HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > Skyscraper & Highrise Construction


The Sudbury in the SkyscraperPage Database

Building Data Page   • Comparison Diagram   • Boston Skyscraper Diagram

Map Location

Reply

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2009, 6:39 AM
Mike/617 Mike/617 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Boston
Posts: 1,172
BOSTON | Bullfinch Crossing | 611 & 532 FT | 46 & 43 FLOORS

Developer presses on with plan for towers
$2.2b project faces money, land issues


Despite political and economic headwinds, Boston developer Ted Raymond is plowing ahead with his plan to build a pair of skyscrapers as part of a $2.2 billion development on the current site of the

Raymond, chairman of Raymond Property Co., filed plans with the city yesterday to demolish the hulking garage and replace it with two glass office towers, one with 42 stories on Congress Street, and the other with 52 stories, wedged into the block between New Chardon and New Sudbury streets.

The proposal also calls for a hotel, stores, restaurants, and a pair of residential buildings along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

The firm selected to design the development is Cook + Fox Architects, of New York, officials familiar with the project said.

The design was not included in plans filed yesterday, but a rendering posted on the project's website shows two sleek glass towers open to large amounts of natural light. The larger of the two towers, rivaling the 52-story Prudential Building in height, would be a shimmering three-tiered building that culminates in an angular crown.

City Hall has already voiced reservations, not least because Ray mond proposes to build the bigger tower on land he doesn't own.

Because of that, Raymond separated his plan into two development scenarios: one that includes only the property he owns, and a second one that stretches onto property occupied by a newly renovated Boston police station and an NStar facility.

Raymond must acquire that property to build the larger of the two towers, or rights to build there. He would also have to relocate or build around the police station and the NStar facility.

A representative for Raymond, Justine Griffin, said the project's planning consultant, the Cambridge firm Chan Krieger Sieniewicz, recommended that NStar and city parcels be included in the development.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is convening a group of neighbors to make recommendations.

A spokeswoman said NStar has been in preliminary discussions with Raymond about its facility.

"We need to evaluate if it can be relocated or if the developer could obtain a permit to build over it," said the spokeswoman, Caroline Allen.

Raymond's gambit is made harder by the timing: A mayoral election is coming in November. Already, one opponent of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, City Councilor Michael Flaherty, is accusing city officials of going too light on Raymond's proposal.

"Why are we as a city allowing a developer to make the rules here?" Flaherty asked. "The City of Boston just invested roughly $5 million of taxpayer money in the police station. Now, we're selling it off to a bidder of the BRA's choice."

The BRA's director, John Palmieri, sharply rejected that criticism, saying the process for considering Raymond's proposal is just getting started.

"To suggest that we're not paying enough attention to good planning is nonsense," he said.

Another challenge is money. Loans for commercial development are almost nonexistent. But Griffin said Raymond has strong financial partners who would finance him once he receives city approvals, hoped for in 12 to 18 months.

His partners are the pension fund of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Lewis Trust Group, a British real estate firm.

"We will be well-positioned to capitalize on the first seeds of economic recovery in Boston," Griffin said.

Link








http://demolishthegarage.com/

Last edited by Urbannizer; May 24, 2022 at 5:26 AM.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2009, 12:27 PM
NYguy's Avatar
NYguy NYguy is offline
New Yorker for life
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Borough of Jersey
Posts: 51,747
Reminds me a little of Gehry's NY Times proposal...


http://kwc.org/blog/resources/2008/nyt-gehry.jpg
__________________
NEW YORK is Back!

“Office buildings are our factories – whether for tech, creative or traditional industries we must continue to grow our modern factories to create new jobs,” said United States Senator Chuck Schumer.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted Mar 4, 2009, 4:02 PM
Pandemonious's Avatar
Pandemonious Pandemonious is offline
Chaos Machine
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,290
Cool proposal, although seems unlikely to happen..

Nice castellated beams!
__________________
My Diagram: http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?m2346
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #4  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2009, 12:45 AM
Busy Bee's Avatar
Busy Bee Busy Bee is offline
Show me the blueprints
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: on the artistic spectrum
Posts: 10,301
I likey. Although I am kind of surprised to see the element straddling the Big Dig green.
__________________
Everything new is old again

There is no goodness in him, and his power to convince people otherwise is beyond understanding
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #5  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2009, 3:36 AM
Dale Dale is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Charlotte
Posts: 4,776
It's spectacular. But it's Boston. Ergo, it ain't happening.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #6  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2009, 3:56 AM
liat91 liat91 is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Metropolis
Posts: 728
While futile, I will keep my fingers crossed on this one.

Imagine if this development, SST, Filines and some form of Trans National where built. Boston would truly be a grand city to behold...
__________________
WATCH OUT!
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #7  
Old Posted Mar 5, 2009, 4:58 AM
Complex01's Avatar
Complex01 Complex01 is offline
Endless Moments...
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Texas...
Posts: 2,927
Ahh it looks intresting...

Reply With Quote
     
     
  #8  
Old Posted Aug 3, 2009, 6:41 AM
shrikearghast shrikearghast is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 13
I hope it never happens. Boston has seen some excellent looking proposals recently, and in the past two decades, some really nice, elegant, graceful structures have been built.

This isn't one of them.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #9  
Old Posted Aug 4, 2009, 5:37 AM
Thymant's Avatar
Thymant Thymant is offline
Hopeful Graduate
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Dallas
Posts: 607
I actually think this building is nice. Thes design is not to oddly shaped and looks very clean.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #10  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 4:24 AM
Downburst's Avatar
Downburst Downburst is offline
Bostonian
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Boston
Posts: 162
BOSTON | Congress Street Garage Redevelopment | 600 FT - 470 FT - 2x275 FT

Announced today in the Boston Globe:



Project PNF
Boston Globe Article

Quote:
600-foot tower proposed for Government Center Garage
By Casey Ross, Globe Staff

A Boston developer on Wednesday filed plans to replace the hulking Government Center Garage with a new complex of commercial and residential buildings, including a 600-foot office tower that would be one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city.

The project by HYM Investment Group LLC would demolish much of the garage to make way for six new buildings with 771 residences, 1.3 million square feet of office space, 1,100 parking spaces, and 82,500 square feet of stores and restaurants.

In addition to the 600-foot office tower, the plan also calls for a pair of large residential buildings -- one 470 feet and another 275 feet. Those three buildings would be situated on the western side of Congress Street closest to Government Center. On the opposite side of Congress, HYM would build a 275-foot hotel and condominium building, additional offices and stores that would form a new public square along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.

If approved by Boston regulators, construction could start late next year, according to HYM, whose managing director is Thomas N. O’Brien, a former head of the Boston Redevelopment Authority in the 1990s. The complex was designed by CBT Architects.

The project would demolish the portion of the 11-story Government Center Garage that straddles Congress Street near City Hall, thus removing a massive barrier that divides the North End and West End neighborhoods from Government Center. The 4.8-acre site is one of the last major redevelopment parcels along the greenway, and would bring a new level of height to an area that mostly consists of mid-rise government buildings.

Overall, his proposal would include 2.4 million square feet of new space on both sides of Congress Street. Construction would be broken into multiple phases, starting with the 470-foot, or 45-story, residential tower that would include both apartments and condominiums, followed by the 600-foot, 48-story office building, the hotel, and some additional offices, residences and stores.

The project would retain about 1,100 parking spaces in a portion of the old garage that would would be hidden from view by the new buildings on the west side of Congress Street. It would also have storage space for about 850 bicycles, and a Hubway rental station. Given its size and complexity, it would likely take many years to complete.

HYM has not disclosed a price tag, but the prior project proposed by Raymond was estimated to cost $2.2 billion. At full build-out, according to HYM, the project would produce about $11 million annually in taxes and would generate about 2,600 construction jobs.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #11  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 4:43 AM
scalziand's Avatar
scalziand scalziand is offline
Mortaaaaaaaaar!
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Naugatuck, CT/Worcester,MA
Posts: 3,506
There's already a thread for this project:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=165892
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #12  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 5:08 AM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
Quote:
Originally Posted by scalziand View Post
There's already a thread for this project:

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=165892
I merged the threads and updated the title.
__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #13  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 1:48 PM
Design-mind's Avatar
Design-mind Design-mind is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 4,653
Cook & Fox produce amazing results, but it looks as if they have dumbed down the buildings from the original rendering.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #14  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 6:28 PM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
Oh wow, and I just noticed that first proposal had the tallest tower close to 850 feet, assuming the renderings are accurate.
__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #15  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 6:46 PM
Downburst's Avatar
Downburst Downburst is offline
Bostonian
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Boston
Posts: 162
If I remember correctly the first proposal was planned to be around 750'. The site is (unfortunately) zoned for only 600' and that (along with the recession) helped to contribute to the initial development's demise.

Cook and Fox's proposal was chosen out a number of firms, including:

OMA


SOM


Gensler


and Foster
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #16  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 7:15 PM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
I wish that Foster one was brighter. It looks interesting.
__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #17  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 8:07 PM
The ATX's Avatar
The ATX The ATX is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Where the lights are much brighter
Posts: 12,016
I love that building! I don't keep up with Boston much, but why doesn't Boston have more high rises? Is it FAA restrictions (like San Diego)?
__________________
Follow The ATX on X:
https://twitter.com/TheATX1

Things will be great when you're downtown.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #18  
Old Posted Jun 6, 2013, 8:21 PM
vandelay vandelay is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 871
CBT did the new proposal. I like that they went with a Boston firm. The garage has to go, along with the rest of Govt Center, but I don't see this happening any time soon. Big projects like this seem to die slow deaths in Boston.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #19  
Old Posted Jun 12, 2013, 3:21 AM
Duck From NY's Avatar
Duck From NY Duck From NY is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Staten Island, "New York City"
Posts: 825
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hill Country View Post
I love that building! I don't keep up with Boston much, but why doesn't Boston have more high rises? Is it FAA restrictions (like San Diego)?
From what I'm told, Boston has a tougher approval process than most cities. Nonetheless, it has a very dense downtown, while it's midtown is more spread-out with plazas and such.
Reply With Quote
     
     
  #20  
Old Posted Jun 12, 2013, 4:10 AM
Downburst's Avatar
Downburst Downburst is offline
Bostonian
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Boston
Posts: 162
Combination of a more difficult approval process (through the Boston Redevelopment Authority) and rampant NIMBYism. There is also outsize influence from Mayor Menino that can negatively affect developments (and has throughout his tenure).

Logan Airport being about 2 miles across the harbor is also a limiting factor. The FAA put the kibosh on a planned supertall in downtown Boston out of concern of nearby flight paths a few years ago.
Reply With Quote
     
     
This discussion thread continues

Use the page links to the lower-right to go to the next page for additional posts
 
 
Reply

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Global Projects & Construction > Skyscraper & Highrise Construction
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 9:39 AM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.