BOSTON | Mayor Urges Construction of City's Tallest | NEVER BUILT

[Daquan13]

Thanks, NYguy!

Hmmm, 2011. That is when the Freedom Tower is scheduled to open for business as well.

Yeah, us Bostonians NEED a taller office tower to eclipse the 60-story JHT. I just hope that it doesn't get delayed so many time like the FT did before ground is broken for it!

[lexicon506]

It's called a summary.

Well, I posted a summary of the current situation, answering questions of who owns the design and whether or not the project is still online, and also posted a video interview with the developer to back myself up. Sorry if that doesn't meet your standards, NYguy. Maybe show some appreciation that I actually added information to this thread rather than just let it continue to lie unnoticed???

[liat91]

Thanks for all your input lexicon. I was starting to think nothing was going to happen with this project myself. Keep us informed, please..

[kznyc2k]

read the part I emboldened

Winthrop Square garage revenue will pay for BHA upgrades

Boston Business Journal - 1:44 PM EDT Friday, May 11, 2007

Mayor Thomas M. Menino will use revenue from the city-owned Winthrop Square garage to help pay for public housing facility upgrades.

Menino expects the dilapidated garage at 115 Winthrop Square which fronts on Federal Street in downtown Boston will generate $2.5 million in revenue over the next two years. The revenue will be used to repair Boston Housing Authority facilities which are in need of $500 million in capital improvements over the next five years, according to a recently released BHA report. The revenue will also fund the Boston Housing Police and create more human service programs in the communities where the facilities are located.

The garage -- which is slated to be redeveloped into Boston's tallest skyscraper-- will remain open for the next two years until it is sold to Trans National Properties. The sale of the garage property is expected to be between $70-100 million. Until the sale is completed, the city of Boston will continue to receive revenues from the garage. The Boston Redevelopment Authority issued a request for proposals for new management and a new lease agreement for the garage. The new management and lease contract is expected to by finalized by July 1.

Trans National Properties was the only developer to apply for the right to build the tallest tower in Boston. The tower, called Trans National Place after the developer Steve Belkin's company, was being designed by architect Renzo Piano until he dropped off the development team in March.

[EDDYC]

Originally Posted by kznyc2k

read the part I emboldened

Winthrop Square garage revenue will pay for BHA upgrades

Boston Business Journal - 1:44 PM EDT Friday, May 11, 2007

Mayor Thomas M. Menino will use revenue from the city-owned Winthrop Square garage to help pay for public housing facility upgrades.

Menino expects the dilapidated garage at 115 Winthrop Square which fronts on Federal Street in downtown Boston will generate $2.5 million in revenue over the next two years. The revenue will be used to repair Boston Housing Authority facilities which are in need of $500 million in capital improvements over the next five years, according to a recently released BHA report. The revenue will also fund the Boston Housing Police and create more human service programs in the communities where the facilities are located.

The garage -- which is slated to be redeveloped into Boston's tallest skyscraper-- will remain open for the next two years until it is sold to Trans National Properties. The sale of the garage property is expected to be between $70-100 million. Until the sale is completed, the city of Boston will continue to receive revenues from the garage. The Boston Redevelopment Authority issued a request for proposals for new management and a new lease agreement for the garage. The new management and lease contract is expected to by finalized by July 1.

Trans National Properties was the only developer to apply for the right to build the tallest tower in Boston. The tower, called Trans National Place after the developer Steve Belkin's company, was being designed by architect Renzo Piano until he dropped off the development team in March.

Ha Ha! Even if the city government is behind it a project takes about 10 years from inception to completion in Boston.

Do the math: Announced last year

Architect dismissed this year

Garage closes two years from now

Demolition takes six months (estimate)

Construction starts six months later

Construction takes 3-5 years (assuming they can build it
a major mishap, which is a
real possibility in Boston)

[tiger47]

Originally Posted by kznyc2k

read the part I emboldened

Winthrop Square garage revenue will pay for BHA upgrades

Boston Business Journal - 1:44 PM EDT Friday, May 11, 2007

Mayor Thomas M. Menino will use revenue from the city-owned Winthrop Square garage to help pay for public housing facility upgrades.

Menino expects the dilapidated garage at 115 Winthrop Square which fronts on Federal Street in downtown Boston will generate $2.5 million in revenue over the next two years. The revenue will be used to repair Boston Housing Authority facilities which are in need of $500 million in capital improvements over the next five years, according to a recently released BHA report. The revenue will also fund the Boston Housing Police and create more human service programs in the communities where the facilities are located.

The garage -- which is slated to be redeveloped into Boston's tallest skyscraper-- will remain open for the next two years until it is sold to Trans National Properties. The sale of the garage property is expected to be between $70-100 million. Until the sale is completed, the city of Boston will continue to receive revenues from the garage. The Boston Redevelopment Authority issued a request for proposals for new management and a new lease agreement for the garage. The new management and lease contract is expected to by finalized by July 1.

Trans National Properties was the only developer to apply for the right to build the tallest tower in Boston. The tower, called Trans National Place after the developer Steve Belkin's company, was being designed by architect Renzo Piano until he dropped off the development team in March.

Wow...this seems like a major setback, if Belkin really did want to start construction next year. Construction can't even possibly start until 2009 now? Bad news.

[Daquan13]

Yeah, and when was the Pru Tower completed? Around April, '65? The rest of that land, at that time, was still u/c.

And even today, the land is STILL u/c because things keep on being added to it!! That's a whopping 42 years that that land has seen constant digging up, re-routings of pedestrians and mazes of paths!!

Not counting the time that the tower itself was u/c.

[TheBostonBoy]

ya well looks like this thread is back in!
lol
and ya lexicon, i already am in other trans national place thread in archboston, i was just saying it was really quiet in here
anyways, this building is gonna take forever to be built now, and as someone else said in the archboston thread for this, why keep the garage for 2 years to get a 2.5 million revenue, when if they just sold it, they could get 30 or 40 million dollars? It seems very unnecessary to keep the garage for 2 years and prolong the building!
By the time this actually gets under way, Menino probably wont even be mayor anymore, and the next mayor will just shut it down lol

[lexicon506]

Some classic Boston NIMBYism for you.....

Tower shadow an issue: Boston Common law lies in way
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Thursday, May 24, 2007 - Updated: 12:59 AM EST

A proposed 1,000-foot tower in downtown Boston, dubbed Tommy’s Tower, could run afoul of a state law that bars new buildings that would cast additional shadows on Boston Common, the project’s developer is now acknowledging.

Travel and credit tycoon Steve Belkin, in a recent appearance on the local public affairs show “Greater Boston” on WGBH-TV, said preliminary studies show the proposed 75-story tower, would cast a shadow for roughly 15 minutes in the morning. Mayor Thomas M. Menino proposed the 1,000-foot tower last year, earning the project its nickname.

A 1990 law prohibits additional shadows being cast on the Public Garden, while severely limiting the amount of shadows that can be cast on the Common from new development.

The Herald first reported the tower, seen as a legacy project for Menino, could face problems under the Boston Common shadow law.

“It really does not cast that much of a shadow, but there are rules,” Belkin told “Greater Boston” host Emily Rooney. He later called it “one of the hurdles we have to get over” but said he was “optimistic.”

The tower project is being closely watched by the Friends of the Boston Public Garden, the group that helped push the shadow law through.

“There is a law in place that we all worked very hard to put in place,” said Henry Lee, head of the nonprofit, who has met with Belkin. “It’s very hard to look the other way for any particular development.”

Belkin could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman, in a statement, said a new study on the tower’s shadow impact is now being prepared.

[NYguy]

A proposed 1,000-foot tower in downtown Boston, dubbed Tommy’s Tower, could run afoul of a state law that bars new buildings that would cast additional shadows on Boston Common, the project’s developer is now acknowledging.

Travel and credit tycoon Steve Belkin, in a recent appearance on the local public affairs show “Greater Boston” on WGBH-TV, said preliminary studies show the proposed 75-story tower, would cast a shadow for roughly 15 minutes in the morning. Mayor Thomas M. Menino proposed the 1,000-foot tower last year, earning the project its nickname.

Just when you think you've heard every NIMBY excuse....

No doubt opponents will jump on that law and use it to their advantage.

[NYC2ATX]

Originally Posted by NYguy

Just when you think you've heard every NIMBY excuse....

No doubt opponents will jump on that law and use it to their advantage.

Yea this whole saga is beginning to get tiring. So much shit is causing a problem for this tower. No wonder the skyline has barely changed since the 70s! Apparently, you have to shift the oceans to get anything built. I don't completely disagree with their arguement, but like you said, just when you think you've heard it all......

[lexicon506]

You guys are gonna like this...the most in depth look at the upcoming tower I've seen so far, highlighting the tower's effort to be "the world's greenest skyscraper."

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/mag...on/greengiant/

If you're at all interested, this series of articles also has a lot of interesting information about Boston's future development, economy, and culture.

Boston: 2017

[kznyc2k]

^ Daquan.. it's amazing how you bring the Freedom Tower into everything. So if this tower didn't have anything in common with the FT, would you be interested at all?

Originally Posted by StatenIslander237

No wonder the skyline has barely changed since the 70s! Apparently, you have to shift the oceans to get anything built.

Your latter statement rings true, but the first part is wrong. Downtown's skyline has filled in considerably since the 70s -- it just hasn't grown up, and the reason why is that that height of roughly 40 stories/600 feet is what economically works in this town. The Pru and John Hancock towers are works of corporate egos in the insurance industry, not the free market. And I mention the insurance industry specifically because back at the time the Pru and JH were built in the Back Bay (also called the insurance district), several banks (three I believe) had headquaters built downtown in the financial district -- the big brown and black boxes -- but obviously they weren't looking for high-profile structures (those companies rarely do).

It can also be argued (easily, I think) that Trans National Place is borne of ego - Tommy Menino's. He demands a big new tower on one location and - lo and behold - he gets one proposal back from the guy who owns the adjecent site necessary to make the project viable. Hmm.. what is the market still saying?

[NYC2ATX]

Well I may have been ranting a bit.... I do know of newer buildings in Boston, but this is a high-profile city and I sort of understand where Menino is coming from, and he is setting an example by going green. Also, that is fitting with Massachusetts decidedly liberal outlook.
So I hope this goes through, it will break down walls for future development in Boston, and it will set an example for other cities.

[aluminum]

Hi, I am new in this thread. Can anyone tell what's going on in Boston and how tall is proposed building, any renderings .....

[NYC2ATX]

Originally Posted by aluminum

Hi, I am new in this thread. Can anyone tell what's going on in Boston and how tall is proposed building, any renderings .....

We haven't been very hospitable have we? Renderings I believe have been posted within this thread, and I'm sure if you explore it a little you won't be disappointed. This building was supposed to be built as Boston's new tallest, at over 1,000 ft, on the site of a parking garage in the Winthrop Square area. It is heavily backed by the mayor, is exploding with green architecture, and was originally designed by Renzo Piano. However, in March a controversy arose over a 1960 building designed by Paul Rudolph that was intended to be demolished in order to achieve Piano's open plaza vision. When this got bad Piano "pulled out" of the project. Presently, they are still in talks, and Mayor Menino still resolves to get this tower built.

Whoo, that was a mouthful.

P.S. other forumers: if any of the above information is incorrect, please don't hesitate to correct it. thanks

[liat91]

^^^ Thanks for that great summary. Does anyone know who to contact to find out the honest status of this thing. The mayors office is an idea I guess.
Boston really needs this.

[Daquan13]

An old garage and an old office building has to be torn down first and there's some red tape involved in that.

[NYguy]

Originally Posted by aluminum

If the freedom tower had 1776 feet ROOF height, it would have been a LOT better. The north tower alone was a hell bigger and wider than the freedom tower.

Actually it wasn't. And this new WTC will be a hell of a lot better than the old WTC, more towers, more streetlife, practically everything the old WTC lacked. But this isn't a WTC thread.

[Capsule F]

Yes it is