Interesting: Even as the city looks to give one developer a $16-million tax break, it rejects a $50 million offer from another. Of course, one is longtime local stalwart Liberty Mutual, which wants to build its new headquarters in the Back Bay, while the other is Menino foe Don Chiofaro, who wants to put a 59-story tower (and a tinier 40-story one) right on the waterfront.
The Boston Business Journal reports on a preliminary ruling by the FAA that proposed 40- and 59-story towers on what is now the aquarium parking garage are way too tall too close to Logan. Developer Don Chiofaro basically said "meh" and that the ruling just means closer scrutiny of the project.
Matt Conti reports:
The expanding relationship between developer Donald Chiofaro and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy has created the perception of a quid pro quo between the two organizations. ...
Chiofaro wants to tear down that garage near the Aquarium and put up a 700-foot skyscraper, of course.
Yvonne Abraham writes today that Tom Menino should let Don Chiofaro replace the Aquarium parking garage with a 1.5-million-square-foot, um, something, and let's be snappy about it, Tom:
Maybe Chiofaro hasn't done himself any favors with his increasingly vocal persistence. But it's easy to understand his impatience, and his desire to start the conversation. And there is no doubting his commitment to contributing something truly spectacular to the city, and in a spot that desperately needs it.
Yes, because Chiofaro has such an outstanding record of contributing something truly spectacular to the city, and in a spot that desperately needs it. If, that is, you're a fan of Palladian windows.
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