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Apartment building proposal of the day (part II)
By JohnAKeith on Thu, 08/11/2011 - 3:34pm
On the heels of today's announcement that Anthony's Pier 4 is slated to become a mixed-use, 21-story, high-rise development that will include retail and residential (apartments) comes news that an empty parking lot near Chinatown and the Theater District is the site of a proposed 29-story apartment building.
The Boston Herald, Banker & Tradesman, and Boston Business Journal coverage.
For a historic view of the "Hinge Block" and previous plans for that area, check out the ArchBoston.com forum.
http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php...
Image above from me.
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Comments
Empty lot?
Hardly. That's where all the hookers who frequent the area hang out, where the pimps and drug dealers congregate, etc. It's the best!
re the Anthony's proposal--21 stories?
I know fan Pier and Seaport approach that many floors, but is anyone over at MassPort concerned about 21 stories right on the water, across the harbor from the Logan runways?
Anthony's Project will not be 21 stories.
Almost certainly the airport folk will be concerned (it's pretty close to the runway 27 centerline), and as a result, the building will almost certainly be at least several stories less than the Seaport Hotel complex.
Actually, now that I think of it, there is a non-standard procedure for landings on Rwy 9 for which this would cause some problems. That might be more interesting.
In any event, Massport will probably not be able to formally do anything about this, but it can bring pressure in other ways (for example, Massport spent a lot of time and money putting together a plan of acceptable structure heights around the airport to provide more certainty to the developer community, which, while not binding, has broad political support).
The most important thing here, though, is that the developer will have to have the FAA assess the project. FAA probably cannot formally stop the project either, but if it deems it a hazard to air navigation, the building would become uninsurable, which means it will not become a hazard to air navigation. Understand what I'm saying?
I think I do..
..understand. Thanks for the info!
MassPort
Isn't the Anthony's project within the port area of MassPort to begin with? We've been talking about MassPort cops (or Staties?) having jurisdiction over BPD in some parts of the Fort Point area - I would think that anything along the waterfront there is MassPort land, but there could be exceptions.
But if it is MassPort land then presumably they already have worked out the height issues with themselves.... now wouldn't that be so very Boston of them if they had to sue themselves to prevent themselves from blocking their own airspace.
Anthony's is not on Massport land
It is just to the west. If it were, Massport would have imposed height restrictions on any project because federal aviation law would have required them to do so. Hence, no chance for a "Boston moment" here.
Go for it...make it 100 stories tall
I'm all for building a billion "luxury" apartments/condos in this city...until they finally start building something I can afford in a nice area of town. If they can keep selling $500,000 shoeboxes, then by all means, do it. Hopefully the next guy will build something over 1000 sq feet and be looking for less than $375,000 for it. If not, then maybe the next guy after that...
It's happened before
Someday the already seeming glut of overpriced condos vs. affordable housing will get us 45 floors of squatters.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/world/americas/0...
It's gettin' real -
How long before Whole Foods turns up in Chinatown?