greenway

Chiofaro and Luxury Building Cut Down to Size

The next luxury condo building in Boston is going to be closer to the ground than expected. ~~Local windbag~~ controversial real estate developer Don Chiofaro has been fighting a losing battle over the new building and is finally yielding to pressure from the community. The $1 billion plan involves two towers, with commercial space in the shorter sibling of the residential tower.

A decorative arch atop the residential building (which would also include a hotel) would push the building from 690 feet to 780 feet. Removing the arch and cutting the size brings it down by 155 feet – to the 625 feet that the Massachusetts Port Authority will allow. Anything higher, Massport says, would get in the way of nearby Logan International Airport's air traffic.

Chiofaro tells the Boston Globe, "I have no problem with 625 feet, if that's where [we] end up," leaving room for a small victory that would put this Icarus a touch closer to the sun. Given how scarce his friends were when he nearly lost his International Place towers a few years ago, I'm betting he isn't likely to get much above the Massport cutoff.

When the building is finally finished, residents will get fantastic views of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, along with unbeatable bragging rights.

Source

Tags: boston, boston globe, BostonGlobe, greenway, luxury condo, luxury condos, luxury real estate, LuxuryCondo, LuxuryCondos, LuxuryRealEstate, massachusetts, rose kennedy, RoseKennedy

Boston's Plans For A New History Museum

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Boston's relatively new Greenway area may get a dramatic modern new museum and shopping complex. The $120 million Boston Museum would be a five-story glass and terra cotta building in the Haymarket area near Faneuil Hall. The bottom floor would be a food market and the top four floors be a museum of Massachusetts history with a gift shop, cafe, theater, and classroom and community space. The market would operate alongside the Haymarket pushcart vendors which set up shop on weekends in the area and would offer the vendors a little shelter in the form of large awnings. The building was designed by Cambridge Seven Associates and will have a curved glass facade facing the Greenway while the other side will be terra cotta to blend in a bit with the traditional brick buildings in the area.

The nonprofit group behind the Boston Museum sees it as an educational institution both to help children learn about local history and to bring tourists to the area. The Boston Globe reports that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority owns the property and is seeking proposals from developers. If approved construction of the museum and market building Could be completed in 2014.

It's a lovely building but I wonder if it represents a shift from the more experiential way of learning about Boston history by walking the Freedom Trail.

Tags: boston, city planning, CityPlanning, greenway, history, museum