Developer Don Chiofaro has trimmed the proposed height of his controversial downtown Boston Harbor Garage redevelopment project by 165 feet and eliminated its so-called "skyframe" architectural element in a bid to reduce the hurdles faced by his massive waterfront project.
"We’re listening, and we have flexibility," Chiofaro told Banker & Tradesman. "We’re going to make a real reduction in the total square footage. But at the end of the day, we have to have a program of elements that are operationally feasible. We’re not going to do a 100-room hotel, or 20 condos. We need a critical mass of uses, and each one feeds the other."
Earlier this year, Chiofaro proposed replacing the seven-story Harbor Garage with a $900 million, 1.5 million-square-foot complex that would feature office and retail space, a hotel and condominiums. He said his new design changes will reduce each program element by 10 to 12 percent. Height of the tallest tower will fall from 770 feet to 625 feet, to comply with requests from MassPort.
Chiofaro added that while he was deleting the ornamental skyframe connecting his two proposed towers, the redesigned project would share many similarities with the previous iteration. He’s still proposing two towers sitting atop a retail podium, and still siting the project so a large opening between the towers creates a visual link between the Rose Kennedy Greenway and Boston Harbor.
In response to project comments, Chiofaro is adding an observation deck and a pedestrian linkage between the Greenway, his project and the New England Aquarium.
Chiofaro also said his firm met with the Boston Redevelopment Authority Wednesday to discuss amending the area’s Municipal Harbor Plan. Without that amendment, state environmental regulators have said, he will not be able to move his project forward.
Trustees of the Harbor Towers community, located adjacent to the Harbor Garage, issued the following statement in response to Chifaro’s revised development plan:
"Both the state and city, in their responses to his initial proposal, said in no uncertain terms that the design dramatically exceeded anything that should be permitted on this waterfront and parkfront site. We look forward to reviewing a proposal that complies with Boston Redevelopment Authority requirements and the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, as set forth in their recent findings."
