical downtown or about the risks of darkness to plants, historic buildings and even humans. It is also about whether the city is going down a road of no return by trading away, one piece at a time, its intangible assets, like sunlight on its signature parks and public access to its gleaming waterfront.

0 Boston Skyline is Slated for Change

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Wil Catlin

The Boston Skyline is on track to change by 2020. It will introduce some new players to the top ten and maintain some existing ones.

Curbed just posted a map of the 10 tallest buildings it expects to stand over Boston in 2020:

Credit: Curbed

200 Clarendon
Winthrop Square Tower
Prudential Center Tower
Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences One Dalton Street
Millennium Tower
South Station Tower
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
One Boston Place
One International Place
Boston Harbor Garage tower

You can read more about the 10 buildings on Curbed, Boston.

0 600 ft. Boston Harbor Garage Tower Gets Green Light

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Wil Catlin

The city of Boston gives the “Green Light” for Chiofaro’s 600 foot Harbor Tower project.

rendering of Boston harbor garage project

Credit: BBJ

Credit: BBJ

From the Boston Business Journal:

The city-approved plan allows for a 600-foot tower at the site of the Boston Harbor Garage, a 1,380-space, 70-foot parking garage owned by Chiofaro, with 50 percent of the project site required to be open space. It also allows for a 305-foot, 22-story tower at the site of James Hook & Co. seafood restaurant on Northern Avenue, which would call for 30 percent of the lot as open space.

The plan covers 42 acres of downtown waterfront — of which about 22 acres is filled tidelands, while the remainder is the harbor — and 26 separate land parcels. The public process to develop a planning vision for the waterfront began in 2013.

0 Boston Office Tower Construction Surging

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Banker&Tradesman

They all won’t happen in this cycle, but it will be interesting to watch the Boston skyline evolve as projects come out of the ground.

From Banker & Tradesman:

Three office towers totaling 113 stories and nearly 2.5 million square feet, already bearing the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s stamp of approval, are to be built near the MBTA’s Haymarket, North and South stations.

The transit tower trend ratchets up with Boston Properties’ latest vision of a 1.3-million-square-foot development at Back Bay station, including a 26-story office tower. And the BRA is getting into the high-rise act as it seeks an “iconic” redevelopment up to 700 feet for its defunct Financial District garage at 115 Federal St.

0 322-story Office Tower Carrying ‘sails’ proposed for Seaport

Posted on January 5, 2016 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

Sails are coming to the Seaport are of Boston, if developer Jon Cronin has his way with the BRA.

From the Boston Globe:

The 250-foot-tall building, designed by architect Howard Elkus, would feature a twisting, angular design out toward the World Trade Center and Boston Harbor. It was inspired, in part, by the city’s recent push for bolder design in the booming Seaport, Cronin said, which has prompted other developers to move beyond the boxy looks that characterized many of the neighborhood’s earlier projects.

“We had already designed a striking yet cost-efficient tower until I attended Mayor [Martin] Walsh’s speech last December urging developers to build more architecturally significant buildings,” said Cronin in a statement. “We decided to meet that challenge.”

0 South Boston Marine Industrial Park Appears Marked for Development

Posted on September 24, 2015 by Wil Catlin

The view of Boston from the water is one of the most photographed in the city. The South Boston industrial area does not get the same airtime as Rowes Wharf or the skyline of the Financial District. Rest assured, changes are coming as our city continues to expand.

The Boston Globe reports on “the biggest proposed changes that could emerge in the coming months: expanding what the city considers “marine” to cram more industrial uses on the remaining undeveloped sites. The updated plan could bring buildings that are taller or have bigger footprints. It could also provide for more lab space and new restaurants to serve the park’s estimated 3,500 workers. A second parking garage could be in the works, and improvements to make it easier for boats to pull up.”

This picture was taken of the former Anthony’s Pier 4

This picture was taken at the end of the North Jetty off of Fid Kennedy Avenue

0 Three New Seaport Office Towers Gain Approval

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Boston Globe

The skyline in the Seaport continue to change with the approval of 3 more towers Boston Civic Design Commission.

According to a recent Boston Globe article, “the Boston Civic Design Commission gave its approval to the plans for three 22-story condo and apartment towers and retail along Seaport Boulevard. It’s the final city approval needed for the $700 million project, said Nick Martin, a spokesman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority…Unlike many developments in the Seaport, which have been criticized for being overly boxy, these buildings are designed with staggered heights and different shapes arrayed around an elevated podium with retail on the 3.5 acre site. It would include about 1,100 condos and apartments,- with the exact mix to be determined by market conditions – and 125,000 square feet of retail space. The buildings will be built on two blocks between Seaport Boulevard and Congress Street, between B Street and East Service Road.”

You can read the full article on the Globe’s website.

0 John Hancock II Planned for 380 Stuart Street in Back Bay

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Wil Catlin

rendering of new john hancock_tower at 380 Stuart Street

Credit: Boston Business Journal

The John Hancock tower Version 2.0 is being planned for 380 Stuart Street in Back Bay.

An article on the BBJ outlines the “six things you need to know about the tower proposal;” here are a few excerpts from the Boston Business Journal’s report:

What’s being proposed: A 625,000-square-foot, 26-story tower with street-level retail and cafe space and 175 underground parking spaces. The tower would top out at 380 feet.
Where would the tower go: 380 Stuart St., which is home to a nine-story, 140,000-square-foot office that dates back to 1924 and houses John Hancock Financial Services employees.
Who would go in: John Hancock envisions “owner-occupancy and commercial office” tenants using the space.
How would it be financed: John Hancock, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian financial services firm Manulife Financial (NYSE: MFC), would finance the building in its entirety.
Who’s leading development:Colliers International is the project manager representing John Hancock. The architects are Chicago-based Skidmore Owings Merrill and Boston-based CBT Architects.
What’s the project timeline: If approved, construction would start in late 2016, and the tower would be complete in early 2019.