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Developer looking at 20-story building in Fort Point

By adamg on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 8:00am

The Globe reports on a possible residential tower at 7 Channel Center. Current zoning there would only allow roughly seven stories, but that wouldn't be financially feasible, the developer says.

Neighborhoods: 
South Boston
Topics: 
Development
Free tagging: 
Fort Point


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Comments

By mplo on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 10:48am.

What do they need to add more high-rise buildings for, especially in a place like Fort Point Channel? That's ludicrous, imho.

That's exactly what happened to Boston's old West End. Why couldn't they have just re-developed the old West End, instead of razing it totally out of existence and replacing the entire area with huge, huge high-rise buildings?

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By mikex617x on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 10:59am.

they keep adding high rises because building low and mid rise buildings don't make any financial sense to develop.

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By MOAR HOUSING on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 11:03am.

MOAR MOAR MOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Then maybe supply will meet demand and prices will stabilize and eventually trend downward in existing housing stock.

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By anon on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 5:45pm.

There is always more demand out there than you can build for, and much of it is not local and a lot of it is investments.

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By John Costello on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 11:32am.

Wait, that makes complete sense. Even off of A Street.

For those of you who want urban neighborhoods with small buildings, with little or no new construction and a "gritty" vibe, might I suggest Pittsfield, Taunton, Brockton, Springfield, Lewiston / Auburn, Augusta, or for that true small sized city experience with all the big city zaniness you can handle; Hartford.

You can have all the urban fixer uppers you want in those places. I'll take Boston 2016 over Boston 1966 any day.

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By heather on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 6:52pm.

So true! Big development .5 miles from the major train station would only meet opposition in Boston. Other cities would welcome it and build a covered walkway and improved side walks linking the new development to the area restaurants and nearby transport hubs.

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By mplo on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 7:34pm.

Granted, the good old days weren't always good, but there's such a thing as overdevelopment, which has been happening a great deal in Boston these days, and that's not a good thing, imho.

Moreover, I've been to those places that you've mentioned in your post, and I wouldn't move to any of them if someone was paying me anything to do so!!

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By Waquiot on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 8:10pm.

There is demand for housing in the city. Formerly affordable areas are getting too expensive for the locals. Basically, we risk becoming San Francisco, which is great it you're rich, but otherwise not so much.

Fort Point or the South Boston Waterfront or whatever people want to call it is basically virgin land that's worth a ton. If there is one place in the city where something like this can and should be built, it would be there. I will agree that in particular the transportation infrastructure needs to be tackled in the area, but if the main problem with that now is the people who work there and live somewhere else. If we're putting offices or whatever there, we should be putting housing there to boot.

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By BB from Dot on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 12:04pm.

So how about you just don't do it then?

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By bosguy22 on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 1:05pm.

That's stupid.

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By Daniella on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 2:06pm.

We live in such a great exciting city, and the Ft. Point area with its old industrial buildings is a cool area.

Too bad this building is completely mediocre, another box-y non design addition to the city. This developer should know better, he did FP3 around the corner from this one, which is great. Please refine this design and make it attractive!

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By Arthur on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 11:11pm.

So if I buy a bar that is only licensed to sell beer and wine, can I go the the liquor licensing board and say, "this beer and wine only license isn't economically feasible" and that will automatically entitle me to a full 2:00 liquor license? If it's not economically feasible, don't build it. We don't want high rises in the neighborhood. Go build them where you grew up.

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By adamg on Mon, 04/04/2016 - 11:51pm.

If you bought that bar, you'd have to go before the licensing board, anyway - it's a requirement for all license transfers. Then, if you did want to upgrade to a full liquor license, you'd have to explain the "public need" for that. That can be as simple as providing a petition signed by your customers, but, no, your economic well being isn't supposed to matter.

Yours in licensing geekery ...

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