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Chiofaro to Menino: Hey, I shrunk the buildings, now be a leader and let me build
By adamg on Mon, 09/20/2010 - 8:44pm
Developer Don Chiofaro says 48 stories is as low as he can go with his proposed $1 billion project in front of the Aquarium and that dramatic changes mean the city should just let him move forward.
"Frankly, I think this is an opportunity for the mayor to step forward as a leader and do something that could be really terrific for the city," he told Emily Rooney on "Greater Boston" tonight (watch).
The Herald details Chiofaro's new plan, now called Aquarium Place - along with the BRA's outrage that he released his plan to the media before filing plans with the city.
The new plan reduces the tallest building from 780 to 600 feet - still roughly 400 feet higher than the BRA says it would allow. Chiofaro said he could not make money at that height and would be forced to leave the current ugly garage as an ugly garage. He said he does not understand why the BRA is so opposed to a project that would mean 7,000 jobs and a new $50 million harborside park that would open up the waterfront to people along Atlantic Avenue, who must now content themselves with glancing some blue through the Rowes Wharf arch. "You could be in Montana and see more water," he said. (Ed note: Or walk down to Long Wharf or through the Rowes Wharf arch).
He added that "tremendous glass rooms" and other transparency features would enable residents of Harbor Tower - who seem to be the only people to hate him more than the mayor - maintain their views.
"The positive attributes of this project are undeniable," he said.
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Comments
Question for Mr. C
Where does he get his numbers?
7000 jobs and $20 million in taxes? $50 million park?
All highly dubious (liberty mutual's new headquarters is said to generate 500 temporary jobs and almost no permanent jobs outside of their own operations) - and not likely incremental in value to a city with 20 years of construction stalled in the development pipeline.
And since when should development be dictated by the height at which he can make money - why is it the city's problem if he overpaid for the property?
Numbahs
As long as we're throwing around huge numbers of jobs and economic growth to be caused by this project, why don't we go for the full monty here and propose a 48 story casino? I mean the mayor gets what he wants, a casino, and Mr. C gets what he wants,a towering spire with a flaming, all-seeing eye on top.
And the whole thing will be handy to public transportation, downtown hotels, tourists, I mean it's got all of Suffolk Downs' qualities that were being presented as incontrovertible characteristics for a casino locale.
What's that you say? Who wants all that traffic downtown? Oddly enough I say the same thing living here in East Boston...
Temporary jobs, like the jobs
Temporary jobs, like the jobs created by Obama's stimulus program? Yeah, who needs 'em.
I did, for one. Let's not
I did, for one. Let's not conflate projects that have start and end dates with temporary jobs. Skyscrapers aren't designed and built by interns, temps and day laborers. After sitting on our thumbs from late 2008 through most of '09, we were saved in part due to our GSA projects coming back online and pumping work (and later, fee) into our office while our private development projects lagged (which actually haven't stopped lagging, nearly all are on hold still) and until the asian and middle eastern developers rebounded (in the last 6 months).
It's not the City's problem
It's not the City's problem if he overpaid for the property. And there's no question that the numbers Chiofaro is tossing about are just as inflated as typical projections for new projects.
But if you want to compare this project to Liberty Mutual, let's go there. That tower is projected to cost $300 million - of which, $40 million will be provided in the form of tax increment financing and other breaks. And it's going to be twice as tall as the zoning guidelines dictate for the site. The BRA decided to wave the guidelines, after extracting the concession of a new park funded by the developer. And this, despite the project's glass bridge, depriving the street-level retail below of necessary customers and radiating hostility to the city.
Compare that to Chiofaro's latest proposal. The BRA and the Mayor touted the benefit of $300 million in new spending - Chiofaro wants to spend $1 billion. And it's all his own money - no tax breaks. The proposal, like Liberty Mutual's, is taller than the zoning allows. But Chiofaro's latest plan cuts the height back to the same level as the existing Federal Reserve and One Financial Center towers along the Greenway - only without the same setbacks, or in the case of the Fed, fortress-like bunker. So why can't the zoning be waived again? If Liberty Mutual is a good idea, why is Chiofaro's a bad idea?
This is about one thing - Tom Menino. The BRA quite deliberately passes it zoning rules to prohibit development at the heights that ensure economic viability. It does this strategically, to force every developer of a major parcel to strike an individual deal. Menino has made it impossible to build as-of-right in Boston. And he's locked in a pissing-contest with Don Chiofaro that has nothing to do with the best interests of this city, and everything to do with demonstrating that publicly crossing Menino is a bad idea.
There are a lot of things to admire about Menino's reign. This is not one of them.
And in this corner...
Spot on, in regards to how Menino uses the BRA for his power plays. The valve is always shut, the light is always red, the gate is always closed, until the proper "action" is filed with the Mayor. These actions can take many forms and to his credit, they don't involve Menino stuffing a wad of bills down his bra (or "bro" or "mansierre" or whatever). But that doesn't mean there isn't an unethical or at least supremely cheezey quid pro quo going on.
You contribute to a political campaign, you fund a philanthropic hobby horse of the Mayor's (which does benefit some people in need, but is first and foremost a PR tool for the Machine) or whatever it is he demands of you and then you get what you want.
That being said, anyone who thinks that the blustery ego with a mustache that is Mr. C is out to spew vanilla-scented goodness o'er our towne is mistaken. He's a successful developer which means he's used to getting his way via busting balls. He may currently be talking about all of this being done on his own dime, but as he states in the interview, it'll take a couple of years to get this thing rolling once/if the City approves and that means plenty of time to cry "wah! I can't make a profit like this!!" and get tax concessions and whatever else is needed to increase his bottom line.
Throw 'em both in the mudpit and let 'em wrassle!
The Harbor Towers are 400 feet..
So why is the height limit 200? I say anything that blocks the ugly harbor towers should be approved. Plus, can we stop pretending the greenway is not just a median strip and traffic islands in the middle of 6 plus lanes of traffic, interrupted by highway ramps? What exactly is this development going to do to the median strip thats so bad..offer some shade for a few hours a day? Offer something to do(more stores, restaurants?) along the greenway besides play frogger trying to get across the ugly thing? If Menino gave half a crap about the greenway, he would have been fighting during its design for it to be a great park. Theres not even a complete sidewalk from North Station to South Station on the greenway!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_Towers
Without getting into (or
Without getting into (or knowing much about) the politics that possibly play into this situation, I think it's time for Boston to grow up.
I understand a part of the population (and probably most of the BRA members) are stuck in the past, want Boston to savor its history and such, but this city needs some new highrises/skyscrapers. Our financial district is stagnant, and quickly deteriorating and shops and offices move to the trendy and quicker-developing Back Bay.
I really would not mind seeing a few new actually tall skyscrapers be built downtown, to add some variety to our skyline, and perhaps something to distinguish it.
Boston is a compact large city, very similar to San Francisco. If you look at San Francisco prior to 1960 and now, the skyline has grown to be quite fantastic. Boston does not have an excuse (except for the FAA, possibly) to not have a similarly striking financial district.
The financial district can go
The financial district can go jump in the harbor. How about more biotechs, high-techs, and other businesses that actually create value rather than simply game the financial systems.
When I say "Financial
When I say "Financial District," I mean just that. The Boston "neighborhood" known as the Financial District (as most large cities have). It's a collection of high rises with offices in them, traditionally financial ones.
However, I in no way meant Boston should build high rises for finance firms. Any high rise in the Financial District can have any type of business in it, including bio- and high-techs and other businesses.
I don't think anything should
I don't think anything should be approved until someone puts something decent in the Filene's hole.
So you would hold up all
So you would hold up all development until the failings of one developer are remedied? More specifically, you are arguing that Chioforo should be held responsible for the failings of Vornado? I think that would pretty much eliminate the likelihood of anything ever being built in Boston again.
Getting that thing fixed is,
Getting that thing fixed is, or should be, one of the highest priorities for the city, so far as large building projects go. Since the original developer is clearly not going to do anything anytime soon, the city should start twisting arms to see if someone else would be willing to come in as a partner (or just take over the whole thing, perhaps with the government assisting, if it's not expensive to taxpayers) simply in order to do something.
Since apparently there are projects that these other developers do want to build, there is some leverage available to take care of things the city needs done. Why shouldn't we use this to our advantage? I don't care for having half a building and a big dirt hole in the heart of the city, and I don't like being a doormat for developers to walk all over.
I think that would pretty much eliminate the likelihood of anything ever being built in Boston again.
So long as there is money to be made, someone will pursue it. Don't get suckered into that trap of kowtowing to them. It's just like sports teams getting taxpayers to build stadia for them, which never really benefits anyone but the teams.
I think you're missing the
I think you're missing the point, here. Tom Menino does not want to let Don Chiofaro build so much as an outhouse in the City of Boston. As far as he's concerned, Chiofaro crossed him publicly, and so he's through in this town. The very last thing Menino wants is for Chiofaro to get involved with another prominent parcel of land.
Want to know why no developers have snapped up the Filene's site from Vornado? His name is Tom Menino. This sort of behavior scares firms, particularly those from outside the city. It introduces substantial risk and uncertainty into large-scale development in the city. The site will sit vacant until the economic case for developing it becomes so very compelling that it's worth the risk. And that should happen, oh, sometime around 2013 according to the latest economic projections.
The more Menino politicizes the issue, of course, the longer it's going to take.
I'm sympathetic to your
I'm sympathetic to your concerns, but what you suggest is essentially a tax targeted at a single individual. It fails the reasonable test. And developers are not going to build when faced with a punative tax designed to repair somebody else's mistake. The sports parallel is Liberty Mutual. You are pushing more of a Sheriff of Nottingham scenario.
In her WHAT?
In her WHAT?