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Pru-sized tower proposed for Haymarket T stop
By adamg on Fri, 10/24/2008 - 12:05pm
John Keith reports a developer is proposing to build two office buildings atop the Haymarket MBTA station (now occupied by a parking garage) - one 52 stories high, the other 42 stories - and would also throw in several, shorter, residential buildings.
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Comments
glob
Check the glob for better information. They had a whole story on it, complete with a more plausible design.
The good news:
Woo hoo! Now just put one of those towers on City Hall and it's all good with me.
It may seem like a funny time to be building an office tower, but...
I'm bracing myself for the
I'm bracing myself for the NIMBY attack.
The concept of a tall building in a downtown area usually frightens them.
Nobody lives there
The closest residential area to this site is several blocks away, Endicott and Lynn streets in the North End.
Forget the NIMBYs, what about the FAA and Massport?
Don't they want to keep tall new buildings out of that area?
that area might be okay
That area might be okay from an aviation perspective. The area is to the north of the existing downtown buildings, which puts it further away from the runway 27 extended centerline. it is well south of the runway 15r/33L centerline. Tommy's tower in withrop square concerned people because it is closer to the runway 27 centerline extended and would have been way taller than the existing buildings down there.
I think the biggest issue with this plan would be that it would cast shadows on the (newly liberated from the elevated green line) north station area, and the folks in the north end, who were similarly liberated from the central artery, might decide that they have had just about enough of large construction projects in their area.
Mine's Bigger than Yours!
What is up with all the proposals for very high towers lately? First we have the 1,000 ft monstrosity on Federal St. ... and I'm still trying to figure out how they would get the parts in down those narrow streets ... and now a Haymarket Stacks.
Isn't that an area with a lot of unspecified fill material?
Not that I dislike a good tower, mind you, I just wonder if somebody might be compensatin' for sumptin!
1000ft monstrosity?
I think it would be great and Federal Street is plenty big to handle the construction. That road is way oversized.
Oversized?
Not for that height of building, with the Preggo Building's Third Trimester Bulge hulking into the street. The street is only 2.5 standard lanes wide! On top of that, it would be difficult to make the kind of turns to even get over to Federal street.
The kind of big steel needed for that building would be very tricky to get into that narrow street rat warren around here.
Ok
You are out of your element a bit here.
Federal Street sees a low volume of traffic, it is at least 40 if not 48 feet curb to curb (easily 3-4 lanes wide) and coulde easily handle trucks carrying steel. Did you notice how they quietly snuck that 45 Province Street building in on much narrower streets? The steel will not be any bigger for that building. Floor heights and column spacing will be the same.
Curb to bulge is what counts
Try 36 feet wide ... I saw them measuring it during repaving (benchmarking the utility lines). Low traffic volume isn't the issue ... turning radius of a steel truck and the ability to use a crane to lift the steel off of it are an issue. That bulge is not a minor issue.
I wish I could find the thread I read where they were discussing the redesign of the building around some of these limitations.
umm ok...
36 feet is city standard for 4 lanes. 2 8 foot parking and 2 10 foot travel. that is wide.
I dont know what you are talking about...curb to bulge. The bulge is set back from the curb and 100 federal is on a different section of the street.
Now the bulge of the fiduciary trust building is totally different. That one hangs over the street.
THe turning radius of a steel truck will be an issue, that I will concede. Coming off Federal Street, they would not really want to go up Franklin. Nonetheless, they are going to manage on Downtown Crossing, I am sure they will figure this out.
I found the bit in the Globe
I found the bit in the Globe article about bringing Suffolk into the talks to be be rather interesting. I like the fact they want people to collaborate I just hope they dont push the Suffolk issue too much, its not the developers resposnsibility to make sure students at a nearby college are housed.
My main concern with projects of this scope is always transportation. I love the fact they want to rid us of that aweful garage, which does seem to kill the flow once you hit it. The problem is it sounds like they are looking to replace the same number of spots being lost, while adding multiple stories of office, retail and residential. I realize we want to encourge mass transit usage but some people will always drive, and I believe these garages are already running quite full as is. I wouldnt want to see prices sky rocket.
Theres also a concern about the outdated local train stations , specificly Haymarket Green Line and Bus connectors. Its always hell over there as it is, what are these new buildings going to do to those stations?
Dont get me wrong, I love the concept. My commute to Goverment Center/Haymarket/Downtown is much easier then any other part of the city so the more we can stuff in these areas the better chance I have of getting a job within easy transit striking distance of my apartment! I just hate to see people say "oh well we envision most people wont drive in" ect and then five years later have that be the major issue in that area.